Decluttering the Eco-Friendly Way

Decluttering can be an exhilarating, liberating feeling. Doing it regularly allows us to take stock of the things we own and get rid of what we don’t need or want in our lives. It helps keep our homes cleaner and tidier while reevaluating our relationship with the things we buy.

However, anyone who has ever tackled a decluttering project is familiar with a certain sense of guilt. It feels wrong to get rid of so much stuff because it feels wasteful.

So, how do you tackle decluttering without creating even more unnecessary waste? With waste being one of the main problems facing our environment, it’s important that we focus on making our decluttering as eco-friendly as possible.

The donation pile

Don’t just sort between things you want to keep and those you’re taking to the junkyard. Have a separate pile for things you don’t personally want that someone else could use. This includes clothes, toys, home decor, and even cookware.

Recycling the big stuff

When you get rid of large home items, like electronics, appliances, and furniture, most of it is likely to end up in landfill. These larger items may be harder to donate if you don’t live near a big charity center, but that doesn’t mean they have to go to waste. Put these items on Freecycle to find your stuff a new owner, and donate anything that is no longer in working order to scrap metal so it doesn’t just sit in a landfill. This comes very handy when you have to declutter after a project of roof reparation or maintenance.

Your old mattress is another big-ticket item that you should find an eco-friendly solution for. While you can resell or donate it, you also have the option of having it hauled away to a recycling center or repurposing the fabric, padding and other materials from it.

Go digital

Your home probably contains countless precious memories in the form of old photos and tapes, but it may be worth considering digitizing these for posterity instead of letting them gather dust in an attic. Embrace the cloud and start scanning old family photos, and you’ll be surprised at how much more you see and enjoy them when they are easily accessible on your laptop.

For old VHS tapes, investing in a digital converter is particularly smart given that the tapes tend to deteriorate and degrade over time.

Green cleaning

Your decluttering will most likely be accompanied by a good deep clean and the motivation to keep your house pristine from now on. And while that’s a wonderful initiative, take it a step further to ensure the products you use are not harmful to the environment.

Choose DIY cleaning solutions from ordinary ingredients wherever possible, and for the tougher jobs, make sure to choose products that are natural and organic. Also, a quality vacuum can motivate you to keep the house clean on a consistent basis, which will also improve your home’s air quality.

Make sure to consider the type of filter used by your new vacuum, as it will play a role in how free of pollutants, pet dander, and other allergens the air in your home will be.

Eco-friendly decluttering is a matter of being mindful of how your individual actions impact the environment.

On one hand, it means making sure that the things you get rid of have an opportunity to become more than just more waste. On the other, it means evaluating the negative environmental effects you create on an ongoing basis in your home and considering how you can reduce them.

When you combine these two approaches, the ecological and personal benefits of decluttering are applied throughout the rest of your life.