Before, during and after reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, I was tidying. Cleaning out the house was near the top of my summer to do list. As luck would have it, I had already gone through clothes, which happened to be the first in Marie Kondo’s recommended clean-by-category approach. We spent long blocks of time tidying and collected a lot to discard. So now what? The hard part (for me, at least) wasn’t to get rid of those things that don’t “spark joy,” her words were helpful in my discarding decision-making. The challenge was to find a place for them. Many of these items still had a lot of good use, particularly the kids’ toys, books and clothes that they had simply outgrown. So I researched where to donate items in San Francisco. We are lucky to have so many things to tidy, and I wanted to make sure our usable items would go somewhere where they would indeed, spark joy.
For all you tidy-ers in San Francisco (and since the book is a #1 bestseller, there must be a lot), here is a list of places to donate (or otherwise, discard) in San Francisco:
Where to donate books: Since our book donations were primarily for children, we contributed to the Children’s Book Project, whose mission is to promote literacy by providing gently used books to children in need. Donations can be shipped, dropped off to their center in San Francisco, or you can arrange a pick-up. Our neighborhood Ambassador Toy’s also has a book drop-off. For more information on how to contribute, click here.
Where to donate games and toys: Many organizations will not accept used games and toys. We set aside over twenty board games, most of which were in excellent shape and still included all their pieces (shockingly). We loaded the car and dropped them off at a nearby Goodwill Store. See their drop off locations here.
Where to donate arts, crafts and miscellaneous items: With all my DIY and kids projects, I could practically open my own Michael’s, from bins of finger, acrylic and sponge paint, rubber stamps, beading supplies and a host of random items purchased for forgotten projects, I was so glad to find a place for them — Scrap in San Francisco. Click here to see my earlier post on where to donate your arts, crafts and random items.
Where to donate clothes: For our latest tidying effort, we were able to find homes for our gently-used children’s clothes with our friends. There are several local charities that are especially in need of women’s and children’s clothes. The Golden Gate Mother’s Group has a helpful list on places to donate here.
Where to discard unusable items: If you live in San Francisco, you are entitled to one to two free pick-ups from Recology. We had several large unusable items, including non-working shop vac and steam cleaner. They will also take items that are not donation-worthy, such as textiles. We recycled old bedding, torn curtains and socks that were worse for the wear but not destined for a landfill. Schedule your pick-up online here.
Where to “donate” CDs, videos and tapes: Ah yes, these items that are foreign to your kids. Donate is in quotes because we brought our old CDs to the Music Store on West Portal Avenue, which buys or trades used CDs, videos, records, tapes, etc. Our music collection wasn’t given much value — we exchanged a bag full for minimal store credit — but we found a place for them outside our home, part of the magic.
Where to list gently, used furniture and home decor: If you’re reading this blog and you live in the SF Bay Area, you should know our recommendations on this one! Sell (and buy) your gently used furniture and home decor right here on RevolvingDecor.com without a commission. Find out more here.
Haven’t read the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up yet? Check out Melissa’s review and pick up your own copy here.
Photo courtesy of advanced-hindsight.com.
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