Have some household items you are done with but that aren’t yet at the end of their lives? Consignment and thrift shops are a great place to turn to with gently used clothing and accessories, plus some household items. And you can donate many goods to nonprofits like Goodwill, Salvation Army, Preble Street Resource Center and Catholic Charities (check their websites for details). Here are a few other places that will take your gently used goods and give them a new life:
Furniture Friends: accepts gently used furniture and donates it to families in need in the greater Portland area.
Maine Tool Library: A volunteer-run tool lending library, accepting quality hand and electric tools of all varieties—for kitchens, gardens and workshops.
Nomads: Nomads is a part of Smartwool‘s Second Cut Project. Just bring in your old (but clean) socks of all brands, sizes and materials for recycling!
Saco Bay Rotary Club: accepts old eye glasses (prescription, non-prescription, sunglasses and safety glasses) and precious metals, such as jewelry, old watches, spare cuff links, old silver of all kinds, dentures and used dental gold scrap. They donate them to New Eyes, a nonprofit that repurposes old glasses and sells scrap metal to pay for new glasses for those in need. Find dropboxes throughout Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach, or drop eye glasses at VIP Eyes in Portland.
Westbrook Goodwill: will take beat up sheets, towels and clothes and turn them into rags. They will not take socks and underwear.
Twice Told Tales Bookstores: accepts books of all varieties, audio books and DVDs & CDs for resale. All proceeds benefit Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick.
Have some items that can’t be donated but you wonder if you can recycle? Check our list of recycling resources here.
