5 Responsible Ways to Get Rid of Clutter

Decluttering your home can have a variety of benefits. From improving your cleanliness to simplifying your life and improving your mental health, getting rid of unnecessary clutter can provide you with a fresh start. However, decluttering also produces a large amount of waste.

If you are worried about the amount of waste your decluttering efforts will produce, then you are in luck. There are many responsible ways to get rid of clutter that do not involve dropping off your unwanted items at the local dump.

Give it Away

The first option for responsibly getting rid of your clutter is to give items away. This can include giving away items to friends and family or listing your items for free on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or messaging apps that your neighbors have access to.

By giving your items away, you will be able to help the people in your community furnish their homes, entertain their children, and more.

Donate It to Charity

If you are interested in giving away your unwanted items, but you want to have an even more positive impact on your community, then you should consider donating your items to a charitable organization. Different organizations specialize in different types of items, such as clothes, electronics, toys, and books.

These items can be used to help people in need, and by finding new homes for these items, you can reduce the waste produced by your decluttering efforts.

Clothes

Donating your unwanted clothes is a great way to help people in need. Organizations that take clothing donations help people in a variety of ways:

• Some help unemployed people find the perfect outfit for their next job interview.
• Others help women and young girls from low-income families find the perfect dress for a special occasion like prom or their wedding.
• Others help people to find coats and shoes that can keep them warm and safe during the winter months.

The clothing industry produces large quantities of pollution every year. However, you can ensure that you’re not contributing to the problem as well by donating your clothes instead of throwing them away. This helps to limit the impact of your purchases on the environment.

Electronics

Electronics are constantly changing and being updated. Something that was top of the line five years ago may seem outdated today. If you can afford to buy new kinds of electronics for your home, then you may wonder what to do with your old electronics.

As long as your items are still working, the organizations such as Goodwill and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore will take them as donations and sell them for a very reduced price. This can help people get the items they need with a smaller budget. The electronics you donate can be used to help a young student conduct research for school, or help a struggling entrepreneur set up their own business.

Toys

If you have children, then odds are you have bought a lot of toys over the years. As your children age, they will outgrow toys that they used to love. While keeping a couple of items for sentimental reasons is a nice gesture, odds are the majority of your child’s old toys can be donated to other children.

There are several charities, including organizations like Toys for Tots, that specialize in collecting new and gently-used toys and distributing them to children in need. Toys can provide emotional support to children and oftentimes help them to develop skills like creative thinking and fine motor skills. You can help provide children in low-income families the same joy that your children felt with a simple donation.

Books

If you are a reader, and your bookshelves are getting a little too full, then you might be faced with the difficult task of getting rid of some of your books. Instead of throwing them away, you can donate them and help provide others with access to low-cost books. Global organizations like the World Literacy Foundation will take book donations, but you can also donate books to your local library or public schools.

Many people use the free or low-cost books at libraries and charities to educate themselves, help their children succeed in school, and enjoy the escape that a great novel can provide.

Donating your books is a great way to share your favorite stories with your community and promote literacy on a global scale.

Recycle It

The materials used to make some of your unwanted items can be recycled and used again to make new products. Depending on what your items are made of (plastic, metal, or paper), you will need to recycle them in different ways.

According to Green America, if the magazine publishing industry transitioned to using 100% recycled paper, that would have the same positive impact on the environment as taking 248,000 cars off the road for an entire year. Paper, plastic, and metal can all be recycled to create new products that we use every day.

E-Waste

If you have old electronics that cannot be donated, then you will need to find an e-waste recycling facility to ensure that your old electronics are handled properly. By properly recycling old electronics, valuable minerals and materials can be salvaged and used for other purposes.

Reuse It

Reusing and repurposing your unwanted items is a great opportunity to express yourself and think creatively. Finding new purposes for everything from an old table to a plastic container can help you to reduce how much you buy and to reduce the amount of stuff you end up taking to the dump.

If you have old furniture that you don’t want in your house anymore, you could consider putting it on your patio or porch, or turning it into a bigger project and reupholstering the furniture for continued use. If you have a massive collection of plastic containers and jam jars, you can use them to organize your spices and baking ingredients, bring some order to your child’s toy collection, or hold the office supplies creating chaos in your desk drawers.

Sell It

If you want to make back some of the money you spend on the items you are getting rid of, then you should consider selling some of them. By finding a trusted company, you can make a profit and ensure that your items won’t end up in a landfill any time soon.

Every company that works with used items specializes in different types of goods. You can find reputable companies for selling your CDs and selling your DVDs. You can also sell items like textbooks. If you have a massive book collection, and you want to make some money (maybe to buy some more books!), then you can also sell your used books online.