I often go through my stuff to get rid of things I don’t use or need anymore so that they don’t clutter my room or my life. Maybe you have some clothes or shoes that you don’t wear anymore. You may have kitchen appliances or supplies that you don’t use anymore. Maybe you have some outdoor equipment or some old electronics still in working condition. If you have kids, you undoubtedly have some shoes, clothes, toys, etc. that your kids have grown out of. Whatever it is, there is usually something more eco-friendly that you can do with your unwanted items besides sending it to a landfill.
What To Do With Unwanted Items – Recycle Them
Items like refrigerators, computers, phones, batteries, and even mattresses can and should be recycled. Planned obsolescence is growing in popularity among companies, and we, as consumers, have the power to resist it. Even if we have few choices as to the quality of products we buy, we can still choose to repair our products or recycle them.
Some of the electronics and appliances that have the most useful and expensive resources in them are the ones designed to wear out the soonest. There are several companies in each of these industries that will accept recycled, old products. Habitat for Humanity Restores will accept many different appliances and supplies for houses; they even have a search tool on their website to find restores near you.
What To Do With Unwanted Items – Repair Them
Are you getting rid of items because they are broken or ripped? Try to repair them yourself or find someone who can. There are many repair shops that will fix shoes, phone screens, computers, bikes, and clothes. Try doing a search to find local shops that can repair whatever items need it.
This website can help you find someone who can fix appliances from dishwashers to outdoor grills. YouTube is also a great source if you’re looking to attempt a simple fix yourself. If you’re going to throw it out, you might as well try to fix it first.
What To Do With Unwanted Items – Sell Them
There are many ways that you can sell your clothes and other items. If you have high-quality, brand name clothes, you will probably do your best at a consignment shop. They will look over your clothing and offer you however much they think it’s worth. You can also have a good old-fashioned garage sale if you have gone through a lot of things recently. These can be very effective especially if you have some neighbors who would like to have a garage sale at the same time.
There are several websites through which you can sell anything now. Ebay, Craigslist, and the Facebook Marketplace are some of the most common ways to sell things to people who live near you. Some of these websites will charge a small fee for you to use their services while others don’t.
Donate Them
Most cities and towns have many thrift stores to choose from. Each has a different donation policy. Give your clothes, bikes, kitchen appliances, shoes, and old phones a new home. You can also research which charities in your area will accept items that you don’t use and give them directly to people who need them.
Places like churches, homeless shelters, community outreach centers, and school clothing drives will often accept gently used items. It’s always nice to know that your stuff can have another life and help someone else at the same time.
Repurpose Them
Do you have an endless number of old T-shirts? Cut them up into tank tops, rags, or reusable produce bags. There are so many ways that you can give used items a new purpose. Glass food containers can be used to hold other things like bulk spices, jewelry, homemade toothpaste, or something else. Wood pallets, old doors, or even old windows can easily be turned into unique tables. Use old silverware for cabinet or drawer handles or use them as wall hooks. Upcycle That is a website that shows you hundreds of ways to remake things into something new and useful for you.
Some things are easy to figure out where to go with. I almost always give old clothes, shoes, and kitchen stuff to thrift stores or clothing drives. However, possessions like mattresses, smart phones, TVs, computers, and kitchen appliances are a little harder to get rid of in an eco-friendly way. The most eco-friendly decision to make about most of these things is to use and fix them until you can’t anymore, but that’s not always how things go. Try doing a quick Google search or using some of these resources when you’re not sure where to go with your unwanted items.