I’m going to air my clean laundry here for a minute. I recently decided to have a sheets and pillowcases intervention at myself. I was the only one who participated – – so any guilt or shame was inflicted on me, by me.
I hate throwing away perfectly good sheets. There, I said it. Humor me for a minute. Sheet sets are similar to tables and chairs – – in that one always outlives the other. Think about it–you never give chairs away because the table has worn out. Tables are given away without chairs because chairs are more likely to fall apart. When it comes to sheets, it’s tough to wear out a flat sheet, but the construction of a fitted sheet, with its elastic, results in the same thing. You’ve got flat sheets that don’t have a fitted match. At least I do.
AND…what to do about the REST of the textiles in the house? Clothes that are stained or ripped, blankets that even the dog has worn out. I heard a rumor that you can’t throw textiles away anymore (oops!), so I looked in to the options. Here’s what I found out…
However, what you see in my photo above is a collection of mostly-mismatched sheets and pillowcases. Luckily my husband is pretty easy-going, proof of which is that this matching game has been going on–on our dining room table–for about five days now. I’m on a treasure hunt throughout the house to find every flat sheet, fitted sheet and pillowcase and then decide what to do with anything that is excessive or of no use. I should start with the twin XL. We are done with college and there’s not a twin mattress in our house – – that should be an easy place to start. *If you need any TXLs, connect with me, I’m happy to pass them along.
First, the rumor is true. Since November 2022, Massachusetts has banned textiles from the trash — and that’s broader than you might think. We’re talking clothing, footwear, bedding, towels, curtains, and pretty much anything made of fabric. Even if it’s worn, torn, or stained — even if it’s an old dog blanket — it technically can’t go in the trash. The good news is that even the rough stuff has somewhere to go. Recyclers turn unsellable textiles into things like industrial cloths, carpet padding, and insulation. Nice to see there’s apparently a second life for almost everything.
Almost. The exception is you CAN throw away textiles that are contaminated with mold, bodily fluids, insects, oil, or hazardous substances — those can still go in the trash. If something is just ugly and worn, it still counts as recyclable, and many textile collectors will take it. You might also consider reaching out to a local animal shelter or humane society before you recycle — shelters often welcome old pet blankets, towels, and bedding for animal use. If you know of specific local animal shelters that are looking for blankets, use my contact form below and I’ll add them to the story.
Now — for those of us in Princeton — there’s an easy answer coming up very soon. The Town’s Environmental Action Committee is hosting its Spring Textile Collection on Sunday, May 3, 2026 from 10am to 1pm at PMLD, 168 Worcester Road. They’re partnering with Helpsy this year, and the event is a true drive-through — just pull up and the volunteers will unload your vehicle. Rain or shine. They accept footwear, clothing, linens, accessories, luggage, stuffed animals — basically anything clean, dry, and odorless. Stuffed animals—now we’re talking! Any questions can go to princetoneac@gmail.com. Note that the event is for Princeton residents, so if you live elsewhere, keep reading.
For everyone else in the region — or if May 3 just doesn’t work for you — there are year-round options that don’t require waiting for an event.
Helpsy has drop-off bins scattered throughout Central Massachusetts — find your nearest one at helpsy.co. They take everything clean and dry, regardless of condition, age, or style, and they also offer home pickup if you’ve got a larger load to move.
BINcentives is a Worcester-based company with bins throughout the surrounding communities and home pickup available as well — you can find their locations at bincentives.com or call (508) 414-8305. Both are good options for the “I just need to get this out of the house on a Tuesday” moments we all have.
If your items are in decent shape and you’d rather see them go to a person than a processing facility, Goodwill and Savers both have locations in Worcester and accept textile drop-offs. Same goes for the Salvation Army and Morgan Memorial Goodwill — all of them take clothing, linens, and household textiles for resale.
And if you’re not sure where the nearest option to you is, the MassDEP has a free tool called Beyond the Bin at recyclesmartma.org — you can search by material type and zip code to find donation and drop-off locations near you. I found it genuinely useful.As for my own dining-room-table situation — the twin XLs are available. Once I’ve truly gone through the house top-to-bottom, the mismatched sheets are getting bagged up for the May 3 collection in Princeton. And the dog blankets that even the dogs have mostly abandoned? Clean, dry, and odorless — so into the Helpsy bag they go. The dogs are fine with this–they prefer the couch anyway.
