Recycling, Donating and Re-purposing items
You may have heard of little free libraries. They are cupboards mounted around neighbourhoods where you can donate a book and take a book, for free. This Thanksgiving my niece introduced me to the Little Free Pantry in her neighbourhood.
Community Fridges have been around for several years, beginning in Germany and Sweden in 2012 and now several exist in many countries and across Canada including one in Hamilton and eight in Toronto.
Giving opportunity
My niece asked everyone in the family to bring canned or boxed goods or baby food and diapers to our Thanksgiving meal. She collected them and is putting them in The Little Free Pantry as items are taken to help restock the cupboard. I was honoured to be asked to contribute to this project. The pantry is there for anyone to take some food or donate food to help everyone have better food security. “Take what you need, leave what you can”, is their tagline. Why are they doing this, to “build a better community by fighting hunger today.”
519 community collective
This project sprung up out of Covid. The founder is Julie Sawatzky.
They are one of many groups working together to fill gaps for seniors, single parents and families who are living in shelters or transitional living by providing emergency aid and essentials to create a better and more stable tomorrow.
The 519 Community Collective has 12 programs including a community fridge nourishing kitchen, 2 urban gardens, 23 little free food pantries installed across the region, an assortment of emergency food programs, and more.
Lincoln County Community Fridge
Down the road from where I live is another food pantry project. On July 5, 2021, the Lincoln County Humane Society launched the Lincoln County Community Fridge at its animal shelter in St. Catharines, Ontario.
What is a Community Fridge?
This is how they describe their program. “Our fridge, like others, is a place where anyone who needs food can come to our Community Fridge and take what they need. We have a large, double glass doored fridge in a new room we built, out of a former cat gazebo. The insulated room is also equipped with 2 pantries to hold dry goods and some limited amounts of toiletries and hygiene products.
As I walk around my community I love seeing the many ways people are sharing to make their community better for everyone.
Tell me about sharing projects in your community.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Yard sales are an excellent way to meet people, make some money and have fun. There are many ways to organize a yard sale. The timing of the sale is important to the success of the sale. You need to be flexible about pricing if you want to have less stuff at the end of the day. Let’s start with the easiest way to prepare for a yard sale.
This way takes less time and energy to set up.
Get several boxes or bins to collect your items. Mark each container with a price $1.00 $2.00 $0.25 $0.50 $5.00 etc. As you are collecting your items for the sale decide how much you will sell the item for and put the objects of the same price into the same box. You are pricing items as you sort them so there is less work to do later. Using boxes means you don’t need to price every item individually with a sticker. Many charities will not take items left over from a yard sale. Part of the reason is they would need to remove all of the stickers.
Have separate display areas /tables for each price grouping. Place a sign on the front of each of the tables explaining everything on this table costs _______. You are finished and ready to have a great day.
This way will help you to have less stuff at the end of the day
Group your items into batches. For example a set of dishes, all the hand tools, groups of 10 books, baby clothing of the same size, CDs DVDs. The person needs to buy the entire batch not just part of it. This way helps you to move more items on each purchase. They buy 10 CDs for $5.00 instead of 1 for $0.50. Place batches of items in boxes or see-through bags.
This way makes sure you get the correct price for the item
If you want to use tags the easiest way is to:
- use one tag colour per price group.
- red for $10.00, blue for $5.00 etc.
- place a colour-coded sticker on each item and when the person buys it, you know exactly what to charge.
- Make a sign explaining that each colour represents a specific price
If you want to do more work you can price items individually.
- Place a sticker on the item and write on it the cost of the item.
- This is good for large items that you will be priced higher.
In special circumstances, tags are very helpful if:
- the garage sale is for multiple families you can assign each group their own colour and you know which cash box to put the money in.
- multiple family members are selling items at the same sale you can assign each person their own colour and you know which cash box to put the money in.
You will need to remove the stickers after the sale before you can donate items.
How much should it sell for?
Pricing
If your goal is to sell stuff so you have less at the end of day price items:
- 50% of the original price for brand new or barely used items
- 25% – 30% of the original price for the older items
- You can always ask them to make you an offer. You might get more than you expected or less.
If you have more expensive items to sell do your research to determine a fair price for the article.
Sometimes a yard sale seems like a great way to make money. Make sure you are the type of person who likes to barter and is not offended when people tell you that something is not worth the value you have placed on it.
If you will be offended and not make a sale, a yard sale is not for you.
To ensure you get the sale, have change.
Make sure to never leave the money unattended. Keep the money in a waist pouch so it can’t be stolen.
