Green Decluttering: 5 Eco-Friendly Tips to Declutter Your Home

Dust build-up and tripping over stuff is a clear indication that you should declutter your house. As they say, sorting out your home can be good for the soul. However, decluttering usually also leads to disposing of clutter that is sent to a landfill. Add to that chemical-laden cleaning products and one has to question - is this helping or hurting all in all? Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way. We can clean our house without producing too much waste and relying on chemically filled cleaners - with the right strategies.

What is Green Cleaning?

Depending on who you are talking to, the term ‘green cleaning’ can mean different things. To some, it means relying on items already within the household to clean surfaces etc. These household items include vinegar, baking soda, and lemons. On the flip side, some define green cleaning as any method that helps reduce the waste sent to the landfill. An excellent example of this would be eco-bricking. Regardless of how you define green cleaning, it only has two goals:

1. Decrease your exposure to toxic chemicals found in cleaning products.

2. Reduce the amount of trash you sent to the landfill.

That said, here are green decluttering tips that you can follow to clean your house and achieve the goals mentioned above.

Do it Room by Room

Decluttering your entire house can be cumbersome, which is why it’s usually best to do it room by room. Such a move is also advisable if you are transitioning into zero-waste living. For one, you cannot force everyone in your house to follow suit. But what you can do instead is decluttering your belongings first. Doing so allows you to lead by example.

That said, collect all the items you own in every room. And sort them out based on the following:

● Keep

● Donate

● Sell

● Discard

When you do this, you can have a rough idea of what you will be dealing with.

Sort Your Keep

Now that you know what items you want to keep, the next step is to figure out where you will place them. This is far easier if you are only focused on one room at a time. However figuring out a system that you can maintain easily per room can still be a bit of a challenge - not to mention is the most crucial step towards preventing another big decluttering sweep again in the future.

The experts at Planet Maids Service NYC advise that sorting each room is best done prior to a deep clean of each room in your house.

Donate Your Belongings

During the decluttering process, perhaps you come across items you no longer use but are still functional. Some excellent examples are old clothes and kitchen appliances that are far better off if you donate them:

1. It’s better for the environment. It costs an average of $45 per ton to dispose of waste in the landfill. You would not want to add upon them.

2. You can help the people in need. Not everyone has the luxury to buy clothes and appliances that you have.

3. It’s actually a boost in morale. That’s because there is no better way to feel good about yourself than doing good to others.

Luckily, there are various ways you can donate your old belongings. There is Goodwill and The Salvation Army for your old clothes and appliances. And you can contact your local public library to donate your old books.

Sell What You Can

Sometimes, you can sell your items while donating the rest. But others want to do this first and then donate what items were left unsold.

It is good that selling your item is no longer limited to opening your garage or laying out your belongings in the yard. You can also sell them online.

The typical online marketplaces where you can sell your preloved items are Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist. Another excellent option is Facebook Marketplace.

Discard What’s Left

Here’s the thing: As much as you want to save the environment, you will still produce waste and generate a carbon footprint. But what matters is the actions you take to reduce your negative impact on the planet. This also explains why we listed down sorting, donating, and selling your items first. That way,

you will send less trash to the landfill. Luckily, you can get rid of your decluttered item without harming Mother Earth too much.

Recycling

This is the most obvious way to discard your items sustainably. Instead of putting your belongings into the dumpster, consider sending them to the recycling facility.

Repurposing

Another excellent way of disposing of items sustainably is to repurpose them. Doing so extends the life of your belongings.

For example, you can turn your old bath towels into kitchen hand towels. Another is to turn your old shirt into rugs that you can use to wipe surfaces.

Rethink

Also called ‘upcycling;’ rethinking your items is about finding other ways to maximize your belongings. For example, an old suitcase can be upcycled into a stool. All you need is to place a piece of plywood at the bottom of the suitcase, screw the stool legs, and then fill it with a tufted cushion.

Get Started With Green Decluttering

We cannot really live a zero-waste life. But that should not stop us from doing our part to save the planet. If you want to start living sustainably, you can begin by following the green decluttering tips listed above.

Do it with your belongings first and in your room before moving on to the entire household. That way, you can lead your whole family by example and ensure that you do not unintentionally discard items that your family may still need.