A large part of an organizing session is taken up with purging. Why? Probably because the new items you bring into your apartment/house/office have no home and end up on furniture or the floor. There is no place to put them because the old items you stopped using/wearing are taking up valuable real estate.
Things have to go out. Charities generally don’t pick up in Manhattan anymore because of heavy traffic. And you don’t have a car. What to do?
GIVE BACK BOX
Give Back Box is a completely free new service to make donating your unwanted items to Goodwill as convenient and hassle free as possible. Print a UPS label and attach it to your box of donations. Leave it in the mail room of your building for UPS to pick up when they next make deliveries.
Clothes, shoes and jewelry are appropriate but NOT electronics, liquids, fragile, hazardous or volatile items, or ammunition in boxes.
This is also a good way of recycling all the boxes that come into your home from online purchases. Send them right back out again, filled with donations! In fact, keep one on the floor of your clothes closet (and elsewhere) and drop donated clothing et al into it as you go, instead of waiting several years until it piles up and becomes stressful!
Once your donation has been accepted and processed, you will be notified with a receipt of the donation via email.
PICK UP PLEASE
Pick Up Please is another free service like the above, except your donations go to Vietnam Veterans of America. It is only available to New Yorkers.
The list of acceptable donations is similar to Goodwill above. And they will also email you your tax deduction receipt once UPS has picked up your donations.
TASKRABBIT TaskRabbit is a company that helps partner those who need tasks done with Task Rabbits, or people who will do chores for you such as moving, cleaning, delivery, handyman work, and general chores. It costs about $25/hour in NYC to have someone pick up your donations (no large furniture) with their car and drive them to the charity of your choice.
CITY OPERA THRIFT SHOP
Vogue calls the City Opera Thrift Shop “The Highest Quality Thrift Shop in New York City.” It is the city's only charity shop supporting the arts. For over 35 years, they have been a vital fundraising initiative for the New York City Opera. They are best known for their finely curated in-store home and fashion events. You can even buy your opera tickets on their site, which links you to the New York City Opera.
The City Opera Thrift Shop will pick up only large quantities of donations (e.g.,10 large bags of adult clothing, or 10 boxes of housewares and books, and furniture). And they will pay up to $12 of your taxi fare to bring your donations to their store on East 23rd St.
Only upscale, high quality items, please.
HOUSING WORKS
Housing Works fights in particular for the inclusion and dignity of marginalized people, including active drug users, homeless people and sexual minorities. They also advocate on behalf of all people living with AIDS and HIV, no matter their circumstances and where they live.
With locations all around NYC, Housing Works will only pick up furniture. However, if you also have a few bags or boxes of clothing, housewares, etc., they will pick those up as well, in addition to the furniture.
See Housing Works’ website for acceptable donatable items. Also note that you must submit photos of your donated furniture in advance of the pickup. Housing Works also reserves the right to reject any furniture on the spot when they arrive to pick up.
UBER PROMOTIONS In the Spring of 2015, Uber joined forces with Goodwill for a spring cleaning event for one day only -- Sat, May 2 -- and agreed to come to your home for free and pick up bags of clothing and deliver them directly to a local Goodwill donation.
Keep your eyes and ears peeled for another Uber spring cleaning event.