How to recycle your gently used cast-offs

Connie Nelson and Ingrid Sundstrom / Star Tribune

After the holidays, during a move or in the midst of any cleaning fit, there are items discovered and uncovered that just don't do the job anymore.

Great-grandma's pink Limoges lamp has sentimental value, but no place in your home – or in the homes of any of her other loved ones. Yet, it might be of value to someone. New books no longer have a place to live among the stacks of older, no-longer-wanted books. And the clothing at the back of the closet hasn't fit in years.

Get rid of it!

It's easy to throw out broken, torn, stained or ratty stuff. (Call your contract trash hauler if you have an especially large load or large items to toss. If they won't accept it, they likely can refer you to someone who will.)

However, most of us don't want to just toss out that "perfectly good" stuff. And at some point, relatives and friends have accepted enough cast-off furniture and household goods.

So, how do you get those unwanted, but still perfectly good – even valuable – things into the hands of people who want, need and will value them? Read on! We'll tell you how to make an organized liquidation.

How to Donate Used Goods

Donating used items can be less labor-intensive than selling them and offers feel-good rewards, in addition to possible tax deductions.

Charitable donations

There are many organizations that have drop-off sites and offer pick-up service for donated clothing, household goods and furniture. Most drop-off sites have regular hours, which are listed below. You must call to schedule pickup.

It's a good idea to call ahead and ask what items an organization will accept. (Often, that varies because of the organization's inventory and storage space.) Donate only gently used, resalable items that are clean and in working order.

"We don't accept broken appliances, junky clothes or trashed-out furniture," said Joe Bielawa, resource manager with Exchange Charities in Minneapolis. "We are not a landfill. We want things we can move along to people in need."

If you don't know where to donate, or want some help deciding, a clearinghouse for charitable contributions is United Way's First Call for Help (612-335-5000 or 651-224-1133 in the Twin Cities area).

"We can direct just about anything to the right places," said Bonnie Frazer at First Call's Minneapolis office. "The first thing we ask is where the donor lives, so their contributions can be distributed locally."

First Call has directed donations of everything from personal and household goods to computers and office equipment – even a supply of ostrich meat.

Dropoff or pickup

ARC of Hennepin County
  Accepts donations of clothing and household goods (no furniture or large appliances) at its Value Village Thrift Stores in New Hope (612-544-0006) and Richfield (612-861-9550). Hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
  Picks up clothing, household goods and furniture throughout Hennepin County. Call 612-866-8820 to schedule pickup.

Disabled American Veterans
  Accepts clothing, household goods and wooden furniture (no upholstered furniture and no large appliances) at its drop-off sites in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Drop-off sites: 1808 Emerson Av. N., Minneapolis. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. 612-522-0047. 572 University Av., St. Paul. Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. 651-292-1707.
  Or call 612-487-2002 to schedule pickup in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota. 651-641-0011
Accepts clothing (no household goods). Drop-off site: 2386 Territorial Rd., St. Paul. Drop-off hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday. Picks up throughout the Twin Cities. Call to schedule pickup.

Exchange Charities. 612-341-9134.
  Accepts clothing, household goods, books, toys, games and working gas appliances. No waterbeds or electric appliances. Drop-off site: 607 Washington Av. S., Minneapolis. Drop-off hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Call before making a drop-off. Call for pick up.

Reach-out Thrift. 612-827-5606.
  Accepts furniture. No clothing or household goods. Drop-off site: 417 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. Drop-off hours: 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Picks up clothing and furniture from Minneapolis and first-tier suburbs. Call for pickup.

Sabathani Community Center. 612-821-2347.
  Accepts clothing, household goods, furniture and appliances. Drop-off site: 310 E. 38th St., Minneapolis, at the north end of the building. Drop-off hours: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call to schedule pickup.

Salvation Army. 612-332-5855.
  Accepts clothing, household goods and furniture. No large appliances. Drop-off sites: Main warehouse at 900 N. 4th St., Minneapolis. Warehouse drop-off hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m Monday-Saturday. Also accepts donations at 10 area Salvation Army stores. Store hours: 9 a.m.-6:50 p.m Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:50 p.m. Saturday. Call to schedule pickup.

