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Apartment Therapy’s two-week Decluttering Cure program has published its final assignment, outlining how readers can donate, give away, or sell items they have decluttered. The guide recommends checking donation centers before dropping off, using Buy Nothing groups for giveaways, and setting safety boundaries when selling online.
Apartment Therapy has published the final assignment of its free two-week Decluttering Cure program, laying out how participants can clear out the boxes of items they have pulled from their homes by donating, giving away, or selling them. The guide, published two days ago on the home design site, covers everything from Goodwill drop-offs to online resale platforms, and closes with an often-skipped step: acknowledging the work completed.
The Day 14 assignment asks participants to dispose of any remaining garbage and then sort through two outboxes labeled “donate” and “sell.” Donation boxes, according to the guide, typically contain clothing and home goods, but not every organization accepts every category of item. Apartment Therapy advises readers to confirm a destination’s needs in advance: Goodwill and Big Brothers Big Sisters are named as options, but the guide notes these organizations “can sometimes get overwhelmed with donations” and suggests looking into lesser-known local nonprofits that may accept items.
For giving items away at no cost, the guide points to Buy Nothing groups, Nextdoor, and Freecycle, as well as simply asking friends, family, and neighbors. Apartment Therapy recommends setting a pickup deadline — letting people claim items before a set time, after which the items go to a donation center — which the site says reduces pressure on recipients to take things they do not really want.
For selling, the guide lists Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp for local listings; Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange for in-person consignment; and ThredUp, Poshmark, Depop, and Vinted for online resale. ThredUp’s Clean Out Kit lets users mail in a bag of clothing and accessories, with unsold items either returned for a small fee or recycled by the company. For textiles beyond resale condition, the guide names Trashie’s Take Back Bag program and Madewell’s Do Well partnership with Blue Jeans Go Green, which recycles denim jeans.
Why the Last Mile of Decluttering Matters
The publication addresses a common failure point in decluttering: the pile of removed items that sits in a hallway or car trunk for weeks. Without a defined exit path, Apartment Therapy’s program structure implies, decluttered belongings can drift back into the home. The guide’s emphasis on time limits for sales — donating anything that does not sell “after a certain amount of time” — and on pickup deadlines for giveaways is designed to prevent exactly that outcome.
The piece also arrives amid sustained growth in secondhand commerce, with resale platforms and clothing take-back programs competing for used goods. For readers, the practical stakes include avoiding wasted trips to donation centers that are not accepting items, staying safe when meeting strangers from online marketplaces, and choosing between recoubing money and simply moving items out quickly.
How the Decluttering Cure Program Works
The Decluttering Cure is a free 14-day program from Apartment Therapy, delivered by email, that assigns one decluttering task per day. According to the site, participants move room by room, discard or set aside unwanted items, and implement systems intended to prevent future clutter from accumulating. The Day 14 assignment is the final step, when accumulated outboxes are emptied for good.
The guide also closes on a motivational note, encouraging participants to celebrate finishing — whether or not they completed all 14 tasks — by enjoying the reorganized space or hosting friends and family. Apartment Therapy earns affiliate commissions on some linked products, and the site notes prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
“Goodwill and Big Brothers Big Sisters are two options but they can sometimes get overwhelmed with donations.”
— Apartment Therapy, Decluttering Cure Day 14 guide
What the Guide Leaves Open
The guide is advice content, not research, and does not cite data on donation center capacity, resale success rates, or the environmental impact of textile recycling programs. Claims that large charities get “overwhelmed” with donations reflect the publisher’s editorial experience rather than a cited study, and conditions at individual donation centers vary by location and season — readers are advised to check directly before dropping off.
Program details for named services, such as ThredUp’s Clean Out Kit fees or Trashie’s Take Back Bag terms, may change after publication; Apartment Therapy notes its prices were accurate at publishing time only. The piece does not address tax-deduction documentation for donations, which readers handling high-value items may need to research separately.
For Readers Finishing the Program
Participants who have completed Day 14 have finished the program’s assignments. Practical next steps, per the guide, are to deliver donation boxes to verified accepting organizations, set deadlines for items listed for sale, and remove listings once items are gone. Readers who want to repeat the process can sign up on Apartment Therapy’s site to receive all 14 assignments by email. Readers selling online should continue to follow the guide’s safety advice on meeting locations and timing, and anyone donating large quantities may want to contact local organizations in advance to confirm current acceptance policies.
Key Questions
Where can I donate decluttered clothing and home goods?
Apartment Therapy names Goodwill and Big Brothers Big Sisters as options but advises checking ahead, since large charities can be overwhelmed with donations. The guide recommends also contacting lesser-known local nonprofits to confirm they are accepting items.
What can I do with clothes that are not in sellable condition?
The guide points to textile recycling programs such as Trashie’s Take Back Bag and Madewell’s Do Well program, which recycles denim jeans in partnership with Blue Jeans Go Green. ThredUp also recycles mailed-in items that do not sell.
Which platforms does the guide recommend for selling items?
For local sales: Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and OfferUp. For in-person consignment: Plato’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange. For online resale: ThredUp, Poshmark, Depop, and Vinted.
How do I give items away for free safely?
Apartment Therapy recommends joining a local Buy Nothing group, Nextdoor, or Freecycle, and setting boundaries on where you are comfortable meeting people and how long an item stays available before moving to the next person. Listings should be taken down once items are gone.
What if my items don’t sell?
The guide advises donating items that remain unsold after a set period so they do not linger in the home and become clutter again. With ThredUp’s Clean Out Kit, unsold items can be returned to you for a small fee or recycled by the company.
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