With spring upon us and "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo" being one of the most talked about shows, a lot of people are finding themselves with piles of things to get rid of, but most of them don't know what exactly to do with it. Here are 7 ways to get rid of your old things while giving back to your community.
1. Donate clothes to homeless shelters.
LA’s Mayor Garcetti signs order fast-tracking homeless sheltersThere are a lot of homeless shelters throughout the United States that all need clothes for the people that come through. If you find yourself with a lot of old baby clothes or maternity clothes, try finding a homeless shelter for mothers-to-be or mothers with children. If you find yourself with a lot of teen or young adult clothes, try finding a teen homeless shelter or an LGBT homeless shelter.
2. Donate books to prisons.
The Freedom of ReadingPrisons always need books for the inmates and these books can make a world of difference. Just keep in mind that there are some guidelines that you have to follow when donating. The books have to be appropriate, this means no smut, religious or political propaganda. They cannot have writing or highlighting in them. Most prisons will not accept hardback books or books that are in horrible conditions. Books that prisons ideally want are unused or unmarked test prep books (SAT, ACT, GED, etc.), bibles or other religious scripts, popular fiction, biographies, law books and how-to guides.
3. Donate spare change.
Bitcoin from CoinStar? New Market Could Boost BTCI'm not sure about many other people, but whenever I clean my room, I always end up finding a jar of change and don't really do anything with it. CoinStar machines are in most Walmarts and other grocery stores, and while you can cash out for yourself, and let the machine take 11% of it, you could also donate it to a charity. The money would go to a charity, without any of it being taken out by the machine.
4. Donate makeup to those who need it.
Find The Best Foundation, Eyeshadow, Lipstick, And Blush For Your Skin ToneIf you find yourself with a lot of makeup that you've just never used, try giving it away. Most local homeless shelters will take most gently used makeup, but there is a list of charities that take makeup donations for a list of things. Some of them take it for those in homeless shelters, those fighting terminal illnesses and those overcoming domestic abuse.
5. Pickup Please for small household items.
If you have some smaller pieces of home decor that you want to get rid of like mirrors, lamps, or nightstands. Pickup Please is an organization that will take those items and sell them for you. The money that is made from that goes to local, state, and national Vietnam Veterans of America.
6. Look for local needs.
University of Montevallo taking business clothes donationsTake some time to look at local GoFundMes or Facebook posts to see if there is any need for certain items in your community. See if anyone has lost anything to a disaster like fire and see if you have anything that they might need.
7. Donate to local thrift stores.
Buy Second Hand and Save MoneyIt's no secret that big name thrift stores tend to have some shady secrets, so look for some local thrift stores to try to donate to and look into their past and the foundations that they donate to if they do.
When cleaning out your house, keep in mind that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Anything that you find that you think someone else might have more of a use for, try donating it.
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