Every spring, I get the itch to clean up and clear out. Today, I want to talk to you about my favorite ways to do that quickly and easily. Without further ado: Spring Cleaning: 4 Ways to Say Goodbye to the Old.
Purple Heart
My absolute favorite charity for clothing donation is Purple Heart. There are a couple of reasons:
- I believe we are forever indebted to our Veterans for keeping us safe and protecting our way of life. Anything I can do to give back for their sacrifice is so very important.
- Purple Heart contracts to come to your home to pickup your donation from you. You can go online to https://purpleheartfoundation.org/clothing-donations/, choose your state, and schedule a pickup online.
- Your donation is tax deductible – so make a list of all of the things you donate. You can write off their value as a donation. I like to use the Salvation Army’s valuation list (See below).
It asks how big your donation is (so they will have room on the truck) and will give you a day to put your items outside to be easily picked up. I feel like this makes it easier to go through things in smaller batches. You can go a room at a time and schedule multiple pickups.
Here is the list of acceptable items: https://www.gogreendrop.com/acceptable-items. The list includes: Clothes, housewares, kitchen ware, baby items, and so much more.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army also makes it easy for you to schedule pickup online at https://satruck.org/.
They are not just about ringing bells outside of stores during Christmas time. The Salvation Army works in so many areas of Human Services. This includes Adult Rehab, Veteran Affairs, Prison Ministries, Services for the Elderly, Combating Human Trafficking, Hunger Relief, Housing and Homeless Services, Emergency Relief Services, and more. They are true contributors to better communities – Approximately 30 million people received help from the Salvation Army last year alone.
They also offer this handy valuation guide to help you determine the worth of your donation for tax purposes here: https://satruck.org/Home/DonationValueGuide
Amazon Give Back Box
Amazon wants to give all of their shipping boxes a second life. They recently began promoting their “Give Back Box.” The concept is 1) You order something from Amazon 2) Remove your new merchandise 3) Repack your box with items you want to donate. 4) Log on to http://givebackbox.com/amazon and create a free shipping label. 5) Mail your donated items to the donation center. Check out the link above for more information. I haven’t done it, but it’s certainly an alternative to other services.
Local Services
Every summer, our community holds several recycling events. There is a shredding event, an electronics recycling event, and several yard waste recycling events. Check in with your local community to see when you are eligible to take advantage of these services. If you have several broken down electronics, piles of shreddable documents, and piles of yard waste, what better way to get them off your property than to use the local services that your taxes pay for. Go to your community website and check the calendar for details!
Good luck with your own spring cleaning. Donate items to help others in need. And don’t forget to visit our Facebook page for great deals on the new items you buy: http://www.facebook.com/MamaSavesALot.