LOCAL RESOURCES

HELP OUR LOCAL NONPROFITS WITH IN-KIND DONATIONS

This list includes a variety of nonprofits in the Reno-Sparks area that can benefit from your new and gently used items as you declutter and organize your space. To make donations, visit their websites & contact the organization for drop-off info. Please note: this is not a complete list. Our community has many more organizations, so if you don’t see what you are looking for here, feel free to contact Sorted Professional Organizing to help you find a new home for your items.

Women & Children’s Center of the Sierra | www.waccs.org

Helps women & their families escape poverty

Non-expired food & drinks. New or gently used clothing & shoes for women, men & children. Car seats, strollers, high chairs, Pak N’ Plays, baby gates, etc. Toys & books. New diapers, wipes, baby formula. Pet food & supplies. New & gently used household items. New personal hygiene & cleaning products.

Project 150 | www.project150reno.org

Provides basic needs to homeless, displaced & disadvantaged high school students

TEEN appropriate clothing & shoes for all sizes & genders. New personal hygiene products & makeup. Non-perishable food. School supplies & backpacks. Bedding & towels. Art supplies, games, teen appropriate books. Skateboards.

Dress for Success Reno | www.reno.dressforsuccess.org

Provides professional attire & job assistance to women

New & gently used professional items for women. Suits, blouses, pants, jackets, dresses, shoes, jewelry & scarves. Handbags, briefcases, portfolios, wallets. Casual wear (denim, plain sweatshirts, plain shirts).

Box of Balloons Nevada | www.boxofballoons.org/nevada

Provides birthday parties & supplies to children & families in need

New toys & birthday gifts for kids, tableware, decorations, party favors, game/activity, boxed cupcake mix. Extra unopened halloween candy.

Karma Box Project | www.karmaboxproject.org

Provides basic needs to anyone in our community

Over 50 box locations, stocked by the public (map available on their website). Summer: water, sunscreen, socks, sun hats. Winter: knit wool caps, gloves, socks, space blankets. All seasons: one-use hygiene items like soap, toothbrushes/toothpaste, tampons, nonperishable foods preferably in pop-top containers, individual snacks, bars & ramen. Pet food & supplies.

SPCA & Humane Society | www.spcanevada.org | www.nevadahumanesociety.org

Saves & improves the lives of pets & people

Pet food (unopened, non-expired, open food in original packaging ok). Pet beds, leashes, collars, crates, gently used toys. Human sheets, blankets, towels.

CARE Chest |www.carechest.org

Provides free medical resources to Nevadans in need

New & gently used medical items, such as: crutches, walkers, canes, transfer chairs, handrails, lifts, hospital beds, & scooters. Unopened, non-perishable medical supplies such as: incontinence protection, bandages, cleansers, diabetic testing supplies & blood pressure cuffs. Nutritional drinks.

Safe Embrace | www.safeembrace.org

Promotes safety, independence & empowerment to survivors of domestic & sexual violence

New or gently used clothing & shoes for women, men & children. Baby items. Small furniture & kitchen items. Pet products. New diapers, wipes, baby formula & personal hygiene products.

Eddy House | www.eddyhouse.org

Works with homeless & at-risk young adults (ages 18-24)

New & gently used clothing & shoes of all sizes & gender. Shelf-stable snack foods. Backpacks & duffle bags. Young adult books & games. Art supplies. Skateboards. New personal hygiene products.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Northern Nevada | www.bbbsnn.org

Helps children realize their full potential & build their futures

Has 9 drop-off bins in Reno & Carson City & offers front door bulk pick-up. Repurposes and/or recycles clothing, shoes, belts, hats, bags, towels, linens, fabric, backpacks, accessories, small household items.

Volunteers of America Northern Nevada | www.voa-ncnn.org/northern-nevada

Provides services to men, women, children, veterans, former foster youth & low-income seniors

Gently used clothing & shoes for all ages & genders. Sitting walkers. New or gently used twin size bedding, hair combs/brushes, nail clippers, towels & washcloths. Non-perishable food. New personal hygiene products, earbuds, headphones, ear plugs & sleep masks.

The Children’s Cabinet | www.childrenscabinet.org

Provides services to youth & their families

Gently used clothing & shoes for all ages & genders. Strollers, high chairs, Pak N’ Plays. Toys & games. Books for all ages. New & gently used household items. New personal hygiene & cleaning products. New diapers, wipes, baby formula.

RECYCLING/DISPOSAL OPTIONS

Throughout the year, the city of Reno offers free “clean up” events where residents can properly dispose of and recycle household waste including yard waste, electronics, hazardous waste and other items considered waste/junk. Dates and locations vary. Please visit the city’s website or social media for dates and locations, and look out for flyers/vouchers in your mail.

Keep reading for more local options to recycle or properly dispose of office and household items.

PLASTIC BAGS

Kohls, Target, Raley’s and most grocery stores have bins at the front of the store to recycle plastic shopping bags. 

