Goodwill Opening Early New Year's Eve For Year-End Donations

DES MOINES, IA — If your New Year's resolutions include clearing the clutter from your house, Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa reminds donors that Sunday will be the last day to drop off clothing, furnishings and household goods to get a tax deductible receipt for 2017. To accommodate what is expected to be a busy day, the nonprofit plans to open two hours early.

All 18 stores in central Iowa will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Regular Sunday hours are noon to 5 p.m., but since it's the final day of the year — which is always the busiest for drop-off of goods, the agency says — employees will be available early to collect and help streamline the process. Still, they caution, expect to wait as there typically are lines on New Year's Eve.

Items accepted are intended for resale and include:

• Clothing: all sizes, styles, and types. (Clothing is sorted there and items not suitable for resale can be sold as salvage material.)
• Computers and computer equipment (working and non-working).
• Housewares: dishes & glassware, radios, fans, lamps
• Furniture: in good condition and without heavy stains (see exceptions listed below).
• Toys: stuffed animals, dolls
• Books, CDs, cassettes, commercially produced videos and DVDs
• Accessories: shoes, belts, scarves, jewelry

Goodwill does not accept major appliances, tube-style televisions, large metal office desks, building materials and fixtures, exercise equipment, non-working electronics, stained or torn mattresses or box springs, bowling balls, free-standing swimming pools, motorized vehicles or parts, cleaning supplies, carpet or padding, gas or oil-based products or paints and associated chemicals.

Be sure to ask if you'd like a receipt to verify your donation for tax purposes. You'll fill in the donated items information yourself and assign a value to the items. You can find a suggested price guidelines list online.

Goodwill also has a south Des Moines outlet store that does not accept donations. It will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more hours, donation information or details about Goodwill Industries, go to dmgoodwill.org.

Image via C.M. Zijderveld/Pixabay