How to Donate Unwanted Items to Charity
Donating those household and personal items you no longer want or need to charity may seem like an easy task, and it is – when you understand a few simple “donation” rules of the road.
The cliché that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure almost always rings true, but how do you match your unwanted tennis gear with the right donation centre so your old racket meets up with the greatest need?
How do you decide if the local charity shop will take your beautiful cocktail dress if it has permanent stains? Wouldn’t you be better of throwing it out in the rubbish?
These are the unanswered questions that can cause no end of stress in people who are faced with clearing away a large amount of unwanted clothing, household items, and furniture.
Here are some tips I’ve collected through years of helping people clear away their messy spaces.
Be ruthless.
This must be the first tip because it really determines how successful you are with your goal to regain your living space. Pass every item you own through this filter:
- Do you love it?
- Do you need it?
- Do you use it regularly?
- Does it have tremendous sentimental value?
Please say goodbye to everything you say “NO” to. And give up on any excuses, such as I don’t want to see this go in the landfill. The remainder of the tips are designed to stomp on that excuse.
Categorise your items.
Whether you’re working on a closet, one room, or an entire house, go through and take note of what you’re letting go of and separate them into these categories: clothing, household items, appliances, electronic and furniture.
This will help because these categories tend to align with what charity shops and donation facilities take, so when you research where to take things you’ll know that you can take two or three categories to one place, and a fourth to another, etc…
Assess the condition of your items.
Many of our customers have (wisely) questioned whether their unwanted items were worthy of being donated. It’s true that many charity shops these days are inundated with items, resulting in a high standard of items they’ll take and a cap on how much of an item they can accommodate. However, a little due diligence can result in some surprise solutions. For example, torn and stained clothing may not be suitable for another person to wear, but can be donated to a textile recycling facility. Search on BusinessRecycling.com.au for a recycling facility in your area for fabrics, as well as other items, or their components, that are not in great condition.
Decide where to take your items.
This may seem like the most daunting tip, but it doesn’t have to be. Consult your local directory or do Google searches for donation facilities, charity shops, and recycling depots in your community.
Call them up and explain what you’ve got and ask what they’ll take. This is very important. You don’t want to make a wasted trip.
Most charity shops take a majority of the categories: clothing, household items, (small) appliances, and furniture. Most recycling facilities take TV’s and computers.
These are the facilities that have locations in most cities, and some will offer a pick-up service as well: St. Vincent de Paul (Vinnies), Red Cross, Salvation Army (Salvos), and Lifeline.
If you have a great deal of clothing, Diabetes Australia is a good option and they will collect the clothing from your front door!
There are specialty recycling facilities now that focus on common items, such as computers. Australians are some of the highest users of new technology in the world, purchasing over 2.4 million computers every year. As a result, we’ve got a glut of unused computers as well.
Green PC and GiveNow.com.au are two places you can take your old computers for refurbishing or recycling.
Finally, a part of your decision making could be staging a yard sale (a post for another day) and donating proceeds to your favourite charity, or calling in a professional rubbish removal company to donate on your behalf.
So you see donating items to charity is a great option for all of you who shudder at the thought of throwing things out. Enjoy your clutter-free home!
Selling Your Unwanted Items
Garage Sales
If you don’t want to host and advertise your own garage sale, consider joining friends or convince your neighbours to do a street sale. You won’t likely make a ton of money, but it can be a fun way to meet your neighbours and get of all that stuff.
Gumtree, Quokka and Craigslist
I love selling stuff I don’t want on Gumtree, Quokka and Craigslist. You’ll be inundated with people wanting whatever crap you’re trying to get rid of, so don’t post your phone number on the ad (trust me, you’ll regret it).
Expect that people will want to haggle and many won’t show up to actually pick up their item.
Really want to get rid of something FAST? Post the item in the “Free” section. If you’ve already left it on your front lawn, start the post with “CURB ALERT”…then start your stopwatch. Again, don’t ever post your phone number as we’ve sometimes received such a flood of people desperate for that thing you wanted to throw away it filled our inboxes instantly.
Facebook
One of the fastest ways to part with a couch or dining table you don’t want is to simply post it on Facebook. You’ll be amazed at how fast your friends want your crap.
This list of where to donate/sell and get rid of your unwanted items is by no means all-inclusive. If you have a place that you love to donate to, please share it in the comments below.
So go ahead and seize the opportunity to make a fresh start in your new home.