One of the best feelings in the world is donating and giving back to a local community in need. If you live in an apartment in Gainesville, there are plenty of places to donate any items that you no longer need or want in your new place. Figuring out what you want and don't want is the first step in this process.
Once you know what you want to give away, you must decide what is meant for the trash because of too much wear and tear. Doing this is easy, and a trip to the garbage might be better for items that are perishable or that are too broken to give to someone else to use.
Now that you know what is still can be donated, you can decide the various places that it might be best to take them to be donated. Some places only accept specific items, so don't bring things they can't take because they will be thrown away even if someone else can still use them.
Food is a tricky thing to donate, but there are places out there that will accept perishable and non-perishable food items. Food banks like this one have a huge list of items that they are looking for to give to people who are homeless and need food.
When donating food from your Gainesville apartment, it's best to know that you can't just donate anything to food banks. For example, they will not accept food that is expired, moldy, or rotten. That is a serious health hazard and all bad food will go in the trash anyways.
Clothes, belts, shoes, sunglasses, and swimming gear are all great things to donate to local thrift stores. If you have an apartment with a swimming pool and have a couple of swimsuits you never wear, it might be great to donate them instead of them just sitting in a drawer unused.
Another great example is activewear and gym clothes. If you utilize the Gainesville apartment fitness center rarely, maybe giving away lightly worn leggings, shorts, and t-shirts is an intelligent decision to make to ensure the clothes never go to waste!
Sometimes niche items aren't used enough to be kept and are typically thrown away when they could easily be donated for a specific cause. Non-profit organizations like this one collect obscure items that more mainstream donation centers won't accept.
Some donation examples listed on their website include painting supplies, sewing supplies, baskets, office supplies, picture frames, and so much more!
Try the Goodwill Near Your Gainesville Apartment
Goodwill's everywhere in Florida. Most cities have a location or two that will accept clothes, books, furniture, and kitchenware. If you are moving into an already furnished UF apartment, chances are you will no longer need most of the furniture you had before.
If you are worried about being able to transport furniture from your apartment in Gainesville, Goodwill conveniently offers transportation services for furniture of any size, but depending on where you live, the fee might vary.