Rooms full of usable clothing. Who do you donate to?

[Jeff Rabinowitz]

I purchased a hoarder house. There are rooms full of usable clothing. Much is in labelled boxes. Much is hanging in dry cleaning bags. Much still has the price tags attached. There are well over one thousand books. The rub--there were cats roaming free in the house for a while and the odor is strong. (We should be able to remedy much of that with an ozone machine.) There are also rodent droppings. Much of the goods have been protected. I am not trying to donate anything that is covered in droppings.

I called a few organizations. Habitat for Humanity will enter the house and will accept usable furniture. Purple Heart will not enter the house. They will accept clothing but it must all be bagged or boxed.

Ideally, I would like to donate to an organization that is willing to enter the house and can use a large quantity of goods. The house is in suburban Detroit (W. Bloomfield). Any suggestions on who to call?

[Roy N.]

Jeff,

Up here (Canada) we would call a local anti-poverty organisation (Community Living) or the Salvation Army to take the clothing.