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In our previous advice article, we discussed What to do with your loved one's belongings after they die. A particularly difficult task, sorting through a lifetime of their memories and possessions, once you have decided what items you want to donate and sell, the next step is how to start. We hope this article will offer you some considerations and ideas on doing just that.
Remember whatever you decide to do during this process has no bearing on the love and memory you have for your loved one.
'There is love in holding and there is love in letting go.' - Elizabeth Berg
DONATING
There might be a number of items you feel are appropriate to donate, perhaps your loved one has requested all their items to be donated to a charity or not-for-profit organisation. If you are looking for places in Australia to donate and what items you can donate where, you're in the right place.
Acceptable items to donate are:
- Women's, men's and children clothing, footwear and accessories
- Homewares and manchester
- Children's toys Books, DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, cassettes and video games in good working order
Items not acceptable to donate are:
- Ripped, torn, stained or soiled clothing or footwear
- Broken, cracked, ripped or stained manchester or homewares
- Used beauty and hygiene products
- Computers, scanners and printers
- Car parts
- Weapons
- Taxidermy animals
- Medicine
- Green waste
- Household waste
How to donate?
You can either drop off your donation items to a local charity shop during business hours or place donations in a donation bin in your local area. Please ensure you don't leave donations outside of a bin that is clearly full as this will likely end up in landfill due to weather damage.
Free donation pick up
For large or bulky items or if you have a large sum of items, some bigger charities and not-for-profit organisations can offer a free pick up service. Simply contact them to discuss how they can help you.
Where to donate
Large organisations:
- Salvation Army
- Lifeline
- Red Cross
- St Vincent de Paul
- The Smith Family
- Sacred Heart Mission
Small organisations
- Mummies Paying it Forward
- Friends with Dignity
- Sheltered by Grace
Clothing and shoes only donations
- Dress for Success
- Fitted for Work Sydney
- Shoes for Planet Earth
- On My Feet
- ClothesLine
Electronics and Mobile phone donations
- Close the Loop
- Planet Ark
- Mobile Muster
Books and toys
- Toy Libraries
- Books 4 PNG Kids
- Share-a-book
- Aboriginal Literacy Foundation
- Buk bilong Pikinini
There are so many amazing charities and not-for-profit organisations in Australia that aren't listed here today, that need our support. If you would like to learn more about charities and not-for-profit organisations to donate to, you can search the ACNC charity register to find out everything you need to know about them.
SELLING
If you have a few big ticket items you may want to consider selling rather than donating. After all, the money might be able to go towards funeral costs or a special family holiday.
There are a few options to sell items that belonged to your loved one which we have listed below:
Selling locally
Selling your loved one's items locally the old fashioned way means you won't have the added stress of having to calculate postage and shipping.
Local classifieds
A local classified ad in the paper works well if you have few items to sell singularly or want to advertise multiple items in a deceased estate or garage sale.
Garage sale
A garage sale makes a lot of sense if you want to move things quickly and easily rather than to make a profit.
Local second-hand dealer
Your local Cash Converters or pawn shop is good if you have a few good quality or specialty items. Keep in mind you won't get as much money as selling the items yourself as they want to make a profit on the re-sale.
Selling online
To reach a bigger audience and have a better return, selling online might be a better option for you. Selling online does come with its downsides, taking photos and uploading each item takes time - and then there might be working out postage too.
Gumtree
A popular online place to list your items for free, Gumtree allows you to sell pretty easily locally, which saves the hassle of postage.
Trading Post
A safe way to buy and sell for over 50 years, it's still free to list items under $500 in the Trading Post.
eBay
Selling items on eBay has the potential to reach a very large audience which in turn can provide a good profit.
Facebook is another way to sell and you have two options here. You can either join a local buy swap and sell page or group or you can use Facebook Marketplace.
Parting with your loved one's items after they die is always going to be a difficult task and the process emotionally and physically challenging. Be kind to yourself and remember your loved one is with you in your heart and not in the things they have left behind.
