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Yes, you sell, consign or donate your clothes, housewares and
furniture—but
what about those odd items that seem destined for the garbage?
You would be surprised at what you can do with things you were
sure no one would ever want.
Hotel minis and makeup freebies:
Do you have a collection of never-used makeup that was a
gift-with-purchase item? What about all those tiny soaps and
shampoos we bring home from hotels just because they were free?
You can give them to women's centers and homeless shelters. Most
welcome unused beauty products, too.
Old athletic shoes:
Your trusty tennies are worn, torn and falling apart. But
they're still good enough for Nike's "reuse-a-shoe" program. Old
athletic shoes of any brand are ground up and molded into tennis
and basketball courts, tracks and playgrounds. Read more about
the program at
www.nikereuseashoe.com.
Glasses:
Most of us have glasses with old prescriptions or outdated
frames — backups in case the new ones break. But after a few
years, we have a basket of old glasses. Donate them to the Lions
Club International, known for its focus on vision care and the
eyeglass recycling program. The organization cleans and repairs
the glasses and distributes them to developing countries.
Sunglasses, too. Search
www.lionsclubs.org
for donation locations, or drop them off at any LensCrafters or
Goodwill store, or American Optometric Association office.
Cell phones:
There are many organizations that accept donations of cell
phones. Some are programmed for emergency use only and given to
women in shelters. Others are sent to our troops. A Google
search will bring you a large selection of sites so you can find
which organization suits you best. Here are just a few—
Wireless Recycling
Cellphones
for Soldiers
Recycle for Breast Cancer Phones4Charity
Computers and
electronics:
Many NFP
thrift stores accept donations of computers and other
electronics in working condition. There are also many
other organizations accepting computers that need refurbishing.
They are then donated to schools, students and other NFP
organizations that will put them to good use. Do a Google search
for "recycling computers" for more information.
Building
supplies, cars, boats...
most anything
can be donated and recycled for a good cause: do an online
search to find a location near you.
Giving & Getting
Stuff for Free...
The Freecycle Network™ is
made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a
grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are
giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.
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