15 Things You Should Always Donate After Decluttering

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If you've started the year off strong by decluttering your house, you might now be sitting on a mountain of things you don't know what to do with. There are a few items you should always donate after decluttering. Don't throw these things away, because there are plenty of folks out there who can give them a second life. Plus, taking the little bit of extra time to donate kitchen items to soup kitchens and old suits to business mentorship organizations, instead of just dropping everything off at Goodwill, can make even more of a difference in your community!

However, if you think the items you've decluttered are too worn out to be of use to anyone else, don't just trash them. Carefully consider whether they can be recycled, and even make trash disposal easier with this free perk at most home improvement stores: strange item recycling! That is, you can take batteries to Lowe's, and garden centers will often take your plant pots.

One thing that inflation can't keep getting away with is the rising price of picture frames! If you've ever had sticker shock at Michael's about what a standard frame seems to cost these days, you'll appreciate the joy people out thrifting see when they see a good one up for grabs. Plus, vintage frames typically have a patina that one purchased recently just can't match, which makes donating them an even better idea.

So, if you're decluttering your grandma's attic or downsizing your own home, picture frames are easy for someone else to repurpose, but just easy clutter for you. If you don't want to take them to a chain resale shop, try small art stores that might resell them to fund their community initiatives, or pack them up for a nonprofit that can use them for art or crafting classes. Local aged care facilities might also appreciate the frames, so their residents can proudly display photos of their loved ones.

If the clothes in your closet don't fit your body now, they're just taking up space and mental energy. Plus, if they haven't been worn in a while, most resale places will still take them because they are only gently used. This is one of the things to know before starting Marie Kondo's KonMari organizing method: if you plan to donate the items you declutter, make sure they are still in good shape and usable by others.

If you have gotten rid of everything that sparks joy, and your closet is still too full, try turning all your hangers to face one direction, and flip them the other way every time you wear them. At the end of six months or so, see what you've actually worn and what's been left untouched. If you're not really wearing it, it likely can go. When donating, consider places that would really benefit from your items, like a local women's shelter or a place that helps people with job interviews, like Dress for Success.

Uncomfortable, impractical, or "cute but painful" shoes rarely get a second chance. If you bought them for a wedding two summers ago and haven't touched them since, it's unlikely you're going to go out in them again. It's time to declutter! That said, the one way you should sort your shoes to decide which to get rid of is to lay them all out on the floor of your bedroom, instead of just pulling them out of your closet one by one. This way, it's easier to see what you have to make the culls you need to, especially if you have pairs that are essentially the same.

Yet as you are sorting your shoes for donation, pay close attention to their soles. If there are any that are too worn out, they might be better candidates for recycling instead. Signs to watch for include pairs that have no tread left on the bottom, or big cracks or holes, too. If your gently used shoes are still looking like they have plenty of life left, donate them to a local community closet. Find one by asking at local schools and churches.

It's possible to accumulate quite a few duplicate sets of kitchen tools over the years. Friends gift you things for life's big events. Things disappear during one of your moves, only to somehow reappear two houses later. But really, you only need one can opener. And if you upgrade to a new air fryer, you don't need to hang onto your smaller one, just in case. It's the same if you have a massive collection of keep-cups, mugs, etc.

For kitchen items, consider donating ones in good working order to organizations that feed your community! Places like local food banks or soup kitchens can pass these on to the families they serve, or use them in-house, as well. Homeless shelters typically have a food distribution program too. So, it's worth calling a few to see if they might benefit from anything in your box of kitchen supplies before you just take them to a local resale store.

If you've exhausted all of the creative ways to store books that actually enhance your home decor, it's time to declutter the ones that you know you're not going to ever look at again. Maybe you got tricked by BookTok, or the pretty cover disguised the most boring story you can't wait to forget all about. Whatever the reason, even if you love reading and being surrounded by books, it's not worth it to keep ones you know you're never going to read again, or even read through the first time.

Let them find a home with a reader who will actually enjoy them ... maybe. To increase the chance of this happening, instead of taking the books to Goodwill or somewhere similar, take your box of books to your local library. Many locations have "Friends of the Library" sales that help boost their budget for programming and new acquisitions, which really benefits your community.Local resale bookshops are also a good choice for this, as sometimes you can exchange them for store credit to get books you actually like.

Does the idea of putting up the Christmas tree fill you with dread? Have all the pink and red Valentine's Day linens you bought a decade ago not been seen since, because you can't find the time to swap everything over? Then it's time to declutter your seasonal décor. If decorating feels like a chore, donate it instead of holding onto it. Things like wreaths, banners, and even figurines tend to take up a lot of storage space. If you aren't getting joy out of using them, that space is better used by something else — or better yet, just by being empty!

Instead of just dropping them off at a resale shop, a great way to spread holiday cheer well after the season is over is to offer these decorations to families who might not have the budget to purchase them new, or might have recently lost their own in some sort of disaster, like a major storm or a house fire. Consider posting in Buy Nothing groups on social media, or in a hyperlocal group, like NextDoor. Nursing homes often appreciate these donations, as they help the staff keep the space cheerful for residents during holidays.

Having plenty of cozy blankets around might seem like heaven, until you're absolutely drowning in them. If you have one too many throws around the house, cull through them for a fresh start. But, don't toss them. Throwing away blankets is always such a waste, even if they are in bad shape!

For nicer blankets and sheets (no holes, still nice and fluffy, no stains), consider taking them to local homeless shelters. Often, they can use them on-site or pass them along to clients for personal use. Remember to launder these linens before you drop them off. If anything you have seems a little bit ratty, but might still be salvageable, take them to a local animal shelter instead. The dogs and cats in care will love having something to curl up on, especially for cold winter nights. If you live in an area with an active wildlife rescue organization, it can also be a good choice, as they use them for animals in care.

