When you are decluttering your home, you will need to consider where to put the items you plan on tossing. Disposing of your items in landfills can affect the environment negatively. You can make a real difference through clothing donations.
Thrift shops accept different donations, including:
- Clothing
- Linens
- Shoes
- Kitchenware
- Home goods
Items you offer up for donation are recycled and purchased by other people in thrift shops. Donation centers are run by non-profit organizations, selling the items at low prices to make them affordable. Other items are repurposed to improve their utility and avoid dumping them in landfills. Here’s everything you should know when donating your belongings:
Identify Items You Want to Donate
You may be wondering what clothing items to donate. A common thumb rule is to only donate clothing items in good condition for direct use by subsequent owners.
Clothing items that are ideal for donation include:
- Wearable items gathering dust in your drawers or closet
- Good quality clothes that are too tight, small, or uncomfortable for you to wear
- Nice clothing items that no longer fit your style. You can donate out-of-style items if you will not wear them anymore.
- High-end clothing items like suits or formal dresses that you wish to give up to another person. This allows someone to get a good deal on special items.
Clothes you should avoid donating include:
- Items with holes or missing buttons
- Undergarments
- Clothes with an unpleasant smell that will not go away
- Clothes that are dirty
Understanding what items you can give away allows you to have an easier time sorting through everything you own. You should repurpose any items you cannot donate to reduce the amount of waste in landfills.
Confirm That the Thrift Shop Accepts the Donation Items
Donations accept most household items, but they do not accept all. You should confirm with the donation center beforehand to avoid rejecting your items at the facility.
Some items that donation centers often reject include:
- Furniture
- Computer monitors
- CRT or tube televisions
- Tires and car parts
- Appliances like ACs, trash compactors, furnaces, and water heaters
- Opened or used personal care items
- Food items
- Mattresses
- Cleaning products (household, garden, or office)
- Hazardous waste from cars like oils, antifreeze, gasoline, and additives
- Building material
- Guns
- Single stream recyclable items like newspapers, glass, plastic, junk mail, and office paper
Most of the items that donation centers do not accept contain hazardous material and are not recyclable. In others, the cost of refurbishment or repair will be higher than the amount they sell in thrift stores, affecting their usability.
Have Dirty Items Washed Before Donation
Unused clothes in your closet might gather dust over time, causing them to stain. Dirt on clothes removes the fabric’s appeal and can damage its strength. Donation centers likely won’t accept dirty clothes, so you should clean them before donating.
Having the dirty items washed exposes any leftover stains that will not appeal to buyers. Any items with stains that won’t come off should be disposed of or recycled instead of donated. You can repurpose the clothes with spots and stains instead of tossing them out for better utility.
Have a Plan for Getting Your Donation Items to the Store
Once you sort all the items you need to donate, you can pack them up and deliver them to thrift shops. You need a plan to get your donations to the stores before they become too worn out to donate. Here are two options you can use to simplify everything:
- Contact the thrift shops to collect your items: Thrift shops often organize transport for donated items free of charge. You can speak to representatives and give them your address so they can plan transportation.
- Drop the donations at your thrift store: Check out the closest store in your locality and personally deliver the items there.
Clothing Donation
Donating items can help them be repurposed at an affordable price. This can protect the environment since you reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. A clothing donation can change lives since the clothes you do not use are available for people who need them at a low cost. Donate your quality clothes and home goods to a thrift shop today.