Tips for Donating to Thrift Stores After Your Spring Clean Out
When spring cleaning season arrives, or whenever the urge to purge hits you, when the dust settles, the floors gleam, and the decluttering is done, you'll most likely have a pile of things you no longer want around the house. While some items are undoubtedly trash, you may want to donate the rest to the thrift store.
Thrift stores are a great addition to the retail landscape. They let folks find a new home for items they no longer want or need and let people pick up new clothes, books, furniture, and more at a bargain price. Plus, many thrift stores are associated with charities that use the proceeds of sales to fund their good works. When you set out to donate goods, you don't want to make the store's job harder. While your intentions may be good—it's always preferable to have an item reused and re-loved than chucked in the dumpster—remember that the thrift store is not a place to get rid of stained, broken, or malfunctioning items.
Today spoke to a few experts and they say that the first thing to ask before making a donation is "whether you would give the item to somebody you know." If the item has stains, tears, mold, is missing pieces, or requires some work to fix up before you would give it to a friend, don't give it to a thrift store either. While it may be heartbreaking to throw away a dress with a stain, a chair with a broken slat, or an electronic item that is missing a cord, if you wouldn't give it to your friend, don't put it in the donation pile.
According to the pros who spoke to Today, thrift stores are almost always on the hunt for men's clothing and housewares. If your spring cleaning has been particularly productive and you want to make a donation, it can't hurt to contact your local favorite thrift store to see what they need.
