It's hard to believe that we are a month into 2023 already. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays in our past, and spring coming soon, it might be time to purge. At our house we are in the process of packing, we are moving soon. We've got plenty of items that we no longer need and will be donating.

When it comes to donating items, I'm all in. I don't like clutter and I'm not a hoarder. If there's something I haven't used in years and it's just taking up space, I'm donating it. At our home we have toys for kids ten and under, clothing, blankets and some other odds and ends. I plan on donating the unused toys, clothing etc.

I haven't been to the MSU Surplus Store, 468 Green Way
East Lansing, Michigan 48824. I have heard that the MSU Surplus Store is pretty impressive. If you're not familiar with the surplus store, here's some info:

The MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center rethinks the way the MSU Community disposes of its used materials. Our innovative program allows us to reduce the amount of university material that goes to the landfill, keeping MSU green.

We collect materials from the MSU community and look for value in them. Reusable items are made available back to MSU (in lieu of purchasing new items) or displayed for sale through our Surplus Store. When we collect items that cannot be reused, we look to our recycling center. All recycled materials go through our Materials Recycling Facility, where they are sorted and shipped to regional manufacturers to become new items.

Because of our efforts, we are proud to say the amount of waste on campus has declined even as our Spartan community & campus grows. Last year we were able to divert 13,000,000 pounds of material collected from going to the landfill. Our vision is lead the MSU community towards a culture of zero waste, where all of our programming is funded through revenue from waste diversion. We do this because as Spartans, no challenge is too big. We do this, because Spartans will.

Those are pretty impressive numbers. Knowing more about their operation makes me more likely to take my unused goods there.

We will have plenty of items to donate, however there are guidelines. The MSU Surplus Store doesn't accept everything.

9 Items the MSU Surplus Store Won't Accept

Rusted Paint Cans
James E. Hernandez
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Hazardous materials - what is a hazardous material? Dispose of these properly.

GSA.gov defines hazardous materials as:

Hazardous materials are substances or chemicals that pose a health hazard, a physical hazard, or harm to the environment.

via Mojo
via Mojo
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Alkaline Batteries - sorry folks, they will not take these because they are hazardous.

Chemical waste in barrels
vitaga
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Chemicals - like hazardous materials, dispose of these at the appropriate location.

Gloved hand cleaning toilet bowl using brush
Voyagerix
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Cleaning supplies - they are hazardous and nobody wants your used cleaning stuff.

White mattress closeup
dmitriymoroz
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Mattresses - bed bugs exist and they can be a problem.

Portra
Portra
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Modular furniture panels - cubicles, not accepted.

Pornpak Khunatorn
Pornpak Khunatorn
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Fluorescent tubes & CFL bulbs

Bussinesswoman using copier machine to copy heap of paperwork in office.
jat306
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Large, office type copy macines. Try trading it in.

VHS video tape and DVD disk (analog digital) on white background
NagyDodo
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Recordable or non-comercially recorded DVD's, CD's and VHS tapes.

The MSU Surplus Store accepts many things including good, usable furniture (no mattresses), sporting goods including bicycles and exercise equipment, books and magazines, commercially recorded DVD’s, CD’s and VHS tapes, scrap metal and more, get the complete list here.

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