Stop Holding Onto Donation Bags — Here’s How to Take Care of Them Without Ever Leaving Your House

My New York City apartment is relatively small, and my bedroom is even smaller. And despite my best efforts to downsize and organize, I consistently remain amazed at how much space gets occupied by … stuff. Some of it is good to have around just in case, like boxes of bandages or cookbooks I only occasionally reference but can’t bear to part with, but a lot of it is things I’m planning on donating. “Planning” is the operative word here, which means I often have large bags of clothes and whatnot sitting around patiently waiting to be hauled to a donation drop-off center. 

I’d love to more promptly clear out anything I need to donate, and now thanks to a new-to-me TaskRabbit service, it seems I just might be able to without having to leave my apartment at all.

TaskRabbit’s new contactless pickup and drop-off service is a straightforward way to take donations to local charities without having to do the transport yourself. Essentially, it works the same as booking a typical TaskRabbit service; you just have to specify it’s a donation and where you’d like it to go. This does mean you’ll have to pay the agreed-upon Tasker rate, but in these cases, the app gives “a portion of [their] service fee to local nonprofits.”

You’ll generally be able to give your tasker “most common donation items including furniture, clothing, electronics, books, and household goods,” as long as they’re in acceptable condition. However, TaskRabbit also recommends “confirm[ing] the donation policy of your chosen charity“ yourself before booking and communicating any relevant info to your Tasker to make sure everything goes smoothly.

The beauty of TaskRabbit’s donation pickup service lies in how convenient it is. Sure, it isn’t free, but you’ll save time and energy, considering you don’t have to go anywhere or lift any heavy bags. If you don’t have a car, for example, or have a heavy piece of furniture that you’d like to donate but don’t have a way to get it from one location to the next, this service makes a lot of sense to help make donating a little bit easier. Additionally, this can be a completely contactless service if you leave items in designated spots and share pickup instructions with your Tasker.

Plus, you’re the one choosing the organization that receives your donation, so you’ll know your previously loved clothes, appliances, games, or furniture is going somewhere you believe in instead of sitting in your closet or trunk for another six months.