Yesterday we were back at the wonderful Notre Dame Refugee Centre, who provide essential support and services to refugees and asylum seekers, offering food, clothing, and a safe place to turn to in tough times.

A good turn-out for the session meant we had plenty of helping hands to dive into the donations pile. Welcome to Laura, who came along for her very first session – we’re delighted to have you join us, and we hope you enjoyed the organised chaos!

The task in question was sorting through clothing donations. Some of them were great – well-loved items, in good condition, and totally wearable. Others took a little more working out. Where they some kind of futuristic garment or even a piece of clothing at all? A tangle of straps, an oversized shirt with arm holes and no clear purpose, a hybrid blanket/poncho - these all left us scratching our heads.

The real challenge, though, was the kids' clothes. Who knew determining the age for children's clothing would be such a conundrum? “Is this for a 3-year-old? Or a 6-year-old? Could it fit an advanced 2-year-old?” We may not have unlocked all the mysteries of child growth patterns, but we did our best to match sizes with a degree of precision (and guesswork).

After just under an hour, we had achieved good level of organisation: all boxes were cleared off the floor, donations were sorted into their rightful places, and there was a nice, neat space made for the next round of donations.

With the donations sorted and the space cleared, it was good to know that some families will receive items that they really need. Not to mention, we now have expert-level skills in identifying children’s clothing sizes (kind of).