Where to Donate Your Kids’ Used Toys

Like many families around the ‘burbs. It looks like the North Pole exploded in my house. Don’t get me wrong…I know very well I’m lucky to have the family I do and we are all able to give gifts (especially the two bushas). That doesn’t make the messy house any less stressful!

So what should any responsible person do when too many toys infiltrate their home? Get rid of some old ones!

We make it an annual tradition where we get a big box and have our two kids pick toys they no longer play with and donate them. The problem is, not many places take used toys, and understandably so! It takes a lot of man power to process all those toys…to make sure each puzzle has all the pieces, to make sure each electronic device powers up and works properly, etc. It’s time and manpower many charitable organizations don’t have.

I did find two, though, in the Joliet area that DO take used children’s toys (hopefully cleaned and self-inspected before dropping off). Both Morning Star Mission (Joliet and New Lenox) and St. Vincent DePaul (Addison, West Chicago, Joliet, Bradley, Morris) run thrift stores, and they happily take toys to resell and use the funds in their charitable efforts.

But please, call them and ask if they are STILL taking donations and if so, how they want them to be delivered (don’t expect them to be picked-up). They are so overrun with toys at the moment that they may actually stop taking them. Just call and ask.

And please don’t just dump your unwanted toys outside their doors. It causes more problems than it solves.

So if you are looking to donate your kids used toys to a worthy cause, look around for a local charity thrift store. They may be able to take them off your hands and do some good in the process!