An impending relocation is a great opportunity to clean out storage closets. It’s noble to want to lighten the load for your movers, but where does all that old stuff go? It’s likely your discarded items will end up in a landfill or worse. To help you make a greener move, consider these alternatives.
Hazardous Materials
Your moving company probably won’t transport household items containing harmful chemicals or hazardous materials because of the risk they pose to people and the environment. Earth911.com is a great resource to help you find appropriate drop-off sites for these materials. Just enter your zip code and what you want to throw away; you’ll get instant information about locations near you.
Clothes and Furniture
The best way to give your unused clothing and furniture a greener afterlife when you move is to donate them to charities or non-profit organizations. The Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are just a few places that accept gently used clothing and household goods and resell them to support various projects.
Mattresses
Some bedding stores accept worn-out mattresses for recycling. Before you move, check out MattressDonation.com to find stores in your area that’ll take your old bedding.
Miscellaneous Items
There are plenty of ways to offload unwanted household items like cookware, holiday decorations, CDs and DVDs when you move. Whether it’s an online auction site, newspaper classifieds, or a good old yard sale, lots of people are ready and waiting to take your old stuff off your hands. Like they say, one person’s trash is someone else’s treasure.
-Jon Huser
