Welcome to my brand new declutter series on my blog. January always inspires me to declutter my home, mind and phone. I therefore thought this month I would share some tips and tricks I have picked up along the way. Today I am talking all about how to declutter in a sustainable way, so lets get started.
I’m sure we have all had that time where you have kept something “just in case”. You feel that you might need it one day or that it would be wasteful to get rid of it. This doesn’t have to be the case and in fact, it could be deemed just as wasteful that it isn’t being used. I’ve put together these five tips of what you can do with the things you declutter.
Sell Online
These days, there are so many different apps and websites that you can sell items though. My personal favourite is Ebay, whilst others prefer Facebook or Depop. It doesn’t take long to list an item for sale on any of these options and you’ll be surprised how quickly things sell. With the extra money you make, you could treat yourself or put it towards your savings. Make sure you check out any restrictions on what you can sell as well any fees you might have to pay.
Give To Family & Friends
Giving to family and friends is another great way of making sure an item gets a second life. I have a box that I keep to one side with bits in that other people might like. Whenever anyone comes to visit, they can have a look through the box and take anything that they might like away with them. A lot of the items in the box are make up or skincare that I have maybe used once or twice but can’t sell on.
Donate To Charity
Donating items to charity not only helps you to declutter your home, but raises money for great causes too. Charity shops accept so many things. You know that by helping them, you are also supporting these charities to carry on doing vital work. Having volunteered in a charity shop before, I also know that the majority of them accept old worn clothes too. These are known as rags and if you stick them in a bag labelled rags, most will accept them. These rags are then collected by a cash for clothes business and exchanged for money for the charity.
Do A Carboot Sale
Obviously with current restrictions, this might not be possible. However, under normal circumstances, this is a great way of shifting your unwanted belongings as well as having lots of fun too. I currently have a corner of the garage with boxes of things that will be perfect for selling at a carboot sale.
Free Box
This is perfect for items that aren’t worth much. They might be damaged or just cheap to start with, so stick them in a box with free written on the front. You will be surprised at how quickly these items are taken and it didn’t cause you much effort at all. I did this a while back with some old colouring books. Only one or two pages had been used and yet they were gone within five minutes!
I hope you have found these tips useful. Giving items a second lease of life not only helps you to be more sustainable, you might also be helping someone who perhaps couldn’t afford the item full price. Its important to remember that if you can’t pass an item on, try to recycle as much of it as you can.
Other posts you might enjoy:
5 Ways to be more sustainable this Christmas
Great ideas. I did the free box thing a few times during lockdown last year. Mainly with books that I would normally take to a charity shop. They did go quickly x
I’m always selling unwanted items on Facebook Marketplace, I find it one of the easiest ones to use. I often give makeup and clothes to family and friends too, or to a charity shop x
I love that the internet has created so many spaces for people to be able to declutter and support sustainable fashion. Being able to sell clothes on sites like Depop or general Facebook groups makes it so much easier.
Great post!
Nons Mshengu – Cher Belle
Wow…this will be of lot of help to me…thank you for sharing..I am loving that freebox concept.
Good tips! I usually do no. 2 & 3. Thank you for sharing.
LOVE this… i have so many clothes I need to get rid of and these sustainable tips are great! Thank you
Loved these ideas! January always makes me want to declutter too x
These are some wonderful ways on how to declutter sustainably! I like to donate or sell on ebay 🙂
loved this post!
I’m always finding better ways to get rid of my belongings. i love it when we are able to give them to other family members or donate to people in need. as much as i preach owning less, i also feel it’s smart to get use out of things as well.
We always pass on or give to our local charity shop! I have guilt if I throw anything haha xx
You have given some amazing tips. Selling online and giving to charity are great options nowadays. I never sold online though, but given free stuff whenever moved the house.
Such an important post, so many people are struggling with what to do with unwanted clothes and you’re providing so many good options! Personally, I looove runsacking my mum’s and friends’ wardrobes in search for treasures that they don’t want <3
Teresa Maria | Outlandish Blog
I really believe that every person need to hold on those declutter tips!
I am doing everything as you wrote (except of A Carboot Sale). But especially the good jobs (like donating items to charity), not only empty your closet but also makes you feel really amazing! 🙂
These are some really helpful tips. I know I have so many things I keep because maybe I might need them later but it has been years now. Thank you for such a great post.
what did u do with very good condition old grocery containers and expensive old clothes? i don’t give to family nowadays as they might not feel good getting old clothes!. Rest my maids are ever ready to take. that’s why in India its not a big problem of disposing off.
I wish more of my little cousins had my sense of style . . . clothes that are cute but too small deserve a guaranteed good home, lol.
This is something which we have done more this year because we can’t take things to the charity shop it has meant a lot more has been listed on ebay. We have even found a local free library which we can donate books which we have finished with which is great since we read so much
Decluttering sustainability will make a head start of the future we all like to live on. Thank you 😊
Great ideas! I am currently doing a declutter challenge, and I hope to split what I declutter between multiple nonprofits in my city. Love that there are a ton of Buy Nothing facebook groups too!
Jenna ♥
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