When you donate items, how far do you extend yourself in fixing up the items before dropping them off?
Take clothes, for one example...
Do you wash, dry-clean, spot-clean, mend, iron, replace missing buttons, or
any other fix-it's?
Overall Rating: votes
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Posted 4 months ago #
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I would wash or dust an item but never mend. Most things I put in a donation box would be a little wrinkled by packing,so I don't worry about ironing either Damaged clothes are sold in bales as rags. Some people buy clothing for the buttons or fabric, lace trim, or to be used as costumes, scarecrows, etc. They aren't always purchased for wardrobe.
I wouldn't donate anything that I would be embarassed to have on the driveway at a garage sale, such as a used toilet plunger or smelly sneakers. There are things you won't see for sale because the stores don't want to be liable. Frames with broken glass or rusty items, certain children's furniture,are a few examples. I found out about that when I was searching for a cast iron pan. They are always rusty, I was told.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I wash and replace buttons, that's the extent of my abilities. If it's damaged or stained badly, I recycle instead.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I make sure everything is washed thoroughly before donating, but that's it. If clothing is stained or has holes, I trash it rather than donate. I don't worry about missing buttons though. If I happen to have the button I'll pop it into the pocket.
Honestly though, for clothes and shoes mine usually get well worn out so I don't donate clothes as often as simply throwing them away.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I just mended a small tear in a children's shirt because I thought it was a cool shirt and worth donating. Usually, I just launder them. I never donate shoes because we wear them out, so I recycle them at our Nike factory store when I (rarely) head over the mountains to Denver.
Posted 4 months ago # -
For clothing, I usually toss donation items into the regular laundry and give them away when they come out of the dryer. I sometimes replace a button (if I happen to have an appropriate one) or fix a seam, but if something needs major repairs it goes into the trash.
For non-clothing items, I clean them up as best I can and do extremely minor repairs (e.g. tacking down a protruding nail or gluing a loose edge.
My guideline is "Would I buy this and fix it up if I found it at the thrift store?" If the answer is no, then I trash it rather than inflicting it on someone else.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I have a backlog of textile projects. I spent time, effort, and even money to finish them off ... and then find out that they don't fit in my life, so I give them away.
Particularly notable were the two cloth dolls on which I spent many days before giving them to some children I know.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I recently dry cleaned two winter jackets that I was donating. Didn't feel comfortable donating them in the state they were in (they've been in my dads attic while I was living abroad; so about six years) but they are perfectly good jackets. I am fortunate enough to have the money to spare so why not?
I normally sew on buttons or fix ripped seams before I donate. It doesn't happen often so it's rare enough to still feel worth the hassle. I always wash clothes first. Once I had a jacket to donate where one of the buttons fell off... The jacket was too thick to fix by hand and there were no repair places around where I lived and I just wanted it out so I taped the button to the front so whoever buys it at least have all of them to fix it.
For non clothing items I do quick fixes as well. A photoalbum I recently donated got extra glue at the back as it looked like it was about to peel off. Normally it won't be any worse than that. And if it is it's considered garbage. :)
Posted 4 months ago # -
It partially depends on where it is going. If I were giving something to a friend or to a small organization without a lot of resources to make repairs, I am more meticulous than if I were donating something to a large charity with the capability to sort through things. I do wash all clothing and eliminate anything that is unusable.
Posted 4 months ago # -
i usually donate clothes straight from the laundry, but if stuff is dusty I will wipe it off.
I don't do anything else. If clothing needs fixing I generally turn it into a rag or put it in the trash. The only exception is that we have friend swaps with some really crafty/handy people, so I'll sometimes take something large (like a mod floor lamp) that needs minor fixing, with a note on it "looks cool- needs rewiring"). A few of the people in that network make cash fixing & decorating home furnishings and reselling them. Otherwise I wouldn't do it - don't need to add to anyone else's hoard.
Posted 4 months ago # -
i wash and clean everything, but i deon't sew. i know how many peole buy a used jacket just because they need the zipper...
Posted 4 months ago # -
If it needs work it goes in the trash; otherwise, I put all clean stuff in the donation basket. I think a lot of the clothing we all donate ends up going to Africa or something, so I don't bother sewing on buttons or replacing zippers or what not -- I just toss.
Posted 4 months ago # -
The charities here sell the clothes/stuff here in Sweden... the money they make then goes to different projects both here and abroad. They also have programs where they work with local shelters and give coupons to the homeless that are valid for shopping in the second hand shops.
Do all the charities in the states ship things off to Africa??
Posted 4 months ago # -
Thanks for your input, everybody. I'm dropping all of my donations at Goodwill, and I realize their staff will be the ones to make the decision whether something is fixable/sellable. I've been putting way too much effort into neatening up my items. From now on, they'll just go in the donation bag clean, yes, but otherwise without any further fuss.
Posted 4 months ago # -
swede - i'm sure there are charities that do ship things to africa, but most charities i'm familiar with in the us (salvation army, goodwill, etc) sell the clothing in their own stores and the money goes to help the local community.
most salvation army locations do textile recycling as well, if any americans are looking for the resource. they bale the ripped/stained/gross textiles to sell, so they still make some profit.
to answer the original question - i make sure the clothes are washed, but that's it. i do try to bag my items accordingly - clothing worthy of resale and clothing for recycling.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I am always struck by the vases and glassware at the Goodwill that are nice and clean on the shelves. I know that people don't donate things in that great a condition, and GW staffers surely don't throw away things that are a little grimy, so I assume someone is in the back running a dishwasher or a dust rag. I tend to sniff the things I buy so I am not stuck with a book or craft supplies that stink, and they don't. GW does a great job here in Arizona and it puts people to work.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Swede, I beleive some around here (Arizona) send things to Mexico.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I very rarely manage to destroy my clothing or lose buttons, so it's unheard of that stuff I'm donating would need mending. It's clean if it comes from the closet or basement, unless it is outerwear which then gets a round through the washing machine. Miscellaneous stuff is dusted and if something comes from the kitchen I make sure it's clean, would have a hard time donating something stained. There's no scrubbing happening though, but just acceptably clean so I don't have to feel embarrassed.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Swede, most of the charities do sell some of the donated clothes. But for a variety of reasons, a portion of the clothing they receive isn't suitable for sale. So the clothing gets sold to used clothing dealers, and some of it ends up in Africa.
There's an interesting article about it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/31/magazine/how-susie-bayer-s-t-shirt-ended-up-on-yusuf-mama-s-back.html?src=pm
Posted 4 months ago # -
It's my understanding - which may be incorrect - that Goodwill routinely cleans all clothes that are donated. They can't assume that things are clean. :-) I would bet that a lot of other items also are washed after arrival at the store where they'll be sold. Some things are in transit multiple times and there is always road dust to contend with.
That said, they do request that items be clean and in operating order, i.e. not junk, when given. I never donate anything that needs repairs. A workout shirt with pit stains gets turned into rags, not put in the donation bag! :-)
Posted 4 months ago #
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