Where To Go With Good Reusable Items

Environmental Defenders want your good useable "stuff" for a Use It Again warehouse sale.
This nonprofit group plans its annual garage sale fundraiser with 1000's of good, reuseable items
 If any of these scenarios fit you, there is help.

1. Did you finally clean out that closet, basement, or garage?
2. Have a yard sale, but don’t know what to do with the leftovers?
3. Want to de-clutter, but can’t bear to toss out Grandma Gertie’s china? 

 The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County (EDMC) wants your old stuff, and they’ll make sure that it doesn’t wind up in a landfill. The nonprofit organization is collecting donations of good, used household items for its Use-It-Again Garage Sale on Jul. 29 - Aug. 1. The annual fundraiser will be held at the Algonquin Township Road District complex east of Crystal Lake, and proceeds will support the nonprofit group’s eco-friendly programs and services.

 The Defenders are looking for antiques and collectibles, household items, books, tools, dishes, pots and pans, dressers and tables . . . just about anything that sells well at garage sales, with a few exceptions. Small appliances and electronics must be in working order. Clothing, upholstered furniture, televisions, computers, or large appliances cannot be accepted. If you are unsure about the suitability of your “stuff,” contact Christy Matsuoka at the Defenders’ office at (815) 338-0393.

Donations may be dropped off at the Algonquin Township Garage from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Friday, Jul. 23 - Wednesday, Jul. 28. The Defenders’ Use-It-Again Garage Sale will run from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Thursday, Jul.29 - Saturday, Jul. 31, with a bag sale from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 1.

The facility is located at 3702 U.S. Highway 14, next to The Hollows, between Crystal Lake and Cary. Volunteers will be on hand to help unload items and provide a tax-deductible receipt if requested. Proceeds benefit the programs and services of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County (EDMC), a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Most donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Summer is the season for garage sales, and each year thousands of homeowners dump tons of “leftovers” to be hauled away. This year, the Defenders hope you’ll let them find a new use for those items, instead.

“Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” has long been a motto of the Environmental Defenders, and their annual sale helps fulfill that very mission. Reusing a secondhand “widget” not only saves you money, it also reduces the environmental impact that manufacturing a new “widget” may have caused. And, of course, it keeps that used-but-useable item out of a landfill and out of the waste stream.

Serving the McHenry County area since 1970, the Environmental Defenders is a nonprofit, citizen-based organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the environment. For information about EDMC membership and programs, visit www.mcdef.org or e-mail mcdef.outreach@gmail.com.