Donating is a great way to help those in need and get a tax deduction. Be sure to keep a list of all items you donate in your current year tax file. Donated items are generally worth about a 15-20% tax deduction of the original retail price paid.

Arc Value Village
6528 Penn Avenue South, Richfield
612.861.9550
arcsvaluevillage.org
Depending upon where you live Arc may do a complimentary pick up at your home. If you live in south Minneapolis get on their mailing list. They will send you a postcard every few months that tells you what day they will be in your neighborhood picking items up. On your pick up day, simply put your items out on your front steps and they will pick them up and leave you a tax deduction receipt.

Books
The Minneapolis Public Library 612.630.6177
Also, Half Price Used Books is a great place to sell your books. Visit their website to find a location near you.

Bikes
Bolder Options
2100 Stevens Avenue South
Minneapolis
612.379.BOLD
www.bolderoptions.org

Eyeglasses
Lions Club International
They have collection boxes throughout the city including Lenscrafters.
www.lionsclubs.org

Furniture
If possible, I recommend selling it on CraigsList. For tips, read my article - Make Money De-Cluttering Your Home. If it's not worth anything, you could post it for free on CraigsList or on TwinCitiesFreeMarket.org. Most likely someone will take it off your hands within a day or two. To get the tax deduction, just snap a photo of it and write on the back of the photo that you donated it. Toss it into the file with your tax receipts.

Some Good Wills and Arcs take furniture but only a very limited basis and you have to bring the furniture there and get it approved. Posting it online is much faster and easier.

How to Recycle or Dispose of Everything
Go to ReThinkRecycling.com and just type in what you what to get rid of and they will tell you how. It's a great free tool.

Musical Instruments
Music in Schools
www.mustcreate.org

Batteries
www.batteryrecycling.com
www.rbrc.org

Cellphones/Technotrash
www.greendisk.com

Obsolete Computers
Computer Recycling Center
www.crc.org

Usable Computers
www.sharetechnology.org/information.html

Light Bulbs
www.GreenLightsRecycling.com

Holiday Tree Pickup, Hazardous Waste, Large Items, (mattresses, carpet)
www.AlliedWasteTwinCities.com

Household Building Supplies
ReUse Center
2801 21st Avenue South
Mpls, 612.724.2608
www.greeninstitute.org

Recycling
Recycling is important for our environment. The number of landfills here in the US has dropped by about 64% since 1988. Last year nearly one third of our nation's solid waste was recycled. Setting up a proper recycling system is easy and the effort is worth it.

• Label your bins, this makes it easy for everyone in your family to know what goes where
• Reduce volume by crushing cans, breaking down boxes and flattening plastic bottles
• Put your recycling bins in a convenient location, more likely your family will use them

Click below for a complete listing of Minneapolis recycle guidelines and hazardous waste disposal: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/solid-waste/