What to donate
Goodwill NCW encourages your donations of clothing, shoes, housewares, jewelry, books, furniture, toys and, yes, even Christmas lights!
We can transform items you no longer need into wonderful opportunities for people in our home communities, including vocational and family programs as well as services fostering diversity and financial education.
Please note that more and more for-profit thrift shops are moving into north central Wisconsin communities. If you donate to one of those organizations, you may not be eligible for a tax deduction, and revenues earned might not be returned to your community to fund programs and services. If either of those concepts is important to you, ask the shop if it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and request a report showing how its funds are used before you decide where to donate.
Are there items Goodwill cannot accept?
Yes, and the list changes frequently. We must say “no thank you” to some items for one or more of the following reasons:
- It is hazardous material that would create danger in our workplace or be costly to dispose of.
- Experience tells us that it will not sell in our stores, and we would eventually have to pay to dispose of it in a landfill.
- It is too heavy or bulky, or too costly, for our people to handle.
- It has been recalled — or listed as potentially harmful — by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
While we take every effort to keep this list up-to-date, sometimes we must stop taking an item before it makes our list. Please by understanding if a donation attendant says we cannot accept something that is not on the list.
Wisconsin Clean Sweeps
If you have a hazardous material that needs to be disposed of, you can find a Clean Sweep schedule for household and agricultural waste for each county in Wisconsin at cleansweep.wi.gov. For specific disposal information, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Waste/HouseholdHW.html.
Items that we’re currently unable to accept…
Appliances
Air conditioners
Dehumidifiers
Dishwashers
Dryers
Freezers
Hot water heaters
Humidifiers
Microwaves
Refrigerators
Stoves and range hoods
Washing machines
Water softeners
Wood burners
Baby Items
Baby gates (accordion style)
Baby swings
Car seats
Changing tables

Cribs
Diaper genies
Strollers
Electronic Items
Copy machines
TVs (only at Shiner Center)
Exercise & Sporting Equipment
Life preservers
Trampolines
Treadmills
Weights/weight benches
Large Furniture Items
Desks (heavy metal)
Head/foot boards
Large organs
Mattresses/box springs
Metal bed springs
Pianos
Pool tables

Sofa beds
Water beds
Building Materials
Carpeting
Concrete, bricks and stones
Plumbing fixtures
Scrap lumber
Shutters
Swing sets
Venetian blinds
Windows, screens & doors
Fueled Equipment
Gas space heaters
Kerosene stoves/lanterns
Lawn mowers
Other
Arrows
Guns/weapons
Lava lamps

Hazardous liquids and other materials we’re currently unable to accept…
Any open household items
Adhesives
Aerosol spray cans
Air fresheners
Ammunition
Batteries (of any kind)
Cleaners
CO2 cartridges
Detergents
Diabetic testing equipment
Fire extinguishers
Fireworks

Flammables
Herbicides (for plant care)
Kerosene
Lab chemicals
Lead-based products
Light bulbs
Lighters/matches
Medicine/inhalers
Mercury/thermometers/ blood pressure cuffs
Mothballs

Nail polish remover
Oven cleaners
Oxygen tanks
Paints
Personal hygiene items
Pesticides
Poison
Polish (of any kind)
Pool chemicals
Primers

Propane tanks
Removers
Smoke detectors
Stains
Syringes
Thinners/turpentine
Tires
Vehicle fluids (gas, oil, transmission, brake, etc.)
Wax products
Wood preservatives

* This is not a complete list; please ask your donation attendant about any item you think is questionable. Please contact your local hazardous waste/recycling center or landfill for advice on how to dispose of these materials safely.