With the new year arriving, it’s time to declutter all your excess items at home. Don’t just focus on decluttering, While you’re in the process, look for any goods that are still in usable condition and consider giving it away or donating it to charity and recycling drives. That way, you can make a difference in someone’s life or the environment!
After you’ve decluttered, remember to keep your home organized with our range of home organizers for your wardrobe, kitchen, bathroom and more!
Disclaimer: We do not represent any religious, charity, non-profit organisation and stand from an unbiased point of view.
Click on each category to navigate directly to the list of donation areas.
Updated as of 18 December 2020: Most of the donation centres have reopened with new COVID-19 precautionary guidelines in place. We’ve removed donation centres that aren’t accepting donations and added new ones that accept donations.
Donate Old Clothes, Garments & Shoes
1. Greensquare
What They Do: With the amount of clothing being discarded, Greensquare wants to make a difference by doubling the percentage of recycled textiles, from 7% to 14% by 2020. They provide textile recycling services and operate such that textiles are kept in a closed recycling loop in order to reduce environmental pollution and conserve natural resources.
What’s Accepted: They take in clean clothes, wearable paired shoes, household linens, and accessories such as belts and bags. Mouldy, torn, and stained items will be rejected.
Where & How To Donate: Drop off your items at any point that is part of Greensquare’s list. Due to COVID-19, they have not resumed door-to-door collection.
2. Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP) Shop
What They Do: The SSVP Shop is a social enterprise started by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVP) to offer the underprivileged financial assistance. Items that are donated to the shop are sold and the proceeds are used to help the needy people in Singapore through charity programmes.
What’s Accepted: The SSVP shop accepts adult and children apparels, homewares, appliances, ladies bags and accessories. However, due to space constraints, they’re only accepting up to 2 shopping bags worth of donations per drop-off. They strictly do not accept shoes, books, furniture, CDs and DVDs and bulky items.
Where & How To Donate: Drop-off your donations at the SSVP Shop @ 501 Geylang Road, Singapore 389459 between Tuesday and Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm.
3. ZARA Clothes Collection
What They Do: ZARA collaborates with local non-profit organisations (NGOs) and collects clothes that are no longer used. These clothes would then be donated to the needy, recycled or transformed into new textile pieces. Alternatively, it’d be marketed through charitable channels and the money earned would be used to fund social projects by these NGOs.
What’s Accepted: ZARA accepts clothing, household linen, footwear, accessories and jewellery from any brands. For clothes that aren’t in the perfect condition, you can still donate it as it’ll be recycled into new fabric.
Where & How To Donate: Pack all the items you’d like to donate in a well-sealed package and drop it off in these collection bins (as seen in the image above). These bins can be found in all ZARA stores throughout Singapore. Do approach the staff if you can’t find the bin in the store!
4. MINDS
What They Do: MINDS organization runs 4 thrift shops – at Margaret, NTUC Healthcare, Woodlands, and Rosyth. Their thrift shops have a wide offer of items for bargain hunters, and are run by the MINDS trainees who get vocational training in interacting with customers who visit.
What’s Accepted: MINDS recommends donating items like old wearable clothes, accessories, baby and children’s products, and crafting tools. They don’t accept food, textbooks, used toys or puzzles that have missing parts. The full list of items allowed and disallowed can be found here.
Where & How To Donate: You can choose to pass the packed donation items to the staff, or put them in the collection bin outside every MINDS shop, during operating hours. The exception goes to MINDS Shop [email protected] Healthcare, where they don’t take in donations.
Drop off your donations at MINDS Shop @ Margaret 800 Margaret Drive, Singapore 149310, MINDS Shop @ Woodlands 30 Woodlands Ring Road, Singapore 737883, or MINDS Shop @ Rosyth 29 Rosyth Road, Singapore 546190.
Do take note that if you want to enter the shop, they only allow 5 customers at any one time. Customers have a maximum of 30 minutes to shop during peak periods.
5. H&M
Are you a fashion addict who wants to embark on an eco-friendlier path?
What They Do: H&M’s Garment Collection Programme is a good start! It’s a global initiative that aims for a sustainable fashion future.
Essentially, the breakdown of the framework is Rewear, Reuse, and Recycle – clothes that are able to be reworn will be marketed as second-hand clothing, and damaged material gets converted into other products, such as cleaning cloths.
They’ll also get a new lease of life as textile fibres, or can be used in the auto industry as insulating and damping materials.
What’s Accepted: Clothing in any condition should be put into the H&M recycling bins located in 11 outlets across Singapore. Not only will you benefit the environment, but you also can do the same for your wallets. When you drop your used clothes into the bin, a 15% discount voucher is yours!
