Simple Living

Eco-Friendly Ways For Disposing Your Unwanted Belongings

Now that you’ve spent all of this time decluttering, you have to figure out what to do with all of your stuff! In this post of our decluttering series, I have a variety of suggestions for more environmentally friendly ways to dispose of your belongings.

Give Your Items a New Home

Second hand items are a great way to be eco-friendly, so I often try to shop for used items. When I’m decluttering, I also like to try and pass on my items–whether it’s through selling online, giving to a thrift store, or giving items away for free.

Here are some ways to give your unwanted items a new home:

Sell Items Online

Selling items is a great way to make yourself some extra cash and it also gives the buyer a great deal.

In my post How to Sell Your Used Items Online, I walk you through a comprehensive list of things to consider to help you create more effective sales posts.

Host a Clothing Swap

If you’ve purged a lot of clothing from your closet, hosting a clothing swap is a fantastic way to pass on your clothes to new owners. It also gives you the chance to shop for free–but don’t take too much or it defeats the purpose of decluttering!

Before you start planning your swap, check out our “how to” guide for tips on hosting a successful swap: How to Host a Clothing Swap.

Give New Life to Old Things

We love talking about upcycling items and giving old things new life! While decluttering is meant to purge things from your life, giving an old item a new purpose can be a great way to cut back on new purchases.

So while you’re filling up a box of items to re-home, keep in mind that there may be a new purpose for something you’re getting rid of.

Here are some posts for inspiration:

Upcycling Old T-Shirts

In her post 3 Ways to Upcycle T-shirts, Krista shares how she’s made dryer sheets, shopping bags, and even a floor rug–all out of T-Shirts!

Trash to Treasure

In my post 3 Things I Always Reuse, I share a few unusual items I like to repurpose before sending them to the recycle bin.

Picture Frame Turned Chalkboard

In my Chalkboard Frenzy post, I share how you can transform an old picture frame into a chalkboard. Doing some DIY is a fun way to bring new life to old furniture as well. It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do! If you do refinish an old piece, you can always try to sell it online instead of keeping it.

A few more ideas

In our first decluttering series, 30 Things in 30 Days, I finished the challenge with some ways to dispose of all the clutter. Check out the post here for a list of 10 ways to get rid of your 30 things.

How do you usually dispose of unwanted items from your home? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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