Whether you are having a pre-Christmas clear out or just bored with that thingamy on the shelf, ask yourself, “Should I bin it, recycle it, sell it or give it away?”
The answer depends on your goals. If you want a bit of extra cash, selling might be the way to go. But giving stuff away can feel fantastic and help others in need. Plus, it’s a quick way to declutter without dealing with haggling or transaction logistics. What’s more important to you – clearing space, helping others, or making some money?
Donating unwanted or unused items is a wonderful way to declutter your home and positively impact the environment. With landfills overflowing and natural resources depleting, finding ways to reduce waste and conserve resources has never been more critical. By giving your belongings to someone else who needs them, you can play a crucial role in reducing waste, conserving resources, and reducing emissions. Today, you don’t even have to leave your house to find ways to distribute the belongings you don’t need. You can have them picked up at your door for your convenience once you have decided to give it away. So, who should benefit from your generosity?
Family and friends – seemingly an obvious solution but don’t be offended if they don’t seem keen on your donation. Most of us have too much stuff or not enough room and they may be in a similar situation.
Advertise online – there are dozens of freebie sites. My local favourite is currently Rye Town Freebies on Facebook. Someone is always keen to take away my random items, from books, clothes to furniture. The Freecycle Network™ is a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Membership is free. It works both ways too and you can pick up some terrific free bargains. Just Google free stuff near me and you will see many suggestions.
Recycle Swap Shops – Transition Rye organises Recycle Swap Shops a couple of times a year – usually in the spring and autumn – at either St Mary’s Centre, near Rye Church, or at the Tilling Green Community Centre. The idea is that you can bring your items to the event and leave them there for others to take away. At the same time, you can look around and see if there is anything you’d like to take away yourself – unless you are trying to de-clutter, of course – but it’s all free! You do not have to bring stuff – you’re welcome to come along and browse or stop for a chat. It’s a social event too, where everyone wins! Anything left over is disposed of through charity shops or recycling, as appropriate. Everyone ends up with a chance to meet other local families for a Saturday morning chat, drop off or pick up useful stuff for free, and put less rubbish in land-fill, saving both the environment and tax-payers’ money! Simply google Transition Rye and take a look at their calendar of events to find out when and where the next Swap Shop is taking place.
Charities – most people have donated to a charity shop. Again, not everything you like will be suitable for their shop and you might be unlikely to see your once precious doodad on their local shelves. According to figures published by Oxfam, more than 70% of clothes donated globally make their way to Africa, 40% of which, The OR Foundation, a non-profit charity operating in Accra, says “ends up in landfill almost immediately”.
However, a good suggestion I noticed recently, is that good quality toys and games donated to charity shops before Christmas can be helpful to those people, strapped for cash at this time of year, who are looking for affordable toys for their families. So why not have a clear out to make space for your highly anticipated new gifts and perhaps help some other children have a better Christmas this year. The charity will also make a profit for their causes. Seems like good karma to me!
