How to declutter in an eco friendly way

Although our upcoming house move has been quite short notice, I was determined that I would donate and recycle as many of our unwanted belongings as I possibly could. Here are some of the things I've done to pass on our surplus goods. I'm not writing this post to paint myself as some kind of saint, but to give you some ideas about how you can clear out your clutter AND perhaps do some good with it. In the past when we've moved we've been quite wasteful, but this time round I've spent a lot of time and money making sure we throw away the bare minimum.

Give and Makeup

I sent over 2.5 kgs of makeup to Give and Makeup, who supply makeup and toiletries to women who've escaped abusive homes.

Gifted my craft stash

I put out a status on Facebook asking who would like a bag full of assorted craft making materials, from card making to sewing materials and scrapbooking goodies. This unloaded about 4.5 kgs of craft materials between several people.

British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation is my favourite charity shop as I love their mix of second hand and new goods, so every time I have a clear out I donate to them. They do pick ups of furniture, bric a brac and clothing, etc so I've donated 22 bin bags full of items in the last 3 weeks. Read more about how to arrange pick ups here.

Heavenly Gowns

My wedding dress has been sitting in a drawer for 4 and a half years doing nothing, so I decided to donate it to Heavenly Gowns, who recycle wedding dresses into christening gowns and other gifts for parents of stillborn infants. Being the mother to two (very early term) angel babies myself, it feels especially good to be doing this. Check out the good work Heavenly Gowns do here. I've given my dress a hand wash to freshen it up and it's going in the post in the next couple of days.

Smalls For All

I'm donating about 20 bras which will be sent to women in Africa. I'm sending both brand new and gently worn bras, and another bunch of bras which are broken, which they recycle to raise funds. If you want to donate bras or underwear, check out Smalls For All here.

Street donations

We live on a main road and there's a brilliant foraging mentality here in this artsy seaside town. We've left items of furniture out on the street with signs saying they're free and to please take them.

Facebook clothing sales

I took part in a couple of Facebook selling events to pass on some of my pre-loved pretties. I sold about 20 items of clothing and made some extra money towards the move.

Recycling

What can't be given away has been recycled if it's made of paper, card, plastic, metal, glass, etc. We've filled our fortnightly recycle bins with anything we haven't been able to give away, and we have some trips to the tip planned for larger pieces like wood cut offs from James's various DIY efforts and any broken furniture. Most tips can take and recycle all manner of things from shoes and clothing to printer cartridges, batteries, electricals and more.

Local animal sanctuaries

If you have old towels, dressing gowns or blankets you're going to throw out, why not call your local animal sanctuary first? We're not getting rid of any towels etc, but if you are the sanctuaries can cut them up for blankets or bedding for the animals.

Have you got any more eco de-cluttering tips you can share?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo