This is a call to cleanyourroom!

It was 12:30 am CST on December 18, 2005. Earlier in the day, I had moved all of my stuff out of my dorm room for Christmas break and was trying to put my clothes away. My clothes fit into a large-sized basket, two crates, and three large department store bags.

Immediately, I noticed there was a problem.

Suddenly, the obvious struck me. I needed to clean my room. I opened the bottom drawer of my dresser to discover that it was half-full of summer clothes and clothes I'd never wear again. Similarly, every other drawer was filled or mostly filled with clothes too small for me, clothes I'd smiled and nodded at when my mom bought them, and \"free t-shirts\" I'd received at various events, less than enthused. Why can't all organization shirts be as cool as the Red Cross blood drive shirts?

So I emptied my drawers. And I emptied my closet. And I realized that while some of these clothes were an embarrassment, most really weren't. They just weren't my style, or my mom had bought them too big or too small. Some were out of fashion, yes - however, some never went out of fashion. I had been hoarding clothes that I could've sold.

Sold? I didn't want to sell them at a yard sale. Too much hassle for too little money - the opportunity cost was too great for me. Consignment stores were out - you get practically nothing for your clothes. Realistically, I couldn't sell them.

"You know, Michelle..." Enter conscience, stage right. "There are people freezing their butts off right now." Of course! I can donate these clothes. But while my stack of clothes was rather formidable, there was no way I could dress even a block, a street, or even a household in poverty with it.

So I decided that if I, a semi-spoiled child of an average-income household, could hoard x amount of clothes, imagine what we could accomplish if everyone cleaned their rooms. It's a profound realization, really - I shouldn't be intimidated into keeping a bunch of clothes that I don't want or need when other people can be wearing them and making good use of them.

"But I paid lots of money/went through a lot of hassle/intend to lose weight/etc. for that __insert article of clothing here__!"

Have you worn it much this winter? If it's summer clothing, did you wear it frequently last summer? And do you really intend to next summer? Whether it's a present from grandma or something you just had to buy because it was $5/your friends were getting matching shirts/you needed to spend some money, dang it - if it's easy enough to forget for a full season, it's something that can be thrown away. So what if you've spent money? Previous purchases are just sunk costs if they don't pan out. You have to forget 'em and move on - why not try to make some good come of it?

Please, when you finish reading this, or when you come home from work or school, clean your room.

Empty your dresser drawers, no matter how unappetizing it sounds. Wade through the wilds of those closets - you may find yourself with a lot more space, and those who benefit from your donations will find themselves much warmer this winter.

If you decide to clean your room, take some before and after pictures and e-mail me - I would love to see them and post them here!

If you have any other questions or helpful comments and suggestions, e-mail me at cleanyourroom@gmail.com!

-Michelle