Clothing is the most common donation and the hardest one to get picked up on its own.
Most of the nonprofit partners in our network send a truck for furniture, appliances or a full cleanout, and they take bagged clothing when it rides along with a larger item. A few bags by themselves usually aren’t worth a truck’s time, so a clothes-only request is often declined or goes unanswered. Some partners do run clothing routes, and the zip-code form is the only way to know whether one covers your address.
If you have furniture to donate too, list it first and add the clothing to the same request. That is the surest way to get clothes picked up free.
When a clothing pickup works
- With furniture or another large item. A sofa, dresser, dining set or working appliance makes the trip worthwhile, and the bags come along.
- With a cleanout or move-out. Many bags and boxes at once, say an estate or a whole closet turnover, can justify a truck on their own. Give the count on the form.
- Where a partner runs a clothing route. A few partners collect bagged clothing by itself. Enter your zip code and the form checks.
When it usually doesn't
- Two or three bags with nothing else.
- Clothing that is wet, moldy, heavily stained or torn. Partners sell what they collect, and damaged clothing goes straight to their trash bill.
- Bags left at the curb before anyone has agreed to come.
How to make a clothing pickup more likely
- List the furniture first on the form, then the clothing. The crew plans around the big pieces.
- Bag or box everything. Tied kitchen bags or closed boxes, not loose piles or hangers.
- Say how much: "8 bags of clothes, 2 boxes of shoes" tells a partner whether it fits the truck.
- Keep it inside, dry, until a partner confirms a time.
- Shoes, coats, belts and purses in wearable condition count. Pair the shoes.
If nobody will pick up clothes alone
Drop it at a partner's store
Most partners run thrift stores that take clothing at the door during donation hours. Your city page names the partners near you; check the store’s hours before you load the car.
Use a donation bin
Some partners run bins for bagged clothing. Red Racks, the DAV’s thrift operation in Missouri, has eleven around Kansas City, Springfield and Joplin. Bins take clothing and shoes, not furniture.
Add it to a furniture request
If a sofa or dresser is leaving the house anyway, hold the bags until then and send one request. See what furniture qualifies for free pickup.
Veterans programs that take clothes alone
Vietnam Veterans of America’s Pickup Please collects bagged clothing by itself in more than a dozen states. Our veterans pickup comparison covers where it operates and what it refuses.
Request a pickup
Enter your zip code, list what you have with the furniture first, and we send the request to the partners who pick up in your area. A partner that can take it contacts you within about 48 hours to set a time. If you don’t hear from anyone, no partner was able to take the request; Priority Pickup, a paid service with the price quoted before you book, is available in most areas.
Frequently asked questions
Will a nonprofit pick up only clothes?
Usually not. Most partners in our network take clothing when it comes with furniture or another large item, or as part of a cleanout with many bags. A few run clothing routes; the zip-code form checks your address.
Do partners take shoes, coats and accessories?
Yes, in wearable condition, bagged or boxed with the rest of the clothing. Pair the shoes and empty the pockets.
Can I leave the bags on the porch for pickup?
Wait until a partner confirms a time. Partners decline wet or dirty bags, and clothing left out before anyone has agreed to come tends to end up in the trash.
What condition does clothing need to be in?
Clean, dry and wearable. Partners resell what they collect, so stained, torn, moldy or wet items cost them money to throw away. Out-of-season is fine.