7 Things You Didn't Know You Could Recycle

The Today Show this week featured Chip Giller and Katherine Wroth of Grist.org talking about things you may not realize you can recycle. When we are doing organizing projects like garages and closets we run into this kind of stuff all the time, and you probably do too in your own home. Here are the seven items, and then you can click here to read the full article about how to recycle them.

1. Athletic shoes
2. "Techno-trash" like VCRs, cameras, MP3 players
3. Computers
4. Mattresses
5. Handheld devices like cell phones, PDAs, and pagers
6. Dry cleaning hangers and plastic
7. Soiled glass and plastic, like beer bottles with a lime stuck in them

I will say, however, that a small part of me hesitates to offer these resources in a way, because one of the behaviors I have seen happen many times is that people will get bogged down keeping things they want to get rid of because they want to find the "perfect" disposal resource. So a big pile hangs around in their garage for a year because they haven't found just the right charity to donate it to or place to recycle it. Does anyone relate to this? I want to see people make decisions and part with their items quickly. So definitely recycle when you can, but don't let waiting for perfection keep you loaded down! I am interested to hear your comments on this...

Comments

[Denise]

Lorie,
You hit home with this one! I have what I call "traumatic" clutter. After several major losses and some personal traumas, I began to clutter and it got worse over time. 9 years of clutter building and building. I got fed up and began throwing things out, however, there some things sacred to me. My daughter's clothes and books. She is 12 now, but I love all her baby and toddler clothes. I spent a small fortune on them since she is an only child. I have the compulsion that it is better to keep them then to see them be thrown out by good will (sometimes they do that!). I'm looking for the perfect family in need that will wear them with integrity and appreciate the love that went into selecting each and every outfit for my daughter. I want to make sure that the family most in need gets them. I also have books and educational materials I had when I homeschooled my daughter for a year. They were expensive and I'd like to see the lot go to a school (here or overseas) that can use them.

It is hard enough to part with the "memories" of my daughter's childhood, and I know I can keep select items, but I don't want to just flippantly discard them.

I am making some progress in my decluttering, but still have quite a way to go (especially with massive boxes of papers!).

Thanks for a great site!
Denise