Yes and No! Some take them, and some don’t- it all depends on the store and their current need for them!
It feels so good to clean out your closet and donate or sell clothes that no longer fit your style or serve you anymore!
Having all that free space is so liberating, especially if you want to downsize, or just have more space for new clothes in your life!
What can be super annoying, however, is trying to get rid of all of those pesky hangers still lingering in your closet, taking up all of that newfound valuable space, especially after you’ve put in all of that effort to part ways with your stuff!
The problem with this is that most people don’t know how to properly dispose of them. And even though they are not harmful, they do end up cluttering our homes and landfills.
If you live in a city like New York City where there are many regulations on the disposal of these items, it could be even worse. So what should you do with your old hangers?
There are several options available when it comes to disposing of your hangers:
- Recycle them at a local recycling center
- Take them to a thrift store
- Donate them to a local dry cleaners
- Sell them online
- Give them away
- Throw them away (not recommended)
Let’s go into more detail with these options:
Recycling Coat Hangers
Coat Hangers can be made out of a huge amount of different materials, and many of these plastic hangers are not marked as recyclable.
That’s why you can’t just drop off a big bag of mixed hangers at your recycling center and hope someone sorts it out for you in a vain attempt at reusing the materials.
Just dumping things in the recycling in the hope that perhaps they may just get reused is what is called “wish-cycling” and causes a huge amount of contamination and hold-up at recycling plants, stopping valuable resources from actually being recycled.
The reality is that most plastic hangers and mixed wooden hangers cannot be recycled.
It is therefore essential that you take the time to sort through your hangers specifically and only drop off ones that have a clear recycling logo on them, or those that are made from a pure material like aluminum for scrap metal.
Thrift Stores
Thrift Stores such as Goodwill or Salvation Army are a good place to drop off hangers, guaranteeing them a new life and making sure they are not just disposed of.
Be sure to pack only hangers that are in useable, good condition, and are free from dirt and grime.
Thrift stores will often have to dispose of whole bags of donations if something in the bag is compromised or damaged.
This means that you might need to shop around for a specific store that has an open policy toward accepting hangers.
However, make sure you check their policies before getting rid of anything. Some stores will accept donations of used hangers but may charge you a fee for doing so.
For Goodwill specifically, they do accept hangers, however, this is dependent on the shop and their particular needs at any given time.
The best way to save yourself a trip is by calling ahead to your local thrift stores and asking whether they are accepting hangers as a specific donation at this time.
This will save you time and effort trawling through town with your coat hangers and make sure they go to a place that could use them
Local Dry Cleaners
Again, this is one of those situations where you really need to call ahead if possible so that you aren’t just unloading your perceived trash onto another business.
A lot of dry cleaners do appreciate this donation, however, and it is an unnecessary cost of their business to carry on buying hangars all of the time, but to err on the side of caution, be sure to ask before you drop off your bag of coat hangers!
Sell Online
If you’re looking to get rid of your hangers quickly and easily, then selling them online might be the best option for you.
You can list them on sites like eBay or Craigslist, which gives you the chance to sell them directly to other people who want to purchase them.
This is also a great way to ensure that you don’t end up with too much clutter in your house afterward.
If you’ve got a large collection of hangers, you’ll likely find that it takes quite some time to sort through them all and decide which ones you would like to keep.
By selling them online, you can avoid having to deal with this problem.
However, the drawback here is postage, so it’s a good idea to sell items that are weird shapes like hangers as ‘collection only’, and in bulk, so that you can clear them out in one fell swoop.
Give Them Away
Look for a need in the local community. Whether that be a local women’s shelter, a fostering agency, a consignment shop, or a school’s drama department.
Be aware that hangers are very cheap to buy these days and many people would rather get their own.
However, if you’re able to donate them to a charity that needs them, then it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
You can even set up a page on Facebook or Twitter to encourage others to find a good cause that might be around to find a beneficial means of getting rid of them.
Throw Them Away
This is really not recommended. Not unless you know exactly what you’re throwing away and why you’re throwing it away.
It’s important to note that hangers are made of plastic, and when thrown into the bin, they can become entangled in each other and create a huge mess that can be difficult to clean up.
If you are going to throw away your hangers, (either if they are completely unusable, or they are broken, or missing pieces), be sure to break them into small, manageable pieces so that they can be transported easily.
Also, try to double bag them as there will be sharp points of plastic sticking out from the bottom of the hanger.
It’s best to dispose of them in a sealed container so that no one gets cut on accident.
What Else Can I Do With Wire Hangers?
If you have wire clothes hangers, there are a few uses for them before thinking about throwing them away:
- Use them as a base for hanging clothes on the wall.
- Use them as a holder for keys or coins.
- Use them to hold pens/pencils upright.
- To make a festive wreath-like decoration by using several hangers together.
- Make a DIY gift box by cutting holes in the top of hangers and attaching ribbon to them.
Final Thoughts
Hangers are a useful thing to have, but there are many times when they end up becoming clutter in your home, meaning it’s time to get rid of them.
They should be used until they are worn out or damaged beyond repair, at which point they should be disposed of properly.
Alternatively, put in the effort to find a Goodwill, donation center, or dry cleaners in your area that can make use of your unwanted hangers if they are in good condition.
It’s a win-win situation that can give you plenty of extra room in your home with a little phoning around!
Slowing down the process of global warming can allow them to have all of the amazing experiences that I had with my children, but with theirs.
It’s too late to stop global warming altogether, but we can slow it down. If everyone were to live a greener lifestyle, we might be able to help the younger generations just a little bit in the future.
We have already made irreparable damages to our planet, so can’t we all band together and commit to slowing down the consequences?
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