I’ve written about organizing before on my blog (HERE) and have continued going through pretty much EVERYTHING in our house to determine if it should stay or go. Getting and staying organized helps things run more smoothly at home, and since we’re moving, I have an even greater sense of urgency to donate, recycle, share, or properly dispose of non-essentials. Here are some ideas for where to go with the things you’re getting rid of this spring:

  1. Baby gear / clothes / toys: I’ve continued the cycle of passing along items to family and friends. For some items, I’ve donated to a local organization that supports single moms.
  2. Baby Cribs: My friends on Facebook had a lot of great ideas on where to go with used cribs. One suggested a domestic abuse charity, to help women get out of a bad situation and provide some needed furniture for their family. I contacted an organization for single moms and received two options for donating – to their main site or to a couple who collects gently used furniture for the poor.
  3. Adult clothing: I’ve split between Goodwill and a homeless shelter that has a collection bin at our church.
  4. Appliances: Goodwill accepted our non-working shop vac. We also have to get a broken wine fridge (sad, I know), and dehumidifier to an area appliance recycling location. Check with your county or municipality for recycling appliances in your area!
  5. Vases: This was AWESOME – my local florist recycles old vases. I wrote more about that in How I Gave Myself Free Flowers.
  6. Shoes: For Lent our Church is working with Soles for Jesus, an organization that sends shoes to the under-served in sub-Saharan Africa, where many people walk barefoot as their means of getting around. Just one pair of shoes can help prevent disease and make a difference!
  7. Books: My daughter’s school was having a book drive to support a local charity, so some children’s books went there. Another bunch went to the Little Free Library nearby.
  8. Bras: I knew this was a long-shot, but I had some bras that were truly gently used , and I couldn’t bear to throw away, as my husband suggested. I went to Google and found a donation site for Free the Girls, an organization dedicated to help survivors of sex trafficking in developing countries.
  9. Household items or other miscellaneous things: Most of this has ended up at Goodwill. I’ve also considered donating to Easter Seals Disability Services, as they need a wide variety of items and can even arrange to pick up your items for FREE! If there seems to be some use left, I would much rather pass it along than just pitch-it!
  10. Batteries, Printer Cartridges: My husband’s work recycles old batteries. I’ve also brought some to Batteries Plus. Empty printer cartridges have gone to Office Max / Office Depot.
  11. Expired Medicine: I’ve dropped off old prescriptions and expired medicine at a county sponsored annual drug / medicine collection. Click on the link from the FDA that explains how to properly dispose of unused medicine.
  12. Hardware Store Items: I found some electrical products and other miscellaneous items purchased from a hardware store that we haven’t used. I think I ultimately bought the wrong things! After Daddy O. goes through this random box, I plan on taking it to the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Getting rid of items is no small feat, but there are so many organizations and people that are in need, both locally and around the world. I hope that my spring cleaning efforts play a small part in keeping items out of landfills while helping others.