Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin & Metropolitan Chicago Donation Guidelines

Items We CAN Accept

Goodwill happily accepts the following new or gently used items:

  • Vehicles—We accept donations of vehicles in all conditions. Learn more and fill out a vehicle donation form on our Vehicle Donation Page to get started. 
  • Clothing, shoes and boots
  • Jewelry
  • Hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves
  • Books, records, CDs, videotapes, and DVDs
  • Games, toys, and sports equipment
  • Housewares: dishes, glassware, kitchen utensils, lamps, and small appliances
  • Collectibles, antiques, knickknacks, and other giftware
  • Hand tools and small power tools
  • Domestics: linens, curtains, blankets, etc.
  • Electronics including but not limited to:
    • CPUs
    • Flat-screen monitors (no CRTs)
    • Hard drives
    • Laptops
    • Cell phones
    • VCRs
    • DVD players
  • TVs working flat screen (no CRTs)

To help you determine your donations fair market value Goodwill is happy to provide a “Value Guide” that offers average prices in our stores for items in good condition.

Unfortunately, we DO NOT offer home pick-up of donations at this time.

Items We CANNOT Accept

It's hard to say "no thank you" to a donation when those donations help to fund Goodwill programs. However, we do need to refuse some items for being non-recyclable or containing hazardous materials. Other times, the item must be refused because it costs more to transport, repair or refurbish than it can be sold for in our stores. Our donation attendants are trained to know what we can and cannot accept and will help guide you to other possibilities for donations we cannot use.

Beginning November 1, 2021, Goodwill will no longer accept donations of furniture or large exercise equipment.  Those items will no longer be available for purchase, effective December 1, 2021.

We CANNOT accept the following items:

  • Furniture
    • Chairs, stools, or couches
    • Mattresses and bed frames
    • Desks or other office furniture
    • Tables of any kind
    • Dressers, bookcases, entertainment centers, etc.
  • Large exercise equipment
  • Pianos or organs
  • CRT TVs
  • CRT Computer Monitors
  • Household chemical products such as pesticides, paint, paint thinner, drain cleaner, oven cleaner, aerosols, and other environmentally unfriendly waste products.
  • Automotive hazardous waste such as tires, lead-acid batteries, additives, gasoline, oils, antifreeze, etc.
  • Large appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, stoves/ovens, washers/dryers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, furnaces, trash compactors, water heaters, large console stereos, freon-based appliances, etc.
  • Personal care items such as shampoo, conditioner, nail polish remover, shaving cream, hairsprays, or shavers
  • Fragrance items
  • Carpet or carpet padding
  • Plumbing fixtures or building materials
  • Traditional recyclables such as glass, newsprint, office paper, cardboard, plastics, magazines, junk mail, etc.
  • Weapons such as guns, bows and arrows, ammunition, etc.
  • Cribs, car seats, walkers or other products that do not meet the current safety standards of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, including recalled items.