Just Ditch It
First the anxiety. Finally you break down and begin to plan. Then the sorting begins, and then the purging…. Love it or hate it? Need it or not? Then you sort again. Soon all your old treasures are in a pile in the middle of the floor or even better, in boxes. Well done. Now what?
Then another wave of anxiety over where to send it all. Right?
Wrong. Our savvy list today is filled with services that take your treasures and recycle them, (you know, make sure someone else can reuse them instead of letting them go to waste or into the landfill). And the savviest part of all: most of them will come to your home and collect the stuff right from you.
We don’t want you to ditch the classics but you might need to make some room on your book shelf for some new literary faves. (And don’t let the rejects get dusty in the basement; that’s just another pile to purge one day.) Call University College (at the University of Toronto) and one of their volunteers will pick up your book stash to be sold in their annual fall sale. The proceeds go to that fine institute of higher learning (and your books have a new home rather than being sent to a landfill).
Your kids are growing out of their clothes faster than the fashion world is outdating your wardrobe so if you’re like us you are cleaning out clothes closets every six months. Call the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Clothesline for help. This simple and efficient service comes to your home and collects your items, then sells them through Value Village. Proceeds go to The Canadian Diabetes Association to fund research. You can call them and arrange for pick-up any time that suits you. They are reliable and easy to deal with (and they’ll pick stuff up if you leave it outside in marked bags or boxes so you don’t have to wait in for them).
Good to Know: Despite the name, they will pick up much more than just clothes (think toys and furniture too). They will also accept old cell phones and PDAs. But don’t try and send them old car seats, cribs or playpens. Safety regulations do not allow them to reuse or recycle these items.
Another one of our favourite recycling charities does not reuse large items but rather very small ones—with big ticket value. It’s called Kids Up Front and it collects unused event tickets and gives them to child-serving charities to provide to children in their programs. So don’t let any baseball or theatre tickets go to waste when there are tons of kids out there who would love to attend.
So once you’ve met that New Year’s resolution of cleaning your drawers and closets out, don’t let your treasures go to waste. Reduce, reuse and recycle. We just can’t say those words enough.
University College Book Sale
www.uc.utoronto.ca
(416) 978-0372
Clothesline
www.diabetes.ca
(800) 505-5525
Kids Up Front
www.kidsupfront.com
(416) 530-2352
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Tested by Minnow H, Toronto |  |