Recently, we’ve noticed numerous articles during Lent suggesting it’s the perfect time to shed a few kilos. Christians typically don’t raise concerns about cultural appropriation, but calling the Lent fast a diet is like referring to the Jewish Shabbat as just a long weekend.
Whether you’re religious or not, consider the Lent Challenge an opportunity for quiet reflection, personal growth, and improving society. Traditionally, Lent involves fasting to foster humility, compassion, and spiritual awareness.
Christians often fast from red meat, chocolate, and wine during Lent. However, anyone can use these 40 days to minimize distractions and adopt healthier habits for the mind and soul. In our office, we’re limiting Netflix and Instagram usage because, let’s face it, resisting a trending series is tougher than avoiding steak or wine. So, The White Lotus Season 3 has to wait.
How to Declutter for Lent: Turning Fast into Charity
Decluttering your home during Lent helps you detach from material possessions while benefiting those in need. Here are practical ways to get started:
- 1-Donate Clothes You Don’t Wear
Go through your wardrobe and drawers, pulling out garments you haven’t worn for over a year. Ask yourself:
- Do they still fit?
- Do they make you feel good?
Pack items you no longer wear into donation bags, knowing they’ll help someone else. Decluttering your wardrobe is a perfect Lent practice, benefiting you and your community.
- 2- Donate Shoes You No Longer Use
Feet naturally change over time, particularly after motherhood. Don’t cling to shoes that hurt or aren’t practical. Be honest about your shoe collection and include unused pairs in your donation efforts.
- 3- Home Items: Donate and Support Local Charities
Check your home for unused items such as books, toys, furniture, and household appliances. Declutter thoughtfully, understanding each donation will directly aid someone else.
Where to Donate in Vienna During Lent
If you’re in Vienna, these local charities and organizations will gladly receive your donations:
- Kölping Österreich
Kolping supports young people with housing and professional training. Your donations either directly help youth or support textile recycling. Use Kolping’s donation containers located across Vienna.
- Carla (Caritas Vienna)
Carla’s second-hand shops across Vienna sell donated items to support Caritas’s charity institutions, including orphanages and homeless shelters. Carla even offers a furniture pick-up service for a small fee.
- Tageszentrum am Hauptbahnhof
This organization provides essential support, including sleeping bags, personal hygiene items, clothing, and food, to Vienna’s homeless community.
Lent FAQs:
- What is Lent? Lent is the forty-day liturgical season of fasting, special prayer and almsgiving in preparation for Easter. The name “Lent” is from the Middle English “Lencten,” meaning spring. Its more primitive ecclesiastical name was the “forty days,” “quadragesima” in Latin or “tessaracoste” in Greek. The number “forty” is first noted in the Canons of Nicaea (A.D. 325), likely in imitation of Jesus’ fast in the desert before His public ministry. By the fourth century, in most of the West, it referred to six days’ fast per week of six weeks (Sundays were excluded).
- How do you fast during Lent? Traditionally, fasting involves abstaining from meat, sweets, and alcohol. However, it can also mean reducing habits or distractions (like social media) to focus more deeply on spirituality.
- Where can I donate clothes in Vienna? Organizations like Kolping Österreich, Carla, and local parishes accept clothing, Clothes and textiles, furniture and home goods and toys donations throughout Vienna.
By participating in the Lent Challenge, you engage deeply with your community, practice meaningful charity, and improve personal and spiritual well-being—all while making a positive impact.
Title photo @Notorious