Sometimes, it is just easier to get rid of your belongings when you move than it is to take them with you or go out of your way to donate them. In Ames, there’s a better way, where your trash can easily become someone else’s treasure.
At Rummage RAMPage, a nine-day long sale at the Ames Intermodal Facility parking ramp, used furniture and housewares are saved from the landfill and find their new homes as mid-summer leases expire and students move to and from Ames.
“We’re keeping things out of the landfill,” Merry Rankin, Iowa State University sustainability director, told the Ames Voice. “We’re allowing needs to be met in our community at a very economic consideration and level.”
Pickup service: This year’s operations are already in progress, with pickup service scheduling underway. It’s one way the event aims to make donating more convenient.
“It is not a free service, but all of the proceeds from that also go into the overall collection that supports our community,” Rankin said.
To sign up for the Rummage RAMPage pickup service, fill out this form.
Rummage RAMPage begins pickup services on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. Curbside pickup starts at $15 for ISU students, $30 for Ames residents, and $60 for in-home or office pickup. Learn more about pickup services on the city of Ames’ website. Delivery services are available upon request.
Donations: Don’t know what to donate? Here’s a list of items that you can donate (furniture, small electronics) and things you should leave at home (décor, mattresses) or donate elsewhere.
Donations can also be dropped off at the Ames Intermodal Facility parking ramp.
Rummaging: Some things come from students who aren’t able to bring all of their belongings with them, other items have been tucked away in the garages and basements of Ames residents — no matter where they come from, there is sure to be treasures perfect for you and your home.
“There’s not two of a kind of anything that comes into Rummage RAMPage,” Rankin said, “which is one of the reasons that we encourage people to, if it can work in your schedule, come back every day and just walk the sales floor, because it will change.”
Sales begin this Saturday and end Saturday, Aug. 2.
Friday, July 25: Noon to 6 p.m., drop off only
Saturday, July 26: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., sales and drop off
Sunday, July 27: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., sales and drop off
Monday, July 28 through Friday, Aug. 1: Noon to 6 p.m., sales and drop off
Saturday, Aug. 2: 8 a.m. to noon, no drop off and half-price sales
With prices ranging from just a dollar up to $100, you’ll be sure to find something to bring home and keep it from going into the landfill. Prices are based on the type of item and its condition while aiming to keep things affordable.
Cash and Venmo are the only accepted forms of payment.
RAMPage History: Rummage RAMPage started in 2016 with a partnership between the city of Ames and Iowa State’s Office of Sustainability. Inspired by a similar event in Iowa City, the sale enables usable items to be saved rather than discarded.
The first year of Rummage RAMPage, 44,000 pounds of furniture and housewares were diverted from the landfill, and $5,000 was raised for local nonprofit agencies that took part in the effort.
“It has been an absolute labor of love,” Rankin said. “We couldn’t do it without the wonderful volunteers.”
Each year since the sale’s start, more and more goods have been saved and more money has been raised that goes toward the nonprofits that make it possible:
2017: 77,520 pounds; $14,000 raised
2018: 102,550 pounds; $18,600 raised
2019: 116,424 pounds; $33,200 raised
2020: Canceled due to COVID-19
2021: 90,000 pounds; $40,000 raised
2022: 143,838 pounds; more than $49,000 raised
2023: 154,843 pounds; more than $62,000 raised
2024: 132,782 pounds; more than $62,300 raised
