If your closets are full of clothes you no longer need, give them away.
If you live in New York, with all of the city's available shopping venues, you may end up with tiny closets bursting with unneeded clothes. There are many places to donate clothing in the city and give your closets a new lease on life while doing something good for your community.
Instructions
1. Look for clothing donation bins. New York City has dozens of metal clothing bins all over street corners and local parking lots. Simply find one and put your stuff in. They are clearly marked "Clothing donations" and look like covered dumpsters or storage lockers with an opening for depositing clothing. Make a note of them when you are trekking around town so you can come back later and donate.
2. Check out shelters. New York has dozens, if not hundreds, of shelters across the city. They include nationwide organizations, like Goodwill or the Salvation Army, and many others that may not get as much attention as the bigger groups. Just because a group is small does not make it any less needy. Find phone numbers in your phone book or online and make a few calls to see which ones need clothing the most (see the Resources section).
3. Find a place that does pickups. The Salvation Army and other organizations will pick up donations if they fit the criteria. Some groups are notorious for leaving little slips of paper on the doorknob telling you when they will be in the neighborhood. Look for the little slips or call local charities to see if they offer this service (see Resources).
4. Take the clothing to your local church, synagogue or other religious organization. To give you an idea of how many are around, Brooklyn is known as the borough of churches. Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx are equally rife with houses of worship. Check the phone book or online for listings. Don’t just dump it on the doorstep, but knock at the office door or find an administrator to make sure the church wants the clothing.
5. Go vintage. Many vintage shops--and there are many--also take donations or even trades.
6. Get theatrical. If your clothing donations are especially fanciful, call one of the dozens of theater groups in the city to see if they’d like that old ball gown or Halloween costume you can no longer use. Check the phone book or online for local theater troupes, off-Broadway playhouses or classes at City University or other local schools.
7. Leave clothing in the park or in front of your house. It may be a non-traditional way to donate, but it sure is an easy one. Simply leaving the clothing near the curb, draped from a fence or hanging from a tree in a local park will most likely have it picked up within hours. Add a sign that says, "Take me, I’m free" and people will surely be unable to resist. If no one picks it up by the end of the day, take it back and use one of your other options--otherwise you will be littering.
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