Ditch Responsibly! How to Get Rid of, Donate or Sell Anything in Your House the Right Way

Donate, recycle, or sell your unwanted stuff instead of simply throwing it away

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Electronics

Electronics
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Best Buy will recycle tech items regardless of the brand, or when and where they were purchased.

And Amazon has a trade-in program that allows customers to earn gift cards in exchange for used devices.

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Furniture

furniture
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Sell pieces on AptDeco: They take a portion of the profit but coordinate pickup, delivery, and payment.

To donate, check the Furniture Banks online database to find drop-off sites near you that help families in need.

ManyHabitat for Humanity ReStores or Salvation Army Family Stores locations offer curbside pick-up for furniture donations.

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Books & Toys

Books
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Stuffed Animals for Emergencies takes new or gently used goods - toys, books, baby goods, etc. - and gives them to organizations that help children in traumatic or emotional situations.

Many public libraries also take book donations.

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Clothing

clothes
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Some Goodwill stores reported an overabundance of clothing donations in the last year (which some have tied to the popularity of Marie Kondo's purge-happy Netflix series Tidying Up), but there are plenty more places to get rid of clothes.

Sell or donate gently worn clothes, bags, and shoes - and shop others' items - on thredUP, a giant online thrift store. They'll even send you a "clean out kit" that you fill up and ship back to them for free.

Dress for Success distributes business clothing to women in order to empower them to achieve economic independence. And Career Gear provides business attire to men actively seeking employment.

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Beauty Products

Cosmetics
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TerraCycle works with brands - from Garnier to Burt's Bees - to collect hard-to-recycle items, like empty compacts.

Some cosmetic brands, like MAC, also accept empties in exchange for free products.

Project Beauty Share takes unopened or lightly used products and distributes them to charitable groups.

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When All Else Fails…

WM Bagster Dumpster in a Bag
WM Bagster

Order a foldable plastic "dumpster" from Bagster. Fill it with up to 3,300 lbs. of almost anything and they'll pick it up and haul it away.

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