US'Again - When to use them

In Week 12 and this week, I PURGEd some pretty junky textiles that were in pretty bad shape, by dropping them into one of those red US'Again drop boxes. There are several locations around Champaign-Urbana generally in business parking lots. I wanted to share a few words of caution when using these bins. Really, they should be a last resort for getting rid of your textiles (clothes, shoes, bed sheets, etc.) for a number of reasons:

1) They are for profit. Even at the last stage, people in Third World countries are still buying the textiles that you donated. Granted, it's for very cheap, and it created jobs, they are making money off of your stuff.
2) They are not local, so more gas is consumed for transportation of the items (maybe not by you, but by them), especially since they seem to deal a lot over seas. In my opinion it's better to give a charitable organization in your local community.
3) They recycle, and it's best to see if your item can be re-used first, as your item currently is. But this is also a huge plus of them over other organizations. If they can't reuse a textile because it is too worn or stained, they can recycle it into something that can be used. Now, while this keeps your items out of landfills :), let's not forget all the energy needed and all the pollutants released into the earth in order to recycle that item into something useful :(

Now, I'm not sure what charitable organizations such as the Salvation Army do with textiles they can't use. They might bring the clothes to be recycled by another group such as US'Again, but they might just toss them into the garbage. So, if your item is not in that great of shape, save your local charitable organization the work, and just make a trip to your closest US'Again drop box. But like I said use it as a last resort. You'd be surprise by what people will take off your hands if you offer it on Freecycle.

Week 19

I am so proud of myself for this week because I was out of town for several days, but managed to PURGE!

#109 4 Jars of Baby food

I got these a couple weeks ago from a friend who's a teacher at church. He used them for an activity, but didn't open them. Even though baby #3 is on the way I hope to make our own baby food as we did with Bean and Monkey, so I didn't want to keep these for myself. A friend of mine said she could use them immediately, so I left them on her doorstep on my drive out of town earlier this week.

Went to: A friend Jen and her son Jay

#110 3 Pairs of Bo's Jeans

These were some holey jeans and I didn't feel right donating them anywhere.

Went to: US'Again Bin

#111 1 Pair of Bo's Dress Pants, #112 a Collared Shirt of Bo's, #113 Several T-Shirts of Bo's; #114 2 of my own collared shirts

My husband must be praised for going through his closet and PURGing some unneeded items this weekend. We also stored away much of his winter wardrobe. This was a huge help in making our PURGE quota for this week. Thanks Bo! I dropped these items off as my last stop before exiting Champaign earlier this week.

Went to: Empty Tomb

Bachelorette Party Items - #115 2 straws (you can imagine what they looked like), #116 2 Mardi Gras-type necklaces (you can imagine what they were adorned with), and #117 Mylar Bachelorette Party Banner

These have been stored (read: hidden) in my closet for almost 6 years now. I'm glad the boys never found them because they both love to wear Mardi Gras necklaces! Really what is one supposed to do with such things? I'm not a frequent bachelorette party attender, so they have sat. I hate to toss them in the trash because of the plastic and what not, so they have sat. You can't sell such things at a respectable garage sale, so they have sat. I couldn't think of a place to donate them, so they have sat. I couldn't bring myself to offer them on Freecycle, so they have sat. When someone posted to Freecycle that they were looking for bachelorette party items, I e-mailed back immediately and hoped she was serious cuz I had to describe what I had. Thankfully she could use all of it. The morning that I left for my trip, I just hung them from my front doorknob and she came by sometime to pick them up. It feels good to be rid of something I'm pretty sure I'll never use again. It feels even better that I didn't have to toss them in the trash. I'm hoping the fact that she got those items off of Freecycle will make for some funny conversation at the party ;)

Went to: a Freecycler

Week 18 - Red Bird Mission

Last Summer I went on my first mission trip. It was to Kentucky on the Eastern side which is considered part of Appalachia, a very impoverished multi-state area of our very own country. Red Bird Mission is located there and I was blown away buy their comprehensive services to the local communities surrounding Beverly, Kentucky (i.e., prenatal care, day care, a K-12, health care (including a hospital and dentist office, a cheap clothing shop, food pantry, and economic opportunities such as locals selling their crafts). While I was there I got to help with home improvement. Well, it was one of the best run charities I've ever seen, so I knew my donated stuff would go to good use. My church is taking another trip out there so I'm sending this stuff along with them.

103: 160+ Box Tops for Education & 104: 25+ Campbell Soup Labels

All the lockers in the Red Bird Mission School and vans that we drove into the community to bring our home improvement supplies were bought with these. Absolutely amazing!

#105 2 Toothbrushes

These are for the dental clinic. I'm assuming they give these out to free to patients.

#106 4 Teddy Bears

These are given to children who visit the clinic.

#107 Box of Colored Pencils and #108 Pipe cleaners

They'll use these in the school.

Oh, I wish I could go, but at least a piece of me is going. Maybe I'll find more that they can use in the couple weeks before the group leaves.