It’s (almost) finally here: the end of the semester!
In the midst of studying for finals and prepping for presentations and projects galore, the thought of actually being done with it all seems unfathomable.
But even after all the exams are taken and the assignments are safely in the hands of each professor, there is still have one more hoop to jump through before celebrating your newfound freedom: packing.
For the better part of a year, your room has been your sanctuary.
Somehow, you’ve managed to turn it into a small house. And there’s so. Much. Stuff.
You have your appliances, bedding, toiletries, an endless supply of expired food—not to mention all of the clothes and shoes you’ve managed to squeeze into your closet over the past two semesters.
How will you ever pack all of it into your car?
It’s impossible. Nope, not gonna happen.
Being the wasteful society we are, our first inclination is to throw away anything that we don’t want or need to take back home. It’s perfectly reasonable to want to lighten your load as much as possible, right?
“You wouldn’t believe what some people throw away,” said WVWC junior Jamie Young. “Last year, I found a perfectly good sweatshirt in a dumpster outside of Benedum.”
Throwing away clothes? Really, people?
Shockingly enough, there is a more practical solution than tossing your money into the nearest dumpster: donate it instead!
Donating clothes is an especially easy way to cut down on your packing. It will also save you space and time if you do it before the mad rush of move-out day.
Check your closet sometime in the weeks leading up to the end of the semester and look through your clothes. When you come to a piece that you haven’t worn in the past two months, set it aside for donation; chances are, you won’t wear it again .Do the same with your shoes and accessories.
Don’t hesitate to donate items that you’re on the fence about. If you have mixed feelings about a particular garment, you probably don’t have that strong of an attachment to it.
This will probably take you a half an hour tops—but that depends on your level of indecisiveness.
Once you have your clothes folded and sorted, you can drop them off at any of the following nearby locations:
- The Clothes Closet, located in Buckhannon at 47 Sedgewick Street directly behind the Parish House
- Goodwill, located at 15 S Spring St in Buckhannon
- The Salvation Army, located at 21 N Spring St in Buckhannon
You can also use your donations as a write-off on your taxes.
As you sort your clothes, count the total pieces of a certain style (blouses, sweaters, jeans, slacks, etc.) and record them on a sheet of paper.
At some point, use this information to make an Excel sheet and look up the prices of each item on the Salvation Army’s website: http://satruck.org/donation-value-guide
And the best part of the deal?
You’re extending a helping hand to those less fortunate by simply cleaning out your closet; it’s a win-win for everyone, and it’s good for the soul.