Don’t Toss It, ______ It

In a lot of ways, I think the green movement is just a return to good old-fashioned common sense. People weren’t always so wasteful; it simply wasn’t affordable or logical to be, and besides, there was always someone who might benefit from that hand-me-down.

Just because something in your closet is dead to you personally, it may still have a higher calling. Whether you need the cash (hello, economy!) or simply want to do a 501(c)(3) a good turn, now is as ideal a time as any to do a little spring cleaning (without tossing).

DONATE YOUR ______

Business Suit

• Dressed For Success takes your new and nearly new work-appropriate suits, blouses, and shoes and gives them to disadvantaged women looking to find work.

Formal Dress

• The Princess Project “promotes self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them.”

Bling

• Local women’s shelters like The Family Place accept in-kind donations of jewelry and more to “make the women in our programs feel special and loved.” Want to find your nearest shelter to donate to? Try here.

Fur

• Full Fur Garments: PETA accepts tax-deductible donations of fur for use in educational displays, demonstrations, and “fur kitchens” at homeless shelters, giving the items to those who can’t afford to buy outerwear but direly need it.
• Remnants or Fur-Trimmed: The Humane Society will send your fur to wildlife rehabilitators to use as bedding and nesting material, transforming it into a “furry blanket (that) becomes a “surrogate mother” to an orphaned or injured animal, reducing stress and giving comfort.” All together now: awwwwwwwww.

Dirty Sneakers (Seriously)

• What to do with a pair of sneakers that are too broke down to run in, too dirty to give to Goodwill, yet too guilt-inducing to toss? Nike’s ReUse a Shoe program takes your old athletic kicks, slices and grinds them, and puts the resulting substance to good use as material in track surfaces, playgrounds, consumer products, gym tiles, and more.

SELL YOUR ______

Couture

• If you’re patient and not in desperate need of funds (and not wanting to Ebay it yourself) your local high-end consignment shop may be your best bet. Check their reputation using a service like Yelp (a lot of unpaid bills these days), but if they accept your items, chances are they have loyal patrons and know exactly what those customers are interested in buying.

Ironic Hipster Tees

• Crossroads Trading Company either buys your clothing at 35% of what they expect to sell it for (note: not 35% of what you paid for it), or, if something hanging on the racks takes your fancy, gives you 50% trade. If you are terrified of mild humiliation, this is not for you: your life will flash before your eyes as a tween “buyer” picks through your belongings. They will most likely reject some of your precious objects, so I would recommend planning an immediate trip to your local Goodwill afterwards to unload the rest of your stock.

Everything and Anything

• Ebay, Ebay, Ebay. Ebay is at once your highest mountain and your lowest valley. Sometimes you’ll end up getting an obscene amount of money for something that you held little regard for. Sometimes what you thought was an amazing deal gets nary a bid. You’ll want to throttle the people who ask you a million times what the reserve price is (even if you specifically state DO NOT ASK ME WHAT THE RESERVE PRICE IS), but you’ll also get the buyer with a fondness for argyle ear muffs who lives in a small fishing village in Denmark.