When you are cleaning out your house during annual decluttering, you probably set aside a large amount of stuff to donate. No matter your charity of choice (Goodwill, Salvation Army, local places), giving gently-used stuff to people in need is a great thing to do… and it’s tax-deductible! Donating clothing, housewares, and books, among other household objects, proves the old adage that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and keeps tons - literally! - of reusable items out of landfills. It’s charitable, environmentally friendly, easy enough… why not bring a big load to donate right now? Before you go, however, know that there are some items that you need to trash instead of donate. For various reasons - mostly hygiene and safety - there are some categories of items that should just be tossed. Read on to find out what they are.

Mattresses and boxsprings

You would have a hard time finding a place that takes donated sleeping furniture. It’s simply too hard for donation centers to check all donations for bedbugs, lice, and other vermin… and these things can spread quickly and infect an entire warehouse or store! The risk is too high. Call your trash company and ask if they do curbside pickup of your old bedding.

Car seats, strollers, cribs, and high chairs

Thrift stores won’t take anything that holds kids, because it’s just too difficult to keep up with the ever-evolving safety recalls and standards. Plus, with car seats, it can be impossible to tell if the seat has ever been in an accident, which can render the item useless and dangerous in the case of another collision. If you have an especially high-end pram or crib, consider re-selling it privately through eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace so that you can have a one-on-one conversation with the buyer about the history of the item. 

Dinosaur-age technology

Listen. The shelves of my local Goodwill are stuffed with old VCRS and a whole wall of cassette tapes. They aren’t moving, either. After all, who actually wants to embrace (way) outdated technology? Nobody wants your tube TV, either, no matter how much it was worth “in the day.” We live in a digital age, and ancient tech just doesn’t have a place in our society. Trash the stuff responsibly and organizations or properly chosen recycling centers can harvest your old technology for its best elements. Then it's better for all since there's a chance to reuse the important bits without allowing it to languish in thrift store purgatory.

Anything “naughty.” You know what I mean.

If it is vulgar… whether it’s a lewd saying on a novelty t-shirt or sweatshirt, or blue books, movies, or other forms of media, it isn’t meant to donate. A lot of donation centers are Christian organizations, and it’s just in poor taste to expose hapless volunteers to that sort of thing. If you have something of legitimate value, like tasteful erotic art or vintage men’s magazines (old issues of Playboy can fetch a pretty penny!), again, this is something that you should try selling privately. But please, do everyone a favor and don’t throw it in the donation bin! 

Large appliances

Nobody wants a used stove, air conditioner, washer, or dryer. You can try selling it privately if it has a lot of life left in it, but a thrift store or donation center has no room or way to handle huge, heavy items like this. If you really want it gone, call a scrap metal yard and arrange to have it picked up and out of your hair.

Donating is a great thing, but only if the stuff has value and doesn’t jeopardize anyone’s health, safety, or comfort. This list is a good guide of what to donate and what to trash.