Donate, Sell, Give, Recycle
Are you struggling to get rid of your household items before your move?
Here are some ways to make sure your items don't end up in a landfill - and maybe even make you some cash!
Donate
Your donations help your community and your planet. Here are some of our clients favorite places to donate.
When donating goods at these non-profits, be sure to get a receipt from a donation attendant. Hang on to this receipt and at the end of the year, if you itemize deductions on your taxes, you can claim a tax deduction for your donation.
For furniture
Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Habitat will take sofas, chairs, dining room tables, dressers, bed frames, coffee tables, end tables, filing cabinets, etc. They also accept clothing, books, art, toys and most household items. Contact your local ReStore to see if they are able to pick up the items you have available.
New Life Furniture Bank
Accepts furniture such as beds, tables, bookcases, chairs, desks and dressers in good condition.
Furnishing Hope of MA
Accepts furniture such as beds, tables, bookcases, chairs, desks and dressers in good condition.
For home goods
Big Brother Big Sister
BBBS will take clothing, books, art, toys and household items. They do not accept furniture.
Welcome Home Newton
Welcome Home will take everything you can think of from your kitchen, plus clean bed or bath linens, art, and some other general home goods.
Goodwill
Goodwill accepts gently-used goods like clothing; shoes; accessories including handbags and jewelry, bags and luggage; cookware, bakeware, dishes, small electronics and home electronics.
About 85 percent of the textiles currently being thrown away in MA could be donated, reused, or recycled instead.
In November 2022, MassachusettsDEP expanded its waste disposal bans by adding textiles and mattresses to the list of materials banned from disposal or transport for disposal in Massachusetts. The goal is to keep clothing and other textiles out of the landfill so they can be reused and recycled.
“Virtually any textile can be reused, repurposed, or recycled if clean and dry. Even worn, torn, and stained items have recovery value.” - MassDEP
For textiles, clothes & hygiene
Hope & Comfort distributes products to those in need through close partnerships with youth-serving and community partner organizations. They accept any unopened full-size hygiene products such as shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.
Circle of Hope accepts new and gently used clothing and essentials by appointment, including baby clothes, maternity clothes and some winter items. This clothing gets provided to homeless shelters and clinics in the Metrowest area.
Baystate can accept clothing, shoes and other textiles that are too worn to donate. Over half of what Baystate collects is upcycled into rags and other materials to keep it out of our waste streams. There are donation boxes at many public schools in Massachusetts.
Helpsy collects clothing, textiles and shoes that they ensure are reused (~50%) or recycled (~45%). After sorting, the higher grades are resold to thrift stores in North America and other secondhand markets around the world. The lower grades get turned into rags for industrial use or things like stuffing and insulation. In addition to clothes and footwear they will accept clean luggage, winter gear, stuffed animals and linens.
Mattress Upcycling
Mattresses are made up mostly of recyclable materials. Once disassembled, more than 75 percent of their components can be reused to make things like mulch, pet beds and other textiles. Use the map linked here to find out if your city or town has a collection program.
For construction materials
Boston Building Resources
Boston Building Resources is a non-profit that helps people maintain and improve their homes while keeping reusable materials out of landfills. They will take building materials, appliances, fixtures, fencing, lumber, hardware, tools and tons more. For a small donation they will also come pick up items from your home.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Just like BBR, Habitat for Humanity's Restore is all about reusing things that would otherwise end up in the trash. They take new and gently used furniture, appliances, home goods, building materials and more. These items are resold at the Restore and the funds support Habitat for Humanity's home building philanthropy.
Eco Building Bargains
EcoBuilding Bargains out in Springfield MA is the largest reclaimed and surplus building materials store in New England. With enough notice they can come to your home, job site or business to pick up larger volumes of materials
Sell
Sites with seller protection ensure that any payments made to you are secure and legitimate.
More seller protection
AptDeco
AptDeco is a peer to peer marketplace for buying and selling furniture. Unlike FB or Offerup, once your item is purchased they will send a truck to pick it up and deliver it to its new home - so you never interface directly with the buyer.
Chairish
Chairish is geared toward higher-end or designer home furnishings and art such as antiques, collectables and heirlooms. If you have a piece that is highly valuable and have a bit of time, you may get the best offers via Chairish. Your first 10 listings are free and they will facilitate shipping and payment for you once a buyer is secured.
Apartment Therapy Bazaar
This marketplace is for vintage or antique designer furnishings and accessories. It is free to list an item but you will incur a service fee when the item sells.
On these sites you sell at your own risk. There is no purchase protection offers to the seller or buyer. Keep all communication on the app and meet somewhere public when doing any sales.
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Less seller protection
Facebook Marketplace
Compared to Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace is a safer and more user-friendly platform to use when selling locally. It’s good for selling absolutely anything. Learn how to sell effectively on Facebook here.
OfferUp
OfferUp is a mobile app where you can sell personal items, ranging from musical instruments and furniture to clothing and books, with no commission or fees. It is good for selling lower cost items locally.
Give Away
If you don't have time to deal with donating to a non-profit, the internet makes it so easy to give your items a new home.
Buy Nothing
Buy Nothing' groups are online groups where members give things away for free to those in their local community. It keeps items out of the landfill and helps out your neighbors - a win win! You should only post things in your local group that are 100% for FREE and members will respond with a request to claim the item. Read more about buy nothing groups.
Local Swap Shops
Local “swap shops” are meant to reduce the amount of reusable materials and goods entering the waste stream by providing residents with a place to conveniently give away usable items they no longer want or need and find things they can use. They are typically located at the transfer station or "dump" and are volunteer run. Needham, Wellesley, Wayland and Newton all have swap shops.
Recycle
If you've tried to donate your items but they aren't in good enough condition to be reused, your next best option is responsible recycling. If you aren't sure where or how to recycle a certain item, start with a search at Recycle Smart MA.
There are also local eco-friendly disposal or haul away services that will be sure to properly dispose of your unwanted furniture and items ensuring they don’t end up in a landfill. They both service almost all of Greater Boston.
GoGreenTeamJunk.com
Takes appliances, furniture, mattresses, scrap materials, rugs/carpets, pool tables.
Green-team-junk-removal.com
Takes appliances, furniture, general junk, basement or storage clean out.