Clothing
Wash it, then fold it
We have no laundry. Anything that arrives dirty either gets binned or takes a volunteer's own washing machine. Fold rather than stuff — creases set hard in a bag and a wrinkled shirt does not sell.
Guide
Twenty minutes at your end saves an hour at ours.
Every donation gets handled by a volunteer before it reaches the floor. Something that arrives clean, complete and sorted goes straight out and sells. Something that arrives in a bin bag with a broken lamp on top takes a person half a morning and often ends up in the skip anyway.
None of this is a rule. It is just what makes the difference between a donation that raises money and one that costs us time.
Before you pack
Four things worth doing.
Electricals
Plug it in first
If it does not work at your house it will not work at ours, and we cannot test everything that comes through the door. Include the cable, the charger and any attachment that came with it.
Sets and games
Check the pieces
An incomplete jigsaw or a board game missing its dice is unsellable, and nobody finds out until a customer gets it home. If you are not sure it is complete, say so on the box.
Everything
Bag it by type
Clothes in one bag, kitchen in another, books in a box that will not burst. Sorting at your end is the single biggest time saving at ours.
Two piles, not one
Tell us which is which.
Worn towels, sheets and blankets are not rubbish here even when they are too rough to sell — the kennels go through them faster than anything on the shop floor. But we cannot tell a bag of donated linen from a bag of shop stock by looking at it.
Keep them separate and tell the volunteer at the door: this bag is for the shelter. It takes a second and it stops good bedding being priced up or thrown out.
Timing
When to turn up, and when to call first.
Drop-off
- Days
- Tue · Wed · Fri · Sat
- Before
- 2:00 PM
- Where
- The orange tables at the back
510 N Broadway
Call ahead if it is big
A full carload, a sofa, anything that needs two people to lift — ring first. There may be one volunteer on and no space cleared, and a wasted trip helps nobody.
The drop-off window is narrower than the opening hours on purpose. Those are the times somebody is free to receive and sort, rather than working the register.
One last thing: please do not leave donations outside the door after hours. Rain and a night on the pavement turns a useful donation into something a volunteer has to pay to dispose of.