What I Learned at the State Fair

I love learning things at the Minnesota State Fair! This year I learned about recycling textiles from a display in the Eco Building. It read that clean, worn-out clothes with missing buttons, holes or small stains CAN be donated to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. These items are recycled into rags, wiping cloths, insulation, carpet padding, and other goods. Some donation centers prefer clothes that have been gently used and can be resold. If you are not sure what is acceptable, just call ahead!

Clothes made with 100% natural fibers such as cotton, silk, linen or wool, can be composted. Synthetic fabrics, like rayon, nylon, or polyester cannot because they will not break down. If you have natural fiber clothes that are worn out, you might want to shred them to make them compost faster. (We make clothes out of these fibers because they are strong!) Many city-managed compost services accept clothes. Contact yours for details.

Besides clothing, many of my clients find themselves updating household goods such as furniture or kitchen items. I take most of these items to Bridging, a non-profit organization that helps people leaving homelessness set up their new living space with gently used household items. They do have size limitations and only accept specific items. Visit www.Bridging.org for details.

Another of my favorite places to support is Tandem. Located in South Minneapolis they serve low-income expecting mothers. In addition to being one of the only locations in the Twin Cities that accepts car seats, strollers, and other infant items that most organizations cannot take due to liability concerns, they also accept and distribute children’s clothes (through 6T), toys, books, and supplies. Visit https://www.wearetandem.org/

for donation hours. They also accept high-end adult items to sell in their boutique that generates income to support their services.

Many of my clients have an excess of books which they are ready to part with. I like to fill up my pull-along wagon, grab the dogs, and stock up all the little-free-libraries in my neighborhood! While almost any donation center will accept donations of books, libraries frequently accept them to sell at book sales, Books for Africa sends them to, well, Africa, and the Women’s Prison Book Project stocks libraries for incarcerated women.

I think it is so much easier to donate our things when we know they are going to good homes! Below are links to the organizations mentioned above. For a more comprehensive, downloadable list for donating all kinds of things, see my website at www.Think-Organized.com. As always – let me know what I am missing too!

Books for Africa (St. Paul drop off) https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/donate-books.html

Hennepin County Libraries (Many locations) - https://www.hclib.org/about/support-your-library Many libraries accept books to be sold during fundraising events.

Women’s Prison Book Project (Minneapolis drop off) - https://wpbp.org/donate_books/