Transparency
Where your clothes actually go
No greenwashing, no charity halo we haven't earned. Here's the honest story of how Abq Reclaimed works — and exactly what we do and don't promise.
A lot of clothing collectors are vague about what happens after they take your bags. I'd rather just tell you straight, because trust is the whole point of letting someone haul off your stuff.
I'm a for-profit reuse business — and that's good for you
Abq Reclaimed isn't a 501(c)(3) charity, so a pickup with me isn't tax-deductible. Here's the honest version: I'm paid for a real service — rescuing things with genuine demand from the waste stream and getting them to people who actually want them. That value would have been buried otherwise. Getting paid for it is exactly what lets me offer pickup for free and absorb the cost of recycling what can't be sold. My incentive (recover as much value as possible) lines up with yours (keep good stuff out of the trash). And instead of a tax receipt nobody reads, I send you something better: a Reclaim Receipt telling you exactly where your stuff went. If a write-off is what you're after, a registered charity is the better fit — no hard feelings.
One person, honest limits
It's just me, with the same limited time and space as anyone — so the fastest, fairest way to start is to text me a photo or two first at (505) 250-3804. A picture lets me tell you quickly what's worth a trip, and lets me be honest when something isn't. I don't promise anything sight-unseen; I can't save everything, and sometimes I'll have to say no — but I'll always tell you straight instead of leaving you waiting.
What happens to everything you give me
- 1. I collect it Bagged from your porch, kept dry on the way to sorting — moisture is the fastest way for good clothing to be ruined.
- 2. I sort it honestly Every item gets assessed: wearable, fixable, or past wearing. I don't pre-judge your bags — value hides in places you wouldn't guess.
- 3. I resell & rehome the good stuff Items that can be used again are sold and rehomed so they stay in use. Reuse is the single best outcome for anything.
- 4. I pass the rest to other reuse and recycling partners Worn-out textiles and goods I can't resell or rehome go to other reuse and recycling partners, so they get another shot instead of going straight to the trash.
- 5. The small share that truly can't be saved Wet, moldy, or contaminated items can't be reused or recycled — they'd spoil everything around them. I'm honest that this share exists; my whole process is built to keep it as small as possible.
Where your stuff went — in writing
Here's the part no thrift store offers: because I handle every pickup by hand, I can tell you what happened to your things. A few days after I come, I send you a Reclaim Receipt — a short note naming where each piece ended up and how much it kept out of the landfill, plus a running total across every pickup you've done with me. No commingled bins, no black box. Just the truth.
My commitments to you
What I'll never claim
- That I'm a charity, or that your pickup is tax-deductible. (I'm not, and it isn't.)
- That literally 100% of everything avoids the landfill. I keep as much out as I possibly can, and I won't pretend the unsalvageable share doesn't exist.
- That your stuff does more good than it does. I'd rather under-promise and over-deliver.
That's the whole deal: an easy, free way to clear out your closet or garage, run by one person who actually wants your stuff to get a second life — and who'll tell you where it went. Want the step-by-step from your side? See how it works or follow a bag through the process.