Even though swappers left happily, often laden with 3-5 fabulous pieces of clothing each, we ended up with way more clothes than we started with, as expected. I’m going to actually open the house again from 9-11 tomorrow morning, if any local folks want to stop by for one last ‘shopping’ spree. (332 Wisconsin Ave., the blue and purple house.)
After that, I’ll take the clothes off the collapsible clothing racks, reclaim my hangers (my own clothes are draped in piles over various surfaces in the laundry room at the moment), and pack up whatever’s remaining for donation. I’m planning to store extras in my garage, sorted, for easy donation when they’re ready to receive it.
I went over to St. Christopher’s today (photos below) to bring them what they’re currently asking for – I had two bags full of women’s leggings / sneakers / sports bras for them. They’re clearly a little overwhelmed with the generosity of local donors, but are working hard to organize everything. I think their plan is to extend this ‘closet’ beyond the immediate refugee crisis, creating a space where other local orgs, like Housing Forward, can find clothing resources.
I suspect, just looking at the space, they could use some large metal storage racks and plastic bins, because I’m not sure those big cardboard boxes are going to hold up long-term, but it’s probably best to talk to them about their needs before just buying them things. Taking a clothes-sorting shift is a great way to get involved, meet some of the other people working on this, etc. Older kids are also great to bring along for clothes sorting – there were a couple working there today, and they were fast, cheerful, and funny.
