10 Easy Ways to Give Your Clutter a Second Life
With warmer days and the change of season ahead, spring cleaning is in the air and so is decluttering. With it often comes the desire to “freshen up“ our home, wardrobe and life in general.
So we look around, pair down and declutter. But what should we do with our discarded items?
Just trashing them seems like such a waste of our time and money, notwithstanding the impact on our environment. Countless dollars and hours spent working for the money we used to acquire and take care of the items, just to send all that to the dump?!? That’s just too sad!
So what can we do? Well, hopefully give our clutter a second life!
Here are 8 ways to get rid of your clutter responsibly, before you trash them, and 2 ideas to consider that will help you reduce the need to declutter in the first place.
How to Declutter Responsibly and Give Your Clutter a Second Life
“A caveat: For many of these options, you need a bit of time and space. Give yourself a deadline by which you will go to the next step to get the items out of your house. Don’t be that person who hangs on to their clutter for way too long .”
1 - Repurpose or Upcycle Your Clutter
Often items can be reused in different ways with minimal effort.
Sometimes all you need is a fresh coat of paint, other times you might need to get a little crafty.
Just Google “How to Upcycle (name of your item) and find a gazillion ideas on the web (just make sure you actually have the time, energy and desire to do the upcycling project).
2 - Rehome Your Stuff
Does someone in your life need and love the thing you’re getting rid of? Pass it on to them.
You still have to be careful with that one. Don’t assume and pawn your stuff on others, just because it makes you feel better. Make sure they actually want and need your items, before bringing them over.
Send a little text or voice note with a picture or the item that says something like: Hey, I no longer use or need this, but I thought you might want it. No pressure though!
This method could be your first go-to, especially for “family“ items that have memories attached to them or heirlooms.
3 - Sell Your Stuff (Online, In-Person or Through Someone Else)
A few cool options here:
If you have time, this is a great way to recuperate a few bucks. Let me repeat this again … If you have TIME. If you’re pressed for time or on a deadline, this may not be the best solution for you.
It’s important here to mention that the monetary value you attached to something, might not be the current selling value. Do your research and see what similar items are listed for. Maybe in the end, you’ll decide what you get out of it is not worth your time.
This works best for brand name stuff like clothes, shoes, bags and electronics in VERY good condition. Use sites like Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, eBay, Vinted, and Poshmark, just to name a few.
If you are decluttering for a family member that has passed or is downsizing, it may be worthwhile to hire professionals to have an Estate Sale. This could take the burden off your shoulders and make the process much faster than simply doing it yourself.
There are also people that will sell your stuff for you, like Charlene at She Sells Your Stuff. For a fee, she’ll collect the items and sell them for you.
Similarly, check your area for consignment or used items stores (usually more for clothing or books). Sometimes they give you money for your goods, other times it’s store credits (each store has their own rules).
You could also organize a garage sale. Again this is more if you have the time and space to do so. I have a great toolkit on how to organize a garage sale if it’s your first time and you feel intimidated.
4 - Donate for Free
There are lots of Buy Nothing Groups on Facebook. Simply search the term + your local area and ask to be added to the group.
Once you are part of the group, you can list items for donation in your area. You’d be surprised at the things that get scooped up by people, minimising the number of items that end up in the landfill.
For books, check your local library for donating rules. Little Free Libraries are also becoming very popular and you could deposit your used books all around your neighbourhood.
The next section is broken down into different categories of thrift shops, but basically, they are similar, it’s just that their business model may be slightly different.
5 - Donate at Charity Shops (or Thrift Shops with a cause)
This can be a church or group servicing an area or a particular community in need.
Here is an Edmonton-based shortlist just to get ideas flowing. There could be many more options in your area:
Women’s or Seniors shelters
Local Food Bank (for unopened, non perishable food goods)
6 - Donate at Salvage Stores
There are many of these stores around as thrifting has increased in popularity and they are often my Go-To, as some are specialised in specific materials.
Here is a list:
Architectural Clearing House for building materials
ReStore (Habitat for Humanity)
ReUse Centre for all kinds of items that can be used by crafters
7 - Donate at big(er) Thrift Stores
These ones are just bigger organizations or corporations that tend to be more visible.
Goodwill Canada (non-profit)
Value Village (for-profit business)
8 - Upcycle & Recycle
Blenderz for garment recycling
Reconsider your Consumer Habits
9 - Don’t Buy in the First Place
Yes I know, Duh!
But before we even get to how to declutter responsibly or give items a second life, first we should ask ourselves if we really need, want, love the items we are considering purchasing.
It’s not because we can afford it, it’s cheap enough, or on sale that we should get it.
10 - Say No to Free Stuff
People are often shocked when I say no to a 2 for 1 sale, or a free item because I bought x amount. But I already bought the thing I needed and probably don’t need 2 of them.
Hand me downs and free things are great, but only if you need or love them.
If you say yes to an item you already know you don’t want or have no use for, you’re only adding to your future decluttering piles.
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