AmandaVT Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Most things I know what to do to dispose of them - recycle, thrift store, garbage, etc. But - what about stuff like pillows, old, ratty towels or older blankets/sheets? Old pots and pans that have outlived their usefulness? Stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 I'm sure others will have better answers but I think animal shelters will take old towels and blankets. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Offer the pots and pans for free online. You'd be surprised what folks come to pick up. Towels to the animal shelter. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Just now, AmandaVT said: Most things I know what to do to dispose of them - recycle, thrift store, garbage, etc. But - what about stuff like pillows, old, ratty towels or older blankets/sheets? Old pots and pans that have outlived their usefulness? Stuff like that. Listening. I tried donating pillows to the animal shelter but ours won't take them. They do take blankets and towels, though. I've bought used sheets at the Goodwill for costumes. I have piles of pillows just waiting for a way to be reused! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Towels, blankets and sheets get offered to the animal shelter. They often take them. Pillows get tossed. Pots and pans get recycled if you have that available, tossed if not. Pretty much if it's not good enough to resell, it shouldn't go to the thrift store. We have bins that collect clothes and cloth. They are sorted into resale and rags by the pound. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Our Goodwill takes all of those things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 We had a Salvation Army that took everything. But in reality there is always stuff that needs to go to the dump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 If it's in decent shape, people here leave weird random items out by the curb (we don't have alleys). It usually gets taken--even cracked flower pots and funky dishes--though no one leaves remainders out for long. People have use for all kinds of surprising things (though I'd definitely draw the line at pillows, ugh). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Yes, animal shelters can use the old towels and blankets. If your thrift stores won't take the pots and pans (most will), see if you can find a metal scrapper who will take them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted June 27, 2023 Author Share Posted June 27, 2023 Our Salvation Army is silly picky - I tried to donate some of DS's gently used toys and clothes there once and they picked through my boxes like I was offering my trash, took the matchbox cars and told me to throw everything else out. Thankfully, I was able to find a family that could use them! I should have taken the matchbox cars back, but I was too surprised at the time. Just checked the animal shelter, they are specifically asking people NOT to donate pillows/blankets. I can double check on the towels though- that's a good idea. @MEmama we have the "leave it on the curb and they shall come" thing here too. Our house is tucked up on a tiny side street 2 streets off the main road. People only drive down it to deliver things or if they live here. I could see about using a friend's curb though. When we lived in Montpelier, it was great. We could put anything on the sidewalk and it would be gone within an hour. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Animal shelters and veterinary offices will take towels, bedding, sheets. You can ask about pillows, but they likely won't want them because they are a pain to wash. Metal of any sort goes to the scrapper. Anything else, put it on freecycle or FB marketplace. "Free box of ABC at the curb of XYZ street". I've been putting all of our unwanted nonsense at the end of my driveway. Someone's taken every last bit of it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 I have taken towels and blankets to an animal shelter. But otherwise I just throw things out. If they’re not in good enough condition for me to buy at a thrift store, I don’t donate. I don’t want a charity to have to pay to take stuff to an landfill. And I’d generally rather get stuff out of my house now than spend more than it’s worth to take to the perfect location more than a 20 minute drive one way. I have tried to leave free items on the curb with a sign, but more often than not no one picked junk up, so I ended up tossing a lot of it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartstrings Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Buy nothing groups are great for that kind of stuff. People want all kinds of things. I would love really crappy pots and pans for outside play for example. Pillow cases are good for fabric. I gave away a toilet on the buy nothing group once. I thought it was weird, but I replaced a working toilet hoping it would help with our water bill and someone got a free toilet. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Some people use the stuffing from pillows in crafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Every time I see this thread title I'm like, "Oh!! What weird stuff? A Bigfoot sculpture? Your collection of miniature glass reptiles? A cursed rock that you should NOT have removed from Hawaii?" And then I remember it's just pillows and pans and stuff. 🙂 I know that some Goodwills sell worn out textiles to recyclers to be used for car seat stuffing, rags, etc. 4 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 14 hours ago, HomeAgain said: Towels, blankets and sheets get offered to the animal shelter. They often take them. Pillows get tossed. Pots and pans get recycled if you have that available, tossed if not. Pretty much if it's not good enough to resell, it shouldn't go to the thrift store. We have bins that collect clothes and cloth. They are sorted into resale and rags by the pound. I just found out our animal shelter has too many and won't take them! I was surprised. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 8 hours ago, MercyA said: Every time I see this thread title I'm like, "Oh!! What weird stuff? A Bigfoot sculpture? Your collection of miniature glass reptiles? A cursed rock that you should NOT have removed from Hawaii?" And then I remember it's just pillows and pans and stuff. 🙂 I know that some Goodwills sell worn out textiles to recyclers to be used for car seat stuffing, rags, etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoeless Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 18 minutes ago, DawnM said: I just found out our animal shelter has too many and won't take them! I was surprised. Give them to a veterinary hospital. We always needed towels! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 8 minutes ago, Shoeless said: Give them to a veterinary hospital. We always needed towels! I could ask my friend whose daughter is a vet. The other issue is that since we are purging, I just don't have time to go all over the pace to donate items. But maybe I could get them to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
math teacher Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Pillows, towels, and sheets could all go to animal shelter. Old pots and pans could go to thrift store, or buy nothing group. I sometimes see requests for "anything, because I have nothing" type posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 2 hours ago, DawnM said: I just found out our animal shelter has too many and won't take them! I was surprised. I wonder if they recently put out a plea for them and got over run with donations? Our animal shelter just put out a plea themselves and a couple of rescues, as well. When it's kitten season (isn't it always kitten season?), towels are in high demand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 2 hours ago, DawnM said: This might be my favorite post of the month. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 (edited) Agree with all the recommendations. I'm on a local buy nothing, sell nothing facebook group. You can check and see if there's one for your town/area. On this subject here's a weird one: I had a bunch of leftover contact lenses when my prescription changed. During covid times I didn't wear them, just wore my glasses. Two and a half years later when I put them in, I couldn't see properly. I got new contacts but didn't want boxes of old ones to go to the dump. Well, I found out there's a veterinary opthalmologist near me and apparently contacts make good bandages. They were happy to take them. In case you're wondering like I was, it seems they don't affect the animal's vision (they treat dogs and cats) but are the perfect material to cover the cornea while it's healing. Edited June 28, 2023 by Lady Florida. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 19 hours ago, AmandaVT said: Most things I know what to do to dispose of them - recycle, thrift store, garbage, etc. But - what about stuff like pillows, old, ratty towels or older blankets/sheets? Old pots and pans that have outlived their usefulness? Stuff like that. Towels/blankets and stuff often pet places want. Pillows I often throw out. But someone that makes stuffed animals MIGHT want to repurpose the filling if you put it on your local freecycle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 19 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said: Our Goodwill takes all of those things. Sometimes places take things even if they plan to take them to the dump because things they can use tend to come with them. I know this firsthand because I worked at Goodwill in a former life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartstrings Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 (edited) If you put them up for free and no wants them it is ok to toss them. It really is. Edited June 28, 2023 by Heartstrings 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 28, 2023 Share Posted June 28, 2023 11 minutes ago, Heartstrings said: If you put them up for free and no wants them it is ok to toss them. It really is. This is what I have decided I put up a Magic kit from Melissa and Doug on our Buy Nothing. AFter a week of no interest, I tossed it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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