People should judge whether their clothing adds value to their lives as the standard when tidying their closets ahead of the Lunar New Year, home space management adviser Sung Yung-hsin (宋永馨) said.
The Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac begins on Wednesday.
“Clothes that do not bring value to the people or space around you, are no longer comfortable or take too much time to arrange should probably be thrown out,” she said.
Photo: Hsieh Chieh-yu, Taipei Times
Garments that are uncomfortable, ill-fitting, lack usefulness or evoke bad memories should be discarded even if they are in good condition, she said.
The sentimental value, price at the time of purchase or guilt connected to clothes are the most common reasons people feel conflicted about parting with them, Sung said.
Clothes with sentimental value can be stored in a box or container separate from other clothing to reduce clutter and prevent people from being stuck with something they feel indecisive about in the middle of cleaning, she said.
Keeping clothes that invoke nostalgia or are mementos of important events in life in one place would also help people decide which of these items are truly valuable and worth keeping, she added.
Expensive clothes can be sold online or at auction, donated to a second-hand store, or given to friends or family, she said.
Donating to charity is good for assuaging a lingering sense of guilt, she said.
Selling to a second-hand store saves time and putting them up on an online auction site gives the best chance of recouping monetary value, she said.
Clothes that have become threadbare or stained should not be donated, as such items are worthless to charities, Sung said.
“Everything has an expiry date and we should be thankful for clothes that have been our faithful companions to the end, while knowing when to let go,” she said.
People who are too conflicted about getting rid of household items can consult with a professional home space manager for help, she added.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry