Don’t want to deal with a ton of boxes? Donate unwanted items!
Can’t figure out what to do with all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the year as move-out day approaches? Resist the temptation to toss everything in the garbage and instead look at donating or re-purposing items such as:
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Clothing
If you know that some of your clothing is “going out of style” and don’t want to keep it, DO NOT SIMPLY THROW IT AWAY! Donate items to a local thrift store such as Salvation Army or Winona Volunteer Services. If you don’t want to drop off items at a thrift store yourself, WSU supplies some bins at the end of the year during move out week to collect unwanted items and will help reuse them in any way. You could also put a listing on Wazoo’s List, WSU’s private Facebook group dedicated to getting usable items into the hands of people who want them and out of landfills. Finally, another thing to do with unwanted or unwearable clothes is to upcycle them in some way, such as changing a t-shirt that is too large into a scarf or a bag (there are plenty of ideas on Pinterest for this!).
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Movies
Have some DVDs that you are kind of sick of watching? The front desk of your residence hall will GLADLY accept any donations for movies to add to the shelves for future check out. Is it scratched up and doesn’t work? Use it to make an awesome coaster for drippy drinks!
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Bedding
Blankets, comforters and pillows that are still in good condition can be donated to people in need or sold to consignment shops. Bedding that is too worn to donate can be ripped up into strips to make braided headbands, smaller pillow covers or other cool Pinterest creation.
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Textbooks
With how much textbooks cost, this tip seems like a no-brainer but I’ll say it anyway: Do NOT throw those books away if you do not want them! Textbooks are easily sold to other students planning to take the same class so you can make at little money back on your purchase. If you don’t personally know someone who needs the same textbooks, Wazoo’s List and the Free and For Sale Facebook pages are good places to find people looking for used textbooks. This is especially great for those loose-leaf texts that will not get much money back from stores like WSU bookstore or a number of online retailers such as Amazon, Chegg or eCampus that will also give you money for used textbooks.
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Room Accessories
Whether you live in a res hall or an off-campus apartment, room accessories are easily repurposed each year. Storage bins are always useful and can even be inexpensively re-painted for a fresh look (the same goes for picture frames), flower vases can be used as a pot for plants and glass jars or containers can be of great use for spare change or small item storage. Rugs can be washed up and used again, and curtains can be remade into any cloth item or reused.
My personal advice is to ask any of your friends or co-residents if they would like to take it off your hands or would be up for a trade. You never know if you don’t try this! My roommates and I got many useful things from our friends and people in the res hall last year, such as cushioned chair that just needed some new cloth and a shelf that needed some minor repairs.
If you are packing up and discover some items that are beyond trade or reuse, WSU provides extra dumpsters outside the res halls to help you clear out your room. Bins full of pizza boxes or shattered items are probably not going to be a desirable item to trade, sell or reuse, so go ahead and toss it.
I hope this helps you figure out what to donate, re-purpose and toss when moving out next week!