Please note, many locations who would normally accept clothing and household donations are currently only accepting food and monetary donations due to covid-19. We will keep you updated when these locations open up to all donations again.

If you’re selling your home, you’ve probably accumulated a lot of stuff over the years. Things like clothing, books, kitchen gadgets, DVDs and electronic devices (heck, I still have my old video cassette recorder from way back when Bob Saget was the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos).

It’s tough to get rid of certain possessions, as you remember paying good money for them.  In theory, you could try to sell it on Kijiji, Ebay, or have a garage sale, but with your busy lifestyle, sometimes this is much more effort than what it’s worth. Instead, why not give it to charity, while you won’t get a tax benefit, someone in need will benefit from your goodwill.  In this blog post, we look at all the great places where you can donate items in Hamilton.  Some items you just can’t donate, and for that reason, we touch upon other businesses who may buy your item, or perhaps they may recycle it.

Places to Donate Clothing in Hamilton

Clothing is difficult to get rid of sometimes, as you may have spent good money on it, only to never have worn it, or you think.  However, there’s no point in having that item sit in your closet for years when someone else could actually benefit from it. The Diabetes foundation of Ontario regularly collects clothing.  From their clothing drives they get much needed clothing for those in need, as well they raise money for Diabetes research. If you live in Hamilton, Dundas, Flamborough, Waterdown or Burlington, there are plenty of diabetes drop off boxes near you.  Or you can call them, and leave clothing in a clear marked bag on your porch or front stoop on a designated day.  Use some common sense when donating clothing.  Jeans with a hole in the crotch, or a shirt covered in grease stains and armpit holes are not ideal donations.  Think more on donating gently used items, like, suits or dresses your kids have grown out of (and only wore to their grade 9 graduation), Christmas presents you were too polite to return, and winter clothing like coats, mittens and barely worn boots. The Goodwill/Amity of Hamilton also accepts donations.  Their drop off center is located at 1050 Upper Gage Avenue, Hamilton.

Where to donate books  in Hamilton

If you are an avid reader, houses can fill up with books rather fast.  If you are moving, we recommend donating all of those books.  It is rather tough, as we attach feelings and a sense of time to a book.  We even have bookshelves to display our collections.  However, chances are you’ll never read that copy of Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’, ever again.  As beautiful as they are, most places don’t accept National Geographic, that’s a magazine that’s probably best left for the recycling bin.  Most magazines over the age of six months are probably best left to be recycled.  Similarly, Readers Digests are best suited for the recycling bin, or given to someone else to read.

Here are a few organizations in Hamilton who accept books:

Agencies

Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy, 905-522-2928 Books and A/V. Limit 10 boxes. Canadian Diabetes Association, 905-528-1112 Hardcover and Paperback books. No encyclopedias, no National Geographic. 1 box limit. Neighbour To Neighbour Centre, 905-574-1334 Books and still timely magazines. No encyclopedias, no National Geographic, and no text books. St. Vincent De Paul Society (King E.), 905-522-7045

Hamilton Hospital Donations

Hospitals and Senior Homes are other organizations you can donate to.  It’s best to call them first.  Hospitals with sick children may be on the look out for children’s books, or comic books.  Senior Residents like books with BIG text.
Hamilton Health Sciences – 905-521-2100
St. Joseph’s – 905-522-1155 Ext. 3464 – ask for the Volunteer Resources Office to determine what is currently being accepted at a given location.

Get Rid of Kitchen Clutter

Clutter in the kitchen can get out of hand fast.  Everyone wants to spice up their diet at some point, and thus it’s easy collect juicers, blenders, magic bullets, mandolins, panini presses, electric woks and ice cream makers.  Mountains of plastic storage containers, glassware, forgotten mugs and un-matching plates are other items that can get out of hand.  If you haven’t used these items in 6 months, get rid of them and be ruthless.  You could try to sell that dehydrator on Kijiji, but you’re probably not going to get many offers.  Our advice, drop it off at a thrift store.  Thrift Stores are wonderful for bargain hunters, or tinkerers.  Many inventors love to shop at Thrift Stores as they salvage gadgets for their prototypes and creations. Value Village – Value Village is located on the corner Fennel and Upper Wentworth at  530 Fennell Ave E, Hamilton.  There’s a location at 50 Horseshoe Crescent in Hamilton as well, and in Burlington, there is a location at 2340 Fairview Street. Talize – Talize is located at 1428 Upper James in Hamilton.  They are a thrift store that accepts clothing, small appliances and toys among many other items. Salvation Army – The Salvation Army has been accepting used items for years in order to service the poor. They are located at 1600 Main St W and 835 Stone Church Rd E in Stoney Creek.

Other Items to get rid of to De-clutter your Home

When de-cluttering your home, there are hundreds of other items you can probably get rid of.  Old posters, paperwork, busted down computers and printers, television sets, radios, outgrown sporting equipment, and well, the list goes on.  If the item you have doesn’t fit into what a thrift store or donation center will take, Hamilton has exceptional recycling centers.  They accept most things that are recyclable, accept your collection of way outdated VHS tapes, and speakers encased in wood.  For DVDs and CDs, you can donate them to charity, or try your luck at a business like The Beat Goes On which is on Upper James.