Change
- have $25 in change
- $20 in $1, $4 in quarters, $1 in dimes and nickels
- If you don’t have change people will not buy from you.
Timeline for preparing for a yard sale
It takes time to set up and clean up from a yard sale.
- sort, clean, price 1 – 2 days
- advertising 2 hrs
- arrange and display wares 4 hrs
- get change 1 hr
- tag sale itself 1 or 2 days
- take unsold items to charity 3 hrs
Advertising
Advertising is a big part of the success of the sale. There are lots of Facebook sites, Kijiji and Craigslist where you can advertise for free. You may also have a local paper where you can place an ad. Put up signs to let people know where the yard sale is located especially if you are not on well travelled streets with lots of cars and foot traffic.
Pick your date wisely. Spring and fall are the best times of the year. Long weekends are times when people travel. Weekends are usually better than weekdays. If you can do it with a number of families from your street at the same time you will get better results.
Is a Yard Sale for You?
Yard sales can be a fun way to get rid of your clutter, make some money and meet people if the weather is good. If you feel you don’t have the time, energy, a good location, great items for sale or don’t like bartering you may want to donate your items to a charity and spend the day doing something else.
How will you organize your yard sale? Maybe I didn’t mention your favourite way. Either way, leave me a comment.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually through Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Clothes that are old and out of style are hard to donate so when you no longer want to have them in your closet make a plan so they can be loved by someone else.
1. Adopt a family
If you have children sort their clothes at the start of each season and put the clothes that no longer fit in a box or bag. You may find it easier to put clothes that no longer fit into the donation box or bag right after they come out of the dryer. Make a connection with a family that has children a year or two younger than your children and give them the box of clothes at the beginning of each season. This helps both families to know what clothes they have and what they need to buy and you don’t need to figure out where to donate them because they go to the same family every season.
2. Selling
There are many consignment stores that sell clothing. You can find them online. Each store will have its own niche market. Contact them to see if they want high-end clothing, teenage clothes, baby apparel etc.
Clothing can be sold through consignment stores
3. Theatres
If you have unusual pieces of clothing like a nurse’s cape, old-fashioned outfits or accessories take them to your local little theatre group. They may be able to use them in their productions. It would help the theatre company to save money on their costumes.
Vintage and unusual items can be donated to theatres
4. Clothing Drives
Sometimes communities have special clothing drives. You may find that formal wear can be donated to groups collecting clothing for proms. In the late fall, there may be a winter coat and boot drive for homeless people. Running shoes can be donated at some running stores and they donate them to organizations that send the shoes overseas.
5. Shelters
Clothing can be donated to women’s and men’s shelters as well as thrift stores in your community.
6. Textile Recycling
For clothing that is too old, stained or ripped google textile recycling. There are businesses that recycle fabric, leather, bedding and clothing.
Where do you donate clothing that you no longer wear?
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Reading time – 5 minutes
What is spring clearing? Is it a typo? I attended the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organizers annual conference in London England a couple of years ago. It was enlightening to learn and share organizing ideas with Professional Organizers from England, Scotland, Wales, Netherlands, Japan, Dubai and the United States. This is where I picked up the phrase “Spring Clearing”.
If spring clearing happens first then spring cleaning is much faster. Share on X
Start with clearing out the items that are:
Broken
They are the easiest to let go of but may be hard to get transported to the waste depot. If you can’t take them yourself can call a junk removal company or make a trade with a friend or neighbour. They can take your things to the dump and you can ….. bake a pie, mow their lawn, help with their gardening, and have them over for supper…..
Donations
There are things that you might not have used in a while, your children have outgrown playing with certain toys, you have a new one and you can let go of an older model of the same item, or interests and hobbies have changed……. Take these items to thrift stores or call and see if they will pick up your donations. Learn more about decluttering.
Want them but don’t need them
This group of items is hard to let go of. Try to let go of 2 or 3 items that have some sentimental value but you don’t need and you don’t have space for them. It takes time and practice to be able to let go of these things. With time it will get easier and you will enjoy having fewer things that are taking up space that you can use in a new way opening up new and exciting adventures in your life.
Here is a video of my adventure doing spring clearing.
A flood started the clearing process and then I just continued deciding what things were around my home that I didn’t need.
[pb_vidembed title=”Mind over Clutter does spring clearing” caption=”” url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmsLCPSrjyU” type=”yt” w=”480″ h=”385″]
If you need information on where to donate and recycle items send me your email address and I will send you a 9-page resource document.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
April 24th is Earth Day
The 3 R’s
When going green first became a movement it was called the 3 R’s, reduce, reuse and recycle. Thankfully we have become more aware of taking care of our environment.
