Did you know that thrift stores have a busy season? According to Goodwill, late December through January is the busiest time of year for them to get donations thanks to post-holiday decluttering. Goodwill is anticipating that its stores could see as many as 60,000 donations this month, and their workers will be tasked with going through every box to determine if an item can be accepted and resold. After one of their Arizona locations recently had to evacuate when an employee found a “novelty grenade” in one such donation box, it’s a good time to remember that Goodwill does not accept certain items. It ranges from the sensible, like flammable items, to the unexpected, like TVs.
Items not accepted at Goodwill:
Air Conditioning Units Box Springs, Futons, Mattress, Sleep Number Beds, Water Beds, Cribs Bowling Balls Broken Items, Wet Items Built-in Appliances, including portable dishwashers Carpets Chemicals, paint Strollers, Car seats Construction Materials Couches with Built-in Beds, Recliners Propane tanks, oxygen tanks, diver tanks Encyclopedias, Magazines, Newspapers Fish Tanks Flammable Items Hot tubs, Spas Office Cubicles Organs, Pianos Plumbing Fixtures Tires, Tire Rims TVs Weight Sets Window Blinds, Window Rods
This list is a good guideline. I hate to think about how many items people donate with the best intentions may end up being thrown out in the end anyway. While this list is just Goodwill’s policy, it sounds like a lot of these are pretty universal among thrift stores. The Spruce also has a helpful list of items that thrift stores in general will not take, as well as what you can do with them instead. It also mentions car seats (which expire around six years after their manufactured date because their materials start to break down), gently used make-up, knives, and broken mirrors. Different types of charities may have a more specific focus, though. For example, most places don’t take used towels or bedding, but animal shelters might. ReStore accepts some of the appliances that Goodwill does not. When in doubt, check a company’s website or give them a call.
It’s not as easy as the one-stop drop-off at Goodwill, but I’ve begun to diversify where I donate items. I’ve started utilizing my local Buy Nothing Facebook group a lot more for some of the more niche stuff that I’d prefer to give to someone who specifically needs/wants it. For clothing, toys, and other small, working appliances, I favor a few locally run organizations that support women, children, and families in need. For anything that I can’t give away, my county also has multi-material recycling centers where you can take broken appliances.
Photos credit: Hugo Clement on Unsplash, Julia M Cameron and Max Rottersman on Pexels and via Instagram
I’m quite fond of pickupplease.org, they will pick up almost anything (with the exception of some appliances) that can be resold. As long as one person can pick it up.
And by ‘pick it up’, that’s what I mean. They send a truck to your house.
Nope I don’t give to Goodwill. I give to my local charities and they pick up and are not so picky about what you can give and what you can’t give. Yes they will let you know when they are receiving too many of certain items.
Well, shoot. Now what am I supposed to do with all my no-longer-needed “wet items?”
The bowling balls are going to live rent free in my head. Do they really get that many? There has to be a story there, or they could have just said “sports equipment”.
I am one of the organizers of a massive Absolutely Free Sharing Market in WA that we put on a few times per year. If you are interested in mutual aid/reducing overconsumption, I cannot recommend these enough. You know how when people move or deep-clean their homes, and they put out a pile in front of their house of (ONLY NICE QUALITY!!!) things they aren’t using, for anyone to take? The Free Markets are a way of just putting all of those items in one central place. You advertise it heavily, and people from all kinds of social groups donate and “shop”. It is a truly magical community-building experience, and a great resource for the many, MANY people who disapprove of for-profit thrift stores.
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of this! I just googled it, is it only in Thurston County? I’m up in King County, if there’s a closer option!
We have only done them in Olympia (our next one is in early April), but there has been interest in hosting one in Tacoma! We have some really wonderful volunteers who are working on a “playbook” for people to set these up wherever—it takes a lot of work to upgrade these from a simple clothing swap to the full market experience, but they are SO fun and SO worth doing.
That’s a great idea for Western Washington especially, where one can’t really just put items on the curb most of the year, as they’ll likely become “wet items” very shortly!
GreenDrop has been a lifesaver for me. They pick up on appointment and donate items to Purple Heart. https://www.gogreendrop.com/
Prices at Good Will have gotten pretty insane over the past few years. You can still find some good deals but as a rule, they are overpricing things, sometimes by a lot. I also took some nice vintage books to a local used book store and after the owner decided which ones he wanted, he told me to take the rest to the Salvation Army rather than Good Will to avoid them ending up in a landfill.
Lately I’ve been using my neighborhood Buy Nothing FB page to get rid of things. I like the option. Some people have gotten some pretty nice stuff for free, but that’s OK. I like knowing my items will be used and appreciated.
Part of the reason Goodwill and Salvation Army have gotten pricier, at least according to the stores in my town, is 1: they have gotten savvier about the value of some of the vintage/antiques. 2: Our town does not have municipal trash pick up or bulk pick up days. People will drag all the crap that they should take to the landfill and will dump it after hours, especially mattresses, unsellable furniture, etc. The stores then have to pay to have it hauled and the landfill tipping fees.
Gotta admit as I scanned the list, “Organs” jumped out at me until I noticed “pianos” on the same line. At first I was like 😯. Phew!