“After our disappointing, tiring, and time-wasting garage sale, Kim and I still had a lot of leftover items that we had to do something with. So Kim made a call to Care Net, a local organization in Burlington, Vermont, that supplied expectant mothers with maternity and babywear. Kim wondered if they might be able to use some of the baby supplies we hadn’t sold.
They responded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes we can. We always have a need.”
Because of their response, I made another phone call. This time, I reached out to the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, which helps refugees and immigrants gain personal independence and economic self-sufficiency.
They explained to us that they had a desperate need for towels, linens, and cookware since they routinely outfit apartments for immigrants who arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs.
After this we called more local charities, including a homeless shelter.
Our hearts were softened as we began to comprehend the number of men, women, and children in our community who live without the basic security that our household items could provide.
In fact, to our chagrin, we realized that for years we had let some items that were desperately needed by others gather dust in our closets or basement.
And for what reason? Just in case our supply of linens, cookware, or clothing suddenly proved to be inadequate?
We quickly discovered more joy in delivering those unneeded items to local charities that we could ever have found in the money earned from selling them. This experience changed my view of minimizing and forever changed my advice to others embarking on the journey.
Rather than sell your unwanted items, give them away. Practice generosity with them. There’s no lack of opportunity.
Countless charitable organizations around the world meet real and urgent needs. They provide food and shelter to those without. They deliver clean water to villages lacking a well They protect battered women.
They place orphans in loving families. They offer educational assistance and job training to people who need help getting a start. And much, much more.
By giving your unneeded possessions to such organizations, you can make a real difference quiclky and easily. And by getting a tax-deductible receipt, you can probably come out financially ahead of where you would have if you sold items on eBay or at a garage sale — with much less effort.
Certainly, the satisfaction you’ll feel is like nothing else you experience, even if your garage sale brought in receipts exceeding your highest hopes.
Minimizing possessions is hard work.
Trying to resell your clutter only adds time and energy coasts as well as anxiety and frustration, to the journey. But giving away things adds joy and fulfillment to your soul that money can never buy.
So find a local charity whose values align with yours, and experience the delight of seeing how your excess can meet the needs of others in your community.”
FROM: The More Of Less, Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own, by Joshua Becker
I could not have said it better that downsizing has such positive upsides, than Joshua Becker, creator of BecomingMinimalist.com, did. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.