We now have
- reduce – buy fewer items that have packaging that needs to be recycled,
- reuse – buy items that have more than 1-time use before they are recycled or disposed of
- repurpose – many items can be used in a new way other than what the items were initially intended to do
- regift – some things you get or buy and don’t work out, can be regifted to a friend or donated to a charity auction
- renew – some items especially furniture can be refinished or restuffed and brought back to life instead of going to the landfill
- rethink – your lifestyle so you use less energy and have a smaller carbon footprint
- recycle – lots of things can be recycled but today I want to highlight textile recycling
Repurpose tin cans into lovely hanging planters
Textile Recycling
Textile recycling is a newer idea. The idea of donating clothes, shoes, purses, belts blankets toys etc to thrift stores is well established in most communities. What if those items have holes, are discoloured, very old and out of fashion you can still keep them out of the landfill through textile recycling. Canadians only divert 25% of waste from landfills.
Textile Waste Diversion, Diabetes Canada in conjunction with Value Village are 3 companies that will gladly accept clean, dry, odourless, clothing, shoes, boots, leather belts, purses, outwear, linens, drapery, and soft toys. sleeping bags, yarn, pillows, hats, etc anything made of textiles to recycle.
North Americans only divert about 20% of waste from landfills, textile recycling can help to keep clothing out of the landfill. Share on X
These 3 programs have bins for easy drop-off. Not only do they divert waste from landfills but they also put money back into the economy through their fundraising programs.
This problem is not limited to Canada. In the USA it’s estimated each person wastes 32kg of clothing annually, with only 15% of this ending up in a recycling center. The rest is landfilled or incinerated, causing lasting damage to the environment.
With an increasing growth rate in Britain, they also have low rates of waste diversion. The article The Introduction to All Things Recycling by Monk and Company explains the environmental benefits of recycling, the importance of recycling and the environmental impact of textile waste.
If you would like a recycling document, listing how and where to donate and recycle items, send me an email julie@mindoverclutter.ca and put in the subject line recycling doc and I’ll send it to you.
In the comments, tell us what you do to protect the environment and go green.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
My guest blogger is Haley Kieser from Zog Digital helping us to reduce our clutter in environmentally friendly ways.
The moment you realize you’ve accumulated way too much clutter and then need to take action, is common. It happens.
It might be the cheap coffee table you bought (it was too good of a deal to pass up) or the endless number of T-shirts you’ll never wear. Or maybe you’re moving and need to get rid of old kitchen appliances and mattresses. No matter what your clutter consists of, it’s important to know how to get rid of it.Let's keep our clutter out of the landfill and recycle it in environmentally friendly ways. Share on X
Why? Let’s look at Hamilton but it could be anywhere.
To keep Hamilton beautiful, of course! If you live near or close to Hamilton, these are the best alternative ways to get rid of your waste. (Other than the local trash collection.)
Let’s get started.
1. Donating your clutter in Hamilton
Donate clothing in good repair to thrift stores and older items can go to textile recycling. Let’s keep it out of the landfill
Is there any better feeling than giving back to the community?
Anytime you purge your closet, or your kids outgrow their clothing, bag up what needs to go and bring it to a thrift store.
But don’t stop at clothing!
Thrift stores collect all sorts of personal items. Such as books, toys, dishes, jewelry, and much more.
Some organizations like Habitat for Humanity will even collect construction and building materials.
Remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you’re unsure about what you can donate, give them a call.
Another great way to donate is the old-school hand-me-down method. Shoot a message to family and friends to see if they could use your old coffee table or winter coat.
2. Host a garage sale or sell online
If you enjoy meeting people and bartering then a garage sale is for you.
If your clutter still holds value, why not cash in on it? Host a garage sale or sell your items online.
One of the best times to have a garage sale is in the summer. Before you begin setting up, always check the weather.
Tip: Set a fair price for your goods. Don’t let the thought of making money distract you from your main goal – getting rid of your clutter.
Get cash before the event in case the buyer needs change. Additionally, if you have time, promote your garage sale on social media up until the event.
If you have leftover inventory list everything on Craigslist. If time doesn’t permit, donate the rest.
Hosting a garage sale is a great way to make some cash and can even be fun. Get the family involved, play some tunes, and hang out with each other for the day!
3. Hire someone to do it for you
For items that aren’t as easy to donate or even throw out, like an old over or cabinetry, hiring a service to pick it up may be the best route.
A full-service junk removal company will come to your home or business and do all the work for you. All you have to do is tell them what to get rid of.
Before choosing a company, make sure they have an environmental program in place, where they donate or recycle as much as possible.
