Well, it used to be that I could only donate to one charity, one that is a very good one and gets high marks for actual dollars/goods donated used for the actual charity work (as opposed to going towards marketing, excutive's corporate jets and so forth).
Anyway, to donate to this charity is sometimes hard, as it used to take them 3 weeks to come out for a pickup (for large items). The stores that I can donate to are at least 30 minutes from my house. Not all stores take donations.
So, it became harder and harder for me to donate anything because in my mind I could only donate to that one charity.
When the organizer came to help me she would take things to the charity for me, but after I stopped working with her -- what was I going to do?
Because I have found that if I make a decision to let something go I need to get it out of the house asap. If things pile up in the garage, awaiting a donation, well....that means that 1/2 the garage is not being used and someone else who shares the house with me gets mad. Gee, I wonder why? (sarcasm)
But, I didn't always understand this. Of course, I should be able to take up 1/2 the garage with "stuff". Everyone should have to bow down to me and my anxiety.
Well, I realize now that it is not that way.
To have a functional house and home, I needed to learn to let go....let go of the control and let go of the material things.
And, that meant I had to make it EASY on myself to do that.
So, I started to donate to anyone who would come and pick it up. I didn't and don't care if they have the best track record for helping others. It is going somewhere besides here, and that's ok.
I have since found out that there are many of these charities that help disabled people, which is a cause near and dear to my heart. So, I try to donate to those when I can, but if I cannot...that's ok.
I have placed a higher value on getting rif of the stuff then where it actually goes. In so doing, it has become easier and easier to let things go.
If you have things to donate.....give yourself permission to give it to whomever will come and pick it up. You can leave it on the driveway after scheduling a pickup, and it will be done. You only have to take the first step of actually letting the things go out of your home, and I realize that is so very, very hard.
Oh, and, when I do give to other charities besides the 'preferred' one, I incur the wrath of another person in my family who questions that decision and scolds me for it.
I will be posting some links where online pickups with different charitable organizations can be scheduled soon.
But, that's ok. I feel good about my decision.
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be 'done'!
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