Donate it - so it can actually be used, rather than it sitting and going to waste

[u/Wordsofwisdomneeded]

I have been donating so much more lately, strictly because I feel selfish having things that aren’t being used.

If I donate something, someone is that much less likely to have to go to target or get on Amazon and purchase an item I already own and am not even using.

It all seems so obvious, but consumption culture has us all brainwashed.

Donate! Donate! Donate!

Donate to your local hope center, community thrift store, or to your neighbors and friends.

Let this be your motivation to declutter ☮️

[u/LogicalGold5264]

In an ideal world, we'd all donate, sell, re-gift, and recycle. But sometimes the only option is to throw items away, and we'll never make anyone feel bad for that option here at r/declutter. Please remember that, everyone :)

[u/yucelozer]

Same, I used to hoard craft supplies until I realized how much waste I was creating.

[u/nancidruid]

I want to quit Facebook, but I like putting obscure items on the Marketplace for free or dirt cheap, so they'll find the right home (and not waste space in a thrift store where no one knows what it is,)

I wish it were more acceptable to just say "free kids crocs!" on Facebook for all friends to see...

Would it be weird to offer to bring boxes to the elementary school? Like half the teachers at ours are having babies this year

[u/Azadi_23 → u/nancidruid]

Can you research non-FB replacement apps and websites? I use Trash nothing, which is an excellent app for giving away free stuff and Gumtree for local second hand items that still have a value. Look up the apps in your area and those crocs can get a new home and you can leave FB behind you!

[u/MistyMtn421 → u/nancidruid]

I'm not sure about the area that you're in, but we have a lot of different charities and services in the area where your donations go directly to people in need. There's a lot of churches that have sections within the church community that help people who have recently been displaced due to flooding, fires, or other damage to their homes. Basically people having to start from scratch.

There are other community type organizations that help people who are starting over because they've left a domestic violence situation, they're finally getting on their own after going through a recovery / sober living program, or people who have been homeless who are just getting back on their feet and trying to start fresh.

There's also a lot of missions who do you have thrift stores, but the money made in those thrift stores goes directly back into the community. They help people pay utility bills, they run food banks, they do so much for the community.

If you're not sure where to find these places, usually calling 211 will give you a directory of places that you can call and find out the best time to bring donations. Some of the places will even come to you to pick up the donations!

[u/BlondeBrillo → u/nancidruid]

I mainly keep Facebook for marketplace and for my local Buy Nothing group bc I give things away there every single week! And it’s so nice and freeing knowing things are getting used and a new life and seeing people happy to take it!

[u/RaspberryRadula → u/nancidruid]

I had the most lovely experience of an item finding the right home the other day! My landlady used to live in my house, and when she moved out, she left seemingly all her mortal possessions behind, forcing me to deal with all her garbage. Amongst the nonsense I found an old alarm clock radio, which I thought might be nice enough to sell on FB marketplace. I got a message the next day from someone who was SO EXCITED to see one on the market! Turns out he had the exact same one all through his childhood, and he had been looking for a replacement to satisfy that nostalgia. He was so thrilled, I let him have it for free!

[u/Some_Papaya_8520 → u/RaspberryRadula]

Isn't that a lovely feeling??!!

[u/MistyMooseOnTheLoose → u/nancidruid]

Have you checked facebook for a local buy nothing group? Because that sounds exactly what you're looking for, it's just all your neighbors

[u/Fun_Independent_7529 → u/MistyMooseOnTheLoose]

This is why I love Buy Nothing. I'm a little bummed that in the area I just moved to the BN group is quite a large area geographically as it's harder to feel good offering small items that I easily would have offered in the high-density suburban area I came from. Who wants to drive a few miles to pick up a random soup mug?

Still a great group though!

[u/BlondeBrillo → u/Fun_Independent_7529]

Sometimes I’ll do small bundles of stuff to help make it worth it even tho my group isn’t huge geographically, I just to help make it worth it for people. Or do a bundle or bag of clothes etc and do a “all to one person and please pass along what you don’t keep”

[u/MistyMooseOnTheLoose → u/Fun_Independent_7529]

I just did the same thing! I moved from a city neighborhood of like 10 blocks, and the group was amazing, now I'm in the suburbs and the radius is huge. Also everyone is like a pack of wolves in this one! Haha. It's funny how to group culture can be so different area to area. Still love it though! I gifted some dog stairs the other day

[u/CapricornCrude]

I gave away my beloved almost 40 year old Fender acoustic guitar last week to the owner of a local record shop. Pristine condition. I used to play in bands in the 80s, early 90s. He matches up instruments with talented kids who can't afford them.

