“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”
Some of my favorite stages often involve repurposing ‘old stuff.’ I have actually built entire spaces around the stuff other people didn’t want anymore! I’m not just talking about small stuff either. Even in my home renovation projects, I try to salvage what I can. There are organizations that can make good use of appliances, cabinets, even furniture. In fact, there are plenty of local options to donate, sell, or recycle your old stuff.
Selling
For many items, local Facebook pages, and Next Door are good options for selling. Craigslist is good for selling bulky items like furniture, leftover building materials, or a child’s playset. Yard sales are a good way to get rid of lots of things quickly but you may not get top dollar. Of course, if you have something of value you want to get rid of, e-Bay is still a popular choice.
Keep in mind, each of these platforms has a certain type of audience willing to pay a certain amount. For example, a designer purse sold in a yard sale will get less than if you sell it through a consignment store, etc.
Donations
If you don’t need the fast cash from your old stuff I encourage you to consider making a donation. It’s a great way to clear out what you need and you’ll be helping out someone else in the process! Win-win! There are multiple organizations in town that will put your stuff to good use
Furniture
Habitat for Humanity ReStore (visit habitat.org/restores for locations). These shops sell donated items at a discount and use the proceeds to fund the construction of Habitat homes
Crisis Assistance is another great option. They’ll take furniture and appliances and give them to families in need.
Appliances
Transporting bigger items can be tricky if you don’t have a truck (or a friend who has one). With a little searching, you can find some places like this one who will pick up your appliances and get rid of it for FREE.
Speaking of pickups… Schedule a pick-up for of all kinds of stuff with donationtown.org. Enter your zip code and choose from charities in your area. It’s worth noting that most pickups have to be scheduled so this won’t work at the last minute.
Books Books Books
I love using old books as decor, The Goodwill is a good place to donate books you don’t want or have space for anymore. Charlotte Parent came up with a killer list of options for getting rid of your old books.
Don’t forget to keep your receipt, you can deduct the fair market value of donations on your taxes. If you calculate the market value, you might find that the deduction is more valuable than what you’d earn from selling those items.
Recycling
Mecklenburg County has several Full-Service Recycling Centers that accept a wider variety of materials for recycling, including:
- washers and dryers
- stoves, refrigerators/freezers (emptied please)
- computers, TV’s
- lawn mowers
Here’s a cool website you might want to play around on a bit. It’s called earth911. Just click on a recycle category and type in your zip code. Ta-da! You’ll get loads of local options. With over 350 materials and 100,000+ listings, it maintains one of North America’s most extensive recycling databases. You can find all sorts of stuff to recycle!
Of course, you can always get rid of stuff by just offering it to your friends. Heck, make it a ‘house unwarming’ party where you invite people over and they can take stuff you don’t want anymore home with them!