Donate Clothes Brooklyn

One of the major barriers to getting rid of stuff is that it’s not always easy to figure out what the heck to do with it all.

If you throw away reusable items, you’re being wasteful. If you stick your things out on the curb with a “Free! No Bedbugs!” sign, there’s a chance the landlord or super will get mad — and an even bigger chance that nobody will believe that the stuff is, indeed, safe to take (making you both wasteful and a litterer), so that’s out.

The ethical and logical action to take with reusable items is obviously to donate it all, and we want to make that as easy as possible for you. Below is some information to help make donation easy, complete with contact information for who can come pick up your items and briefs on what each charity wants and where they are.

What are your favorite donation spots? Together, we can get this done right while clearing the way for a deep-clean in the spring.

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Charities That Will Pick Up Your Stuff

Big Reuse, 69 9th Street. Picks up: large donations only.

Housing Works, 266 5th Avenue. Picks up: donations including two or three pieces of furniture.

Out of the Closet Thrift Store, 475 Atlantic Avenue. Picks up: donations including at least two pieces of furniture.

Providence House, 703 Lexington Avenue. Contact via their website to determine what can be picked up and when.

Recycle-A-Bicycle Program for NYC Youth, 35 Pearl Street. Picks up: bicycles.

The Salvation Army, multiple locations. Picks up: electronics, kitchen items, books, clothing, shoes, bags, more. Schedule a pickup online.

Kitchen Items

You know you’re never going to use that panini press again, and it’s only taking up valuable cabinet space. Ditto on the 15 random mugs you’ve got crammed on your mug shelf “just because” — c’mon, you’re not going to throw a coffee party for 15 people ever.

It’s time to purge your kitchen wares, even though this home-goods category is historically tough to deal with because of either the heft or fragility of the items involved. Here’s where to do it:

Bay Ridge: The Salvation Army, 6822 3rd Avenue

Boerum Hill: Out of the Closet Thrift Store, 475 Atlantic Avenue; The Salvation Army at 436 Atlantic Avenue

Clinton Hill: The Salvation Army, 22 Quincy Street

Downtown Brooklyn: Goodwill Industries Store & Donation Center, 258 Livingston Street

Gowanus: Big Reuse Brooklyn, 69 9th Street

Park Slope: Housing Works, 266 5th Avenue

Sheepshead Bay: The Salvation Army, 3718 Nostrand Avenue

Brooklyn Book Festival 2015 Photo
Photo by Barbara Eldredge

Books

Books — if in decent condition — should never be thrown away. There are a ton of places to donate your books to on a local, state and national level; here are a few that may be most convenient to you.

Bay Ridge: The Salvation Army, 6822 3rd Avenue

Boerum Hill: Out of the Closet Thrift Store, 475 Atlantic Avenue; The Salvation Army 436 Atlantic Avenue

Brooklyn Heights: Housing Works, 122 Montague Street

Brownsville: Essential Pieces Family Support Services, 444 Thomas Boyland Street, Suite 303

Clinton Hill: The Salvation Army, 22 Quincy Street

Downtown Brooklyn: Goodwill Industries Store & Donation Center, 258 Livingston Street

Red Hook: Books Through Bars via Freebird Books, 123 Columbia Street (read donation guidelines here)

Sheepshead Bay: The Salvation Army, 3718 Nostrand Avenue

Donate Electronics Brooklyn NYC Gowanus E-Waste Warehouse
Photo via Gowanus E-Waste Warehouse

Electronics (TVs, Stereos, DVD Players, Radios)

You haven’t straight up watched a DVD in years, and yet there it is: your DVD player. Time to donate it!

Bay Ridge: The Salvation Army, 6822 3rd Avenue

Boerum Hill: Out of the Closet Thrift Store, 475 Atlantic Avenue; The Salvation Army, 436 Atlantic Avenue

Clinton Hill: The Salvation Army, 22 Quincy Street

East Flatbush: Reuse America, 1158 Flatbush Avenue

Downtown Brooklyn: Goodwill Industries Store & Donation Center, 258 Livingston Street

Gowanus: Gowanus E-Waste Warehouse, 469 President Street

Sheepshead Bay: The Salvation Army, 3718 Nostrand Avenue

Donate Clothes Brooklyn
Photo by Barbara Eldredge

Clothing Items, Shoes, Bags

If you choose to schlep your old clothes to Beacon’s Closet, Crossroads or Buffalo Exchange to see if anything’s fit for resell, you’re in luck — because many of these locations will donate what’s left over (see each company’s site for their respective lists of charities).

If you know your clothes are still usable but doubt that they’re going to be purchased by the above, there are plenty of places to just donate.

Bay Ridge: The Salvation Army, 6822 3rd Avenue

Bed Stuy: Providence House, 703 Lexington Avenue (visit their site to schedule)

Brownsville: Urban Strategies Maternity Shelter, 808 Saratoga Avenue; Women In Need, 25 Junius Street (only accepts dry-cleaned business attire, as the clothing is used to help women find jobs); Brooklyn Women’s Shelter, 116 Williams Avenue (accepts gently used clothing, shoes and bags for adult females age 18 and over)

Boerum Hill: Out of the Closet Thrift Store, 475 Atlantic Avenue; The Salvation Army 436 Atlantic Avenue

Brooklyn Heights: GrowNYC Clothing & Textile Recycling Collections, Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket at Court and Montague streets; Housing Works, 122 Montague Street

Clinton Hill: The Salvation Army, 22 Quincy Street

East Flatbush: Reuse America, 1158 Flatbush Avenue

Downtown Brooklyn: Goodwill Industries Store & Donation Center, 258 Livingston Street

Park Slope: Housing Works, 266 5th Avenue

Sheepshead Bay: The Salvation Army, 3718 Nostrand Avenue

Photo via Big Reuse
Photo via Big Reuse

Furniture

Furniture items are gladly accepted by a number of organizations — and many of them will actually come pick it up from you (see our list of places that pick up for more information). There’s no need to keep that old bookshelf that doesn’t really fit anymore! Someone else can definitely use it.

Bay Ridge: The Salvation Army, 6822 3rd Avenue

Boerum Hill: Out of the Closet Thrift Store, 475 Atlantic Avenue; The Salvation Army 436 Atlantic Avenue

Clinton Hill: The Salvation Army, 22 Quincy Street

Gowanus: Big Reuse Brooklyn, 69 9th Street

Park Slope: Housing Works, 266 5th Avenue

Sheepshead Bay: The Salvation Army, 3718 Nostrand Avenue

Donate Bikes Brooklyn NYC Recycle a Bicycle
Photo via Recycle-A-Bicycle

Bicycles

Whether your bicycle was just an aspirational purchase, something your kids have outgrown or something you aren’t using, a couple of places would love it.

Brooklyn Heights: Recycle-A-Bicycle Program for NYC Youth, 35 Pearl Street

East Flatbush: Reuse America, 1158 Flatbush Avenue

Related Stories
A Space-Starved Brooklynite’s Best Home Organization Advice: Get Rid of Your Stuff
Your Apartment Has More Storage Space Than You Think — If You Know Where to Look
9 Ways to Give Back in Brooklyn This Holiday Season and Beyond

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What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Very useful story, thanks for running it. For a follow-up, I’d be interested in more non-Salvation Army options. Many people of good intentions work there, but homophobia is a deal breaker for some of us.

    Does anyone know what percentage of donated clothes, measured either by items or by total weight, actually gets acquired by someone else in wearable form? Hard to know whether clothes donation becomes basically just pulp or landfill.