Decluttering, Spring Cleaning and Recycling Tips

Spring is here!  It is a great time to declutter, reduce, recycle, and get some spring cleaning done in your home or office.  Here are some tips for decluttering and recycling this Spring!

Reduce: Go room-by-room, drawer-by-drawer, closet-by-closet and group the items that you haven’t used in a while. If you cannot remember that last time you used it, or you forgot that you had it, it is a good sign that it is time to pass it on. Reducing waste and clutter in your home could also include unsubscribing from junk mail lists and credit card offers.

 

Reuse: Avoid the “throw it away” mentality and think about how the item can get re-used. Can old furniture be re-finished or re-upholstered? Are there creative uses for the item that you haven’t thought of? Old fabrics could be used as rags and last year’s birthday or Christmas cards could be used for art projects for the kids. Flip that office paper over and use the other side for scratch paper or art paper for the kids.

 

Recycle: As you are spring cleaning, look around your home and office to see how you can better set it up for easy recycling.  For instance, is there a place in the bathroom or upstairs to put recyclables, like toilet paper rolls, paper, and plastic shampoo bottles?  Is your workplace’s lunchroom set up for easy recycling for plastics, aluminum, glass, and paper? There are a lot of items that commonly do not make it recycling, because people forgot or did not know they were recyclable.

Donate or Sell: There are probably plenty of items that you don’t need or want anymore, but someone else would appreciate.  If you think the item has value, try selling it on a garage sale, swap and sell site, or online site like eBay.  Donating your items to places like Goodwill, or a local clothing drive, will help to give the items new life.

Avoid Waste: When doing your spring cleaning, aim for zero waste. For instance, instead of using paper towels to clean your windows, use old or washable towels or even newspaper.  Instead of buying plastic bags for your trash, utilize any leftover plastic bags from the grocery or discount store.

 

Watch for Community Drives: During the Spring and also at other times of the year, local communities and recycling centers may have Recycling or Collection events, where they welcome and encourage recycling or disposal of certain items from clothing to electronics, or even large appliances. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what to do with certain items so that they can be reused, recycled, or disposed of properly, and these events help to make it easy.