Lauren Shalit

If you are lucky enough to have a washing machine in or near your NYC apartment, there’s a good chance it’s the high-efficiency kind.  

These models consume a lot less water and detergent than traditional machines, meaning they are environmentally friendly and ideally suited for aging drainpipes. And the fancy European stackables popular among apartment dwellers for their small footprint and cache are all high-efficiency models.

The problem: Particularly during summer, your clothes may emerge spotless yet reeking of the distinctive cat-urine smell of mold.

Like many other NYC apartment dwellers, we dread the tedium of closet-cleaning as well as the backbreaking postscript of hauling our cast-offs to the nearest thrift store.

So we were very interested to read a recent New York Times mention of a for-profit organization that places free clothing recycling bins in apartment buildings across the city.