Plus, how to prepare these items and what not to donate.
Key Points
- Donating kitchenware helps make essentials affordable for your community while reducing clutter.
- Thrift stores need tableware, utensils, cookware and small appliances in good, working condition.
- Clean items thoroughly and check store policies to ensure donations are accepted and suitable.
Donating your used kitchen items to local secondhand stores is a great way to make these everyday items more accessible to your community while helping you declutter your space. We reached out to thrift stores across the country to learn which kitchen items are most in demand and why. They also offered tips for preparing items for donation and suggested which items might be better off shared elsewhere.
Why Thrift Stores Need More Kitchen Donations
To help you understand why kitchenware donations are in such high demand, try imagining everything you would need to stock a kitchen with the essentials, and how quickly the cost of doing so could add up. Staples like pot and pan sets typically cost a minimum of $100, while small appliances, including blenders and toaster ovens, generally have an equal or higher price point.
Donating these items to thrift stores can help shoppers in your community access these fundamental pieces within their budgets. The thrift store employees we spoke with emphasized how dependent and grateful they are for donations and shared a list of categories they’re always in need of.
Tableware
The tableware category includes everything from plates and bowls to drinking glasses and serving dishes. While complete sets are appreciated, employees of Savers—a thrift store brand that operates over 300 locations within the United States, Canada and Australia—say that shoppers regularly purchase single pieces and incomplete sets. Additionally, they note that though vintage pieces aren’t necessarily essential kitchen items, they are popular with shoppers and always welcome for donation.
Utensils & Tools
Silverware sets, serving utensils and knives of all types and sizes (think steak, paring and butter knives) are also in high demand. As with tableware, complete sets are most useful, but quality is often more important than quantity. In other words, durable cutlery and sharp knives are what shoppers seek out. Kitchen tools, including cheese graters, potato peelers and can openers in good working condition are also sought-after staples.
Cookware
No kitchen would be complete without a few cookware basics. These include frying pans, sauce pots, cast-iron skillets and bakeware, like muffin tins and sheet, cake and loaf pans. Items with and without lids are both accepted, but damaged or rusted items cannot be sold.
Small Appliances
Though we verified that Savers accepts donations of most small appliances (and actually encourages them, as they are popular among their shoppers), some secondhand stores do not. “Thrift shops generally do not accept kitchen appliances due to safety liability, inability to test functionality, lack of storage space and low resale value,” explains Mara Blum, co-director of Timeless Treasures Thrift Shop in Los Angeles.
It’s best to call ahead to verify your local store’s policy on small appliances before donating, but for those that do accept them, Savers employees say coffee machines, air fryers, toasters and mixers are always needed. It’s a good idea to test them beforehand to make sure they are functional and not missing any essential pieces before dropping them off, though Savers employees note that cleaning items is part of their process before they put them on the shelves for sale.
Tips for Donating Kitchen Items to Thrift Stores
Thrift stores may be the best places to donate your unwanted items, but following a few guidelines can help prevent unnecessary work for employees and ensure that unsuitable items do not go to waste.
How to Prep Your Items for Donation
Kitchen items across all categories should ideally be thoroughly cleaned before donating, removing food particles, grease residues and dust. And remember: not all thrift stores have the ability to test electronics, so all small appliances should be checked for functionality before donating. It’s also important to check that they aren’t missing any necessary pieces.
What Not to Donate
Blum says most kitchen items are accepted at thrift stores, but she shared a few things that should typically not be donated, including:
- Cracked, chipped or rusted tableware and cookware
- Broken appliances, or those missing critical pieces, like cords, plugs and power adapters
- Plastic food storage containers and disposable picnic supplies, including plates, bowls and napkins, unless brand new and donated in sealed packages
- Heavily worn items.
The Bottom Line
Donating used kitchen items to thrift stores helps make essential goods more accessible to community members and allows you to reduce household clutter. Secondhand stores report high demand for basics like tableware, utensils, cookware and small appliances, as stocking a kitchen with fundamentals can be expensive. While a variety of items and even incomplete sets can be useful, items in good, working condition are preferred. Donors should also clean items thoroughly and ensure appliances work properly before dropping them off. And it’s important to check each store’s policy before donating to learn what items may not be accepted, which may include electronics and disposable items.
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