During the month of January when people seem to live by the phrase “out with the old and in with the new” they often donate items to their local thrift stores to get rid of the old.
Before you do head to the thrift store with a trunk full of clothes or other times make sure you do these 6 things!
1. Organize
If you are donating a ton of items, the employees would definitely appreciate a little organization. While you don’t have to go through the task of folding each item if you are donating clothes (as they will probably just be hung anyway). You can place like items together and let the employees know that you did take the time to organize the items.
2. clean
While some thrift stores sanitize the items they receive, most don’t wash the items you donate so it would be helpful if you cleaned them prior to bringing them into the store.
3. SAFTEY
Check the pockets of items you donate for things like safety pins or other small sharp objects that can prick employees as they go through them. Try to minimize any harm by separating anything sharp out of your pile
4. Keep it light
If you are donating a lot of things make sure they aren’t so heavy that one person won’t be able to transport them as there usually is one person loading and unloading the items, especially at smaller donation centers.
5. DO A SCENT TEST
If it smells like cigarette smoke or heavy perfume you may want to consider washing the item first to get the heavy scents out. If you are a smoker the cigarette smell may not bother you but some people will not want to purchase something that is laden with the scent of smoke. Also avoid placing it with items that haven’t been affected by the smell as it can often cling to other items as well.
6. Go through your pile again
Make sure that the things you have in your donate pile are truly donatable (yes, I just made up a word) and if they are something you truly want to donate. At this time you may want to decide if it is an item you would rather just give away to someone in need, for instance, you could give coats directly to people that may not be able to afford them. If you find that an item is undonatable, here are some eco-friendly alternative uses for some items.
