Goodwill Stores Have a Message: Please Stop Donating Trash

A donation attendant working for Goodwill Northern New England at the Westbrook, store looks at a broken picture frame and a broken cat scratching post, Maine, in an undated photo. Heather Steeves/Goodwill Northern New England via AP

Broken furniture. Flashlights with leaking batteries. Disfigured Barbie dolls.

Across the country, thrift stores have been flooded by household items, the offerings of people who have been homebound for months and are eager to clear out some of their possessions.