Decluttering and wondering about the best way to ‘recycle’ your goods? Wondering how to do the most responsible decluttering? Keep looking for the most eco-friendly way to dispose of those things that are ready to go?
I know the title of this post sounds crass. I don’t mean for it to make light of all the items that end up in landfills or the oceans. I’m trying to touch on a sensitive spot that I hit early in my decluttering process.
Stalling for Perfection
I had been living a little less than the Joneses, but still had way too much stuff when I woke up to wanting to have my life energy back. So I started decluttering, but I tried to stay true to this new vision I had of no waste. I ended up accumulating piles around the house with lists of steps attached and ended up being more stressed than when I started so I froze like that. It ended up killing my progress for about three months.
Finally, I ended up doing the best I could at the time to be responsible with where I offloaded them. It wasn’t super pretty; I felt a little ashamed. Maybe I trashed some items that could have ended up as rags? Maybe someone could have used that iron if I had been able to fix the loose cord? I just let them go, but now that I have learned so much from this experience, I am much more serious about buying things in the first place. I don’t want to have to go through that again, nor do I want to do that to our wonderful earth. I am much more mindful of what comes in the home now.
Common Trouble Spots
People run into issues with disposing of items because of wanting to do the right thing. This can be very stressful for some. I know that even now, I have a baggy of batteries in the kitchen that I never seem to get to the right spot for the correct disposal.
Some of these issues, and suggestions are below.
Trying to Sell Items to Earn Money
If you’re longing for more time and less stress by decluttering, then as long as you can resist the urge to do so, try to think mostly about donating the item(s). Unless you truly need the money, then this is usually the fastest and easiest way to remove an item from your household.
Trying to Find How To Recycle
Batteries, trophies, packing peanuts, computers, and old phones got you wondering what to do with them? Me too! Google or your search engine of choice might be your best bet here. If you can’t find a good option, then you may just need to trust in throwing the item away and then trying to be most mindful in the future to avoid the need for this type of quandary.
Trying to Figure Out the Best Way to Repurpose
Sometimes you appreciate your things and love your friends so much that you challenge yourself to try to figure out the best way to repurpose your items. If this is hanging up your progress, know that you can just let them go with grace, to who the can best use them at the time or in whatever way you are able to share and move on.
Trying to Find the Best Charity
I used to hang on to old clothes for years. Not SOO long that the styles would be way gone by but definitely long enough for me to wonder if there were spiders in the bins when I wanted to look through them. Of course, I would wash everything first before bringing it back into my closet. But did I ever bring anything back? Nope.
I didn’t, but what made me be able to get rid of those items happily? I found charities I believed in!
Too Large or Bulky an Item
One time, we moved and took our washer and dryer with us, but in the state we moved to, most people left their washer and dryers. So guess what ended up in the basement? You got it. A washer and dryer that probably have dried up rubber gaskets. Things that would serve someone in need at the local church. If this sounds like you, consider putting an ad out (but be safe!) or checking with your church or local charities to see if they would come to get the item.
Just Do Your Best
Sometimes this can hold us up. We hang onto items until we have the right solution for our items or don’t even try because things won’t be perfect.
- If the local donation center isn’t open, its an excuse for us to not declutter at all.
- If we think it would be bad to throw away some things that donation centers don’t want, we figure we could just keep it instead.
- If you are busy during the annual free paper shred service, you figure why go through the paper now.
- If you are waiting to sell something that you think holds too much value to give away for free.
- If you’re afraid to give something away for free because someone else might sell it and make money.
I used to do this myself. I felt bad about all the items I would send to the landfill, so I kept them — always looking for the right solution to get rid of them, but sometimes never found one.
Become More Mindful & Future Motivated
Don’t get stuck on these issues. Look forward instead, and try to improve the way you use things and do things so that you won’t have these extra items to let go of in the first place.
Now that our family is pretty decluttered and we live more simply with regard to material possessions, we don’t have this dilemma much anymore. So as long as you learn from your experiences and try to improve, things get better. Even more so, pass this along to your family and children, and know you’re still being responsible.