If you’re constrained by time or have too much clutter to deal with, this will let you rest easy knowing you disposed of your clutter responsibly.
Note: You will have to pay for a service like this. Yet, they’re not very expensive. Especially if you have a handful of heavy items, it’s worth the money.
Decluttering your home or business can be a huge task and should be applauded. The next step is to take care of that clutter responsibly.
Use the motivation to become organized to keep Hamilton beautiful!
Need help to identify what’s clutter and what isn’t? Let us help you.
Before you go, here are some additional resources:
Use these links as inspiration to find out if your community has similar resources.
Share your best tip for reducing and recycling your clutter in the comment box.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching youcvirtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
More and more people are downsizing before moving. They may be moving to a smaller place. They may have decided to have a more minimalist lifestyle. They may be moving a great distance and choose not to take their stuff with them but furnish their accommodation when they know what they need. Selling your stuff is one way to fund your move.
My guest blogger is Liz Wolf a freelance writer who wrote this article for SpareFoot.com
You’re preparing to move and it’s time to declutter. Don’t just trash the stuff you don’t need when you can make some decent money selling it.
In fact, 77 percent of people said they’ve tried to sell belongings before a move, according to a new survey released by SpareFoot.com.
While there are many ways to sell your stuff, it turns out that 78 percent of tech-savvy millennials go online to sell their items, compared with 52 percent of the general public who have ever tried to sell something online. (You can download the full survey results here.)
“I think there’s a technology gap,” said Liana George, owner of Houston area-based By George Organizing Solutions. “That’s how my daughter in college got rid of a lot of stuff, like her bed and bedding, when she moved back home. Millennials are much more digital. That’s how they think.”
Whether you’re tech-savvy or not, there are plenty of ways to unload your extra stuff for cash. Here are the most popular ways people sell their items:
1. Garage Sale
Garage and yard sales actually beat out all other methods with 50 percent of movers saying they’ve hosted a sale, according to SpareFoot.
Research group Statistics Brain reports that garage sales nationally generate a whopping $4.22 million in weekly revenue.
“I’m not surprised because sometimes it’s all people know,” said Donna Smallin Kuper, professional organizer and author of How to De-clutter and Make Money Now. “They don’t know that there are other options that are actually much better, that will net more from their sales and be faster. People who have garage sales all complain that they only got pennies on a dollar. Well, that’s because it was a garage sale!”
“I feel garage sales are too time-consuming for small profit unless you have an entire house to get rid of,” added Ellen Limes, owner of Organized by L in Columbus, Ohio. “We do more donating just to get rid of it.”
While garage sales are a ton of work – and “shoppers” can be stingy with their dollars – you do get to pocket all of the proceeds and there are tips for a successful sale.
However, Hazel Thornton, owner of Organized for Life in Albuquerque, NM has a word of advice: “I tell clients, ‘If you do have a garage sale, promise me that whatever doesn’t sell goes straight to donation,’” she said.
2. Word of Mouth
Thirty-five percent of respondents said they have sold items just by word of mouth among friends and family.
“Start by letting your family know and ask them to tell their connections,” advised Julie Stobbe, owner of Mind Over Clutter in Ontario, Canada. “Next send the information to friends and co-workers and groups you might belong to. If you’re dealing with people you know, they’re more likely to show up and buy the item than when you’re dealing with the public.”
An ideal way to sell furniture or appliances is to ask the new homebuyer or neighbours if they’re interested.
3. Craigslist
Thirty-two percent of movers have tried selling stuff on Craigslist.com.
More than 60 million people use this free site each month in the U.S. alone. Craigslist is good for selling larger items like home appliances, bicycles, furniture and yard equipment.
4. eBay
Looking to reach a bigger audience? Twenty-four percent of movers try eBay to lighten their loads.
eBay is a big e-commerce player with 25 million sellers worldwide. High-end clothing, collectibles and smaller electronics are popular items.
However, some might find eBay’s large, competitive marketplace rather intimidating. Also, eBay charges sellers for listing on the site, whether items sell or not, and takes a commission on the sale.
“Twenty-four percent is surprising, because I find that eBay is a little bit complicated, and there’s so much competition with professional sellers,” Smallin Kuper said. “There are easier ways.”
5. Facebook
Twenty-one percent try hawking their stuff on popular social networking sites. People spend a heckuva lot of time on Facebook, so why not use it to sell your belongings?
Consider offering your Facebook friends the first opportunity to buy your stuff by creating a photo album and labelling it “Online Garage/Yard Sale.”
“We have several Facebook groups just for selling in our master-planned community,” George said. “It’s easier to know somebody three blocks over has something and I can go get it… We do porch pick up where we just leave things on the porch and people put the money under the mat.”
