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If you’re looking to get rid of your child’s old toys, declutter your house, or clearing out for the new year. You should really consider donating/recycling your unwanted belongings to the charities and non-profits we’ve listed down below. First, donating/recycling is great for everybody! It benefits you as you’re getting rid of clutter and unwanted items and benefits the person receiving your items as they are putting them to good use. Therefore, it’s a win-win for everybody.
Best Places to Donate
1. Goodwill
First up, Goodwill is one of the most well-known places to send your donations. They accept new and gently-used (in other words, they still work) items to sell in-store and on their online auction site. Goodwill will recycle materials and/or refurbish your donations to help your local community. To donate your belongings, you can simply drop them off at any local Goodwill Donation Center.
2. American Red Cross
Second, this organization accepts a variety of clothing and household items, in coordination with GreenDrop, a professional solicitor that successfully transforms your donated items into usable funds for the American Red Cross. These funds go towards supporting families in need across the US. When donating your gently-used belongings to a donation drop-off center, the helpful attendants will grab your donations from your vehicle for you and will proceed to hand you a tax receipt for your tax-deductible donation. You’re also able to schedule an at-home donation pick up through GreenDrop if you’re unable to get to a local donation drop-off center.
3. Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is an international charitable organisation that accepts donations of old clothing, toys, and any old household items (as long as all are gently-used). Donations contributed to the Salvation Army help fund rehabilitation programs that promote recovery, heal addictions, change lives, and restore families. To donate your belongings to this charity, head down to your local Salvation Army and make a donation in-store or schedule a free pick-up online.
4. Freecycle
Whether you wish to donate books, stuffed animals, clothing, household items, Freecycle is a great place to recycle your belongings. Freecycle is an online network in which you can get rid of clutter in your home for free and also receive freebies from others.
You can recycle your belongings and give your items to people who will use them. Each Freecycle network is for a specific area, from an entire county to part of a city. Members of Freecycle will sign up for a local email list, where they will state if they’re seeking or giving, and those with items to give away simply choose a recipient. If you’re offered an item, you’re responsible to pick up your freebie in a timely fashion. We recommend choosing a public space such as a café, parking lot, or busy shopping center for pick-ups of freebies, to ensure everyone’s safety.
5. Baby2Baby
Baby2Baby is a great non-profit for toy donations, so if your house is a never-ending stream of baby toys and supplies, it may be time to let go. This non-profit collects donated gently-used toys and baby gear and then distributes them to local shelters, children’s hospitals and much more. In addition, Baby2Baby accept donations of gently-used children toys, clothing, diapers, beds, backpacks, bedding, car seats, cribs, high chairs, you name it! Any gently-used baby items, Baby2Baby will take it. Visit the Baby2Baby website to see if there is a Baby2Baby donation center near you.
Shoes are one of the fastest things children grow out of, so as you are donating, you are getting more! Fabkids is a great place to get shoes for children.
Tips for Donating Your Items
1. Pre-wash your donations
Do your charity and the new owners a favor by pre-washing your donations. Whether they’re baby toys, clothes or household items, get rid of bacteria, dirt, dust and any other unwanted substances by giving your donations a good ol’ wash before donating. It’s best to use a fragrance-free soap or laundry detergent for this.
2. Get yourself a big basket
If you’re donating a lot of items, the last thing you want to do is multiple trips to the car. So, the best thing to do to avoid this situation is to get yourself a big reusable basket like this one from Target.
3. Check the pockets!
Whatever you do, please don’t forget to check the pockets of those jeans you wore non-stop one winter! They might hold money that you forgot about or some cute person’s phone number. Better to be safe than sorry and check the pockets.
4. Tie em!
If you’re donating pairs of shoes, please band them together with a hair elastic or rubber band like these from Target. Anything to keep them a happy couple and prevent them from losing one another. If your shoe closet is in need of a major clean out, stock up on rubber bands.
5. Make sure they work
Please ensure all items you’re donating to a charity or non-profit or recycling to someone else is in working condition. There’s no use donating an item if it’s damaged and can’t be put to good use!
If you are looking for a new place to get some good toys, we recommend Green Kids Crafts, as they have great toys and activities that are engaging and educational for all ages!
In conclusion, we hope you found our article on the best places to recycle/donate your unwanted belongings useful.
While you are cleaning your house and decluttering, we recommend checking out our article on our spring cleaning hacks. In addition, if you are in the process of moving, we have a great article on moving that comes with a free moving checklist!
