Are you taking it too far? (recycling/donating/selling/repurposing)
I was so happy when my recycle bin was delivered (in 2015)!
Decluttering and letting go of unwanted items is good for the soul. One man’s trash can indeed be another man’s treasure! Repurposing can be a creative and satisfying endeavor. And recycling is good for the planet. But there’s a limit to what one person can do. You can’t save the planet single-handedly. Don’t forget to save yourself, too!
I’m retired now, but most of my organizing clients were recyclers and donors. Some were crafty up-cyclers. Even so, if I were to put them all in a room there would be a heated debate over what is ACTUALLY recyclable (and donate-able), what is WORTH recycling (and donating), and how BEST to go about it. Local municipalities, too, differ in their capabilities and guidelines. Selling can be good for the pocketbook, but many sellers are disappointed when their stuff isn’t worth what they thought it was, and discouraged when they realize how much time and energy went into the sale.
The cost of being a good citizen
Here are some examples where trying to be a good citizen (or a thrifty soul) can get in the way of your responsibility to your own health, well-being, and sanity:
- Recycling is SO important to you, and your recycling system is SO complicated, that every room in the house has a mini recycle station. However, you never actually get the recyclables collected into one spot and take them away from the house to the recycle center. So they are piling up, inside and out, and attracting pests. (Three cheers for neighborhoods with city-provided and city-serviced personal recycle bins!)
This recycle system served me well for years. I don’t really need it now that I have my blue bin.
- You want to donate your unwanted items, but you feel the need to find just the perfect charitable organization to take them to. Blankets to the animal shelter — but you don’t feel you have enough saved up yet to take. Clothing to the women’s shelter — but it’s only open for donations when you are at work. Craft supplies to — whom??? So they are all piling up, getting in your way, and gathering dust.
- You want to have a garage sale, so you are collecting items in the garage. Now the garage is full of things you don’t want, while your valuable car is parked outside in the elements, because you never actually schedule, and announce, and hold the garage sale. Or, maybe you do have the sale but do not immediately take the leftovers to donate to your favorite non-profit.
- You want to repurpose that chest of drawers in some way. You’re not sure whether you want to make it into a storage bench or what, exactly, but Pinterest is full of ideas! You never get around to deciding, or planning, or getting the tools and supplies to make it happen. So it just sits there cluttering your home, along with umpteen other projects.
Each situation is different
I took my cues from my clients. If they were dedicated recyclers, we by all means recycled unless their methods were costing too much — too much time and effort making decisions; too much space dedicated to recycling; not the best use of our paid time together.
Sometimes I would declare a recycle-free day, much to their relief. The idea is this: In order to make the biggest difference in your space today, let’s just call it trash — gasp! — because it’s easier and faster. We’ll review and simplify your recycling system so that you don’t end up with another backlog, and you can resume being a good citizen of the planet tomorrow, OK?
On the flip side, I’ve had clients who do not ever recycle or donate in any way. In those cases I would say, “Do you mind if I set up recycle and donate bags (or boxes) in addition to trash?” I would use them to gather what I would rather not see in the trash, and take the bags away with me to recycle or donate to an agreed-upon charity.
Are your expectations too high?
When a client wants to hang onto something in order to sell it, I ask if they have ever sold on eBay, or on consignment, or held a garage sale before. If it’s something they enjoy doing, more power to them! I will offer local and online selling resources, but I will also strongly encourage them to gift or donate items instead, for the sake of simply being done with it and getting on with their lives.
I recommend picking only one or two places to donate. One of them needs to take just about anything, like Goodwill (check your local guidelines first to be sure), to make it a simple chore that is easy to do. My second choice is our local Friends of the Library because I volunteered there weekly for years and they hold a monthly used book sale.
With repurposing, craft, and fix-it projects I simply ask: Is it really worth doing? Sometimes it just isn’t.
What about you? Are you “taking it too far” and suffering in some way as a result?
Please share with us in the comment section below!
- Hazel Thornton is an author, genealogist, and retired home and office organizer.
- Book: Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror
- Book: What’s a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legacy
- Book: Go With the Flow! The Clutter Flow Chart Workbook
- Feel free to link directly to this post! Click here to ask about other uses.
- Copyright 2015-2026 by Hazel Thornton, Organized for Life and Beyond
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This is such a great post and I’m sure it can apply to all of us in one way or another! I’ve run into many of these dilemmas in my work. I have implemented the recycle-free day too and I find that it can be so helpful and much less stressful for folks.
I want to respect clients’ values, but am less inclined if it seems that their efforts are stressing them out and causing bigger problems than they are solving!
What a great post. It’s all so true! I have seen this many times. Including in my own home! (I worked in the environmental field for many years, and I find throwing things in the trash really hard). But…sometimes you just have to deal with stuff in a way that gets it out of the way, and solve the immediate problems in your home. And then you’re better positioned moving forward to be that good citizen of the planet.
Thanks! Glad you can relate.
I love these examples of taking action blocks regarding getting rid of stuff through donating, recycling, and selling. I especially liked the block that a person would make the process so complicated that they can’t sustain it. I have had clients that do this and had to explain that they need to take action and simply the process so they can use the process easier. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve found craigslist and freecycle (thank you, Hazel!) To be very helpful when purging. You can put the limitations right in the ad – it only has three legs, I can’t help move it and I need it gone by tomorrow. Hint – if it’s something I think it’s going to be really popular I post it for only ten minutes and take it down. I also say that the whole thing will take place via email, as I’m not a big phone person.
Good tips, Jane! Thanks.
Great article Hazel, you are right people get just as stuck in what they want to do with their stuff as they do letting it go in the first place. When we get stuck on what we are going to do with something, putting out at the curb with FREE on it usually works. 😉
Thanks, Jill! Whatever it takes!
When we were downsizing and had a LOT of stuff to get rid of, we put it out by the curb for bulk garbage pick-up. We were only allowed to put out two items, but it wasn’t a problem, because usually someone would come by and take them before the garbage truck came by, freeing us up to put out two more – and so on…
Also (don’t know about Canada) there’s Freecycle.org. Great way to get rid of stuff. I don’t tell all of my clients about it though, because it’s also a great way to get more stuff!
I appreciate your suggestion for a recycle-free day and will be sure to use it when necessary! Sometimes you just need to get rid of the backlog so you can have a fresh start!!
Exactly!
I follow my client’s leads on the whole recycling thing. It can end up taking a lot of time, especially if there is a large amount of clutter and the items are soiled. I say “there is a season for all things,” and sometimes the season to epicycle is later, after the bulk of the situation is under control! #POBC
Exactly!
This is a wonderful post! I have often come across the scenario where a person is saving so much for a garage sale or to sell online, that an entire room or garage is full, and selling is not something they know how to do or enjoy doing. I encourage clients to donate, unless there’s a clear plan, or the items are of great value and can be easily sold. Reclaiming that space again is much more valuable to most of my clients.
Agreed! Thanks, Nancy!
Clutter is bad; hoarding is bad; and sometimes the purging systems are bad. 🙁 Wow! I think I like the idea of having just a couple of donation centers in mind. It would be great if we could deliver every item to a worthy non-profit, but that just isn’t practical.
Great analysis, Hazel! I have one of those extra large recycle bins too. Makes it very easy! But I like your DIY version too, which I will suggest to my clients. I also recommend Vietnam Vets since they come right to your door to pick up donations. Hope to meet you at NAPO Atlanta!! Thanks for posting to P.O.B.C.!
We have recycled plastic and paper since we got married – 20 years now. We have two bins that we use just for recycling them. It works well for us. Our dumpster never gets completely full each week which makes me happy.
Hazel,
Excellent article. I have my own designated drop-off places (local homeless shelter, Savers®️, and library.
