Saga of old clothes

I was raised to use and reuse everything. When the clothes I wear outside used to fade, I would wear them at home. When they were unusuable, I used to make things out of them (eg, pillow covers). But some clothes could not be used at home. Those clothes I used to donate to an NGO. I was associated with that NGO for a very long time. Later the NGO moved their base and I was unable to get in touch with them. This incident occurred at that time.

I have this habit of decluttering my wardrobe every now and then. I clean my wardrobe every month and declutter it in every 3-4 months. It was such time of decluttering. I had taken out all clothes from wardrobe and was cleaning yhe wardrobe. Out househelp Shanta had come and was doing her chores. She was me cleaning the wardrobe - I was keeping some clothes in the wardrobe; folding some clothes and putting them away. She saw me doing this. She generally would speak a lot but this time she was a little hesitant.
"What are you doing, madam?" Finally she gathered the courage to ask me.
"I am cleaning my wardrobe. I have to remove the unnecessary things. Otherwise I will have no place for my clothes," I said while folding my clothes. While doing that I looked at her. Her eyes were glued to yhe bag where I was putting the clothes. Those were the clothes that I did not want to keep. It was obvious that she wanted them but she could not ask me. I found it weird to ask her directly if she wanted the clothes. Her daughter was working with a bank and was earning well. Shanta still wanted to be independent that is why she was still doing the hard labour. Finally, I thought I would ask her in a milder way.
"Do you want anything Shanta?" A very generic question with no specificity.
"No.. Yes.. No," Shanta was unable to decide.
"Well then finish yhe work quickly. I have a lot of work to do here," I said hoping for her to say what she wanted.
"Why are you putting those clothes in the bag?" She found a way to start the discussion.
"I don't want those clothes, that is why I am keeping them in the bag," I said.
Looking at the bag she asked me, "why do you not want these clothes? These look so good."
"Yes they are good clothes but they do nit fit me anymore. Some of them, I have used for over 15 years and I am bored now. Just like this one. I bought this when I was in college, I have worn it several times. I have used it so much that now I am bored of it," I said while folding that very dress.
"But it is no pretty. All your clothes are pretty," She had an urgency in her voice.
"I know. But I cannot keep them because they are pretty. They are no longer useful to me," I explained.
"What are you going to do with these clothes?" Finally this discussion was going somewhere. She was asking real questions now.
"I used to donate them to an NGO earlier. Now that NGO is no longer here. I am not sure how to get rid of them. Of course I am not throwing away these clothes. I wish there was someone or at least some institute where I could have donated," I was making this conversation easier for her by showing that I am willing to give away the clothes. I had no intention to throw them away. I knew they would land up in landfill.
Shanta took the bait, "will you given them to me?" She asked me in a shy voice.
"Do you want them? Are you sure?," one more piecing question to her. I knew she wanted those clothes.
"Yes, if you are okay, please give them to me. They are so pretty. My daughter can use them. If she doesn't want them, I would give them to my niece," she was ready to risk it all. She wanted them badly.
"Great. I will wash them and keep them ready for you tomorrow," I said in a victorious tone. It was a win-win situation. She would get the clothes and I would get rid of them too. She took the bag the next day.

A few days later, while Shanta was working, she came to me with her phone. "I want to show you photos," she said with a big grin on her face. It was her daughter's photo from an event. She was wearing one of my dresses; from the clothes Shanta took home. I was surprised to see her daughter wearing my dress. She was earning well and did not have to wear donated clothes. But still she did.
"Madam, there was a big event at her office. She wanted a new dress. I showed her your dresses. She picked this one. All her colleagues loved it. Look she was so happy to wear it," Shanta was proudly showing me the photos.

I was glad to see my dresses being reused. That day I understood the true meaning of the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure".