https://www.bin-store.com/blog

I always strongly urge that when you are decluttering your home, you take your unwanted items to the thrift store rather than simply throwing them in the trash. I still advise this, because it is important not to be part of the problem of needless waste. But as it turns out, many thrift stores are also part of that problem.

Thrift stores are supposed to take every action possible to make good use of the items you bring them. In theory, this should entail the following:

1. First, they go out on the sales floor of your local thrift store.
2. If they do not sell there, they go into bargain bins at outlet stores.
3. If that fails, they are auctioned off.
4. If no one buys the items on auction, they are supposed to be recycled where possible (old clothes for example may be used to make industrial cleaning rags).
5. Items which are not fit for such uses are sent to landfills.

If you are trying to decide what to do with stuff after decluttering, all of this sounds great in theory. It should mean that almost everything you thrift will ultimately be valued and used in some way by someone who needs it.

The reality is uglier however. The easiest way to confirm it to yourself is just to stop out back behind your local Goodwill and check their trash bins.

When I have done this, I have found everything from clothing in pristine condition to children’s toys with nothing wrong with them (some of them practically brand new) to electronics which are fully functional. That is pretty discouraging when you are trying to figure out what to do with items after decluttering.

Why does reality differ so much from the policies which thrift stores generally claim to follow? Well, obviously there is variation from one store to the next—some stores probably do actually do their best to sell and/or recycle everything—but quite often, local managers and employees adopt a policy of laziness.

It is simply easier to take items which are coming off the sales floor and throw them out. Plus, thrift stores do not have to pay for their stock, and are assured of receiving a continuous influx of new items. As a result, they do not have as much incentive to sell that stock or put it to good use as a store which has to pay an opportunity price to put merchandise on display. For this reason, thrift stores tend to rotate through floor stock very fast.

If you are trying to figure out, “what do I do with my stuff?” my suggestion is still the same. If you cannot use it yourself or gift it to someone you know will value it, thrift is unfortunately still the most viable option.

But what you can do is research local thrift stores to find out which ones hold onto their stock for longest and actually bother to follow through on sending unsold stock through auctions and other outlets where it has the best possible shot of being valued and used. That way you can keep as much out of the landfill as possible.