Ten and a half alternatives to landfill.

Things have been slowly changing during my little hiatus from blogging. All the rooms in the house are now useable, albeit with some random objects in places where they shouldn’t be.

The number of arguments between HTB and myself have tailed off somewhat. There are still times when it is frustrating living in a half-decorated house, but now we can move around so much more easily, it is so much nicer. Also we have been able to invite friends over for the first time in ages and they are all very impressed at the progress that we are making, since they haven’t seen the place in a while. Sometimese it is difficult to see the progress when it happens slowly and you are in the middle of this.

 So here are some of the top clutter busters that have been employed once our unwanted stuff has been earmarked (that is the difficult part - a post for another day perhaps)

 1. Charity collections - I love these. The charity put a plastic bag throught the letterbox and collect it a few days later full of your unwanted (but sellable) stuff. Instant clutter clearing, instant good karma and without even leaving the house. Can’t say fairer than that.

 2. Freecycle.org - another good karma clutter clearing method. I got rid of an unwanted elderly single bed on this. You simply advertise your unwanted stuff and then someone comes and collects it. You can’t use this site to make money, but I think of it this way - I tried to sell the bed in the local paper and no-one wanted it. It would have cost £20 for the council to remove it and stick it in landfill. I saved £20 and did someone else a good turn. Fab!

3. Car booty - Personally I get no kick from getting up at 5am and setting out my wares on some muddy field to sell for a pittance. However, HTB’s mother loves car boot sales (not so much in winter though), and sold a pair of curtains for £3 that would have been thrown out otherwise.

4. E-bay - So far not much luck with this one. Think personally it is a bit overrated and I’m not a fan of Pay Pal. But if you know anyone who collects decorative plates please let us know.

5. Amazon marketplace - Sold some surplus to requirement CDs on here. Personally don’t think it’s worth bothering with paperback books, and hardbacks could make you a loss on postage.

6. Sales and Wants boards - At my place of work we have a sales and wants board on the intranet. A good starting point as it’s free. Some local community groups also have these, for example mother and toddler groups for selling on baby gear that your kids have grown out of.

7. Local paper - We have not had much success here yet. But I’ve got a fridge to sell so this could be next.

8. Textile recycling - for clothes and shoes that are no good for charity shops. The fibres can be recycled into something new. Our local tip has the facilities for all the various items.

9. Greenmetropolis.com - not sure I’ve done this correctly, because I actually bought something rather than selling it! Recycle old books and the organisation gives 5p per book to Woodland Trust. Seems a better option than those penny paperbacks at Amazon where you make a loss unless you’re clever about postage.

10. Random acts of kindness - if someone needs something and you’re looking to get rid then just give it away. It’s called paying it forward for all the times people gave us stuff when we were starting out (come to think of it, it may actually be the same stuff…).

10 1/2 Think twice before acquiring stuff in the first place! Do I really need a new one, or am I keeping up with the Joneses? Do I have to buy my loved one stuff to buy their affections? We live in an age where we are brownbeaten into consumerism from every direction. Resist! Resist!!

As a closing thought, be prepared for some more entries on this theme as Consumerism Season approaches…