Charities With Local Pickup (List) for Goods Donations as You Clean House
Following along with Jocie’s theme from yesterday, we’re in the process of reclaiming our fourth bedroom this summer. Due to a house-guest overlap coming in August, we need to convert our office back to a bedroom; and we’re taking this opportunity to purge our home of more of those items we’ve been stashing in every closet or corner “just in case we might want them someday.” We’d rather be storing only those things we actually use. Sentimentality, begone! (within reason, of course)
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As I’ve been bagging everything, it occurs to me that a list of charities who will pick up items at your door might be helpful to others of you who are similarly downsizing. If you’re more inclined to haul the donation yourself, see my other post for a list of Charities with Drop Off Locations. We’ve had good experiences with those listed below, and I’ll add to the list, as we find more. They pick up from your doorstep and leave a doortag-receipt which you can use for writing off the donations on your taxes.
National Charities with Local Pickup
Local pickup isn’t just for heavy stuff like appliances and furniture. These national services are happy to collect clothing, household goods, books, electronics and more right from your home. Before scheduling a pickup, make sure everything is in good working order. Electronics should function, clothes should be clean and include any manuals if possible. Don’t donate broken or spoiled goods. Some services require the donation to be outside before 8 am and clearly labeled so check the requirements.
- AMVETS (American Veterans National Service Foundation): http://www.amvetsnsf.org/stores.html
- Goodwill: http://www.goodwill.org/page/guest/about/howweoperate/donate, OR http://locator.goodwill.org/
- Purple Heart: http://zc.purpleheartpickup.org/
- Salvation Army: http://www.satruck.com/donate-goods
- Vietname Veterans of America (see map for [many] participating states): http://www.clothingdonations.org/service.htm
Charities with Limited-Location Local Pickup
Limited local pickup is usually reserved for larger donations and high value items. It is often dependent on the quantity and quality of your donation, your location, and the availability to perform the pickup.
- The Lupus Foundation (Maryland, Virginia, DC & New Jersey only): http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_donateotherways.aspx?articleid=1190&zoneid=47
- National Children’s Center (Maryland, Virginia & DC only): http://www.nccinc.org/index.php?module=CMpro&func=viewpage&pageid=15
- Habitat for Humanity ReStores: http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx
- National Kidney Foundation (South Carolina area): http://www.kidney.org/site/209/clothing.cfm?ch=209
In Canada:
- Canadian Diabetes Association (Canada only): http://www.diabetes.ca/get-involved/supporting-us/clothesline/howto/
- Habitat for Humanity (limited pickup): http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx?place=can
The best part about these pickup-charities is that they tend to call back whenever they plan to return to the area. While I hate getting “junk calls,” I’m glad that THEY call ME every few months, instead of my needing to take the initiative. It motivates me to scramble about the house and gather together at least one bag of items we’re honestly not using, get a tax write-off in the process, and most importantly, make our unused items available for use by someone who can benefit from purchasing them at a reduced price.
If I’m not sure about an item, I hold onto it till the next call comes. If I still haven’t used it, out it goes. And as our children outgrow toys or receive toys as gifts, and I notice toys that are ritually ignored, I can make those relatively-new items available to lower-income families who can be blessed by our being blessed with generous friends and family. Same thing with their clothes.
We can’t keep everything, and I’ve been convicted more recently that we SHOULDN’T hoard a whole bunch of “stuff,” just to “have” it. We want to teach our boys that Things are for using, and that People are where we should be making most of our investment. To be consistent, we need to share what we have – stuff that is JUST STUFF to us – with people who will actually make use of those items.
On a related note, if you do contact the charities above, please do make sure that what you donate is in good condition, so they’re not spending unnecessary overhead sorting through and weeding out items that should have gone into the trash.
And one final word of warning: we’ve found cleaning out to be addicting. It’s so nice to have a clean, uncluttered house. While we started out a bit hesitantly (“What if we give this away, and then we want it again?”), we’ve found that we’ve almost never even thought about those things again. So now we have more of an attitude of “What can we give this time?” It’s worth the effort getting started, and since we live in an area where we mingle across the socio-economic spectrum, we know some of the people who benefit from the donations made by families like ours.
