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5 bags of clothes, to be exact. And by "bags", I mean garbage bags, not the plastic bags some get at the grocery store when they shop.

She said she's been cleaning out her closets (plural). She used to take her clothes to a local consignment shop that gave her cash for the ones they thought they could sell and kept (to donate) the ones they thought they couldn't sell. She doesn't do that anymore because she wasn't getting a lot of cash for them (and she doesn't really need the $$$), plus she's convinced the ones they didn't give her cash for, the ones they said they would "donate" for her, were just going home with the employees afterwards, and that bothers her. She asked me what I do with the clothes I don't keep. I told her some go to my good church friend but most go in the donation bin at my brother's church, which if I'm not mistaken then go to a charity that sells some and hands out the rest. I've been considering asking someone at my church about one of our missionaries who works in the inner city (Cleveland) and who I think just started a side ministry collecting work clothes for women who are returning to the work force (or just entering it) and can't afford work clothes. I'm not 100% positive she's doing this though. From time to time, I consider donating the items that could be worn for a corporate job to Dress For Success but I've heard a few negative things about the one nearest me...plus inertia is a powerful force.

I finally finished sorting through the 5 bags...altogether, there were 13 short sleeved shirts, 20 long sleeved shirts, 14 pairs of pants, a lightweight jacket, two outerwear vests, a cardigan and two wraps. M told me to keep anything I wanted...there's a couple shirts I really like, including one that I had back in the backroom for a month while I debated buying it, and I also really like one of the vests and one of the wraps (the wrap has a sort of feathered fringe and looks like something a 1920s movie star would've worn...and I would have absolutely no place to wear it). I think good church friend might really like three of the long sleeved shirts. Unfortunately, everything else wouldn't fit (the pants are all ankle length, which would be floodies on me) or not to my taste (M loves her a good puffy sleeve...). M was insistent I take all 5 bags and she said she really doesn't care where the clothes end up so I'm thinking of talking to the head of the consignment shop I go to (right here in town) and seeing what she recommends. IIRC, she's supposed to give you either cash or store credit for anything you bring in but it has to sell first...and I always wound up bringing in things and then buying things, so I never got the cash. Plus it has to sell first. If she does pay for sold items, I might just give her some of the clothes and then get the cash and try to somehow slip it back to M.