Donate Clutter to Charity - It’s That Time Again
This is a good time of year to donate to charities such as Goodwill Industries and local homeless shelters. Some of your fall and winter items will move now and be more in demand. During the summer the charities may not have as much room to store these items just to hold until winter. So that’s why it works better to give them your winter items during fall/winter and summer items during spring/summer.
A few items to consider sorting through and purging include:
Coats and sweaters
Blankets
Toys
Holiday Ornaments (Halloween, Christmas, New Years)
Winter Clothing (e.g. long-sleeve shirts, acrylic or wool pull-over sweaters).
When I say “purge” I mean either trash or donate. Only donate to charity items that are…
…in good working condition. Test electrical items or ones that operate with batteries.
…clean. Dryclean (if appropriate) or wash your clothing before donating it.
…have no permanent stains.
…have all parts. If it’s clothing that means buttons too. If it’s games and small appliances that means parts and pieces.
…are not excessively worn, such as very pilled blankets.
…are not safety hazards. Don’t donate any toys or children’s items that may be on recall lists (such as with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (http://www.cpsc.gov/ ). Don’t donate candles.
Any items you donate that are not in condition to sell or give to others just go to the landfill and the charity has to pay to put items in the landfill. So it becomes an expense for them. So be choosy about what you give to charities. Give them items in working condition or what charities often call “gently used” condition that no longer serve you.
Of course, you can donate new items too. That might be items you bought that turned out to be “mistakes” for you that you didn’t return. Or it could even be gifts someone gave to you that you don’t use or even like. Someone else may use or like it so don’t just let new, unused items continue cluttering your home. That’s a waste of space you can use for stuff you do use or admire regularly.
If you would like to learn more about what Goodwill Industries does, go to their website at http://www.goodwill.org/ . There you will learn about how they provide education, training and career services for people with disadvantages and what exactly this encompasses. Also check your phone book or ask around to find other local charities like homeless shelters in your area (and there are probably plenty of more charities near you besides those).