Where & How To Donate:
All 11 island-wide locations of the bins can be found on H&M’s website.
6. The Salvation Army
What They Do: With a comprehensive network of social services for children, families, the elderly and more, The Salvation Army reaches out to the needy and disadvantaged communities within society.
Their social enterprise arm, called Red Shield Industries, helps to reuse, recycle, and restore donations from the public for their Family Thrift Stores. The sale of the donated products at the Stores will in turn generate income to care for the communities they serve.
What’s Accepted: For donations-in-kind, The Salvation Army accepts used clothing, household goods, toys, books, and electronic devices.
Where & How To Donate: Drop off your donations at their ‘Donation In Kind’ booths, listed here.
If you wish to donate large appliances like furniture, you can arrange for a collection service by contacting them through either of these – telephone 6288 5438, WhatsApp 8520 5343, online booking on Red Shield Industries, or by emailing [email protected], providing a brief description of what you want to give.
7. Ten Feet Tall
What They Do: Ten Feet Tall encourages its customers to bring and donate any old school or sports shoes when they visit their stores. With each pair of donated shoes, they’ll polish and pack it with a handwritten note before sending it over to schools in Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and India.
They hope that these shoes would protect the students from diseases – gastrointestinal issues – and also allow them to attend school and receive an education.
What’s Accepted: Any children or adult shoes that are in good condition with the soles intact.
Where & How To Donate: To drop off your donations, you can visit their store at Holland Road Shopping Centre, 211 Holland Avenue #02-16, Singapore 278967.
8. Visio Optical
What They Do: Visio Optical aims to make spectacles available to the needy by collecting old and new eyewear and distributing it to people in need – elderly in nursing homes and day-care centres and needy families.
They conduct on-site eye tests at day-care and nursing homes and allow their guests to choose from a wide range of spectacle frames. Once their prescription glasses are ready, they’ll deliver it to the homes.
What’s Accepted: Old and new spectacles or sunglasses that are in usable condition. They do not accept unopened contact lenses.
Where & How To Donate: Drop off your eyewear at their store – Visio Optical, 43 Holland Drive 01-67, Singapore 270043. Alternatively, you could mail it to the same address.
Now that all your unwanted clothes have been decluttered, it’s time to get your wardrobe organized! Explore our range of closet/wardrobe organizers that help to maximise space in your wardrobe and keep your garments neatly placed!
Also check out on StyleMag: 8 Walk-in Wardrobe Organization Ideas For HDB & Condo
Looking for a handy checklist with the full list places to donate, recycle, sell and swap in Singapore instead? Save our Instagram post here!
Household Items
9. Pass It On
Most of the time, you don’t really get to know who your donations specifically benefit. Pass It On begs to differ, with a board on the homepage having wish lists individually tailored to each donee’s needs!
What They Do: Pass it On was started by the Central Singapore Community Development Council, and managed by The Helping Hand. As it donates to the disadvantaged and needy, the website will match the item you’re offering to a particular wish list of the individual! Social workers also use this platform to benefit the families they are in charge of caring for.
What’s Accepted: A wide range of items, as long as they are in working condition. Furniture, electrical appliances, or medical aids – such products are common in the market. You can publicize your offer by posting a photo of what you’ll give away, and wait for someone to accept your donation. All the latest individual wishlists are on their homepage, and provides the donor with detailed information on what the beneficiary specifically needs. This is a good way to know that what you donate will directly benefit the recipient.
Where & How To Donate: Prior to donation, you will have to sign up as a member, then fill up the form on the website to confirm your address. Secondly, note that for some deliveries, the costs will have to be covered by the donor.
Drop off your donations at The Helping Hand, 819 Upper Serangoon Road, S534678.
10. Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home
What They Do: Chen Su Lan offers temporary protection and shelter to boys and girls aged between 5 and 21, of different ethnic and religious backgrounds, who come from needy and disadvantaged families. The ultimate outcome from providing nurturing and care is for the children to be reunited with their families or return to society.
What’s Accepted: In order to keep the home running and provide for the children’s needs, CSL needs donations in-kind, especially household items such as toiletries. Groceries are also allowed to be donated. They only receive donations in-kind during their office hours, which is from 9 am to 6 pm, Mondays to Fridays. Public holidays are excluded.
Where & How To Donate: Before you donate, make sure to contact the staff beforehand to arrange an appointment and discuss what you can bring along, by sending an email to [email protected], or calling them 6713 9150. The home’s needs vary weekly, and there is limited space.
