45 Useful Tips to Help You Responsibly Declutter Unwanted Items

Do you ever drive down the highway or out on a country road and see someone's old couch or mattress?  When driving through the orchards and croplands around my town, I sometimes see stuff like this in an irrigation ditch.  I can't believe people do this, and leave it for the farmers to clean up or pay for disposal.

Tossing stuff you no longer need or want into a dumpster isn't minimalism – it's the equivalent of littering, just like the people who throw things out on the side of the road.  It may seem simple, but it's not responsible or good for the environment.

Unfortunately, some of what we remove from our homes is garbage, and there's no place for it but the landfill.  But when getting rid of clutter means mindlessly tossing it into the garbage, it becomes too easy to buy more and fill our homes up all over again.  

By becoming more accountable, we change our minds about purchasing.  I believe that when you thoughtfully declutter, you'll become very sensitive to these items, and you'll be much more careful about buying anything that will just become junk for the landfill.

In the meantime, much of what we declutter can be sent somewhere else, either to be recycled or to be used by someone who will be happy to have it.

12 types of items to declutter, and options for what to do

1.  Clothing and jewelry

• Donate gently-used items to local charities, shelters, thrift stores, and theater groups.  Professional clothing could be donated to Dress for Success.
• Sell higher-end items online or at consignment shops.
• Host a clothing swap party with your friends or family.
• Repurpose old clothing into aprons, pillow covers, tote bags, stuffed animals,* or cleaning rags.

* This blog is reader-supported.  If you buy through my links, I may earn a small commission.

2.  Books

• Paperback books in tattered condition can be recycled.
• Donate books in good condition to libraries, schools, or community centers.  You can also donate to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, Oxfam, etc.
• Sell valuable books online.
• Trade books with friends.
• Create a mini library in your neighborhood.

3.  Furniture

• Donate furniture in good condition to the Salvation Army or other charity shop.
• Sell or give away furniture via Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
• See if a friend or family member needs your gently-used furniture.
• Paint or upcycle your furniture for a new look, then keep or try to sell it.
• In California, where I live, retailers must remove your old mattress at no charge when you buy a new one.  Some local governments also have free bulky-item pick up or drop off sites.  In all cases, the mattress will be recycled.  Call your city or county to see what's available to you.

4.  Electronics

• Donate DVDs and Blu-ray discs to the library.
• Recycle old electronics through authorized recycling centers to prevent harmful waste.
• Staples, Walmart, Amazon, and Apple will pay you to recycle or trade in tech and batteries!

5.  Appliances and garden equipment

• Sell or give away working appliances, lawn mowers, etc. via Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, or to a family member or neighbor with a need.
• Donate working appliances and garden equipment to Habitat for Humanity ReStores.
• A non-working item could be taken to an appropriate repair shop.  They will not only take it off your hands, but might pay a little for the parts or recyclable scrap metal.

6.  Kitchen items

• Donate usable kitchenware to thrift stores or shelters.
• If you have entire sets of dishes, you could try selling them to a dealer.
• If possible, repurpose glass jars for storage rather than recycling.
• If you have unopened, unexpired pantry items, donate them to a local food charity.
• Properly recycle or dispose of broken or damaged items.  (Note: Pyrex-type glass cannot be recycled!)

7.  Linens

• Old sheets, towels, and small rugs could be donated to your local animal shelter or veterinarian.
• Heirloom-quality table linens could be sold to a dealer, if no one else in your family wants them.
• Old tablecloths (especially damask) can be used to re-cover chair seats or to make toss pillows and bolsters.
• Old sheets can be reused as quilt backing, for drawstring laundry or toy bags, or even as a kids' play tent.

8.  Paper

• Recycle paper, notecards (but not if they have glitter!), magazines, newspapers, and wrapping paper (but only if it stays in a ball when you scrunch it).
• Reuse the fronts of glittery notecards as gift tags or holiday ornaments.
• Shred documents containing personal information.  (Note: Shredded paper can't be recycled, but you can use it for packing, garden mulch, in your chickens' or rabbits' nesting boxes, or add it to your compost pile.)

9.  Décor items

• Donate décor items to local charities or thrift stores.
• Sell higher-end items online.
• Consider re-gifting attractive, like-new vases, photo frames, coaster sets, candles, and the like.

10.  Toys, baby, and sports gear

• Donate clean, gently-used toys to children's hospitals, daycare centers, preschools, family shelters, or thrift stores.
• Donate clean, gently-used baby gear to a family shelter, the Salvation Army, Goodwill, Oxfam, etc.
• There are many charitable organizations that would love to accept your donation of unwanted sports equipment.
• Sell valuable toys (such as a dolls' house or large sets of Playmobil, Brio, or Lego – especially Technic and Creator) or sports equipment online or to a dealer.
• Sell clean, gently-used baby gear through Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or a garage sale.

11.  Cosmetics and toiletries

• Expired or unused toiletries and cosmetics can be put down the drain (where they'd end up anyway).
• Donate sealed, unopened toiletries to a shelter.
• All Sephora and Ulta locations in the U.S. and Canada accept small, clean cosmetics containers for recycling.  Most toiletries containers (such as shampoo bottles) can be put in curbside recycling.
• Consider re-gifting unopened perfume.  (Note: This is not okay if you've broken the manufacturer's seal to sniff or try the product.)

12.  Expired medications

• Many police departments, hospitals, and pharmacies have drug disposal locations.  If there isn't one near you, mix pills with coffee grounds or kitty litter, put them in a sealed plastic bag, and throw them in the trash.
• Contact your local garbage/recycling facility to find out how to properly dispose of sharps and inhalers.

I hope this list of 45 options will sweep away any worries you've had about what to do with the stuff you declutter.  With that question out of the way, it's time to get busy decluttering!

Related article: 20 Things You Probably Own Too Many Of (and what to do with them)

Want more inspiration for your decluttering journey and a simpler life?  Look for my Minimalist Basics Omnibus Edition, with three short books in one.  It's got the practical strategies, inspirations, and experiments you need.