One Person's Trash can be the Next Person's Treasure
Hi, Neighbors, have you been wanting to do some decluttering? Maybe you just want to find a new home for some of your beloved things, or maybe you're preparing for a move and need to part with more items than you know what to do with. Either way, we have some great resources that can help make this overwhelming process feel easier!
One of our favorite ways to pass along items that don’t need to be in landfills is our local Newcastle Buy Nothing Project through a private Facebook Group. Sometimes there are things that can be hard to part with, but this group makes it easy to want to share as you often get the story of why they would love your gifted item. We’ve been able to donate the boy's water skis (that their teenage feet no longer fit) to a family that wanted to teach their kids and didn’t want to buy a new set. Matt got some new snow skis, and we checked this local group first to see if anyone wanted his old pair that still had good life left. Someone wanted to give them to her boyfriend but wasn’t sure if he’d like skiing and didn’t want to invest the money into brand-new ones. Also, after many years of our son not wanting to part with his bearded dragon cage and supplies, we were able to pass it along to a young boy that just got his very first beardie! It feels really good all-around to share and bring joy to someone through this simple gift of giving.
There are also great organizations like Dress for Success, Goodwill, Mary’s Place, or Habitat for Humanity that can accept a variety of donations. If your closet is overflowing with professional clothing, consider donating some pieces to Dress for Success, a nonprofit that empowers low-income women by providing them with work-appropriate attire as they seek and maintain employment. Goodwill is one of the most well-known places to donate used clothes (and tons of other things, too!). The nonprofit’s revenue from the stores goes directly toward helping individuals find employment and grow their careers by providing them with job training, placement services, and other community-based programs. Anything they can't sell, Goodwill will forward to recycling organizations that will help the items avoid the landfill. Mary’s Place has helped thousands of women and families move out of homelessness into more stable situations. Across five emergency family shelters in King County, they keep families together, inside, and safe when they have no place else to go. They accept a variety of items that are detailed on their website, and they also do a winter coat drive so you can drop off those gently used coats as well. Habitat for Humanity Seattle King County builds hope for all by tearing down barriers to affordable housing. You can donate home items like furniture, home decor, gardening supplies, and more. Everything that can’t be used, they will recycle.
You may be wondering what to do with things that need to be recycled and can’t go into the garbage bin? King County has a great website: kingcounty.gov/whatdoidowith, where you can find a lot of answers! There’s a resource for where to dispose of styrofoam, latex paint lightbulbs, hazardous waste, and more!
Sometimes even though we have great intentions to do it all ourselves, we just don’t have the ability or time. We have a great company that can do most of the heavy lifting (pun intended) for you. Junkluggers is an eco-friendly company that’s on a mission to help to reduce your environmental footprint. Customers can request to have their items donated to local charities, and they do their best to recycle any items that cannot be donated. They work to keep items out of landfills and are happy to provide you with a tax-deductible receipt for donations.
We sure hope some of these resources will help you in some way! Let’s work together for a greener tomorrow!
As always, we wish you and yours the very best!
Matt & Christina
Matt & Christina are Team Skally, top real estate agents in the Seattle Metro with expertise in luxury homes on the Eastside including Bellevue, Newcastle, Mercer Island, Renton and Issaquah. Their client testimonials say it all - they deliver exceptional service and record-breaking results. Recognized as top agents on social media by Property Sparks, Diamond Award finalists for best client service and regularly featured in online and print publications including Newcastle Life Magazine. In addition to serving clients, Matt and Christina love family time with their two boys and Leo, the Goldendoodle, as well as volunteering in the community.