Drop off your donations at 202 Serangoon Garden Way, Singapore 556057.
11. Singapore Freecycle Network
What They Do: Singapore Freecycle Networks aims to connect people who are giving away items to others who are looking for the same item. This is to reduce wastage in Singapore.
What’s Accepted: They accept a range of household items – from computers to furniture and clothing. You can check out their guidelines here.
Where & How To Donate: Snap a picture of the item you’re selling (as seen above) and give a short description of the item and where people can collect it if they’re interested. After that, simply post it onto the Facebook group and wait for interested takers to contact you!
Children, Baby, & Maternity Items
12. Blessings in a Bag
Young volunteerism is significantly on the rise, such as homegrown youth organization Blessings In A Bag!
What They Do: Blessings In A Bag aims to provide every child and family in challenging situations, such as lack of shelter and financial trouble, with sufficient help and tools to ensure they can thrive. Recently this year, they partnered with Amazon SG to raise funds, and got Lumiere Montessori House as a beneficiary!
What’s Accepted: As they mainly cater to young children, they accept children’s books, lego toy sets, as well as educational board and card games. If you plan to donate, it’s important to know that they have to be in new or almost new condition. Secondly, the team has a specific wishlist of items that are needed, so you can get a better idea of what to give.
Where & How To Donate: Due to COVID-19, you must book an appointment with them before dropping off your donations at their headquarters. You can email photos and a description of the items that you’ll be donating to [email protected].
Drop off your donations at Blessings in a Bag, 315 Outram Road, #08-06A, Tan Boon Liat Building, Singapore, Singapore.
13. Dignity Mama
What They Do: Dignity Mama, under Project Dignity, gives young adults with disabilities the chance to learn entrepreneurial skills and begin independent lives. Using a micro-enterprise model and a steady supply of zero-cost products, they run kiosks stationed at a few parts of Singapore hospitals such as Khoo Teck Puat, NUH, and Ng Teng Fong. It’s a 3-in-1 method – the books offered are affordable, aim to foster a reading culture, and reduce waste by taking in unwanted books.
What’s Accepted: Used books that are still readable, but not published before 2000. They take in children’s fiction, including comics. As for adult fiction and non-fiction, they don’t allow science fiction. Magazines like National Geographic and Reader’s Digest are acceptable, but their issues have to be publications that are from 2015 and onwards.
Where & How To Donate: You’re required to fill up a form provided on their page, detailing which drop-off location you’d like, the preferred date and timing, and a brief description of the books you will be donating.
Drop off your donations at National University Hospital, 1 Lower Kent Ridge Road, #01-39, One @ Kent Ridge. Singapore 119082 or Ng Teng Fong, 1 Jurong East St 21, Tower A, NTFH Clinics, #02-10, S609606. Do take note that the Project Dignity office is no longer a drop-off point.
14. Babes Pregnancy Crisis Support
What They Do: Babes is a voluntary welfare organization, with the aim of providing support, assistance, and guidance to pregnant teenagers aged 21 and below. They also offer a 24-hour SMS helpline as a mode of communication in order to reach out to the affected girls non-threateningly.
What’s Accepted: The organization takes in unexpired formulated milk powder, diapers, pre-loved baby’s clothing, prams, and strollers.
Where & How To Donate: As space is small, you have to first email the organization at [email protected]. This is to confirm the items you’d like to give away and book an appointment to drop them off.
Drop off your donations at Blk 26, Jalan Klinik, #01-42/52, Singapore 160026.
15. School Kaki
What They Do: School Kaki is a Facebook group (they now have a Telegram group as well!) for parents who are looking to share their school items such as textbooks and assessments books with others. People can also put in requests if they need a certain item. There is no money involved as this is a platform for sharing and giving.
What’s Accepted: School supplies ranging from textbooks and assessment books to uniforms and stationeries.
Where & How To Donate: To donate, you can take a picture of the item, name and describe it accordingly before posting it onto the Facebook or Telegram group!
Now that you’ve passed on the toys and clothes that your children have outgrown to the needy children in Singapore, it is important to organize your kid’s room.
A few rules to abide by when it comes to kids organization – categorise similar items together and store them in storage boxes/containers, label them after so that it can be easily retrievable.
Explore our range of Kids Organizers to help you get started!
Also check out on StyleMag; 13 Space-Efficient & Unique Kids Room Organization Ideas
Electronic Devices
16. StarHub RENEW Bin & Singtel ReCYCLING Programme
If you don’t know what to do with your dead electronic devices, don’t discard them just yet. Instead, put them in the e-Waste bins from the RENEW and ReCYCLE programmes!