Vietnam Veterans of America. 651-778-8387.
  Accepts clothing, household goods and wooden furniture. (No large appliances, upholstered furniture, waterbeds or microwaves.) Drop-off sites in St. Paul, Columbia Heights and New Hope. Accepts clothing only at drop-off trailer in Oakdale. Drop-off hours: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Call to schedule pickup.

Dropoff only

Goodwill Industries/Easter Seals Minnesota. 651-646-2591.
  Accepts donations at eight metro area stores plus donation trailers in Burnsville and Cottage Grove. Clothing, household items, furniture, hand tools and home health-care equipment. Automobiles in working order (with keys and title) are accepted at the St. Paul store. No personal care products or large appliances. Call for store nearest you. Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

The ReUse Center, 2216 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. 612-724-2608.
  Accepts donations of lighting, cabinetry, millwork, lumber, sinks and hardware, mantles, computers, heating materials. Does not accept household goods, furniture or appliances. Call in advance.

Books, magazines

Minnesota Women's Press, 771 Raymond Av., St. Paul. 651-646-3968.
  Accepts books in good condition that were written by women. Donations are accepted from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

Volunteer service organizations of health clinics, hospitals and some dentist offices accept donations of current magazines after mailing labels have been removed.

Old photos, diaries

If you've a stack of old photos or old diaries you or your relatives don't want, call your town or county historical society to see if it would be interested in a donation.

Old-but-serviceable clothing

Some high school and community college or community theater groups might be interested in grandpa's fedora collection or great-aunt's 1920s flapper dresses (which also might fetch a fine price from a vintage clothing dealer).

How to Resell Used Goods

Some things you can give away, but what about those items that might be precious, even a little bit, to you or to potential buyers? If you want to sell something, the best way to get the best price is to know the most you can about your item.

Then you can ask the best price, whether selling through garage sales or classified ads, to friends or to dealers.

Appraisals

One good way to get a good idea of the value of your no-longer-wanted items is to have them professionally appraised. Some appraisers will value specific items, such as art, coins or antiques. Others will appraise all items you want to liquidate. You probably will want to use an appraiser who isn't also a buyer, to be sure you get an unbiased opinion of the worth of your items.

"Some people have things in their home that they don't know are valuable," said Corey Ophus, of Corey's Appraisal Services in Wayzata, a general household goods appraiser. "Maybe there's a painting they've seen hanging up every day for 20, 30, 50 years, and think it might have no value. But it might be worth $100, or $1,000 or $2,000."

"Never throw anything away until you have an unbiased professional come in to organize stuff, put in some kind of methodical order, and let you know that this is worth something, this – nothing," Ophus said.

A written appraisal on donated items also may help at tax time.

Look for appraisers and their specialties in the Yellow Pages under "Appraisers."

Antiques, collectibles

Again, be knowledgeable about your goods. That old settee, doll or silver candlestick may a valuable antique; knowing its approximate value can help you fetch a good price when dealing with professional antique dealers.

To find dealers who might be interested in your items, visit antique shows or check the Yellow Pages under "Antiques" to find specialists willing to buy. Some dealers will come to your home to see your items and make an offer.

Garage sales

Garage sale season is still a couple of months away – which leaves plenty of time to prepare! A garage sale can be one of the best ways to get rid of a large amount of "hh goods and much misc." However, they entail lots of work.

To make your garage sale a success, consider joining (or creating) a neighborhood sale, advertising and using plenty of signs on the day of the sale. Items should be clearly displayed and marked with price tags.

In spring, the Star Tribune offers a free garage sale kit with the purchase of a 6-line ad. The kit includes garage sale guidelines, balloons, price stickers and a sale log. Watch for the promotion or call 612-673-7000.

Classifieds

Most newspapers – daily, weekly, neighborhood, even newsletters – have a classified section where you can advertise your wares; some "shoppers" carry only want ads to buy or sell goods.