You need to stop stuffing handbags into your closet and try a space-saving storage idea instead: using something like the MISSLO 6 Clear Pockets Over Door Organizer for Handbags to create more space. But make sure you're only storing purses you love this way. Styles change, and that's okay! If you have heaps of purses that used to be fun, but you haven't used in ages, consider donating them so you have more room in your closet for fun things you'll actually carry.

Throwing away purses is silly, as even the rattiest of options can find a new life. In fact, there is even a whole side of TikTok dedicated to creators who seek out damaged purses in thrift shops only to restore them for everyday use. Send your unloved handbags to a local thrift or consignment shop so they can have a second chance at life.

Unopened, never-used craft supplies are one of the things to declutter before the end of the year to start the new one fresh. Because, sadly, aspirational clutter is still clutter. You might feel a bit guilty because you're decluttering a version of yourself that you wanted to be. But the yarn, fabric scraps, calligraphy pens and practice pads, the diamond painting set that's still unopened — these are all things that someone else is going to have fun with, but are just taking up space at your house.

Crafting groups on social media are a great place to start looking if you'd like to do a peer-to-peer donation. More traditional resale shops might hesitate or outright reuse partially used or open items, while a fellow crafter would be more than happy to take them. You can also speak to local craft stores, as many run classes using donated items, or ask your local community center or nursing home if they can use them in their crafting classes.

As your kids grow, it makes sense to hang onto a few particularly sentimental toys for a shadow box, or perhaps for their younger siblings. However, as your youngest child grows past tummy time and your elementary student suddenly thinks Barbies are just for babies, it's time to part ways with most of what you have. This way, you have the space to accommodate your child's new age-appropriate interests (and keeping the playroom clean will be easier, too!).

Toys are a great hand-me-down because there always will be a kid who can't wait to get their hands on them. You don't need to feel guilty about passing along things your kids' loved, as you can imagine how much they will be enjoyed by the recipient. To find the perfect fit, you can post in moms' groups on social media to find local people to give them to, so they are the most useful than just dropping them off at a resale store. Local daycares, especially smaller, church-run ones, also might have kids who would benefit from them.

If you're a DIY-lover, you probably have a lot of projects around the house that you keep meaning to get to someday. This could be old furniture pieces you've had for years and want to restain to match current trends, or even pieces you bought specifically to fix up and flip. But, if someday hasn't come yet, it's probably not ever going to come. Let someone else find it at Goodwill and flip it, or offer it up on Marketplace.

A lot of people use Facebook Marketplace as the ultimate furniture-shopping tool, so you can almost guarantee that even the most worn-out furniture can find a second home. Many people will jump at the chance for a free item, especially — and will often come and remove it themselves for the privilege of not paying. This also saves you the hassle of figuring out transport.

Did you fall prey to the everything chevron trend in 2014? What about those Live Laugh Love signs? When decluttering décor, a great rule of thumb is if you wouldn't buy it today, you don't need to keep it — but someone else might still love those things and be on the lookout for them. So, old décor is something you should always donate after decluttering instead of just trashing.

Because the nature of these items can vary so much, thrift stores and resale shops are a good first stop for offloading them. However, Facebook Marketplace or local Buy Nothing groups are also filled with people, like college students or first-time apartment renters, who are excited just to have something to put in their homes. They won't care if it's a set of chevron throw pillows or patio chairs that you never want to see again.

This can be a tough pill to swallow, but if the kettlebells and yoga mat you purchased in 2017 have just been sitting there since, unused, it's okay to declutter them. At this point, they aren't motivating you; they are just taunting you. For smaller items, it's easy enough to pass them along to a resale shop or friend, but things get trickier when you are working with actual machines, like ellipticals or treadmills.

There are a few rules to follow when deciding whether to donate or trash them. "In general, a treadmill that is worth trying to rehome should be under 10 years old and not have had any heavy use," John Galeotafiore, associate director of product testing at Consumer Reports, told the outlet. "If the treadmill has any issues with the motor, belt, or electronics, it's probably best to dispose of it."  Facebook Marketplace or local Buy Nothing groups are great places to unload large and small exercise equipment, whereas local schools and community centers like YMCAs may be interested in the more gently used pieces you are getting rid of.

Doing the same puzzle over and over again can be fun, but for some, once you've completed one once or twice, the magic is gone. It's the same for board games. If no one ever suggests playing them, they can go. You should donate them instead of tossing them because puzzles and games tend to be so gently used that their next owner will find them to be as good as new.

That said, even if you know everything is intact, a lot of resale places won't take things like this because of the potential for missing parts. So, these will need to be peer-to-peer exchanges. There are lots of puzzle groups on Facebook to find people who might want them. You can also donate to local in-person organizations that have residents who might enjoy the games, like senior centers, daycares, etc. If you can't find a local one, places like Puzzle Warehouse offer recycling and redistribution via the mail.

More and more hotels seem to have larger, refillable bottles instead of offering travel-sized options you can swipe. While it might be the end of an era, it's also time to take stock of the collection you've amassed over the years. If they've lived under your sink for a while, they're not traveling with you! It's time to find them a new home. 

Check the expiration dates on the bottles of shampoo and mouthwashes carefully. If they are not expired, taking them to a homeless shelter, or a women's home, can be a great solution for your community. As an alternative, you can put together care packages for people you see sleeping rough. Wet wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, and other hygiene items can go a long way. Make sure to pop a bottle of water and a snack or two in these bags, too so they make the most impact.