As part of your decluttering journey, you’ll be getting rid of things that no longer serve you. This might include clothes, oversized items, and other stuff. Some of these items are sentimental, and you may have emotional attachments to them. So, getting rid of them can be challenging. However, decluttering is always for the best as your space becomes clean and organized.
After decluttering and cleaning your home, there are some stuff that you’ve decided to keep and some to get rid of. Finding the right way to dispose of the stuff you no longer need is significant. Remember that while you no longer need those items, you don’t have to throw them away. Some of them can still be useful to someone else or it could give you some extra money if you sell them.
Here are some of the different ways to dispose of stuff after a declutter:
1. Donate Items To A Charity
Donating your items is a great way to help people in need and a great way to get rid of stuff you don’t want or need anymore. Many charities have pick-up services that make this an easy task because all you have to do is pack your donations and schedule a pick-up date. You can look for an organization that offers free donation pick up service and check what items they accept and what they don’t so that you can avoid other items being left behind.
Most stores will take used clothing, household items, and even furniture. Alternatively, you can also find local charities in your area where you can donate food, clothing, or household items. Some organizations can give you certificates or badges for helping them, which you can display in your room as a reminder of the importance of helping others.
2. Offer Items To Friends And Family Members
Items such as books, used clothes, or electronics can still hold some value when you want to dispose of them. So, you can ask your friends or family members if they’d fancy keeping them instead of donating or selling them. There could be a high chance that one of your friends has always admired a pair of shoes you had, so giving the pair to them will make their day.
Moreover, you’ll save time and effort by giving items away instead of posting them online or taking them somewhere else yourself. So, if you have a friend or family member who could use an item, offer it to them before donating it or selling it. However, remember to ask them first if they’ll want it instead of giving it to them. They could also be tight on space and wouldn’t want to add anything at the moment.
3. Set Up A Garage Or Online Sale
Garage sales are one of the best ways to sell your second-hand items while making extra money. Moreover, people love garage sales because they can find a bargain on something they need for their home at a lower price.
So, choose one day of the week, probably during the weekend when there are many people, and set up a garage sale. You can sell anything in your garage, from furniture to old electronics. Moreover, a garage sale can also be a great family event if you have kids. They can also sell their old toys and make some money.
Alternatively, you can consider setting up an online sale site as well. There are different platforms where you can list and sell your second-hand items. These platforms are great as you get connected to high traffic of buyers, thus selling your items won’t be a challenge. You can also use social media for advertising the items. The chances are you’ll get connected to buyers around your location, so the sale will be easy to complete.
4. Use Old Stuff For Crafts
Instead of throwing away stuff, you might feel too sentimental to part with but not valuable enough to sell or donate, why not use them for crafting? This way, you get to repurpose items into something decorative or valuable and keep them in your home without cluttering them. Old clothes can be used for doll clothes, quilts, rugs, and more. Broken dishes can be used in mosaics or as garden art or wind chimes.
Items such as plastic bottles can be painted into different colors or cut into artistic designs and used as flower or plant pots. When placed along walkways or driveways, they’ll spruce your outdoor space while giving your indoor spaces enough space. Old car tires can be used to make swings or placed along walkways and gardens.
5. Hire Junk Removers
One of the easiest ways to dispose of your old items is by hiring junk removers. Junk removers will take all kinds of waste from your house. Whether it’s furniture, books, clothes, or even plastic bottles. If your stuff is too heavy to carry or too much of it to fit in your car, junk removers can help you carry and load this stuff. They can also help you take hazardous materials like batteries and dispose of them properly.
They take the burden of disposing of stuff away from you at a price so the money you pay is worth the services. You can find local companies through a quick online search or ask friends and neighbors for recommendations.
6. Trade It
The saying that another person’s trash is another person’s treasure is true when disposing of items. What you may not want in your home could be a great addition to someone else’s home. Thus, if you have many items in excellent condition and could be used by someone else, trade them for the stuff you need.
For example, old clothes can be exchanged with people who don’t want them anymore. Or maybe you have hobby equipment you no longer use that could be traded for some books or office supplies. This method of disposing of stuff will help you save money on new purchases, and you can also make some extra money if you’re trading a more valuable item.
7. Sell Them To Second Hand Stores
Items such as high-quality clothes and electronics will always be in great demand as long as they’re in good condition. Therefore, second-hand stores will always take in exchange for money or other items. The only downside is that they may value your items very low. But still, it could be better than throwing the items away.
If you also have spoilt electronics, you can still make good money selling them for parts. Some stores may want original TV or computer screens, so they’ll salvage any good part from your electronic devices.
Benefits Of These Disposal Methods
Decluttering your home and disposing of the stuff can be challenging and take time before completing it. In some cases, you can still do it the wrong way by throwing away hazardous items, hence getting in trouble with authorities.
The methods discussed above are great ways to deal with the rubbish because of the following reasons:
Properly Dispose of Hazardous Items
Household items such as batteries and electronics contain harmful chemicals that can be harmful to the environment when left out in landfills. Therefore, hiring junk removers is the best way to deal with hazardous materials. They have the technical and legal know-how to deal with this kind of item, so it’s safer.
Make and Save Money
Selling your items or trading them for other pieces is a great way to make extra money from things you no longer need. The extra money you get will help finance the items you need.
Also, when trading in your items, you’ll be able to save money on new purchases as you can get the item after exchanging them with what you have.
Help Others
Donating items to charity organizations or giving them to friends and families is a great way to help them get things they don’t have. When you throw the items away, you only get rid of them but don’t help anybody. However, by donating them, other people will get a chance to enjoy the experience of owning them.
Reduce Waste on Landfills
Waste materials in landfills are a major concern to the environment. They contribute to air, land, and water pollution and increase the risk of infections to animals and human beings. So, you should always try to choose disposal methods that will reduce landfill disposal as much as possible.
Methods such as donations, repurposing old items, and selling mean that the items get to be used again by someone else instead of ending up in landfills. Therefore, you’ll help conserve the environment.
Conclusion
The great thing about getting rid of stuff you never use is that you’re ready to invite new things into your life once you have done it. Smaller living spaces mean less time spent cleaning and tidying and more time for all the other things that matter.
After decluttering, always look at the right ways to dispose of items. As discussed in the article, there are different ways and methods that can benefit you and the environment.
