Declutter: How to Streamline Your Home Recycling

The most frustrating thing about clutter is that it doesn’t appear overnight, it slowly creeps up on us over the course of months and years and, before we know it, our homes are filled with things we don’t need!

With all this different waste, it can be difficult to know what you should be doing with it, which is why Brown Recycling is here with some tips to help make your decluttering experience a little bit easier.

Categorise your clutter

When doing your decluttering, one of the first things that you should do is put all of the clutter that you want to get rid of into different categories. For example, you might have different categories for the things you’re going to sell, the things you’re going to give to charity and the things you’re going to throw away. This means that you can get a better idea of what needs to go where. It will also make the whole process a lot less overwhelming if all of your old stuff has been split up into more manageable piles!

Disposing of tech and electrical items

Got some old laptops, phones or other appliances that you don’t know what to do with? Don’t worry, you have a few options:

• Trade in: big brands like Google and Apple offer trade-in deals for things like Macs and Pixels, so if you’re trying to get rid of an old phone or laptop consider checking these deals out first before you do anything else.
• Sell: If trading in isn’t an option, you can always try selling your tech. eBay, Gumtree and Decluttr are all solid options, so why not have a go and see how much you can get!
• Charity: Donating your tech is also a great option if that’s what you would prefer. There are many different charities out there for you to get in touch with, or you could simply visit your local charity shop – it’s up to you!

Disposing of large electrical appliances and furniture

If you have any large electrical appliances or items of furniture that you want to get rid of, the first thing that we would recommend is to sell them on a marketplace app like Gumtree. The beauty of apps like this is that you can list items in your local area for pickup only, taking the headache out of the whole process.

If your item is beyond repair and selling isn’t an option, then disposal might be the best way. Your local council should provide a collection service for bulky items, so this is probably the avenue to go down.

Repurposing old items

When decluttering, one of the things that many people forget about is repurposing/upcycling. This is where you take an old item that you don’t use anymore and modify it in some way in order to create a new use for it. A good example of upcycling is taking an old t-shirt or two, ripping them up and turning them into cleaning rags.

Of course, you can be much more imaginative than this! Why not make a challenge for yourself and see how many different items around your home that you can repurpose?

Brown Recycling is Stoke-on-Trent’s top recycling and skip hire company. We know a thing or two about home clearance, so if you need any help disposing of your old stuff and want to make sure as much of it is recycled as possible, we’re the ones to call!