Spring Decluttering? Read This First.
How to make sure your donations get into the hands of people that can use it.
Whether you want to face it or not, you are responsible for the items you own. You made the choice, consciously or unconsciously to take that book, that sweater, that swag from that conference you attended in 2018. And now you no longer need it.
Decluttering is hard work and a necessary part of life. Sometimes we take on too much. Sometimes our lives are too full and overwhelming. Sometimes our lives have changed drastically and we no longer need things that we once used every day.
The average household has 300,000 items.
We are not meant to manage that much stuff. That is not our purpose in life.
I want to acknowledge your hard work. Decluttering can be exhausting—emotionally and physically. And after all that, the easy thing is to just dump all your old stuff off at Goodwill.
Unfortunately, a recent GQ article reported that “only between 10 and 30 percent of second-hand donations to charity shops are actually resold in store.”
Dropping your stuff off at a thrift store doesn’t mean it will get into the hands of people that need it. Goodwill does some great things, but there are other organizations and people out there who can benefit from your “junk” too.
I want to encourage you to take the additional step and find a proper donation site. You did all that hard work and your used items deserve a good home. They deserve a second life. The following is a list of places to donate your items other than a thrift store. It’s in no way comprehensive and will vary by location.