As my quest to declutter continues, I've decided to change these posts from being about getting rid of crap to giving stuff to people who need/want it.
It shall be called Giving Back, though still accomplishes the decluttering. Giving Back has a twist though - you're still getting rid of stuff you don't need/want anymore, but giving it new life with a new home. In my decluttering quest, I've found out about some really cool charities that will take stuff that you don't want anymore. Also found some neat ways to recycle stuff to new people - not necessarily charities, but keeps things out of the dump all the same.
Here's what's been happening since the last decluttering post:
Magazines: are finally gone! The person who I had emailed from Craigslist didn't reply back. So after a week, I posted my own advertisement to give away free magazines. Five minutes later, someone emailed back asking when they could get them. Sweet! I dropped them off last night to a lovely French lady, also named Michelle, who wanted the magazines to help her improve her English. I was very happy to give away my stuff to help promote literacy (and especially to help a fellow Michelle) :)!
Textbooks/Other Books: With school starting back up, it's a perfect time to get rid of textbooks. I've already successfully sold two textbooks on Amazon.ca in the last week and a half, and have since posted up another few textbooks and some other stuff that I had lurking around that might fetch a buck (some DVDs and other books/novels).
Unfortunately, I have some textbooks that can't be sold, either because they are damaged or because they are too old and no current student would be looking for them anymore. I would still like to give them to somebody, if anyone will take them, and I'm not expecting to get any cash for them. I've found out about a few cool charities in the States and one in Quebec that accept donated textbooks for various programs, but most ask you to drop the books off at their office rather than mail them in (and really, I'm not going to spend $15+ per book on shipping to give it away for free).
The Canadian School Book Exchange is one of the few places that I've actually found within the GTA that accepts donations of textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. The books are given to organizations across Canada and internationally that promote literacy education. If they can't be used for these purposes, they can also be recycled, in which case the proceeds from the recycling are donated to United Way charities and a matching donation is made. Their office is located in Mississauga, so next time that I have access to a car, I will make the trek out there with my stack of old/non-saleable textbooks.
Other organizations
In trying to find charities to donate to, this website kept popping up on Google. I assumed that it was something for the city dump, since it's posted on the City of Toronto Solid Waste Management website. However, it turns out that it's really an awesome list of charities and organizations seeking donations of just about everything! These organizations are looking for things like clothing, books, non-perishable food, art supplies, small appliances, furniture, bedding, kids bikes, and even old cars. Visit www.toronto.ca/reuseit/orgs.htm to find some local charities that are looking for your stuff!
In the future, I'll try to keep posting about neat charities that I find to take stuff that I no longer need. Since I'm far too poor now (as a starving student) to donate money to anyone, I love that I can still give back in a different way!
What are some of your favourite places to donate items, food, or funding?
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