And, heck, that’s how I afforded “new” clothing as a college student, myself!
What do you think? Do you periodically “clean house” and donate goods to charity? Is there something in your house that you find yourself hanging onto, even though you don’t know why you do it? Any good charities I should add to the list above?
Comments & Conversation on this Article...
25 Responses to Charities With Local Pickup (List) for Goods Donations as You Clean House
July 10th, 2008 12:16 pm
Goodpoint about not donating trash… although, it IS to donate ripped and torn clothing to many of those places as they sell those and outdated/unsellable clothes to fiber recyclers.
Also, try not to donate computers/printers/etc… as they don’t even test them for working. They just ship them off to China to be recycled for a little profit… http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/19/perils-of-electronic.html
It would be better to sell the computer for $5 or $10 and donate the money to the charity or give it away to someone who can use it. There are people who don’t have any computer, and a 10 year old computer good only for word processing can make a big difference in a child’s ability to do his homework (since much of it is required to be typed now).
A better place of getting rid of computers/printers AND broken or worn items is craigslist or freecycle… someone wants to fix up your broken item. I give everything a change there… it’s amazing what people want. Gives something a new use, and it keeps it out of the landfill. The above aren’t charities, of course…
I do try to periodically go through my house for things I don’t need… I tend to freecycle them or donate them to the Habitat Restore in my area.
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July 12th, 2008 5:47 pm
In Canada, the Canadian Diabetes Association will also do pick-up.
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November 13th, 2009 1:00 am
The Lupus Foundation left a notice in our mailbox telling us when they’ll be in the neighborhood and asking if we’d like to donate anything. They pick up free of charge, whether you’re home or not, and leave a receipt in your door for tax write-offs.
I thought this was a great idea and immediately put together several bags of stuff I’ve been meaning to get rid off but procrastinated. I’m sure there are many people who want to donate their stuff but they don’t know how or who to contact and then get frustrated by the whole process. With the charity pick-up notice, I don’t have to do anything except put all the stuff I don’t want outside my house and they’ll come along and take it away for me, no questions asked. It was such a relief to see it all go!
More charities should definitely do this.
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Tricia Reply:
July 1st, 2011 at 3:36 pm
They are fantastic, unfortunately they don’t pick up in all localities. We used to get a bag to put our donation in from them at our previous home but they don’t collect from our new home.
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December 18th, 2009 4:47 pm
Thanks for your comments, Jennifer, ET & CALE! I came back and updated this post and am scheduling a “Charities with Drop-Off Locations” post now.
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February 26th, 2010 9:05 am
[...] aware and more a part of this year. So friends, for Purim Jason and I helped our kids donate some toys. We built up this idea, the process, the thought, for quite awhile. We talked about how much we [...]
May 26th, 2010 2:14 pm
Well… actually I’m of the opinion that less charities should do the “we’re going to be in your neighborhood so we put a HUMONGOUS plastic bag on your door to let the crooks know you aren’t home…” thing.
I put out stuff once which wears me out (being single & doing this alone) and when I got home, the stuff was still there. I found you should call to MAKE SURE the charity knows you are leaving out stuff or else they might not get around to your block.
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May 26th, 2010 8:32 pm
@Claire – yes, I’ve had a no-show, once. But only once. I’m on the regularly monthly call list for several charities now, so I pit them against each other.
And while I’m not single, I do all the gathering, cataloging and itemizing for taxes, so I do still feel your pain!
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June 4th, 2010 3:18 pm
Sorry to say, but the Salvation Army does not want donated goods.
I made arrangements for a pickup through the local number 301-277-7878, because the 800 number does not work in DC. The date was set for today Friday June 4th. I receive a call from the truck driver that a truck showed up at 3 June, that they will revisit tomorrow based on the mistake. On Friday, by mid afternoon, a call to the second number says they were not told to return. A call to the first number basically says “Oh well – that’s the way it goes”. When I suggested maybe donating to another organization – no response or apologies.
