What Counts as Accepted Media for Donation Pickup

This is the question we hear more than any other. People in Colorado Springs open a closet, spot a jumble of DVDs, old CDs, Blu-rays, and audiobooks on disc, and they freeze. They don't know what's worth donating and what's just clutter. Short answer: most of it can go.

DVDs and Blu-rays are the most common items we pick up. Feature films, TV box sets, documentaries, kids' movies. Music CDs, audiobooks on disc, educational media. Got a stack of language-learning CDs from ten years ago? Those still have value to someone. Same goes for workout videos, cooking shows, nature documentaries the kids outgrew.

Video games count too. PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo. Older generations and newer ones. Folks over near Briargate sometimes hand us entire collections their teenagers left behind after moving out. That's perfectly fine.

Now, condition. Discs don't need to be perfect. Light scratches happen. But cracked in half, warped from sitting in a hot car? Probably not usable. Common sense applies. If you wouldn't hand it to a friend, set it aside.

You don't need to sort anything before pickup day. Don't separate DVDs from CDs or organize by genre. Just pack everything into boxes or bags that are well packed and not too heavy. Our Local Pick-Up Partners handle all the sorting after collection.

VHS tapes come up a lot in Colorado Springs. It's tricky because very few places can still use them, and they're hard to redistribute. Check with your local partner before including a big box of tapes.

Nine times out of ten, people have more accepted items than they realize. If you're unsure about something specific, schedule your pickup and throw it in. Partners will sort through everything and make sure usable media gets back into circulation.

How to Prepare Your Media Collection Before Pickup Day

Here's the good news. You don't need to sort anything.

We see people spend hours separating DVDs from CDs, pulling out Blu-rays, stacking audiobooks into neat little rows. Really kind of you, but not necessary. Local Pick-Up Partners handle all the sorting after they collect your items. Save yourself the trouble. Pack everything together and you're done.

The main thing is how you pack. Use boxes or sturdy bags that are well packed but not too heavy to carry. A medium-sized moving box works great. Grocery bags are fine for smaller batches. The goal is making sure nothing spills out or gets soaked if it rains before your pickup window. The folks in Colorado Springs who run into issues usually just overstuffed a flimsy bag that split open on the porch.

Where you leave everything matters too. Set your packed boxes or bags in a safe, dry spot starting at 8 AM on your scheduled pickup day. Front porch works. A covered garage entrance is even better, especially during those afternoon thunderstorms around the Briargate area. The pickup window runs from 8 AM to 8 PM, so your items just need to be visible and accessible.

And you don't need to be home. Nobody needs to be present. No need to call anyone, no waiting around. Set your items out and go about your day.

One scenario we run into constantly: someone finds three boxes of DVDs in a basement closet during a move. Dusty, disorganized, maybe a little musty. That's completely fine. Pack them up as they are, set them outside, and let the partner take it from there.

What to Expect When the Pickup Team Arrives in Colorado Springs

You don't need to be home. Most folks aren't.

You schedule your pickup, then leave your boxes or bags in a safe, dry spot before 8 AM on pickup day. Front porch, garage, covered entryway, side of the house near the driveway. Your local Pick-Up Partner handles the rest. The window runs 8 AM to 8 PM, so there's no need to sit around waiting.

We see it every week. Someone stacks three boxes of old DVDs by the front door, heads to work, comes home to an empty porch. No phone calls. No back-and-forth. Just gone.

Your Pick-Up Partner is a local person who lives and works right here in Colorado Springs. Not driving in from across the state. They know the neighborhoods. They'll find your place near Briargate or off the side streets by Old Colorado City without any trouble, and they'll grab everything you've set out without you needing to lift another finger.

Don't worry about sorting. You don't need to separate DVDs from CDs, audiobooks from video games, or anything like that. Pack items into boxes or bags that are well packed and not too heavy. Your partner sorts everything after collection. That's their job, not yours.

Got a question about placement? Maybe you're in an apartment complex or a townhome with a shared entrance. Those situations come up a lot. Add a note when you schedule and your partner can work with whatever setup you've got. A visible spot that stays dry is really all you need. People overthink the placement part way more than they should.

Why Donating DVDs and Media in Colorado Springs Keeps Items Out of Landfills

Most people don't think twice about tossing old DVDs in the trash. But a single DVD case takes over a thousand years to break down in a landfill. The disc itself? Even longer. Multiply that by the hundreds of discs sitting in closets across Colorado Springs and you've got a real problem.

Someone cleans out a media cabinet and fills two or three bags with DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, old video games. First instinct is the can. Completely understandable. You figure nobody wants these anymore. But that's almost never true. Kids still watch DVDs. Libraries still circulate them. Teachers use them. And plenty of people don't stream everything.

So what happens when you schedule a pickup instead of throwing everything out? Your local Pick-Up Partner collects the items and sorts them after pickup. Many get redistributed to readers, schools, libraries, nonprofits, and organizations requesting materials through the Give ME Books program. Libraries and educational institutions that support media access programs — including those that apply for grant support materials for library programming — often rely on donated collections to supplement their resources. Some donated items may be resold to help sustain the free pickup service. Items that truly can't be reused may eventually be recycled as a last resort. Reuse always comes first.

Neighborhoods like Briargate and Old Colorado City produce huge volumes of media during spring cleaning season. We pick up from all of them. And none of it needs to end up buried underground.

How many discs on your shelves are just collecting dust? Those aren't clutter. They're resources. Donating them in Colorado Springs means they get a second life instead of sitting in a landfill for centuries. That's not a small thing.

How to Schedule a DVD and Media Donation Pickup in Colorado Springs

It takes about two minutes. You enter your ZIP code on the Give My Books Network site, and the system checks if a Local Pick-Up Partner already serves your area. If one does, you'll see their partner card right away. Pick a service day that works, confirm the details, and you're done. The pickup lands on your partner's schedule automatically. No phone tag, no approval process, no waiting for someone to get back to you.

What if nobody covers your ZIP code yet? That happens sometimes, especially in areas on the edges of Colorado Springs like near Briargate or out toward Cimarron Hills. Here's what most people don't realize: you can still submit your request. It goes into the out-of-area pickup system, where nearby partners can claim it. So even if coverage hasn't reached your specific neighborhood yet, your DVDs and media aren't stuck. We see this work out more often than you'd expect.

Once you've got a date, the rest is simple. Box up your DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, audiobooks, and any other media you want gone. Pack them in boxes or bags that are well packed and not too heavy. No need to sort by type or condition. Partners handle all of that after collection.

On pickup day, set your items outside starting at 8 AM. Porch, garage, covered spot by the front door. Anywhere safe and dry. The pickup window runs from 8 AM to 8 PM. You don't need to be home, don't need to meet anyone, don't need to leave special instructions unless there's something unusual about accessing your place.

That's the part people in Colorado Springs love most. Schedule it, set it out, go about your day. Come home and the boxes are just gone.

Ready to get those old DVDs off your shelf? Schedule a free pickup and we'll take it from there.