Declutter Mindfully
Jan 24 <Explored reasons why to declutter & what to do with all these items cluttering my space>
Jan 25 <Posted items no longer wanted on Facebook Buy Nothing page>
Jan 26 <Found a new home for unneeded items on Freecycle.org>
Jan 27 <Donated unwanted items to a local charity>
Jan 28 <Recycled items>
Jan 29 <Re-gifted items>
Jan 30 <Sold an antique desk on Facebook marketplace>
Jan 31 <Took some of my (nicer) clothing to a consignment shop>
Jan 24, Day 24
<Explored ways to giveaway items cluttering my space>
Time to purge my office/ sewing room so I can paint. It will feel good to give items I no longer need a new home!
There are so many reasons & techniques to declutter!
For more ideas see this article.
The 2021 Giveaway Challenge! Could You Declutter and Give Away 2,000 Things to Help Save the Planet?
Jan 25, Day 25
<Posted items no longer wanted on Facebook Buy Nothing page>
In starting to clear out my office/sewing & knitting space for a fresh coat of paint, I have piles of items I no longer need/use/want.
Facebook has a BUY NOTHING page for East Aurora, Elma, Wales & Holland where you can upload photos of such items & locals can claim dibs & come collect them. I was able to find new homes for my grandmother’s sewing kit, a box of 100 business envelopes, 8.5”X14” copy paper & folders, a huge box of books & magazines… & much more to come! Discovered there are many BUY NOTHING pages all over. They build community, help you get rid of your stuff, & keep massive amounts of seeming junk out of landfills. If you haven't heard about them, check out their site & consider joining your local group. If there is no group where you are, consider starting one & you will have done your good deed for the year.
Our Buy Nothing Project Mission:
“We offer people a way to give & receive, share, lend, & express gratitude through a worldwide network of hyper-local gift economies in which the true wealth is the web of connections formed between people who are real-life neighbors.”
There’s a group near you. Pass on those unwanted items to someone who can use & enjoy them, keeping them out of landfills.
Jan 26, Day 26
<Found a new home for unneeded items on Freecycle.org>
Another way to find new homes for items you no longer need or want is to offer them on Freecycle.org
The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 5,338 groups with 9,042,286 members around the world, & next door to you. It's a grassroots & entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns & neighborhoods. It's all about reuse & keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers. Membership is free. This is a good outlet for people who don’t use social media.
Jan 27, Day 27
<Donated unwanted items to a local charity>
When decluttering, it is best to find lots of boxes for easy sorting of what items to give, re-gift, sell or recycle. Local charities appreciate donations that still have some life in them. Here is a list of local charities to consider donating items to.
Jan 28, Day 28
<Recycled items>
WNY-ers, Here is a link to find where to take your old appliances, motor oil, old cell phones, building materials, medications, cars, electronics, rugs, clothes & so much more!
Awesome source for where to take things your garbage collector won’t.
Jan 29, Day 29
<Re-gifted items>
My sister in-law was a champion re-gifter & I am now adopting the practice. Re-gifting is a wonderful way to share items with loved ones. Gifts that no longer serve you may be loved by someone you know. A small china tea set (from my sis in-law!) re-gifted to my niece & a dinosaur song tape to my dino loving nephew.
Jan 30, Day 30
<Sold an antique desk on Facebook marketplace>
The beauty of Facebook Marketplace is locals can see what you are offering & message you for more details if they are interested. A bit less sketchy than Craig’s list, where I have encountered a few scams.
Jan 31, Day 31
<Took some of my (nicer) clothing to a consignment shop>
Some pieces of my wardrobe are nicer than others. These I take to my local consignment store, where I get credit to buy someone else’s nicer clothes. Keeps the textiles out of the landfill & I get a new outfit!
The problem is that the average American makes about 65 pounds of textile waste a year. Americans as a whole are tossing out billions (yes billions) of textile waste. This is even scarier when you think about how much of that is plastic textiles.
And that's not all! All brand new clothes are now shipped in flimsy plastic bags to keep them from damage. If you have ever bought clothes online, you have received it in one. Those aren't reused. So every piece of new clothing also means a pointless piece of plastic waste.