If you look hard enough you will find something in your home that means the world to you, so you display it proudly and wonder at times why your friends aren’t telling you how wonderful it is. When shopping at your local thrift store you’ll run across many such items just looking for a new owner. If you’ve ever collected anything or been given an award you know the value you place on those items, and rightfully so.

On the other hand, how many times have you seen something that’s being thrown out and you can’t possibly understand the owner’s lack of reason in doing so? There right in front of everybody sitting in a trash heap is the one thing you’ve been searching for and you feel cheated because it’s illegal to raid another’s trash.

Well there’s a way that you can justify your pride in an item you can’t use anymore by donating it to your local thrift store. As a non-profit organization in Chico, Paradise, and Oroville the Arc Store will gratefully accept your worthy items for re-sale. All day long shoppers cruise our aisles looking for that one of a kind treasure which has eluded them for so long. The comments at check-out of “I can’t believe I found this!” are too numerous to count!

When thinking of donating to a thrift store, know that you’re helping the community in many ways. First, you’re saving money by not contributing to the land fill. Second, you’re providing a means to keep a great many local people employed. Third, the money raised from the sale of your donation provides for all the programs that support thousands of families in your county.

What to Donate and What Not to Donate

Let’s try to break this out by category: furniture, electronics, clothing, collectables, and small appliances.

Furniture

Furniture really needs to be free of stains or tears in the fabric and have as few scratches in the wood as possible. Every piece of furniture occasionally gets a scratch from a vacuum cleaner or from moving it around and that’s all right, perfection is rare. However, if the item in question is wobbly on its legs or is missing an arm or cushion it’s not going to be well received and should probably go to the landfill.

Entertainment centers are really a thing of the past with the advent of flat panel televisions. Some of the newer ones are all right but most are just taking up too much space anymore. Dining tables are still in demand and even if they’re not in the best shape there is still a market for them, although the larger ones are a little harder to place.

Electronics

Electronics are pretty much always in demand, from boom boxes to multi-channel surround sound systems. If they’re not all torn up, they sell. The older television sets and monitors are mostly recycled anymore because they’re very heavy and don’t have the HD capacity that’s required by television providers. If you have some old electronic testers such as amp or ohm meters they’re still in high demand. Even some of the older radios are wanted for their transistors and tubes.

Clothing

When it comes to clothing there seems to be no end to demand. If it’s stained or has holes it’s generally recycled but most of the time your gently used clothing items are still a large market share of thrift store business. Most thrift stores nowadays offer up a separate department of finer clothing at very reasonable prices, as well as every day apparel. Medical clothing or “scrubs” and specialized clothing such as maternity and heavy duty work clothing also make an excellent donation.

Collectibles

Collectibles are always in high demand and make fine donations year-round. Almost everybody collects something or other during their lifetime and display it for memory sake. There are a lot of people seeking a little diamond in the rough, and just as many looking to finish out their collection.

Small Appliances

Small appliances encompass a lot of equipment – from microwaves and refrigerators to toasters and coffee makers. If you purchase or receive a newer machine as a gift your old unit is still marketable as a nice donation item.

Washing machines and dryers are considered specialized appliances and require testing facilities not readily available at thrift stores, so take them to an appliance center and it will get refurbished or recycled properly.

In closing, use common sense when thinking about donating your goods. Try to consider if it’s in a re-sellable condition and remember that everything you donate has a positive impact on your local community.