Have you considered donating clothes or items to organizations that help military families? Then you’re already halfway to helping out your country, local community and environment all in one fell swoop. Taking your gently used clothes and giving back to your nearby and nationwide industries does the dual task of supporting jobs while keeping the environment less stressed, a major part of what makes the United States the country it is today. However, it can be a little daunting knowing exactly where to start on the road to adding charitable donations to your community at large. Check out these useful tips and see if they can’t help you become a clothing donations guru overnight!

Keep Your Receipts

One of the most useful and frequently forgotten tips is keeping your receipts every single time you give back to organizations that help military families. This way you can create some useful tax deductibles when the tax season rolls around, saving you money so you can help even more in the future. Charities that pick up clothing donations should always give you a slip for your records, whether you’re donating a three-piece suit or a simple scarf.

Know Your Statistics

It helps to have a good idea of where you’re coming from with clothing donations. The year 2007 saw an estimated $6 billion worth of clothing related donations made to charity foundations, adding up to one of the most impressive years ever seen on record. Unfortunately, the average American also creates around four to five pounds of waste per day — this adds up to at least one ton of solid waste annually. How can you curb this trend and create a more efficient, clean environment for everyone involved?

Stay Environmentally Aware

The EPA has estimated up to 75% of solid waste is recyclable. Unfortunately, only around 30% is actually re-purposed and put back into the American economy. As a result more and more initiatives have been pushed forward to encourage people to assist with donations. If every American recycled a mere one-tenth of their newspapers the country could see an impressive 25 million trees saved! But how does re-purposing and recycling actually work?

Support Local Business

Donating your gently used clothes supports both local businesses and nationwide corporations. The year 2011 saw an estimated two million tons of clothing and textiles donated to charity. Some of the most common materials that are reused are cotton, latex, plastic, spandex and wool — this helps countless industries ranging from distribution to sales, allowing workers to use affordable and flexible materials without putting strain on local and nationwide storage.

Donating Your Clothes

Not sure which clothes to donate? As long as they’re not torn, burned or filled with holes they should be good for any local charitable organization in your neighborhood. Organizations that help military families do the dual work of providing affordable options while helping related companies receive the textiles and materials they need to keep churning out high quality products. For those with a tight schedule you can also seek out donation pick up services — these involve you leaving your clothes in an easily located box or bag outside your home so your local charity can drop by and pick it up. Donating clothes is one of the best ways of helping out your fellow citizens and hopefully this number will only increase as the years go on!