Cleaning Out a Loved One's Home: Where to Donate Stuff
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2 min readBequeathing extra items to charity is a constructive way to honor a loved one's memory.
What do you do with a family member's remaining things after their death? Once the important items and beloved keepsakes have been claimed by loved ones, there may still be a house full of stuff left over: furniture, books, and assorted miscellaneous household items.
It's worth taking the time to make sure nothing in the house is needed by another family member. Younger family members just starting out in the world may appreciate furniture or kitchen items, for instance.
You may want to try to sell some of the remaining items, but it can be hard to sell things like used clothing and used furniture unless they're very unique or high-end. What you can't or don't want to sell, you might try to donate. Bequeathing these extra things to those who can desperately use them is a constructive way to honor your loved one's memory.
Should I plan my funeral in advance?
Where is it best to donate? Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and other charity-driven thrift stores are popular choices, and it can be convenient to donate a lot of things to one place. But not everything can be donated there, and even among the items that can, there are other options you might want to consider in order to benefit a specific cause that's meaningful to you or your loved one.
Be sure you're donating items that are in good or gently-used condition. Anything that's not in decent shape — torn or stained clothing, broken electronics — should be recycled or discarded. We'll offer some recycling ideas along with the donation ideas.
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