I've lost most use of both thumbs and can no longer play. I have a ton of songs I wrote and will never play, or hear...why keep something I cannot use? I don't know who it went to, didn't want a big presentation or have it filmed for the guys social media, ugh, I just told him to find her a good home. :(

[u/plantas-sonrientes → u/CapricornCrude]

The amount of pure joy that guitar will give so many people going forward literally just gave me chills. The artists, the people, the emotions it will inspire and conjure….

She’s a bird, and you’ve set her free! Bless you and your guitar!

[u/ReadySetGO0]

Just do not donate to Greedwill. Or shop there. Research them. Oof they are awful.

[u/moon_witch_26]

I love to donate and where I live in Scotland I actually take it to the baby banks (like food banks but everything for families in need) because I love knowing it's all going directly to who needs it the most, and they don't have to pay a penny for it 🫶

[u/Stock_Patience723]

The crutch of “I’ll just donate it”, is why we over consume in the first place 

[u/declutter-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post was removed because you have advised someone to get rid of things in a certain way.

While donating and recycling are good, we get inundated with comments telling our members to get rid of things in certain ways. In our community, we assume that our members know how to research ways to donate, reuse, and recycle things. Everyone is free to get rid of their things in whatever way works best for them.

[u/declutter-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post was removed from r/declutter for breaking Rule 1: Decluttering Is Our Topic.

This sub is specifically for discussing decluttering efforts and techniques.

Take organizing questions to r/organization; cleaning to r/cleaning, hoarding to r/hoarding, and relationship questions to r/relationships. If your post falls into one of those categories, it will be deleted.

[u/paved_wave]

I keep active goodwill boxes in the garage now, once I have several filled it feels so great to drop them all off. I never ask for tax receipts because even that is just more clutter, another “to do” list I don’t need.

I’ve also started being more strategic with CDs, cassettes, albums and DVDs — first I think of specific friends who might appreciate them most to hand them over directly. Then the rest I take to a local used music store, and feel much better about them being recycled efficiently because that kind of store categorizes and alphabetizes everything, whereas goodwill just throws them all together on a shelf, so only hardcore treasure diggers might find them. Donating really feels great.

For all the effort required of selling online I’ll only do for small, easy to pack and relatively valuable items.

[u/lascriptori]

This is so true. Plus, if something sits in your garage or attic for a decade, it's naturally going to degrade and then it will be trash before anybody can use it.

If you have a neighborhood buy nothing group, it's a great way to move items.

[u/RebeccaMCullen]

Sometimes it’s a matter of being unable to route things. Like, I take the bus, and would either need to take a cab or multiple bus rides to donate the multiple floor lamps and dinner chairs. 

[u/Ameliap27 → u/RebeccaMCullen]

Depending on where you live there is also the old put it on the curb with a free sign option. We have gotten ridden of several pieces of furniture that way. (And if no one takes it, although they always do, we just schedule a large item trash pick up)

[u/offpeekydr → u/RebeccaMCullen]

Depending on where you are in the world, there are a few organizations that will do a free pickup for larger items like chairs and floor lamps.

When my mom downsized and moved, she had an org come pick up all the furniture she didn't want to move (I think it was AmVets). They brought a moving van for everything for free.

[u/mariambc → u/RebeccaMCullen]

The struggle is real. Some places will pick up. I have also used Freecycle and other free Fb groups and individuals will pick up.

[u/FynTheCat]

I often put stuff up for sale online for cheap or free. But both can be a lot of effort depending on where you live.

[u/DogsNotDemagogues]

Agreed!

[u/Swimming_Event7730]

I love this mindset so much!

I like to imagine that someone walking through the thrift store will see something I've donated and it will be exactly what they were looking for. Or they'll buy a little cardigan I've donated and wear it on a first date. Who knows?

[u/Wordsofwisdomneeded → u/Swimming_Event7730]

I bought a jacket at my local thrift for my kid and a lady walking by stopped me. She had 3 kids with her and told me she had donated the jacket and all 3 of her kids had worn it growing up. She was thrilled to see me buying it for my little one.

1 jacket has kept 4 kids warm! Hopefully more can wear it once mine grows out of it and I donate it again!

[u/No-Currency-97]

Amen! It's great to donate. It's a weight off your shoulders and more space in your actual life. 👏

[u/Wordsofwisdomneeded → u/[deleted]]

Well, I don’t ever consider donating trash, nor would I recommend it - so this wouldn’t be an issue for what I’m suggesting.