My passion happens to be about animals, but you can relate this to wherever your soft spot is in your life.

There are many general places that take items you don’t need anymore like Goodwill, Salvation Army, those big dumpsters that are everywhere that take your clothes and books (and actually state on the box that they fully intend to turn a profit on your stuff), etc.

You can be more creative. Your animal shelters, rescues and humane society have items they are always looking for and place their own wish lists on their sites.

Towels, palettes of canned food for medications, office supplies, laundry supplies and even take gently used items that your pet maybe changed their mind about and didn’t like after all.

You can even find heavily discounted items in weird places like seeing dryer sheets for 48 cents at CVS or Walgreens on closeout. Staples gives me offers via email from time to time for being signed up in their savings list and offer Free After Rebate items for USB drives, packages of paper, pens and other stuff. During the summer months the humane society is looking for five gallon buckets to leave water out for dogs on emergency runs. You don’t have to spend the money at Lowes or Home Depot to help, either. Firehouse Subs sells their used pickle buckets for $2 or $3 and then THEY donate your money to their charity so you are actually helping two causes and not spending much at all.

You get receipts for anything you donate on request from the legitimate non-profit organizations and can then use those when itemizing your taxes.

This last weekend I went to the pet festival and gave away my voucher for my cat’s neuter. It came a week after I got him sterilized and because of the cause, some healthcare providers are willing to work with people who happen to get one that may not be in their name even though it states that it’s non-transferrable. Someone may find someone that is willing to work with it anyway. I gave it away to a rescue if they can network and get it used.

I also gave about 90 sliding report binding spines to the guinea pig rescue. I couldn’t find them in packs of ten for the price I needed them at and it was affordable to buy them in bulk. I used them to slide over the raw ends of coroplast in the pig pen. Mu-Xi was chewing sharp scallops along their litter box and Chai kept cutting her feet. The spines slide along and prevent chewing and keep it with a clean, flat edge. Problem solved.

You can always find ways to help if you find yourself in the position to help. Check dates on items on deep clearance at places like Petco and Petsmart. If you can’t use the small cans for cat or dog food, another organization can. They need those to help give medication to sick critters. Milk replacements like KMR even on a 2-3 week shelf life left can be used because despite people’s best efforts: There will always be kittens

H.A.L.O.’s WISHLIST
Arizona Humane Society’s WISHLIST
Maricopa County Animal Shelter WISHLIST
Piggie Poo Guinea Pig rescue WISHLIST
Arizona Exotic Bird Rescue WISHLIST
Cactus Cats WISHLIST
Ohana Animals Rescue WISHLIST
The Oasis Bird Sanctuary WISHLIST