Consignment

Consider consigning items that you feel are too dear to give away. There are a dozens of consignment shops around the Twin Cities, many of which are listed in the Yellow Pages under "Consignment services" or under the specific items they sell, such as "Clothing – Consignment & Resale." Most consignment shops specialize, but a few stores sell everything from clothing to toys. Call around to determine which shop would be the best fit for the your items.

Make an appointment to bring your items in for reviewal. If your items are accepted, a contract is drawn up that states the asking price for the items and the percentage you and the consignment shop will receive from the sale. (That percentage varies from shop to shop.) Most often, you will not receive payment until an item is sold.

Sporting goods

Selling used sporting goods is a booming business in the Twin Cities. There are dozens of stores that buy, sell and trade used sporting goods and exercise equipment. (A few also accept consignments.) Look in the Yellow Pages under "Sporting goods – Retail." Many stores specialize, so call ahead before you load the car. In-season items, such as ice skates in winter, sell most quickly.

Books, magazines

Those books can pile up! If you're downsizing your home, or just your book collection, you might get a few bucks by selling them at a garage sale.

Or, many used- and rare-book sellers in the Twin Cities area will pay fair to fine prices for books, especially those that are first edition, author-signed or rare. Most, however, aren't very interested in piles of run-of-the-mill paperbacks; old textbooks don't fetch much (if anything) on resale either. Check the Yellow Pages under "Books – Used & Rare," to find potential buyers for your books.

One national chain, however, will take just about anything – cheap to rare books, magazines, record albums, CDs, cassettes, videos. Half Price Books, with four local locations (5011 Excelsior Blvd., St. Louis Park, 612-922-2414; 1731 Beam Av., Maplewood, 651-773-0631; 2041 Ford Pkwy., St. Paul, 651-699-1391;-and Ct. Rd. 42 and Cedar Av., Apple Valley, 612-431-0749), "will make an offer on anything printed or recorded, that comes in the door, except yesterday's newspaper," said St. Louis Park store manager Jim Walker.

Tools

If you have too many tools, or someone in your family had a fine collection that's gathering dust, they may have resale value. If they appear to be antique (100 years old or more), check the Yellow Pages under "Antiques" for dealers who specialize in tools.

Otherwise, you may be able to sell good, used shop and power tools at garage sales, or to ReTool, a store with three Twin Cities locations (13965 Grand Av. S., Burnsville, 612-898-7160; 2042 Ford Pkwy., St. Paul, 651-698-3781 and 1935 Beam Av., Maplewood, 651-748-8141).

Computers, office equipment

Some businesses will take or maybe buy old computers to recycle into parts, or to be refurbished for resale. Check the Yellow Pages under "Computers – Dealers" and "Computers – Used."

Appliances

Major appliances take up a lot of room in our homes, and when they're no longer working or needed, they're not easy to dispose of. Refrigerators, particularly those more than a few years old, aren't allowed in landfills because the freon in cooling and insulating systems is suspected in the breakdown of Earth's ozone layer.

But some Twin Cities-area counties and dealers will take, or even buy, your old refrigerator – it may be reoutfitted to recycle and resell or it may be trashed. Old kitchen appliances, such as 1920s, '30s and '40s stoves or ranges, also may be valuable, as the "retro" kitchen look is now popular.

Call your county or city offices to ask about major appliance disposal. And to see if you can find a buyer, check the Yellow Pages under "Appliances-Major-Used."

The Internet

Now you can sell things without ever leaving your home. Some antiques buyers have websites, and there are national sites.

One way for buyers and sellers to reach a national audience is on the Internet auction site eBay (http://www.ebay.com/). The searchable site sells everything from expensive antiques and cameras to beanie babies and music boxes. Sellers post descriptions and often pictures of items; buyers place electronic bids during auctions that usually last several days.

Bidder security is protected by passwords and sellers build their reputations through ratings that are developed from buyer feedback. While eBay has taken steps to keep the dealings honest and most transactions end happily, the site's popularity has attracted some scam artists. Buyers should carefully read eBay's rules, check out sellers' ratings and ask questions of sellers before they place a bid.

ý Copyright 1999 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Republished here with the permission of the Star Tribune.
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