The Great Decluttering of [insert year here]

[kristine_smith]

Decluttering-it’s all the rage, the subject of classes, TV shows, and bestselling books. I have lost track of the number of times I pledged to once and for all dispatch all the books I will never read, clothes I will never wear, old financial records I don’t need to save anymore. The odd piece of furniture, old tools, handbags and costume jewelry

Comments

[nlbarber]

For most items, I drop off at my local Goodwill store and collect my tax receipt to staple to the inventory list. For things I think Goodwill can't sell, I try the local Freecycle group--it's amazing what someone on Freecycle will have a use for.

Many books go to Goodwill, but I still list some on Paperbackswap.com, even though I'm piling up unused credits as my own reading rate has declined and I don't get through my Kindle TBR pile as it is. This one falls in the " it's worth something to me to find a book a good home". I've sold one or two books through Amazon's selling end, but don't think I'll ever figure out the eBay route since I just don't have much that seems worth the hassle.

I'm still looking for the good VCR recycling option too, as well as 3.5" floppies. The county will take the electronics, paint, and such at their central drop off spot, or sometimes at more local special events. There's a corner of the garage designated as the temporary holding spot for the electronics. Oh, batteries I can take to the office and drop in the recycle bin there--my few home ones don't add much to the office load of battery recycling.

[kristine_smith]

My local solid waste place doesn't accept alkaline batteries anymore since they are now safe to dispose of in the regular trash. I used to take them to my office during my old day job days, so it feels weird to dump them in the trash. I may look into recycling, but like you, I use so few that it would be storing them for months, if not years.