Where to donate your clutter before moving

If you’re getting ready to move, chances are you have a lot of stuff that you shouldn’t take with you. Clutter accumulates over time, and moving is often the perfect opportunity to get rid of all those things that have piled up in your home. However, many people are reluctant to just give or throw away their possessions, whether they think they are clutter or not. I find that clients want to make sure that their belongings find good new homes, or at least don’t end up in a landfill. Following are some suggestions of great places for your unwanted possessions to find renewed purpose.

 Clothing and Fabric

• Everyday clothing – There are many charities that will happily accept donations of clothing in good shape. You can set up a free account with GoGreenDrop, which coordinates home pick-ups with Purple Heart, National Foundation of the Blind, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
• Business clothing – To donate men’s professional clothing including belts, ties, suits, shirts and shoes in the DC area, contact Strive DC. For women, go to Dress for Success  to see a list of affiliates around the country that accept donations
• Designer or couture clothing – Try one of the many easy online services available now to sell your lightly used designer clothes and accessories. These include ThredUp, The Real Real, and Poshmark, among many others.
• Other fabric – For those items that are torn, stained or otherwise unwearable, please consider recycling them responsibly. Local transfer stations often have a section to recycle fabric, which can become anything from cleaning rags and carpet padding to rubberized playgrounds and insulation. In addition, companies like Northface, Patagonia, and H&M have fabric and shoe recycling and reuse initiatives that aim to limit the amount of clothing that ends up in landfills.
• Old linens, towels, and pillows – Think about donating these to your local animal shelter. They can be used to line pet cages, dry off wet animals, provide bedding, and cover kennel doors for animals that need some alone time. Check with your shelter first as not all of them accept these items.

Household Goods and Furniture

• For items that are in good condition and may have some monetary value, try selling these on a local neighborhood listserv (many neighborhoods now have Yahoo Groups to communicate among themselves) or through a new app called Close5 that allows you to buy and sell items locally with transactions taking place in safe public spaces.
• If it’s more trouble than it’s worth to sell your items, there are many places to donate used furniture and household goods. Check your local thrift store or church, or donate to Goodwill or a similar organization. Freecycle is also a great option for easy local reuse and recycle.

Electronics

• For out of date or non-working electronics or computers and peripherals, Best Buy is your best bet. All U.S. Best Buy stores offer in-store recycling of old, unused or unwanted consumer electronics, regardless of where they were purchased. See here for a full list of what they accept.
• If you have a working computer, there are often local places that will rehab and upgrade them for people with limited incomes. In the DC area, Project Reboot which recycles PCs for the poor and disabled, the Apple Store recycles used Macs and other iOS devices in return for an Apple gift card.

Books

• For books in decent condition (no mold, mildew, yellowed or torn pages), consider donating them to your local Friends of the Library or thrift store. Goodwill and most other charities will take book donations as well. In the DC area, try Books for America, which does home pickups if you have more than 50 books to donate.

Whole House

• If you are disposing of a significant number of items and would rather have someone come in and just take care of everything for you, your best bet might be an estate sale. Estate and downsizing sales often sell just about anything and everything, including everyday items like tools and appliances. You can also take advantage of technology and use an online downsizing and estate sale auction company like MaxSold.

The process of packing up a house or apartment and then paying to have it moved can make you take a hard look at what you have, why you have it and if you really need it. I hope these resources help you find good second homes for those items you no longer have use for!