Friday, October 4, 2013

Was Happy About Donating...Now Not So.

I've been working on these jumpers and things all week, move them around on the bed while I try and decide what to go and what to keep.They are still all over the bed, mostly his side as I slept on my side last night but going through them again this morning they are spread out a bit more.    I moved them from the bed to the table when the grandkid stayed here Wednesday night but back to the bed Thursday morning so the table was kinda clear...It is now Friday so they have been on the bed since Monday.

I have Vinnies today and thought that would be a good way of getting some out of the house.  But which ones...The first couple didn't come up to our Vinnies standards but they were comfortable, warm and I like them.  But I do have better ones.  But they can't be binned because they are still good enough to wear and I don't bin stuff.  I kept them but put 3 that I like into the Vinnies bag, I sometimes wear these but Vinnies will be able to sell them.  You can see from this that my local Vinnies sells clothing that is in better condition than I wear.  There are a few things I don't wear very often, I have others that I like better so I am not sure what to do with these...And 4 cardigans...too many when I have 6 jackets?  Six jackets for my lifestyle is probably too many.  I know I hardly wear a couple of them but I like them...There is one jumper that is about 20 years old, it has Space Invaders all over it.  You know, the things from that video game so many years ago...I love this jumper even though it is overstretched and has a hole or two.  It is not going but I should sew up the hole before next Winter.  Everything in my cupboard fits and it is all stuff that I like, that is what makes it so hard to get rid of.

Do I need 3 red jumpers?  There are 4 others nearly all the same colour but different styles...Lets just do this!!

OK...One red one is in the bag as is a black one that I like but didn't wear at all this year. A purple skivvy type one is in the bag and another long sleeved shirt that I don't wear.  I really like the colour of this but it is a tad too long for me and I know Vinnies will get a few dollars for it. A pair of jeans, some slacks...A couple of tops...All bagged up and ready to leave with me this morning.
A jacket with a hood  will go out the caravan.
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I'm home from Vinnies and reconsidering the clothes culling.  I have worked at this Vinnies for quite awhile now, I know what they like, I know the prices they put on things, I know what happens to the clothing that doesn't make the grade.  This is why the 1 bag of stuff that I took down there this morning was all suitable, all very good condition, all saleable.  But there is a young woman there today, she comes in during school holidays.  She was sorting through the donations while I was in and out of the shop but one time when I went out the back I saw that a couple of the things that I had donated were in the reject bag that gets sent away to be recycled or shredded.  I pulled 2 of them out and asked why they were in that bag and she said of one top that the colour made her eyes funny.  I loved that top!   I brought it home again.   Two other tops, the black one that I really liked and the red one...they are being sent away...wrong season and we have too much Winter stuff already.   I'm sad about that.  They are good tops so hopefully wont be shredded.    Also the volunteer manager today pulled off a couple of dozen dresses and some kids clothing, we have a small shop and there does end up being a lot of stuff in the shop, it gets crammed onto the rails and makes it hard for customers to sort through.  We have a shed but this manager doesn't like storing surplus stock there...OK there are mice but still...Anyway, all this stock usually gets sent up to Perth to be recycled. This manager knows that I collect unwanted stuff for the FreeMarkets so all that was offered to me for there but I see all too often good clothing that people have donated in good faith being sent away.  I'm thinking that I might not donate to this Vinnies anymore.  We have another op-shop in town, they are not as picky as us and I wont see what happens to my donations so I think I will take more to there from now on.  Other stuff will go to the FreeMarkets.  It's making me want to keep everything here even though I don't wear it all and it doesn't fit in the cupboard.

For someone like me that has trouble getting rid of stuff, this is no good.  If it's not easyish for me then it's not gunna happen.   And now!!  I need to find somewhere to put the 2 bags of stuff that I brought home for the FreeMarkets...Hubby will be cranky, and rightly so, we don't need more stuff here...but I can't let it be wasted.  What is wrong with me!!  

5 comments:

  1. I don't know what is wrong with you! lol

    I bought six silk sweaters (jumpers), long, dusters. Four were identical. These were $90 each. I got the last four for $17 each. Someone asked me why I bought four red, long, silk sweaters. "I will wear these for the rest of my life. They will be in style when I die and they will cost more to buy as time goes by. And, I love the style." I received the first one on Sept. 11, 2001, my birthday. The rest I bought since I loved the first one. Oh, I bought three shells to match, so I have twin sets. Dusters are sweaters that hit below, at, or just above the knee.

    Someone stole the long black one. There are the four long dark red sweaters, one short Christmas red sweater and one short black sweater. I bought three shells, as I said--one bright red shell, one dark red shell, one black shell. Oh, a shell is a sleeveless top. All the above is dressy.

    So, as you see, I am the wrong one to ask.

    Four years ago, I bought a black cardigan sweater, cheap from Walmart. Today, I bought another. These are everyday cardigan sweaters for going out, not for around the house. Last year, on clearance I found a black cardigan for $1.

    I found sweatshirts for $1 each. I think I bought 8 identical ones. I sleep in them, wear them around the frigid house, two at a time some days! I actually don't have so many clothes. I have a dozen knit tops--shirts that are horrid and stained with hair color; some have holes; some have stains; and some can be worn to go to the store. I do not want to have to wash clothes often, so having a full load for the washer is economical.

    I don't see a problem with three red jumpers. Jumpers are sweaters here, right?
    Put the free market clothing in a box in top or bottom of the closet. Or, store them in the car; slide them under the bed.

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    1. I had money then. Now, I don't, so it is a good thing I bought dressy sweaters/jumpers for cheap.

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  2. Barb, I love how you contemplate and put up all these points for an against. I do it too! Wouldn't it be freeing to say: don't want it, in the bin with in. But there are so many things to consider!!
    I think if you like the clothes and wear them, then keep them. I am throwing out things that look scruffy. I am too old to look scruffy. On a young whippersnapper it looks bohemian. On me it looks like I don't care.

    I tell myself if my clothes get sent to be made into rags, at least the charity made some money. I didn't want the items anyway. And it is better than cluttering my house or ending up in landfill. And really, if I have worn them a lot or even half to death, they have done their job in the world and recouped their manufacture. Also we all need the products of rags. Eg carpet underlay, furniture stuffing. So it is still being useful.

    Even if your top made it to the charity rack, no guarantee that anyone would like it or want it. So out I say. And the decision can be someone else's.

    Now if only I could take my own advice!!! Off to contemplate a few dresses!

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  3. There's nothing wrong with you Barb..we all do the same thing. I have tops and jackets hanging there that I haven't worn for years, yet there they still hang...because one day yo neve know Zi might just wer them :))

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  4. Sorry that last sentence was a bit weird, but you know what I mean :)

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