We've researched dozens of donation centers to find charities that will come to your home and pick up your donation instead of requiring you to drop it off. These five are our favorites.
5 Charities That Pick Up Your Donations
One of the first steps for a successful move is to get rid of all the stuff you don’t need anymore. You could pay to ship these items to your home, or you could donate them.
When you donate, your old household goods go to a new home where they will be used and appreciated. Plus, donations to charitable organizations are tax-deductible. Ka-ching.
If the inconvenience of hauling heavy or bulky stuff to a donation center is what’s holding you back, then we’ve got good news for you. All the companies on this list will pick up large items like sofas and tables from your home.
- : Best overall
- : Best for donating furniture
- : Best for donating clothing and appliances
- : Best for finding local charities
- : Best for donating home goods
Getting ready to move?
The Salvation Army—Best overall
First on our list is The Salvation Army, an international organization that uses donations to help those in need all over the world. If you've ever gone shopping around the holidays, you've probably seen Salvation Army volunteers asking for donations for the organization's red kettle project.
That may be what The Salvation Army is best known for, but the organization also accepts donated household goods, and it will send someone to pick up your furniture donation.
That may be what The Salvation Army is best known for, but the organization also accepts donated household goods, and it will send someone to pick up your furniture donation.
Items The Salvation Army accepts
- Appliances
- Clothing
- Furniture
- Toys, bikes, and sports gear
- Dishes and kitchenware
- Decorations and household items
- Computers and other electronics
- Automobiles
![Salvation Army Donation Pickup form](https://www.move.org/app/uploads/2024/01/Charity-Donation-Pickup_Move-1024x538.png)
Donation pickup form for The Salvation Army, July 2024.
How Pickup Works
Enter your zip code to schedule a donation pick-up with The Salvation Army. If services are available in your area, just fill out the form detailing what you're donating, the date for pick-up, and any special instructions for the driver.
While The Salvation Army does accept a variety of items, these are a few things they cannot accept or pick up.
- Air conditioners
- Microwaves
- TVs older than 5 years
- Washing machines and dryers
- Gas appliances
- Auto parts
- Paint or chemicals
- Kerosene or gas heaters
Who The Salvation Army helps
The Salvation Army assists roughly 25 million Americans every year, and it operates in 133 different countries. Here are some of the communities that the organization assists:
- Disaster victims
- People experiencing homelessness and/or food insecurity
- People in addiction recovery
- Veterans
- Older adults
- Victims of domestic violence
If there’s something you’re thinking of donating, first ask yourself if it would be useful to someone in need. If it’s unusable or broken beyond repair, it isn’t worth donating.
If you’re unsure how useful the item is, call a donation center and ask if they’ll accept it. If you can’t donate it, contact a junk removal company to take it off your hands instead.
Habitat for Humanity—Best for donating furniture
Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit with an ambitious humanitarian goal: “A world where everyone has a decent place to live.” Habitat for Humanity collects monetary donations to build and renovate affordable housing that those in need can apply for.
You can also donate furniture and other household goods to Habitat for Humanity. The organization resells these items in home improvement stores — called Habitat ReStores — and uses the money to fund its humanitarian efforts.
Items Habitat for Humanity accepts
Your local Habitat ReStore may have specific donation requests, but here are the items Habitat for Humanity typically accepts:
- Appliances
- Furniture
- Building materials
- Household goods
- Vehicles
How Pickup Works
To schedule a pickup from Habitat for Humanity, enter your zip code into the form on their website. This will help you find locations near you.
![](https://www.move.org/app/uploads/2024/01/Charity-Donation-Pickup_Habitat-for-Humanity_Move-1-1024x538.png)
Donation pickup form for Habitat for Humanity, July 2024.
From there, you can select the closest Habitat ReStore or headquarters near you. Then, make an appointment for a Priority or Standard pickup by giving a few details about what you're donating, your address, and a date.
Who Habitat for Humanity helps
Habitat for Humanity helps individuals and communities in more than 70 countries. Anyone can apply to live in one of the organization’s homes, but applicants are accepted based on financial need.
In addition to paying their mortgages, which come with affordable and realistic financing options, Habitat for Humanity home buyers also agree to help the organization with volunteer work.
Goodwill—Best for donating clothing and appliances
Items Goodwill accepts
Like Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill resells donated furniture and other household items to fund its charitable objectives. It sells these items on the Goodwill website and in thrift stores across the country and uses its earnings to provide career training and employment assistance to underemployed individuals.
Goodwill also offers discounts and vouchers to the people enrolled in its training programs, allowing them to affordably furnish their homes and buy clothes for their families.
- Clothing
- Books, DVDs, and other media
- Sports equipment
- Dishes and kitchenware
- Tools
- Electronics
- Small appliances
How Pickup Works
While Goodwill has stores across the country, not all of them offer pickup services. Check Goodwill's website to find the nearest store in your area and call to ask about pick up donations.
![Charity Pickup Donations Goodwill store finder](https://www.move.org/app/uploads/2024/01/Charity-Pickup-Donations_Goodwill_Move-1-1024x538.png)
Goodwill store finder, July 2024.
