3 Ways To Repurpose Unwanted Gifts

If the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year, then the day after Christmas is the biggest day of standing in return lines. Every year, people smile, say thank you for, and promptly toss unwanted or needed presents in attics and basements where they take up space and contribute to our overall stress levels.

Instead of returning these gifts for store credit you’ll never remember to use, or re-gifting them to someone else that has too much clutter, here are some ways to find them a home where they’ll be used and appreciated!

Freecycle – a grassroots, non-profit network made up of 4,864 groups with 7,603,875 members around the world. Freecycle members are people who want to give (and get) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. You can find your local group by clicking here and locating your group according to the region where you live. After joining your local group, post a message by sending an email to your local group’s yahoo address or click on “messages” at the local Freecycle group web site.

Exchango – also designed for people who need free stuff, or have stuff to give away, Exchango is just like Freecycle, but without as much emphasis on the local group format. Pickup listings work like your local classifieds listings. Simply contact the user by the anonymous email address in the listing asking for availability and mutually arrange to pickup the item at a safe location. Ship listings on Exchango work like any other online shopping but the items are free and you only pay for shipping. Simply click “get now” to call dibs on the item, then fill out your shipping information and pay for the shipping costs by credit card or PayPal.

Gift Card Exchange – a site that allows you to trade unwanted (or unusable) gift cards for cash, PayPal funds, an Amazon gift card, or donate their value to charity. What’s great about this site is that they’re upfront about the exchange rate they offer (92 percent) and there are never any hidden fees for shipping or processing.

Also check out:
A Post-Holiday Plan: Easing Anxiety, Enjoying The Moment
Is Nature Doing A Snow Job On Us?
5 Simple Ways To Relieve Holiday Stress
Not Buying It? How to Trade the Stuff You Already Have

Image Credit: Flickr – www.metaphoricalplatypus.com

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

LMj S.

9:29PM PST on Mar 2, 2012

Awesome, thank you for sharing!

send a green star

Danuta W.

1:56AM PST on Mar 2, 2012

Thanks for the interesting article.

Brenda T.

5:54AM PST on Feb 20, 2012

Donate to a charity that has tombola stalls.

Donna H.

4:49PM PST on Feb 19, 2012

Was already aware of Freecycle, but have never heard of Gift Card Exchange before - what a brilliant idea! Thanks for posting.

Maria T.

10:06PM PST on Dec 23, 2011

Thank you.

KS G.

12:48AM PST on Dec 10, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Freya H.

2:47PM PST on Dec 8, 2011

I can vouch for Freecycle as a great way to get rid of unwanted gifts - and sometimes to get what you really want.

I have regifted a couple times, but was careful to regift in a circle quite different from the one in which I initially received the present.

Michele W.

12:31AM PDT on Oct 15, 2011

Thank you

4:35AM PDT on Aug 28, 2011

Re-gifting can work sometimes.So make a list of gifts and who sent them, then you won't make the mistake of returning them in error!

Teresa W.

9:51AM PDT on May 28, 2011

good idea