SHIPPING PLASTICS & PLASTIC FILMS

Kohls, Patagonia and Target have bins for in-store recycling, usually located at the front of the store near cashiers. Please check plastics films for a recycling symbol.  

MEDICINE 

Participating CVS stores will properly dispose of unneeded or expired medicine (prescription and over-the-counter meds, including liquids upto 4oz sealed in a ziplock bag) to ensure they do not end up polluting our water. Look for their “medication disposal kiosks” found in or near the Pharmacy Waiting area. Check their website for participating locations. This program is free. 

Walgreens offers a more comprehensive option for properly disposing medicines including prescription medications/ointments/patches, over-the-counter medications/ointments/lotions/liquids, pet medications, vitamins, aerosol cans & inhalers. 

MAKEUP & BEAUTY PRODUCTS 

Through a free program with TerraCycle, Nordstrom recycles all brands of beauty and skincare product packaging, including bottles/caps, pump caps & hair spray triggers, tubes/caps, mascara tubes & wands, lipstick/lip gloss tubes & wands, jars/caps, compacts. They do not accept aerosol or pressurized cans, electronic items such as blow dryers, perfume bottles, nail polish bottles or removers or wooden eyeliner pencils. You do not need to clean the packaging before dropping it off, but please remove as much of the remaining product as possible.

Through a free program with Pact, Sephora recycles your empty beauty product packaging including plastic bottles & jars smaller than a than a fist, plastic & aluminum squeezable tubes, ceramic & porcelain containers, colored glass bottles and jars, caps & closures, pumps & dispensers, droppers & applicators, compacts & palettes, lipstick/lip gloss tubes & applicators, mascara tubes & wands, plastic pencil components for eye/lip liner & brow pencils, toothpaste tubes & dental floss containers, silicone containers, pouches. Please empty the product and clean packaging as best you can.  

ELECTRONICS, OFFICE/ART SUPPLIES & APPLIANCES

Staples accepts a wide range of electronic items & office supplies, including pens/markers/crayons, ink & toner cartridges, Soda Stream® CO2 cylinders, single-use & rechargeable batteries, phone & tablet cases, laptops, monitors, cables, CD/DVD players, routers and more for free recycling every day. No purchase is necessary to recycle in store, and they accept all brands of items.

Best Buy recycles most electronics, appliances, fitness equipment and household items. You can recycle up to three items per household per day, plus, haul-away options are available for larger items in your home. Items include vacuums, brooms/stick vacuums, hair dryers/curling irons/straighteners, fans, heart monitors, calculators, security systems, video game consoles & accessories, TVs and more. See website for details.  

CLOTHING & TEXTILES

  • Local Nonprofits & Thrift Stores  

Repurpose clothing that is in good condition by giving the items to local nonprofits, such as the Women & Children’s Center of the Sierra. For clothing or textiles that are stained, torn and unusable, you can drop these items off at major thrift stores, such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers or schedule a home pickup with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada. These organizations will recycle textiles that are not usable and even earn money for the recycled items that help support their community programs. Big Brothers Big Sisters also offers 24-hour donation bins throughout Reno, Sparks and Carson City. Visit their website for bin locations.

Just Porch it will pick up all types of textiles as long as they are dry and free of mold, including clothing, hats, shoes, linens, purses, belts and more right from your porch with no contact. They will redistribute any usable items back into our local community through non-profits, and the unusable items are recycled.

HAZARDOUS WASTE

GrayMar recycles and disposes of household hazardous waste. Look out for a free annual voucher provided by Reno Waste Management in your mail. Accepted items include pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers & sprays, paints/stains/thinners & related products, bleach & household cleaners, fuel, oil, oil filters, waxes, polishes, batteries, propane tanks, fire extinguishers, pool/spa chemicals, fluorescent lamps & bulbs, microwaves, computers, cell phones and more. Visit the website for more info.

OTHER RESOURCES

​Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful (KTMB) is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a more sustainable community in the Northern Nevada region. The group creates a very detailed and comprehensive guide for local residents to deal with all types of household waste. And this Guide is updated annually. Please refer to ​KTMB Recycling Guide for all your recycling needs and questions.

TerraCycle specializes in recycling typically hard-to-recycle waste which is not processed by local councils, such as cigarette butts, food wrappers, product packaging and hard plastics. They have free mail-in programs and offer paid programs.


4-Step Process to Organize Any Space

  • SORT

    Item by item, pull out everything in a space and separate the items into categories. It’s important to see it all and to put like things together for the ease of finding things and putting them back.

  • REVISE

    One category at a time, re-examine what you have and what you need. Item by item, decide if it's something you want to continue holding onto and making space for. Look out for duplicates, expired items and broken items.

  • ORGANIZE

    Essentially, put everything back but in an organized way- with intention, containment and parameters- while optimizing space and function. Give everything a home for ease of finding it when needed.

  • GIVE/RECYCLE

    Now it’s time to address the leftovers, the stuff you decided you no longer need to keep. Recycle what you can and give all usable items to local nonprofits and charities, see below for local organizations and recycling options.