Who Goodwill helps
Goodwill gives vocational training and career assistance to anyone experiencing employment barriers. This can include people with disabilities, people who have been laid off, veterans, and people who don’t have marketable job skills or resumes.
Goodwill’s free online training programs teach valuable workplace skills, financial literacy, and interview coaching. Goodwill also helps people earn high school and college degrees (or equivalents) and can even assist with industry certifications.
Lastly, Goodwill offers a job search tool to help job seekers connect with employers.
PickUpMyDonation.com—Best for finding local charities
PickUpMyDonation.com isn’t actually a donation center like The Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity, and it doesn’t pick up your donations and distribute them. Instead, it helps you find local nonprofits and thrift stores that do.
If your donation isn’t large enough for a local nonprofit to send a truck (most nonprofits can afford to pick up only large donations), PickUpMyDonation.com can still help. The company will put you in touch with a company like College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving—one of our favorite local moving companies—to pick up your donation and take it to a nearby center.
Items PickUpMyDonation.com accepts
Since PickUpMyDonation.com doesn’t literally pick up donations, it doesn’t determine what items are accepted for donation. That depends on which nonprofit you choose to donate to, so read that organization’s list of accepted items to ensure they’ll take what you’re donating.
How Pickup Works
PickUpMyDonation connects you with local nonprofits who can take your old stuff. Just enter your zip code into the form and choose a free pick-up or the faster fee-based pick-up.
From there, you'll fill in the details about what you're donating, schedule the pick-up date and address.
![PickUpMyDonation fill out form](https://www.move.org/app/uploads/2024/01/Charity-Pickup_PickUpMyDonation_Move-1-1024x538.png)
PickUpMyDonation.com, July 2024.
Who PickUpMyDonation.com helps
PickUpMyDonation.com doesn’t help communities directly. Instead, you choose the nonprofit you want to work with — and who your donation benefits.
After PickUpMyDonation.com directs you to nonprofits in your area, choose one that benefits a community you care about and want to help.
Furniture Bank Network—Best for donating home goods
Furniture Bank Network helps people furnish their homes with comfy and practical secondhand items donated by people within the community. The best part is that recipients get the furniture for free (aside from delivery fees).
People can get furnishings from their local Furniture Bank only if they are referred to the organization through one of its social service partners. This ensures that the furniture goes to those who need it most.
Items Furniture Bank accepts
- Furniture
- Electronics
- Appliances
- Dishes and kitchenware
- Decor
How Pickup Works
The Furniture Bank Network has locations across the US and Canada but pick-ups and accepted donations may vary on what your local bank needs. Find the location closest to you and check that they're able to help before scheduling anything online.
![Charity Donation Pickup_Furniture Bank Locations](https://www.move.org/app/uploads/2024/01/Charity-Donation-Pickup_Furniture-Bank_Move-2-1-1024x538.png)
Map of Furniture Bank locations, July 2024.
Who Furniture Bank helps
Furniture Bank’s goal is to help those who can afford apartments or homes but can’t afford to furnish them. This can include the following groups:
- People who have experienced homelessness
- People who are unemployed
- People with disabilities
- Disaster victims
- Victims of domestic violence
- Immigrants
Donation FAQs
When you donate your furniture, appliances, or clothing, collect a tax receipt from the organization you’re donating to. This receipt should include the date, location, and description of your donation. If you can’t get a receipt, keep a thoroughly detailed record of your donation yourself.
Part of this process is estimating the value of each item you donate. The Salvation Army can help you with this: its donation value guide lists the approximate value of various household items. You can check it out here.
When it’s time to file your taxes, itemize the donations you made on Form 1040, Schedule A.7
Most charitable organizations will pick up your donation only if it’s large enough to be cost-effective. If all you’re donating is a box of small appliances or baby clothes, it’s unlikely that any organization on this list will come get it from your house.
However, if you have a sizable donation that includes large items and furniture, any of these organizations will probably come directly to your home to take it off your hands.
That said, these organizations manage and accept donations through donation centers across the country. Each donation center handles pickups differently, and some might not even have the necessary staff or facilities to make pickups feasible.
The Salvation Army accepts vehicles like cars and trucks as donations. Call to schedule a pick-up at 1-800-728-7825.
Recommended resources
Now that we’ve talked about the great charities that will come to your house to accept your donations, we recommend checking out these other resources that can help you when you’re moving or downsizing:
People also asked . . .
Sources
- The Salvation Army, “What We Do,” Accessed January 2024.
- Habitat for Humanity, “Our Mission, Vision and Principles,” Accessed January 2024.
- Red Cross, “About Us,” Accessed January 2024.
- Sawso.org, “Vision,” Accessed January 2024.
- Habitat for Humanity, “Where We Work,” Accessed January 2024.
- Habitat for Humanity, “Frequently Asked Questions,” Accessed January 2024.
- Goodwill, “FAQs,” Accessed January 2024.
- Goodwill, “Jobs & Training,” Accessed January 2024.
- Furniture Bank, “Accessing Furniture Bank,” Accessed January 2024.
- H&R Block, “Charitable Donations,” Accessed January 2024.