Where to donate unwanted items after relocation

The moving process is notoriously daunting and time consuming. Moving can also be quite stressful and headache-inducing. However, if you want to go through the moving process without problems and hiccups, you should hire a professional moving company and make use of their full-moving services. The moving process provides a perfect opportunity to declutter! When packing up your house, you will discover a lot of forgotten books, toys, clothes, and even furniture. Many of these items are perfectly good and deserve a new home, while also helping you lighten your load for the move. But, if you find that you don’t have time to donate unwanted items before the relocation, you can always donate the items after the move.

Where can you donate unwanted items?

There’s no doubt that you will find plenty of unwanted items when you start decluttering. Before you decide to throw anything away, try to organize them for donations. There are always people who might find use in some of your unwanted items. There are a lot of charities and non-profit organizations around. Though, if you don know how or where to donate your unwanted items, here are some suggestions:

• Goodwill
• Salvation Army
• Local Libraries
• Food Banks
• Baby2Baby
• Dress For Success

If you don’t have time to donate unwanted items before the relocation, you should separate everything, pack your belongings into moving boxes and safely place all of those items into a storage unit. A storage unit is ideal for keeping your donations out of your way so that you can focus on the move.

Most of these organizations take their donations in person, but if you don’t have a good donation center nearby, you can always donate your clothes to an online thrift store like ThredUp. Request a donation bag from them on their website and you can send your clothes in the mail to them! They’ll even donate some money to charity on your behalf.

Goodwill

Goodwill is one of the most popular places for donations! This organization has over 3000 stores all over the country! They will accept unused and gently-used items to sell in their store or online on their website. Therefore, if you want to donate some of your belongings to the Goodwill Donation Center, simply drop off your items at one of their stores. You should also know that some of these Goodwill stores offer pickup services as well! Be sure to look up the rules at your local Goodwill. Some locations do not accept certain items.

Donate unwanted items  to the Salvation Army

You should also consider donating some of your household items to one of the Salvation Army’s Family Stores. The Salvation Army accepts furniture, appliances, household items, clothes, and even automobiles. You can drop off your items at the nearest Family Store or give them a call and arrange the pickup. They can provide pickup services too!

Local libraries

Books, papers, and magazines can be very heavy items to move! Since almost every professional moving company charges by weight, holding onto books you don’t need may just add to your bill. Therefore, you should donate some of your books before the relocation. If you have no time, you should ask your mover for their storage services and store your books safely. After you are done with the relocation, you can donate your stored books to some local libraries. Almost every library will accept pre-owned books, DVDs and CDs. In some neighborhoods, you can even leave books on your stoop or in a street library box, and someone will happily take them home.

Food banks

Non-perishable items that you are not planning to take with you can be donated to your local Food Bank! In general, food banks accept canned goods, pasta, tuna, rice and cereals. All of your non-expired and unused pantry items can feed a person in need, so don’t throw it away! Be sure to pack all of your non-perishables and drop them off to one of your nearest food banks or reach out to an organization like Move For Hunger. There are also plenty of churches and religious organizations that are willing to take your non-perishable food items.

Baby2Baby

If your children have outgrown the toys and baby items that you still possess, it’s the time to let go of them! Consider donating these kinds of items to Baby2Baby, a non-profit organization that specializes in lifting kids out of poverty. This organization accepts baby gear and toys and distributes them to children’s hospitals and shelters. Baby2Baby accepts toys, clothes, diapers, backpacks, beds, blankets, cribs, car seats, high chairs, etc. Therefore, if you have a lot of baby clothes and toys, you should check if there is a Baby2Baby donation site somewhere near you! Not all thrift stores accept baby toys and accessories, which is why it’s important to know about an organization like Baby2Baby!

Note: Baby2Baby is an LA based organization. Be sure to look up baby donation centers in your local neighborhood, in case Baby2Baby does not serve your area.

Donate unwanted items t0 Dress For Success

Ladies, ladies, ladies, listen up! If you have work-appropriate clothes sitting in your closet, you should consider donating them to Dress For Success! This non-profit organization provides development tools and professional attire to help women thrive in the workplace. Dress for Success organization accepts shoes, handbags, nearly new suits, business appropriate accessories, jewelry, and cosmetics. Find an affiliate in your area and donate unwanted items to this organization that helps women in need!

What kind of items the donation sites won’t accept?

You should know that not all donation sites accept everything. Therefore, before you pack all your items and rush to the nearest donation site, you should give them a call and ask what kind of items they do and do not accept. These are the kinds of items that the donation site won’t accept:

• Hazardous materials/chemicals
• Unframed mirrors or glass/broken glass
• Items with stains, tears, rips and pet odors
• Broken flooring and lighting that doesn’t work
• Out of date and broken electronics, etc.

Donations are tax-deductible!

The options listed above are only a fraction of the places where you can donate unwanted items, however be sure to do some research about local organizations in your area. Charity non-profit organizations can provide you with a tax deduction receipt after you drop off the items at one of their places. Don’t throw away items, donate them to charity!

Hire a professional moving company

As we all know, the moving process takes a lot of time and energy. In order to avoid unnecessary stress and headaches, you should hire professional NYC movers and let them handle the relocation. Whether you are moving locally or preparing for a long-distance move, your movers will send a well-trained team to pack and prepare all your belongings for the relocation. Even though helping your professional mover is not necessary, you can also start packing some of the seasonal clothes in advance to speed up the moving process. Don’t forget to buy enough packing boxes and moving supplies before you start packing and decluttering. You should also label each box after sealing it to speed up your upcoming unpacking process too!

If you are in the process of decluttering for a move, remember to contact local movers and request a free quote! We recommend you book movers at least a month or two before the move.