Whenever I travel, on most of my trips I take older clothes or items that are going out of style, wear them and either throw them away or donate them before coming back. That way I return with lighter luggage and feel good about doing something small but nice for others, who might be able to use those items.

Caveats:

• Never give away anything torn or ripped; only stuff that’s still in good condition
• Gauge each situation: you never want to insult anyone

This is a great way to reduce weight for your trip back, thin out your closet, and spread some cheer.

I’ve mostly donated in underdeveloped nations or countries where there’s a lot of poverty like Zimbabwe and India.

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In Zimbabwe I gave my sneakers to a kid (petite woman = I wear kids sneakers) who was playing by the road on my way to the airport.

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In New Delhi India, the day I left on my most recent trip there, I went to a temple not far from my relatives’ home and handed out food and a few of my clothes as well.

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In Cape Town I gave a couple items to the housekeeper at our hotel.

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On our recent trip to Belize we left behind our mosquito repellent and sunscreen with our hotel. Since our flight back to San Francisco was arriving late and we had to work the next day we just wanted to hop off the plane and head home instead of dealing with baggage claim. The sunscreens we left were practically full bottles and the mosquito repellent had enough for 1 person for 2-3 days.

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In London last year, I had an old t-shirt to get rid of and I threw it away instead of donating it.

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I don’t prioritize this when I pack for a trip, more like if it works out great, if not no worries.

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{Take Aways}

Donating clothes while traveling is a great way to travel lighter throughout your travels. Make sure that the items are in good enough shape that someone else would want.

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I hope you found this info helpful! If so, please let me know in the comments. I love hearing from our readers, as well as your fun, funny, interesting, and helpful stories from your travel experiences! You might like to follow us on Facebook and Instagram too, where we share a lot of different content and images.

Happy adding stamps to your PassportPages!

Sincerely,