What They Do: The RENEW programme, started by StarHub in 2012 on Earth Hour, is a flagship e-waste recycling movement that sends out the message of sustainability.
ReCYCLING has a similar, although only offering space for mobile phones, chargers, modems, and routers. In the ever-changing technological era, products are getting shorter shelf lives and life cycles, resulting in a spike in electronic waste.
RENEW & ReCYCLING both provide avenues for customers to recycle their unwanted electronic items. These programmes aim to reduce waste and makes sure that the unwanted materials get a new lease of life, instead of going to the landfills.
What’s Accepted: For RENEW, any electronic product can be recycled, but they must be able to fit into the bin’s 470mm by 120mm slot. Here are a few items you can donate for recycling – DVD players, car stereos, and computer mice.
ReCYCLING has a similar, although only offering space for mobile phones, chargers, modems, and routers. Before you drop it off into a ReCYCLING bin, make sure you backup and remove your data from the devices, and remove any old SIM and memory cards, unless you want to recycle them as well.
Where & How To Donate: Drop off your donations at any of the 422 RENEW bins at 381 locations around Singapore, or the 20locations with the ReCYCLING bins.
You can also choose to post your e-waste without any extra postal charge with their ReCYCLE envelopes.
17. Project Homecoming
If you thought your printers couldn’t take part in the environmental cause, Project Homecoming asks you to rethink that.
What They Do: Started by Epson, Project Homecoming supports recycling unwanted ink and toner cartridges, as part of the effort in environmental conservation. It is jointly led by Canon and Epson and supported by the National Environmental Agency and National Library Board. Using proper recycling methods, resources can be conserved and minimise the impact of environmental pollution.
What’s Accepted: Any used ink and toner cartridges, as long as they are functional.
Where & How To Donate: National Library Board is the first venue partner for this project.
Drop off your locations at any one of Project Homecoming’s 20 Donation boxes here.
Food
18. Willing Hearts
What They Do: Willing Hearts is a team of volunteers that operates a soup kitchen that prepares, cooks, and distributes 5,000 daily meals to over 40 locations around Singapore. Their beneficiaries include the elderly, disabled, migrant workers, and children from single-parent families.
What’s Accepted: The organization has a list of food they accept, including rice, bee hoon, and macaroni. If you have fresh or frozen ingredients to donate in large quantities, you have to fill up a form here.
Where & How To Donate: Drop off your donations at 11 Jalan Ubi Blk 6, #01-51, Kembangan, Chai Chee Community Hub, S409074 between their operating hours of 4:30 am to 3 pm.
19. Food From The Heart
Did you know that bakeries throw out their unsold bread, which adds to the pile of food waste?
What They Do: Food from the Heart is a non-profit charity organization, established in February 2003. They work with bakeries, with volunteers delivering bread that bakeries didn’t manage to sell off, reaching out to the less fortunate communities of Singapore.
Via a food distribution programme, they help various schools and welfare homes, such as Lions Home For The Elderly and MINDS Home, alleviate hunger and bring smiles to them.
What’s Accepted: They allow non-perishable items such as biscuits, baked beans, button mushrooms, and condensed milk. Before coming down to their warehouse, you should give Food from the Heart a call. You can also donate accordingly with FTTH’s wishlist.
Where & How To Donate: Drop off your donations at the FTTH warehouse: 130 Joo Seng Road, #03-01, Singapore.
They operate from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm.
Alternatively, you can buy items online to donate straight to FTTH, with free delivery.
20. Metta Welfare Association
What They Do: Metta Welfare Association operates 10 welfare centres in Singapore, in the areas of Children Care, Medical Care, Disability Care service and more. From the young to the elderly, the infirm to the terminally ill, Metta transcend racial and religious barriers to enhance the quality of life of their beneficiaries.
What’s Accepted: They are now accepting non-perishable groceries such as canned mushroom and instant oatmeal. Please ensure that the food products are Halal and vegetarian before donating. You can refer to the full list of groceries needed here.
They also take in new electronics and furniture. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, they are not accepting used clothing and electronic equipment until further notice.
Where & How To Donate: You can drop off your donations at Metta Building, 32 Simei Street 1, S(529950). Thereafter, they’ll sort it out and distribute to centres and low-income families.
With that, here’s the ultimate list of charity organizations and recycling initiatives you can give to. We hope you feel inspired to donate your unwanted clutter to benefit the needier communities in Singapore. Spread the love by sharing this StyleMag article with family and friends!
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