You’ve done some spring cleaning!  Now what?

Now that you’ve been quarantined at home for a while, you may have been inspired to do some spring cleaning. Members of our “It’s About Time” virtual productivity program also recently participated in a month-long Minimalism Challenge, each eliminating over 450 items of clutter in just 30 days! We also recently wrote a blog post about Quick Hit Clean-up Tasks around your home. 

The trick is finding donation places for the clutter you have cleared. Fortunately, a couple of placed have recently opened up again to accept donations for people who may be anxious to unload them. 

Thrift Stores

Thrift stores are the one-stop-shop for donating most items.  They typically take clothing, accessories, kitchen/bath and other household goods, décor, most furniture and electronics, as well as toys, games and sporting goods. Remember to give them items in good, clean, working order (Craigslist/garage sale condition or better).  

Thrift stores to try include:

• Goodwill
• Value Village
• St Vincent de Paul
• Salvation Army

There are also single location “boutique” thrift shops like Jubilee REACH (Bellevue/Overlake), ECA Thrift (Kirkland/Totem Lake) and Deseret Industries (Shoreline).

*Check with each organization for when their locations will be open to accept donations

Specialty Clothing

Specialty clothing items can be handed off in a targeted way to really help those in need of the items.

• Dress for Success (Seattle) and YWCA Working Wardrobe (Redmond) take good quality business attire to help those needing interview and professional clothing.
• The Ruby Room (Bellevue) accepts formal and prom wear for young woman and men.
• Eastside Baby Corner (Issaquah) is currently taking only NEW clothing for children up to age 18, but may accept used clothing again in the future

*Check the websites for each of these groups regarding when they will be accepting donations. We’ve included links for each of them, above.

Furniture

Furniture can be donated to the large thrift stores, but also check with Compass Housing Alliance (Seattle), which needs furniture for their transitional housing units.  Call them with questions (206-719-9137).

Clothing and Linens

Do you have clothing and linens with stains, tears, or other items not good enough for donating?  Don’t toss in the landfill!  There are fiber recycling companies like USAgain and Northwest Center. Search online and find where they have collection bins all over the Seattle area.  

Electronics

Electronics are another thing that shouldn’t go in the landfill.  If they are not in working order for donating, find an Ecycling site using 1800recycle.wa.gov.   

Interconnections is another tech donation/electronics resource that will and wipe clean, repair, rebuild and then get in the hands of those in need of computers, laptops, and other such equipment. 

In addition to the frequently scheduled community recycling events, which include electronics, many of the local waste management companies will pick up electronics/TVs/computers right from your curb on trash day… you just need to contact the ahead of time and tell them you’re putting something out.  Contact your waste management company for info.

Paying It Forward

If you’re willing to provide your address, or meet at an agreed location, you can “pay it forward” via neighborhood sites on the Buy Nothing neighborhood Facebook groups and also on Craigslist Free section.  These options are good for larger items (furniture, sporting goods, large kid’s toys) that you simply want to pass along. Your local “Nextdoor” neighborhood site is also a great source for giving things away to neighbors who will use them. 

Selling apps like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp are also other resources beyond your local neighborhood. 

Other Resources

Donated all you can and now you’re left with what is truly trash? Contact a junk removal service like Atlas Junk, Sasquatch Junk Removal or Happy Hauler, who will handle trash and recycling.

These companies will also handle donations, so if you have a large number of items, some of which may be able to be donated, along with some recyclables, trash or other items, it can be worth it to hire one service that will pick it all up and take it to the various drop-off locations for you. They are all operational right now, as they are considered essential services.

We’re in the process of updating our Resources page, which will include links for these and other resources in the near future. For other details about the various organizations mentioned above, including what they accept, hours of operation, and updates on their status can be found by Googling the organization.

If Simply Placed can support you either in person or virtually with any organizing or clutter clearing needs you may have, please contact us to learn more about our services.