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The holidays are a great time to give back and declutter your home. So, you’ve got your items ready to donate, now what?  If you’re planning on donating goods to your local Goodwill, here are some tips to make your experience more efficient and convenient.

1. Find a donation site close to home. With over 40 Goodwill donation centers across the region, you won’t have to go far. Keep in mind that the end of the year is a busy time for donations, but our centers are open 7 days a week to fit your schedule.

2. We accept most items you can think of donating, from clothing and furniture to small appliances and toys. If you’re unsure that you can donate a particular item, check our donation guidelines.

3. Group like items together. If you donation item has multiple parts or pieces – like puzzles, socks, or dishes – make sure to keep everything together. Use rubber bands to keep puzzles or toys together and make sure to tape remotes or other accessories to your electronic devices.

4. Use a reusable box or bag to deliver your donations. Packing your goods in a reusable container like a shopping tote, box or even a laundry basket is a great zero waste option. It evens make a great donation item in and of itself!

5. Bring your electronics! Goodwill is a safe place to bring computers/laptops, cellphones, tablets and other small electronics. We even accept non-working electronics and will recycle them as part of E-Cycle Washington program.

6. Getting rid of Christmas lights after the holidays? We’ll take those too – even the burned out ones.  We cannot accept living trees, but you can donate artificial trees or other holiday décor.

7.We are able to sell or recycle the majority of what we collect so you can bring items that are out of date, stained, or torn. Some items cannot be sold in our retail stores may be repurposed, such as glass for countertops or clothing for rags. Seattle Goodwill is a proud partner of Threadcycle, a program created by King County and Seattle Public Utilities that’s dedicated to keeping worn-out clothes and linens out of local landfills. Most of these clothes, shoes and linens that are thrown into the garbage can be reused or recycled.

8. Get helping hauling your donations. We partner with movers like College Hunks and ZipVan for easy pick up and drop off of your donations. See website for more detail.

9. Be sure to get a receipt. With tax season right around the corner, you’ll want to have record of your tax deductible donations.

10. Consider giving money in addition to your donated items. You can donate securely online and all proceeds go directly towards supporting our free job training and education programs.

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Donating your unwanted items has a bigger impact than you think. Last year, Seattle Goodwill had over two million donor visits and we were able to keep over 53 million pounds out of landfills. You are also supporting your community because revenue from our stores funds our free job training and education programs that help individuals get the skills they need to find jobs and get a fresh start. Goodwill provides career services that anyone can use to improve their chances of getting hired, including assistance in writing a résumé, job interview practice and access to job leads.

Start planning your donation trip now. To find the nearest donation site, go to www.seattlegoodwill.org/donate.