Out of the Closet opened its first store in Los Angeles in 1990 and has grown into a chain of 25 thrift stores across nine states. It is owned and operated by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and it exists for one reason: to turn secondhand goods into healthcare. The organization reports that 96 cents of every dollar earned goes to AHF’s HIV prevention, treatment, and education programs in the local community. Many locations even offer free rapid HIV testing right in the store.
How the pickups work
Donors schedule a free home pickup online or through dispatch, with morning windows in Los Angeles and San Francisco counties and late-morning windows elsewhere. Pickups start at two large furniture items or ten large bags of clothing and household goods, and new booking slots open every Monday morning.
What they accept
Clothing, shoes, select furniture, kitchenware, electronics, tools, art, books, records, estate items, and home decor, all in clean resalable condition. They pass on mattresses, bedding, children’s items, and aging TVs, so the trucks stay full of goods the stores can actually sell.
Pickup scheduling and routing for Out of the Closet runs on More Pickups, fully white-labeled under their brand.