Do you have New Year’s resolution to declutter your home and take back your space?
That’s amazing!! It is an empowering experience.
When decluttering you will always come across things you no longer want: items you forgot you had and don’t know where they came from, stuff you received as gifts that you never wanted, things that are no longer relevant or don’t fit with your lifestyle, and objects that are broken or worn out.
Donation centres are a crucial part of any community, as they allow us the freedom to get rid of our stuff guilt-free! We are bringing them items that will be used by people who are needy, who will love and cherish those things that we discard.
But unfortunately that isn’t always the case.
Think of everything you’ve donated in the last year or two. Now think about everything you’ve purchased from a thrift store in the last year or two. If you have disproportionally donated, you are in the majority of the population. While donating is all well and good, and gives back to the community, we also need to shop from these same places we are donating to in order to prevent stuff from going to the landfill!
Think about it. If everyone in the community donated just one bag of clothes and household items every month, imagine the inventory that would create for thrift stores with limited space. If they are not purchasing anything, where does the stuff go? Most thrift stores will pass items along to other charities or community non-profits as needed, but that only helps so much. Items will be scrutinized and culled based on their demand by customers, and the ones that are not as desirable or in need of repair are put in the garbage.
This isn’t the fault of anyone in particular, but it is rather a pervasive problem that we as a society have. We buy and buy and buy, getting influenced by advertisements for the next great electronic gadget or household kitchen appliance that we’ll use a few times until we get bored or move on to the next best thing. We discard items with such ease, thinking that it will be used by someone else once we put it in the magical land of “donation”.
What do we do about this?
1. Stop consuming so much. Be happy with what you have, and realize that objects do not bring happiness. Put your focus on relationships and experiences instead.
2. Repair rather than replace. If something is worn out, see if there is a way to repair it. Find your local cobbler to repair shoes, and see if there is someone who is able to repair your toaster. Mend holes in your socks to extend their life rather than buying new. Do some research, gain some skills and see what you can improve rather than replace.
3. Use your local library and tool library, and borrow from your friends and family before buying new. You will save so much money, and create a valuable relationship with your neighbour and community by making those connections.
4. Pass items along to friends and family. Check in with people and see if they would be interested in any of your items. If you ever need to borrow it, you’ll know where to get it!
5. Post for free before donating. Posting items for free online is a great way to get rid of items that are no longer useful to you, and is better than donating because you know it is going to a specific person rather than sitting at a thrift store for months and then getting discarded. You can do porch pickup or meet up in a central location if you prefer a more private transaction. Find your local Buy Nothing group online.
Let’s try to keep as much out of the landfill as possible! You can make a huge impact with what happens to your unwanted items.