“I sold a washer/dryer to a friend’s son and a bear rug to a friend in California,” Smallin Kuper added.
Or expand your reach and find a Facebook “Yard Sales Group” in your area. Groups can be very large and many are private, so you must join before you can sell.
6. Consignment Stores
Just 15 percent of movers try their luck with consignment stores to make some extra money. Consignment stores work well for high-end clothing, purses, home décor and furniture.
“They’re a great way to sell stuff because people are already going there looking for those items,” Smallin Kuper said. “You split the sale with the seller, but you don’t have to do anything but show up.”
Of course, these shops are picky in what they accept.
“That’s a good thing because they know what sells,” Smallin Kuper added. “If you take it to them and they say, ‘Uhh, we really don’t want these clothes.’ Great. Now you know just donate them. You have to put your ego aside when you go to consignment stores.”
7. Amazon
Fourteen percent of movers try to sell their excess goods on Amazon.com.
Amazon offers a large marketplace like eBay, but it’s less expensive to use. You can list on Amazon for free and then it’s $.99 cents per item sold on top of the commission for the sale if you have the basic, individual seller’s account. Books, DVDs and video games are best-selling items.
“It’s such an easy way to sell stuff, especially books, but anything that Amazon sells, you can sell,” Smallin Kuper said. “…You’re listed along with other used items and if you want your item to sell fast, just drop the price a little bit and boom! You’ve just sold something and all you have to do is ship it.”
8. Free Apps
Four percent of movers report using other methods to sell their stuff. There are a lot of new entrants looking to help people sell their stuff via a variety of marketplaces, mostly in the form of free smartphone apps. Some of the services include Letgo, OfferUp, VarageSale, Close5 and Decluttr.
You can find this blog post at SpareFoot
What was your most successful way of selling your items before moving?
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Update 2022
It would be wonderful if there was a way to recycle VHS tapes. I have not been able to connect with Project Get Reel. I don’t think they are in business. If you need information about recycling and donating items ask your questions in the comments or contact me. at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
I first published this blog in May 2015. I have been notified that Project Get Reel has received their e-waste license and is up and running.
VHS tapes are 80% recyclable but most end up in landfills. It is a labour intensive job to dismantle the tapes into their component parts. “Project Get Reel is giving people an environmentally safe way to dispose of tapes while providing employment to people who may face barriers to securing a job.” They launched this business on April 9,2015. View the video on this site to learn more about recycling VHS tapes. Watch for more news about this business trying to help the environment and provide sustainable employment for residents in Ontario Canada
Photo by Rob Pearce
Let me know some of the great places you take your donations and recycling to.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Organizing Challenges Unraveled – Recycling and Donating
OES Ontario Electronic Stewardship
If you are looking for locations to recycle your computers, TV, printers, fax machines, etc., this website will help you find a location near you.
Highlight Consumer/Retailers then click on Recycle your electronic
Go to the bottom of the page and type in the name of your city in Ontario and it will give you a list of locations
Books
If you have books you would like to donate, libraries and used bookstores may take them. There is a new organization that is able to put books into prisons. It is called Books to Bars. It is dedicated to promoting literacy, creativity and functionality in correctional facilities.
Clothing
Clothing can be donated to women’s shelters as well as Salvation Army, Value Village, and New Horizons Store on James St, Hamilton ON. There is a children’s store called Once Apon a Child and a teen and young adult store called Plato located at Guelph Line and Upper Middle Road, Burlington ON. They are not consignment stores. You bring in your clothes and they buy them (what they want) on the spot and give you the money right away.
Building Supplies
Habitat for Humanity Restores will take building supplies. Call ahead to see if they need the items that you wish to donate.
Antique Stores
Some antique stores will take window frames, furniture etc. I have an artist who is looking for antique items to use in her craft business.
Decore on a Dime
This store is located in Hamilton, ON and will take some stylish home furnishings on consignment.
Orange Drop
Check out this website to learn locations to drop off your corrosive, flammable, explosive and toxic items.
Single Use Batteries
Rechargeable batteries can be dropped off with your electronics but they will not take single use batteries. Try contacting your local stores to see if there is a collection depot for single use batteries.
Please go to www.mindoverclutter.ca and click on the links page for more ideas about recycling and donating good used items. If you have any questions or other great recycling and donating ideas click on the contact page, I’d love to hear from you.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
CBC has a great article about how companies help charities and are able to make a profit for their business. Click the link to learn more about the business of donations.
What is your favourite place to donate to?
| http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/01/26/charity-clothing-bins-millions.html |
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
