Donate. Shop. Create jobs. Repeat.

I am writing on behalf of the Ad Council.

My dad is coming Thursday. My dad! Let that soak in a minute. It’s good stuff.

While I’m giddy like a kid at the upcoming visit, this isn’t just a social call. He’s hauling some choice memories in the form of stuff from my Mamaw and Papaw’s house over the mountains to me. Yes– seven months after my grandmother passed, the family is finally winding down The Purge to End All Purges.

The house is empty now. Most of the stuff of life– the very awesome 1940s cast iron wall clock, the equally cool 1970s original avocado and white stacking canister set I just saw on etsy for $85– found its way to Goodwill.

You shop at Goodwill, right? Of course you do. Who wants to pay $36 for a brand new wicker basket when you can snag one for $1.99? Who doesn’t love diving for treasure (new with tags!) among the clothing racks. And when you have finally had.it.up.to.here with your closets, you grab a box and what do you label it? Goodwill.

We know what Goodwill does on our end of the bargain. But did you know that when you donate your stuff to Goodwill, the revenue from the sale of your donations helps fund job training and placement opportunities for people with disabilities and disadvantages directly in your community? Thanks to the programs and support services made possible by donations of clothes and household items, more than 261,000 people earned jobs in 2013 – that’s one person finding a job every 27 seconds of every business day. So you’re literally donating your extra glassware and helping to create jobs.

Are you an info geek? I am. How cool is this: You can calculate how much your donation helps your local community by using Goodwill’s Donation Impact Calculator. Input the items you’re donating to calculate the number of hours of career counseling, on-the-job training, résumé preparation, financial planning classes, and other services you’ve helped provide someone facing challenges to finding employment. You can actually watch your old coffee table change lives.

Will you help us spread the word? Here are a few simple ways:   

• Post a “Reverse Haul” video or photo that shares what you plan to donate instead using #DonateStuffCreateJobs #ReverseHaul

Share a video or pictures of the items you plan to donate and use the donation impact calculator to let the world know how many hours of on-the-job training you could be creating with your used stuff – stuff that doesn’t help anyone when it’s stuffed in the back of your closet or under your bed.

• Embed one of the new PSA videos in a blog post: 
  There’s never a bad time to clear the clutter out of your life or to do a wardrobe purge.  When you donate your stuff to Goodwill, your donated items help create jobs for people who are unemployed or underemployed in your community.  That’s cleaning with a purpose.