This time of year many people are cleaning out their closets. There are lots of things you can do with the stuff you no longer want or need including donating it. You may have questions about a particular item and if it can be donated. Our Iris St. Meran went to the Rescue Mission to get some answers about the Donations process.

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LIVERPOOL, N.Y. -- Although we're marking the unofficial start to summer, many people are still spring cleaning. That may include donating unwanted clothing and other items.

Amber Hotaling said, "I donate because there are so many people in need. I definitely want people to use them. I don't want to throw away.”

Deciding what can be donated can be hard. The Rescue Mission Donation Center staff say leave the decision making up to them.

Rescue Mission Merchandise Manager Christin Mixon said, "We have specialized sorters in the warehouse who go through all your clothing donations."

Here's how it works:
You drop your items off to the center. Then the staff quickly sort and it's loaded onto the truck where it is taken to the big warehouse. Household Items are in taken to one section and the clothes are loaded on this conveyor belt to be inspected.

"It's pretty quick,” Mixon said, “We do take time, probably like 10 seconds on each piece of clothing to look at front and back and check and make sure there's no stains."

Damaged and unusable clothing still has a use at the Rescue Mission.

Rescue Mission Chief Operating Officer Alan Thornton said, "We still have a market we can sell that used clothing to; a textile market, a rag market. And we can still make money for the Rescue Mission programs. So any kind of clothing donation is incredibly important."

There are a few things they cannot take like used mattresses or child car seats for health and safety reasons.

The lesson: Don't second guess that old t-shirt or scratched pot. Both can be recycled.
Items that pass through here are part of this one big assembly line of workers.

This is the final stop in warehouse for the clothing. It's hung up, then given a price and sent off to the stores.

Another batch of donated goods that avoided sitting around in a landfill. For a full listing of what is and is not acceptable or to find stores and donation centers, visit: www.rmlifechanging.org