Year heads out, giving mood kicks in

Things to do on New Year's Eve day:

• Chill the champagne.

• Get some party hats and noisemakers.

• Take a bag of old clothing over to the Goodwill.

The donor drive-through lane at the Goodwill store in Batavia was bustling Monday morning.

"We'll probably do about 600 donations," said store manager Don Bruess of Cary. On a normal Monday they might see 150 to 200.

Why the increase? People making room for their new Christmas presents, and people donating in time to get a receipt for a 2007 tax deduction, Bruess said.

Cars were lined up six deep waiting for Goodwill staff to take furniture, clothing, books, household goods and more.

"Thank you for supporting our mission. Take it easy," called out Robert Carlton of Batavia, one of the workers hauling stuff out of cars and handing out tax receipts.

"We donate here all the time," said Heather O'Rourke of Geneva, pulling out two black bags of clothing. With two young children, "What we can't hand down we donate."

Amy Girmscheid of Batavia was there with a minivan full of stuff. "We cleaned out someone's house yesterday," she said.

"Because I believe in recycling clothes that are still good," said LuAnn Bombard of Batavia, about why she was in line. "I think it's great there are places like this. I shop here!"

"She keeps finding stuff," said Paul Leman of Geneva, explaining why he was there. His wife had given an ultimatum to their adult children, who were home for the holidays: Take your stuff back with you or it's getting donated to the Goodwill.

The Goodwill store aims to process stuff quickly. From the curb it goes in the building and onto a conveyor belt for sorting. Clothing is put into plastic bins, then into big 4-by-4-foot cardboard boxes, ready for workers to attach prices and put them on hangers. Household goods are priced right on the belt and taken out to the store, as is furniture.

"We don't want to waste payroll," Bruess, a retired Wal-Mart district manager, said.

A freestanding kitchen cabinet Girmscheid donated was on the sales floor about 15 minutes later, priced at $19.

Clothing the store can't use is baled and sent to a Goodwill hub in Kenosha, Wis.

Good stuff comes through: "We get fur coats. We get Longaberger baskets," Bruess said. People donate jewelry. Some of the more valuable items, or things they don't know the value of, are sent out for appraisal, then sold on shopgoodwill.com.

People also donate things by accident -- workers find wallets, jewelry, driver's licenses and the like in pockets of clothing. Or wrapped Christmas presents in those black garbage bags. Husbands usually get blamed for that one. "We expect a call shortly" when they find that, Bruess said.

Goodwill will take computer donations. However, the computers are not sold, but recycled.

Donors set the value of their donations themselves; a donation guide is available at www.goodwillsew.com. And no, Goodwill won't post-date a receipt.

Goodwill Industries International, founded in 1902, provides job training, education and career services to people with disadvantages and disabilities.

"It is such a good thing," Bruess said.