You can be sure I’ll spread the word. The only assumption I can make is that the Salvation Army is satisfied with their current mode of operation. Thanks
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June 7th, 2010 12:23 pm
I especially like the National Kidney Foundation … they mail out postcards with dates on when they’ll be in my area, and I can leave my items out at the curb for them to pick up. If I’d rather schedule a date (for large items), they come by with their truck.
My latest items to donate are a two-piece sectional and a big chair … the NKF will pick them up, but not from inside the house. I live alone and can’t do it by myself. Is there any charitable organization that can take my furniture from inside my house?
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June 9th, 2010 4:01 pm
@ Jennifer – I don’t know of any that will come inside. But if you find one, please let me know and I’ll add them to this list with a special note!
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October 7th, 2010 4:04 pm
A Wider Circle will pick up but will take only perfect items: if there’s a scratch on a table it’s not good enough for their clients. Mission of Love will pick up and take just about anything. Salvation Army did show up at a friend’s place but would only pick up what was written on the sheet. Apparently “Miscellaneous” isn’t a specific enough thing.
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November 6th, 2010 10:27 am
Salvation Army does come inside and we will put items in the garage to keep out of the elements. But they’ve also come on the 2nd floor of our house to remove furniture. I just called SA today @ 1-800-95-TRUCK but was told the next pick-up won’t be until Feb 2011.
AMVETS was a no show yesterday so now I’ve got to figure out how to get this stuff to a donation center asap.
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November 17th, 2010 7:10 pm
Does anyone know of a charity that will accept clothing straight from the closet?
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November 18th, 2010 3:10 pm
I think it all depends on where you live. There are hundreds of charities that take donated “stuff” and they all have different rules. You can try DonationTown.org. Since there are so many charities that offer donation pick ups, they help you find a local one. The best thing is that they don’t charge the charities or the donors anything for the donation pick up.
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May 12th, 2011 12:07 pm
[...] Here’s a more complete list of charities including some with limited-local pickup. [...]
June 22nd, 2011 2:31 pm
Does any charity pick up from condos or apartments? DonationTown.org was a bust, it refered me to the individual charities 800 numbers.
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September 7th, 2011 9:14 am
My wife and I currently have an extra room set up for just charity items. When we hit critical mass we load it in the pickup and take it to the Goodwill. I never realized they do pickup. Thanks for the tip (since I missed it 3 years ago when it ran the first time).
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Ethan Reply:
September 7th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Glad to help out
You ever try any other charities? You feel like Goodwill is working hard for your donations?
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jeff_williams Reply:
September 7th, 2011 at 10:04 am
Goodwill is close and we shop there from time to time. I never really thought of them as working for our donations. Convenience is the deciding factor. If the Sal Army was closer we would probably donate there. Either of them seems to do a lot of good in the community.
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September 7th, 2011 7:35 pm
I tend to just drop it off at our local Good Will
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September 30th, 2011 10:28 pm
We use Goodwill all of the time. I hadn’t realized they do pickups though. We like them because it seems they aren’t as picky about what items they’ll take.
We also found a local place that takes used, but good condition building supplies like doors, cabinets, appliances and such. I’ve been donating all of my builder grade fixtures from our current bath remodel to their trailer at the local landfill. They then either sell them or use them in projects such as Habitat for Humanity.
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October 20th, 2011 8:37 pm
Does anyone know of an organization who will pick up a large donation of household items, sm furniture, clothes, etc., from our storage unit in Exton, PA? We moved to South Jersey and cleaned out items but left them in unit but need to be out of unit by Oct 31st. Key is with office manager on site and available 9 to 5 6 days a week. There is an elevator and wheeled cart for ease of moving them. Plus Airconditioning. I’d appreciate any help or organzation contact info..
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Kim Reply:
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:55 am
We don’t know of any. Maybe post it on Craiglist/Freecycle? (if what you’re looking for is a way to get rid of everything asap)
If you find a charity that does this, in your search, though, please come back and let us know, so we can add them here and let future readers know!
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January 25th, 2012 8:17 pm
Trying to find a charity in the western part of Washington state who will pick up funiture.
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