Need motivation to finish your spring cleaning?
You may be happy to learn that if you're at the sorting through your junk phase you're closer to the end than you might think. The Bay Area has a number of great organizations that want your old crap, whether to sell, donate, or recycle it, and some of them will even come to your home to pick it up. Entrust your unwanted stuff to one of these places and feel even more virtuous about all your hard work.
Here's a list of the ones we've used; please add to it.
• FoundValue.com
This company will send an "eSpecialist" to your home to assess your belongings and then auction them off on eBay for you. You pay them a commission and keep most of the profit.
• Sunset Scavengers
The Scavengers have a long-standing contract with the City to provide two free large item pick-ups a year to each residence. Recycling is their M.O.
• RecycleMyJunk
This is a low-cost hauling service that will pick up items from your home. Like SS, they recycle as much as possible.
• SCRAP
SCRAP is a creative re-use non-profit that provides materials to schools, artists and art organizations. They will "pick up contributions of four boxes or more by appointment at no charge."
Craigslist.
I've had good luck giving away a toilet and sink from a remodel, and someone even came and got some vertical blinds.
When I moved last year I listed a gas grill for free (it needed new burners) and someone was happy to haul that away too.
People that don't have a lot of money but who otherwise might not ask a charity for help are happy to come and take stuff you don't want but is still useful.
And you cut out the middleman that way. Have you seen the markups on the garbage at Goodwill?
view boomer's profile
freecycle.org
one warning...when you sign up, if you sign up to recieve emails, you will get LOTS of them.
view j.'s profile
here in the 'ham we just put stuff on our sidewalk and anybody will come take it. the dishwasher that fell into my lap ended up being too much work to install (and my landlord didn't tell me until i hauled the thing in and had it where i wanted it that i would be paying the maintenance man for labor, parts, etc...and the maintenance man told me it would cost too much given it was a 15 year old dishwasher) we put it on the stree outside our apt and two days later it was gone.
view elizabeth in AL's profile