Spring cleaning? Do’s and don’ts for dropping off items at donation centers

Doses of warm weather in February kick your mindset into what can often be a favorite, but busy, season — spring cleaning.

It’s the time to clear some stress by getting unneeded stuff out of your house or apartment and hauling it off to a nearby donation center.

But you can’t just load up your truck or car without thinking about the process a bit, in terms of who takes what and whether you should just pitch something or see if a charitable organization knows what is best for it.

“Bring it to a thrift store, you would be amazed what can be recycled (if it does not sell),” said Heather Ruiz, manager of the Salvation Army Family Thrift Store in St. Charles. “For example, we sell the donated shoes or make them into something else; there is a purpose for everything.”

Mostly, Ruiz doesn’t want people to throw used clothes into the trash. Bundles of used clothes in plastic bags heading into the landfill is the worst possible option.

“We take everything, and anything we don’t use, we recycle it — shoes, books, electronics, even clothing,” she said.

“The clothing we don’t use gets made into big bundles and sent to a shredder or to different charities around the world,” Ruiz added. “If we put out 1,000 pieces of clothing, and only 800 sold, that means 200 have to be put out for recycling. So, you think of those who do not take the time to bring used clothing to a thrift store, and where does it end up? In the waste and in a landfill — and it’s leaving that impact on the planet.”

The Salvation Army in St. Charles, which operates as an evangelical outreach of the universal Christian Church, and Goodwill in Batavia, an American job services nonprofit and thrift store chain, are generally the go-to places for area residents to drop off items year-round.

The sites are similar with the donation center and thrift stores being in the same building, but there are differences in what is accepted.

Goodwill has stopped taking mattresses, cribs, furniture and artificial Christmas trees at the 450 Randall Road location in Batavia. The site was getting too many items in those categories and it was a matter of space and logistics to continue taking them.

When other organizations stop taking certain items, Salvation Army’s store site at 2075 Lincoln Hwy. in St. Charles or its worship center and thrift store at the Joe K. Anderson Community Center, 1710 S. Seventh Ave., will see an increase in drop-offs with those items.

“We still take furniture, because of where the donations go — we are a church first,” Ruiz noted. “As far as donations in general, this area has always been very giving and charitable. Donations are steady, but, yes, you can tell there is an influx of customers (at the store) now (because of inflation and the economy).”

Both Goodwill and Salvation Army accept books, clothes, knickknacks, DVDs, small appliances, CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, VHS tapes, records and musical instruments. Also, paintings, quilts, bedding, towels, pictures, and curtains off rods. Any type of computer or internet tower is recycled. The centers do not take old television sets because of the cost associated with recycling those items.

“Food should go to the pantry at the church and center on Seventh Avenue,” Ruiz said of the pantry option for Salvation Army. Goodwill does not take food donations.

When asked what sort of donations could cause problems, Ruiz pointed out a common one during her 19 years with Salvation Army, managing four stores during that time.

“The only thing that is a problem or issue is when people donate something that is sharp or, like a piece of glass, and you don’t know what is in there (the donation bag), and a worker could get hurt.”

Those dropping off donations at either Salvation Army or Goodwill should research what the sites accept, as various larger items could be included if a pickup is scheduled at your home and other partners of the organizations can take them to different places or recycle them.

After all, both organizations accept donated vehicles or boats. You just have to find out which sites will do so, make sure of what the process is, and follow local regulations.

It’s a safe place

For the third straight year, Campton Hills has landed on top of independent researcher Safewise’s annual rating on the state’s safest cities.

Safewise used FBI data for 2025 to conduct the annual ranking in every state across the country, saying it does so “to highlight cities with low per capita crime and ignite conversation and action around how to make all cities and communities safer.”

The company notes it is challenging to rank safe cities when using self-reported FBI crime data, because it would not reflect issues like “racial and economic disparities, or even the impact of sudden policy changes like deportations or shifts in law enforcement priorities that can make communities feel more or less safe.”

The violent crime rate among safest cities is 0.2 incidents per 1,000 people, far lower than the national rate of 3.6. The property crime rate in the safest is 2.4 incidents per 1,000 people, while the national rate is 19.1.

For the second straight year, the top three safest cities in Illinois were Campton Hills, Pingree Grove and Hawthorn Woods.

Cancer support for 20 years

It doesn’t seem like the Living Well Cancer Resources site in Geneva has been serving patients for more than 20 years, but maybe time flies when you are helping people cope with illness.

Late last year, Northwestern Medicine informed us of the 20th anniversary of the cancer resources services, which has seen 380,000 visits in person or virtually at locations in Geneva and Warrenville.

In that time, the Men’s Networking Group for those dealing with cancer has helped those patients share their feelings and experiences. They pick up coping ideas, the relief of sharing stories and giving participants a needed boost in knowing they are not alone.

The group is part of an overall counseling process at the centers, which have estimated that nearly 55,000 counseling sessions and group support meetings have been held the past two decades.

Living Well has also offered nearly 20,000 art therapy classes for participants, helping the patients and their families express feelings about their journeys through art.

Fitness, yoga and nutrition classes also are common at Living Well.

The Geneva center is at 442 Williamsburg Ave. in Geneva. The second location in Warrenville at 4525 Weaver Parkway opened in 2022.

That site opened just after in-person sessions were picking up again in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic.

Ollie’s makes debut

The newspaper advertisement touting “Good Stuff Cheap” always caught our eye, and we figured that maybe the next time we were down in the Naperville/Aurora area by Fox Valley Mall we would check out this store called Ollie’s.

Ollie’s has saved us that trip by opening a store last week on the east side of St. Charles.

It is located in the retail strip at 3619 E. Main St., in a spot that formerly housed St. Charles Hardware between the World Market and TJ Maxx stores. At one time, that spot had a SteinMart store in operation.

For those unfamiliar, Ollie’s touts itself as a down-to-earth retailer interested only in offering lower prices on closeout items or those in which a retailer had way more than it needed. So, Ollie’s gets those items, too.

You’ll see some things associated with the “As Seen on TV” advertisements, and it’s certain you can pick up a few bargains at a place like this.

And we don’t have to drive to Naperville to check it out.

Planting Apple seeds

Reader Deb French of Geneva shared an idea for filling an empty retail location, one I pitched maybe 15 or more years ago now.

I’m thinking it is still an idea worth pushing.

French feels it would be a good addition for an Apple Store to open in the Geneva Commons, most likely in the former Anthropology/Forever 21 locations, or possibly in the empty Tilly’s spot.

“The Crate & Barrel building is probably too big,” French said of another potential option. But she was clear that she’d like to see a lobbying effort to bring an Apple Store into the area.

The last time I made a pitch for an Apple Store in the Tri-Cities, it may have been so long ago that it was a suggestion for the suffering Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles.

At that time, Apple indicated the area population was not large enough for the company to place a store here. Those demographics likely have changed, but it’s trickier to determine the company’s strategy regarding brick-and-mortar projects in a fast-changing digital world that, in many ways, it is essentially steering.

Basketball memories

A lot of former prep basketball players and coaches throughout the Fox Valley are getting together at 1 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Pal Joey’s, 31 N. River St., in Batavia as part of a reunion planned by former Batavia coach Jim Roberts.

Tributes to some past coaches is part of the event, which has a $10 fee for pizza and soda. A cash bar is available.

For those planning on attending, let Roberts know at (630) 484-5113 or at jimroberts226@gmail.com.

dheun@sbcglobal.net