Lighten Up: Bedroom, Clothing, and Office

In the digital age, home work spaces need less to equip them than ever but while your closet may seem daunting, push on. You’re almost there!
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BEDROOM

Bedding

Donate to The Julian Center, which especially needs twin-size sheets, mattress covers, and blankets to aid victims of domestic violence, or Catholic Charities.

Mattress

Few organizations will accept used mattresses. But The Mustard Seed of Central Indiana takes queen-size or smaller mattresses as long as they aren’t ripped or stained.
Or … if you have a king-size mattress or any that’s not in excellent condition, dragging it to the curb is your only option, unfortunately. Go here to find your neighborhood’s heavy trash day.

Clothing

Casual and Professional

Dress for Success Indianapolis always needs interview-appropriate clothing for women, especially in larger sizes. The PourHouse happily accepts donations of casual wear. In both cases, pieces should be freshly laundered and in good enough shape that you wouldn’t hesitate to pass them on to a friend.

Formal Wear

The Gifted Gown welcomes donations of women’s (and men’s) evening wear. 

Leather Goods

Your well-loved jacket, belt, wallet, or bag can be loved once again by someone less
fortunate when it arrives at Thrifty Threads.

Or … If you’re not ready to part with a favorite piece but it needs a little TLC, take it to Carmel Tailoring and Fine Clothier or Centos Shoes & Repairs, both of which repair leather.

Shoes

Tired of your kicks, but they still have plenty of life in them? Local DSW stores will take them on behalf of Soles4Souls. You can also donate them to the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center.

Jewelry and Watches

Put the final touch on a hopeful applicant’s interview outfit by donating nice costume or vintage jewelry and working watches to Dress for Success Indianapolis. Another good destination for it is The Julian Center.
Or … If a fix or a modern setting will get an old favorite back in rotation, Moyer Fine Jewelers and Reis-Nichols Jewelers both do repairs.

The Right Fit

The Bra Recyclers sends gently-used bras to shelters, schools, foster programs, and other nonprofits serving women and girls all over the world.

Office

Books and Audiobooks

Box them up—they won’t take them in bags—and tote them down to an Indianapolis Public Library location. The limit is four boxes. If you have one or two boxes, you can drop them off right at your local branch. Three or four boxes need to be brought to the Indy Library Store at the Library Services Center downtown.

Computers

Pass your desktop or laptop along to the Boys & Girls Clubs or

Computers With Causes, which will move it along to an individual or organization that needs it. Just a reminder: Even when donating to trustworthy organizations like these, wipe everything off your computer before handing it over.
Or … Recycle it safely through End of Life Electronics Midwest.

DVD Players

This relic of prestreaming days still has a use in the hands of the Boys & Girls Clubs

Or … You can also watch for the Power Recycling Day at the Indianapolis Zoo in the fall, when you can drop off anything with a plug except large appliances.

Eyeglasses

The Lions Club still matches glasses with folks who are waiting for them. Whether you have pairs with old prescriptions or a glut of readers, drop them into the bin at a Walmart Vision Center or bring them to a local Lions Club.

Filing Cabinets

You probably don’t have that many file folders anymore, but the educators who visit the free store of Teachers’ Treasures still have creative uses for filing cabinets.

Hearing Aids

Change lives by sending them to the Hearing Aid Project.

Magazines

Whether it’s your dad’s collection of National Geographic or a towering stack of People or Vogue, educators “shopping” at Teachers’ Treasures free store will snap them up for classroom projects.

Or … You can recycle magazines with other paper products in your curbside recycling bin.

Miscellaneous Supplies

Scissors, dry-erase boards and markers, mousepads, staples, pens, sticky notes … Office supplies somehow seem to multiply over the years. Take the surfeit to John Boner Neighborhood Centers, the Boys & Girls Clubs, or IndyHumane. The latter may not be the first place you’d go to, but they reduce operating expenses by accepting donated office supplies (they even take empty copy paper boxes for the kittens).

Old Paperwork

Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana hosts document shredding events throughout the year at various Indianapolis-area locations.

Or … Anything without personal information, like notes, flyers, brochures, and junk mail, can go right into curbside recycling bins for paper products.

Paperweights

The desks of 2025 may not often see stacks of papers that need to be corralled, but attractive glass paperweights can be lovely little pieces of decor. Some people collect them. Thus, Wheeler Mission can sell them to support their worthy programs. Goodwill will take them as well.

Or … Is it a rather ugly, promotional specimen? Just trash it. Unfortunately, paperweights are not made of the type of glass that can be recycled.

Phones

Now that you’re the proud owner of an iPhone 16, don’t let your old phone fester in a desk drawer. Share it with The Julian Center or Coburn Place, which will leverage your gift to help domestic violence survivors rebuild their lives. Or consider the World Computer Exchange as a recipient. The organization refurbishes cellphones (and laptops) and then donates them to schools, libraries, community centers, and hospitals in developing countries.

Or … Drop it off at any Staples store for recycling. You don’t need an appointment. (Regardless of where your phone winds up, make sure all your personal data is cleared before it gets there.)

Meaningful Messages

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children wants greeting cards, either new with envelopes or just the front of used ones.