Do you feel your home has become somewhat confined and overfilled with stuff? It is time to bring some order to your it by getting rid of all those items you no longer have use for. But before you start with the big purge, here’s a suggestion. Instead of only clearing up your living space, how about doing it so that you help this planet become a cleaner place? Here are some practical methods you can apply to declutter your home the eco-friendly way.
Determine the future of the items you are getting rid of
The main idea you should have in mind if you want to declutter your home the eco-friendly way is to make sure the least of what you are throwing out ends up at the landfill. Certain items really cannot be redirected anywhere else. But much of your stuff can. The first thing you should do is divide the stuff you are about to get rid of into four groups:
- Repurpose
- Donate
- Recycle
- Throw away
This division marks the beginning of your decluttering journey and is an important step towards a cleaner home, mind, and planet Earth.
Give your belongings a new purpose
Take a moment to think about what it is that you want to buy in the future. Some of the items you no longer need may become useful in a different way. For example, old cooking pots can become pretty cool plant pots. Old boxes you no longer want can turn into clothes organizers. The more artistic ones can set aside whatever seems suitable for creating arts and crafts. Whatever appears to be able to serve another purpose in your home – let it!
Donate or pass on the items you don’t need to those that do
It is perfectly ok to decide to remove the objects that are in good condition from your home and your life. But it would be a shame for something that still has life in it to end up in the trash. Besides, there’s a certain beauty in giving. Apart from the regular donatable material, such as old clothes that no longer fit you and decorative home pieces, there are a few more things you can pass on. For example, almost unused or brand-new toiletries can be precisely what someone needs. Similarly, when someone is moving into a new home, you can offer them your excess kitchenware so they can cross one thing off the shopping list.
Giving is rewarding on its own, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t donate some of the items you don’t need.
Recycle the recyclables
Unfortunately, the broken items have nowhere to go but to the trash cans. Some afterlife might await them, however. Plastic bottles can be reborn into something else plastic, so give them another shot at being useful. Take the recyclables to the bins that are appropriate for the material they are made of.
Throw away the absolute garbage
The unrecyclable stuff that has done its part and now can no longer be useful will have to go to the garbage. With some luck and good sorting, there will not be as much in this category.
You can declutter your home the eco-friendly way and make some money at the same time
Donating is a great and noble way to deal with some of our clutter. Nevertheless, there’s nothing wrong with making some money off of this whole endeavor. The second-hand market has been blooming in the past years, so you won’t have any trouble finding the sale venue for your hand-me-downs. The traditional way would be to organize a yard sale. The more modern souls can turn to websites that specialize in this kind of merchandise. Finally, some second-hand stores might want to buy your used items. Everyone can use the extra cash nowadays, so give this option some serious thought.
Use recyclable packing materials
If you need to get rid of some things when decluttering before packing to move, don’t forget to include the packing materials in your eco-friendly home cleansing. Choose the majority of boxes and containers that are recyclable. When you finish, make sure you either save them for your future relocation or pass them on to someone who is about to move. But above all, try to use some of your regular items as packing supplies instead of purchasing any. For example, large towels make a great clothes container. None of the clothes they will be transporting can stain them, and they can easily be washed after the relocation is over. The same goes for bedsheets. When it comes to finding packing materials among your belongings, think outside the box. You will be surprised by how fun this little creative exercise can be.
Clean the area with non-toxic cleaning products
After every decluttering comes the good old cleaning. When you look at it from an eco-friendly point of view, there are cleaning products and cleaning products. Some solutions are toxic, whereas others are more environmentally friendly. Besides, the latter is more human-friendly, too, as they do not endanger people’s health. There is no valid reason to opt for the toxic ones.
To properly declutter your home the eco-friendly way, use non-toxic products
Collect photos of important moments rather than items
Much of our clutter consists of memorabilia. But when you think of it, we never actually use that memorabilia or touch it very often, for that matter. What we do is look at them fondly and replay the precious moment they remind us of. So why not convert them into photos, then? One of the principles of organizing implies that we should condense all that we own if it is condensable. There is no better way to condense the memorabilia than to put it all in one nice photo album.
Why not convert your memorabilia into photos that take up far less space
Develop an eco-friendly mindset
The final step in this eco-friendly story of decluttering is to make all your hard work last longer by changing your behavior. Creating less clutter will lead to less waste the planet needs to be suffocated with. For example, you do not need to buy new things all the time. There are ways to achieve all you intend to with what you have. Opting for recycled or recyclable products is a huge step in the environmentally friendly direction. Trying to live in harmony with nature, in general, should be something every responsible inhabitant of the planet Earth should strive for.
Final thoughts
Decluttering your home the eco-friendly way is not only a way to help keep the environment unharmed. By doing it, we can help others as well. This approach will cleanse our home and our soul at the same time and make the whole process a more meaningful experience.
