Kate, re: the expired vitamins, my parents also have a lot of over-the-counter pills and supplements they buy online ... so many that they couldn't possibly take them all.

Check your city/county's website because they may have "household hazardous waste" drives where take all the chemicals and random things that you have in your house but can't throw away in the trash like paint, nail polish remover, electronics ... and pills/medication!

If you don't want to throw something away to a landfill and have it leech into the ground water, these drives are supposed to properly process and dispose of all kinds of potentially toxic things. You go to the location and you don't even get out of your car - they ask whether it's in the backseat or trunk and they're in protective suits and gather it for you. I've used it at least 3 times in neighboring cities and will likely keep using it as we go through all our stuff.

Hope that's helpful! Sending you positive thoughts and love through the universe ♡

Thank you all the comments. Had a bad night. Looked at how much there is to wash and realize it is going to take me soo much longer. I am doing 3 loads a night and hanging them on the line. Really feeling weight of the responsibility that was left to me.

Any email addresses for the suggested donation places would be helpful in contacting them for information as I work during the day and have no time off to make phone calls.

Goodwill also recycles unusable clothes. Amvets or st. Vincent will often pick items up from you.

Hi Kate 🙂

MS is "Multiple Sclerosis".
They have thrift shops and also sell cloth/fabric for recycling to make money to further research to find a cure.

Thank you for you support. It is appreciated. Question: What is MS?

Hello Kate 🙂
Very sorry about your loss and this task you have inherited. (((HUGS)))

Do ALL the clothes need to be washed?
For thrift shops and other charities they don't need to be pristine, just alright.
People are supposed to wash them themselves when the bring them home.
Also, places like MS will sort them out and anything not suitable for sale will be bundled up and sent to a place where they recycle fabrics.
You could ask at your thrift shop how they deal with them.

Putting the expired or unwanted vitamins in the compost is alright.
We are never to donate anything past the "printed on date".

WAY TO GO!!! for already doing the newspapers and magazines!

Please come join us in the "Daily Chat" thread.
Very nice people there with a whole lot of knowledge and experience. 🙂