How to responsibly donate

How to responsibly donate

By Tanya Lewis  October 25th, 2018

Winter is gone, it's time to fling open the cupboards, sort, organise, declutter and responsibly donate unwanted items.

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Winter is gone, it’s time to fling open the cupboards, sort, organise, declutter and responsibly donate unwanted items.

Clutter builds up in pockets around the home, the entrance area with umbrellas, coats and hats, kitchen with crock pots and winter recipe books cluttering the bench tops, woolly jumpers and jackets left hanging on the backs of chairs.
A spring fling is just what the doctor ordered, guaranteed to put a spring in your step without costing the earth.

Did you know?

It takes between 7000 -8000 litres of water to produce a single pair of jeans* & emits 23.5kg of carbon emissions!!! So why not donate unwanted items for others to enjoy and help reduce waste

Tips to responsibly donate

When it comes donating there are a few things to consider:

  1. Ask what’s hot NOW - As always, it’s best to ask a charity what they require now, charities like any retailer are in business to sell stock; donating winter clothing in summer is less likely to sell, whereas outdoor summer furniture and summer clothes are more likely to sell.
  2. Is it good enough to sell? - While sorting and decluttering check your items are fit for purpose and good enough to sell, let’s not pass our clutter onto someone else. Don’t expect charities to repair any broken items; anything dirty, worn or soiled will not be accepted. In fact, charities spend over $13 million a year disposing of unsaleable items.**
    Remember what you consider clutter, someone may consider an absolute treasure and would love to have it in their home.
  3. How to responsibly donate -Pack quality items in sturdy bags or boxes and abide by the charity drop off rules, contributions left outside of a bin or shop is considered illegal dumping. Illegal dumping poses a safety hazard and attracts scavengers that rummage through damaging and stealing your valuable contributions.
  4. Get involved - National Recycling Week's Buy It Back Day is on Saturday, November 17th encourages us to buy second hand or recycled products. So, whether you're donating or purchasing you are helping the environment by keeping valuable resources out of landfill.

 

For more information about Buy It Back Day visit: https://recyclingweek.planetark.org/athome/Buy-it-back-day.cfm

 

Mud Jeans

** ABC article

 

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By Tanya Lewis

Tanya Lewis has a simple philosophy borrowed from Gandhi - “Live simply so others can simply live”. Author of STUFF OFF! and founder of The 10R’s© eco organising system, Tanya challenges society to rethink the environmental impact clutter has on the planet. Find out more at ecoorganiser.com.au

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