Plus, for a quick “direct donation”, I set it on the curb (I live at a corner that gets quite a bit of ♀️foot, bike & car traffic during the day.)
That is handy for esoteric things that are not useful to shelters & charities:
* gardening pots & tools
* odd electronics
* large or weird furniture
All usually gone by end of day, sometimes gone in minutes… which of course thrills me right down to my bone marrow!!!
When I’m cleaning my garage, I’ll take a load to curb every 20 minutes or so, and “POOF”… it disappears.
So satisfying, especially when I come across expensive, useful things that are new or in great shape, yet the mere passing of time has proven I WILL NEVER USE THEM.
After a day of give-a-ways like that, I always go to bed with a huge smile on my face.
My new mantra is:
“The person who dies with the LEAST amount of stuff wins❣️”
MER
Thanks for chiming in, Mary. I like your new mantra!
It’s a constant struggle to be kind to the earth, but also facilitate clients lightening their clutter load.
As you note, the “I’m going to sell this,” is a big barrier, because it often means the belongings are moved to another pile and remain there indefinitely!
My sister (the other half of Dynamic Duo Downsizing) uses a code to tell me when I’m obsessing too much on recycling / reuse options and directions. She says I’m being “OK:” That stands for Overzealous Knucklehead… LOL. But we do advertise that we have “ESP” meaning that we’re eco-friendly, supportive & practical! And I”ll admit, I am occasionally OK…
Haha, that’s perfect! Advertising it increases your chances of attracting like-minded clients. And being aware that one can be an obsessive knucklehead about it is priceless!
Excellent blog! I take my cues from my clients. I offer to take items to donate or recycle if I can choose the place that the items will go.
I have tried the recycle free day and sometimes I can get by with it but sometimes I get pushback.
I do tell my clients that the main point is that they can clear their space and not become a landfill.
Thanks, Jonda! Yes, it always helps to bring the client’s attention back to what their goals are (which we have previously discussed) in terms of how they envision their living space and want to use it.
What a refreshing perspective and thought process! I am with you 100% about all of it.
The fun part is matching the client situation to a doable solution. Recycling or donating, as you said, can get so complex and onerous that it just sits. But when the systems for releasing match what the client is willing and able to do, everyone wins.
I love this post, and especially the idea of a “recycle-free day.” Many of my clients feel that they OUGHT to take recycling so seriously that it’s practically a second job, but I can see how much they resent it. The truth is that while individual household recycling is helpful to the environment, it is an absolute drop-in-the-bucket tiny amount compared to corporate waste, pollution, and excess.
Where I live, each town and neighborhood in the county has a different way of doing things. One client has a dedicated garbage day weekly and recycling day every other week, overseen by their HOA. Most of my clients have garbage days weekly but only about half have any kind of recycling service at all. The ones who don’t are pretty split between the ones willing to collect and haul their recycling to one of the very few (and not entirely convenient) recycling centers and the ones who just throw everything in the trash.
As you point out, the best system is the one that you’ll actually use. I will never upcycle anything (and though some of my clients actually will, most just dream of it) land often find that consigning/selling is too much labor for myself and my clients. Getting things out of the house has to be the first priority; sometimes, cleaning up your own environment is as far as you can go.
As for yard sales, unless a client has had one in the last two years (a sign that they really might have one again), I discourage it. I urge them to consign/sell anything of real value (due to rarity and condition) and let the rest be a “blessing” to someone else.
I love posts like this, which focus on the reality check instead of the ideal!
Hazel, as always, you are so insightful. I loved the post, but what really spoke to me was a comment you made “I want to respect clients’ values, but am less inclined if it seems that their efforts are stressing them out and causing bigger problems than they are solving!” Boom! I have to watch the tendency to overdo it and carefully weigh the cost in terms or time energy and driving to a special drop off spot even in myself. 🙂 Ridwell has helped us out a lot. 🙂
Amazing how this post has “legs.” So helpful and relevant!