Where to Take Outgrown Toys?

[lizzywednesday]

DD is 5. She has mounds, heaps, and buckets of toys that she's outgrown.

I want them out of the house, but feel squicky just tossing them. (Well, the less annoying ones anyway. I just threw away a bunch of stuff that makes noise because I can't tolerate it.)

I know that a lot of charities have stopped taking toys due to not being able to keep up with recalls and such, but is there ANYWHERE I can take toys (legally!) to donate or do I have to freecycle/Craigslist them if I want any credit for it?

[Tenasparkl]

When DS was at a small home daycare I brought toys in all the time. Now I give some to a co-worker with a young daughter and some to DS's preschool. The preschool teachers were thrilled to get more puzzles, blocks, little people etc.

[sweet_pea]

Our local children's clothing consignment store also takes toys and games. Perhaps see if you have a store like that nearby? I love being able to get rid of toys we don't want, but then get cash or store credit to use on stuff the kids need.

[mikala]

Our local thrift shops and common donation places continue to accept toys. If yours don't you might also look at selling them for next to nothing on local FB pages, donating to women's shelters, etc. I've also done porch/curb pickup if I'm close to trashing something. I'd love for things to at least get a little more life before hitting a landfill.

[lizzywednesday]

Our local thrift shops and common donation places continue to accept toys. If yours don't you might also look at selling them for next to nothing on local FB pages, donating to women's shelters, etc. I've also done porch/curb pickup if I'm close to trashing something. I'd love for things to at least get a little more life before hitting a landfill.

You're lucky - the ones near us do not.

I'll check with the women's shelters, though, because I can look at offloading some of my still-good-but-I'm-not-using-them things there, too.

[mmsmom]

Some ideas: churches, preschools, YMCA.

I also often just put stuff out on the curb and it is gone pretty quickly.

[KrisM]

Here there are foster care places that take things so they can give out age appropriate toys to foster parents.

[DualvansMommy]

The holidays is coming up, check into whether your DD school or church do the toy drive. I'm in the process of purging the toys that's no longer any use between my boys. Also donating some to the local pregnancy center too.


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[LBW]

Big Brothers/Big Sisters takes toys. We're lucky to have a drop off location in our town, but they do pick ups.

You could also post them for free/cheap on a local FB board. We have a few local boards, and I know I could post free toys for porch or driveway pickup and they'd be gone by the end of the day.

For larger toys, I can leave them curbside and someone will grab them within a day or two.

[Globetrotter]

I give to smaller charities. If it's something really specific that may be ignored otherwise, I might Freecycle it.

[daisysmom]

Battered women's shelter. I gave most of our baby and children's stuff to one. They names and addresses of those places are very private for fear of husband retaliation but I had a friend that volunteered and said that women come with kids on their pajamas with not a toy etc

[vludmilla]

I agree with the battered women's shelter but I also donate to my library when they do an annual tag sale. We don't do church but there are churches around here that accept donations for tag sales.

[DualvansMommy]

Op, I just donated my small batch of outgrown toys to a pregnancy center that gives those items to low income families. Check if your town or surrounding towns has one.


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[SoCalMommy]

Pre schools, churches or temples, daycare centers, small charities or foster homes. Also you could post on various mommy boards on Facebook and offer for free. Tons of people will reply. Even curbside or donate to garage sales. Please don't throw them out if they are in good and safe working order. There are so many people who would be thrilled to get toys for their LO that they can't afford.

[zag95]

Also- teen parent programs, in your local school district, are good options! Libraries, children's hospitals, etc, might also have a need.

[lizzywednesday]

Also- teen parent programs, in your local school district, are good options! Libraries, children's hospitals, etc, might also have a need.

Children's hospitals actually prefer new-in-box for infection control reasons. The ones we donate to actually have Amazon WishLists.

[lizzywednesday]

Pre schools, churches or temples, daycare centers, small charities or foster homes. Also you could post on various mommy boards on Facebook and offer for free. Tons of people will reply. Even curbside or donate to garage sales. Please don't throw them out if they are in good and safe working order. There are so many people who would be thrilled to get toys for their LO that they can't afford.

That's what I'm getting at - most of the things I'm looking to offload are in near-mint condition, but DD has outgrown them.

It strikes me as supremely wasteful to throw them away without making a good faith effort to find someone who can use them.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Why not just schedule the Veterans to come? They'll distribute things appropriately.

[lizzywednesday]

Why not just schedule the Veterans to come? They'll distribute things appropriately.

We just got a postcard for one of the vets organizations today. I have to think about it; they will be in our area in about 2 weeks.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We just got a postcard for one of the vets organizations today. I have to think about it; they will be in our area in about 2 weeks.

Go to their website. You can often schedule them to come within 1-3 days.

[lizzywednesday]

Go to their website. You can often schedule them to come within 1-3 days.

I'm nowhere near ready yet - most of DD's things were just shoved into a closet. I may have a lot less than I think I have!