The Best Problems to Have

We just celebrated the one-year anniversary of Goodwill's Donate Movement! We are spreading the message that donating clothing and household goods is good for the environment, the community, and YOU. It is remarkable what we've achieved in this short time… the Donate Movement corporate partners are:

• Levi's (the D icon is on Levi's care tags)
• Hanes
• Gap stores
• Family Circle (Watch for their Back to School clothing drive coming soon!)
• Planet Green (see the Dresscue Me show for Goodwill fashion finds!)

And more partners are to come! I am particularly excited that my friend Joel Greene, producer and host of the Curiosity Quest show seen on PBS, filmed a whole show about Goodwill and the Donate Movement, which is part of the new Donate Movement Kids' site here.

As part of our one-year celebration, I spoke to Goodwill's CEOs recently at their conference in Rochester, NY, and I shared with them this personal story about what the Donate Movement means to me.

My brother Steve joined the US Army in his 30s, leaving a comfortable professional job to enter as an enlisted person, going through basic training and everything, because he wanted to be a part of the Army's little known division called Civil Affairs. They help rebuild war-torn areas, building schools and bridges and wells, and winning hearts and minds and friends. People don't hear very much about this side of the Army, but they do a lot of good out there.

While he was in Afghanistan in 2005, we had a long Skype conversation, and we were discussing the Afghan children that always happily flock to the soldiers and vehicles when they arrive in their towns. (Click photo for a larger image of Steve and the kids) My family and friends had put together a shipment for Steve of basic medical supplies, toys, and candy because he wanted some things to give the kids when they came up to see him. He was remarking at how these kids have NOTHING, and they treasure every little thing, something as simple as one coloring book or a piece of candy means everything to them.

I was reflecting upon how many children here have too many toys and don't appreciate any of them, and I remarked to him how fascinating, compelling, and really almost embarrassing it is that, here in the developed world, we have SO MUCH STUFF that we feel the need to hire experts like ME to sort out the abundance… while these kids cannot even imagine what that is like.

Steve paused and said, "Lorie, I see you on a stage someday talking about that." And I agreed. I was very inspired to share this perspective and this message. This was before I even conceived of our Clutter Diet program, which has now helped thousands of people in 18 countries… it was when I had only a local business in Austin and San Antonio. I had NO IDEA that 5 years later, I would ever be able to reach MILLIONS of people with the Donate Movement. (Our Donate Movement radio tour at launch last year reached 99 million people in one day!)

That conversation with my brother is the exact reason that at the end of every weekly Clutter Video Tip on YouTube, I say this tagline that I wrote, "May you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough."

The "problem" of managing clutter is really a privilege to be grateful for. I believe that when people are grateful, they feel more abundant. And when they feel abundant, they feel like giving to others. To me, the Donate Movement is about ACTIVATING PEOPLE'S GRATITUDE.

I hope you'll join with me in promoting this movement, this perspective, and this important message. Please visit http://donate.goodwill.org to learn more, use our Donation Impact Calculator, and find out how to get involved. See also our landfill ticker, illustrating how Goodwill diverts over 2 BILLION pounds of usable goods from landfills each year! And most importantly, gratefully and joyfully DONATE to Goodwill as you manage your own abundance.

PS:  For a more humorous take on this concept, here are some examples of "problems" taken from the lyrics of a video called The First World Problems Rap, by FunnyZ. (http://tinyurl.com/firstworldproblemsrap)

• My fridge is so full I have to reach way back
• My cleaning lady's vacuuming, I can't hear anything
• I can never find the right lid for my Tupperware
• Netflix is suggesting things I've already seen
• I have to add water to this cupcake mix and THEN bake it?
• My pillow's too soft and I have too many sheets
• What the heck do I do with all these Starbucks receipts?