0Meet spring cleaning’s friendlier cousin: the great fall purge. Autumn is a great time to evaluate, sort, and declutter your home. Kids are back in school, cooler weather means more time indoors, and you’re ready to send summer items to storage. Plus, the great fall purge helps you get your home geared for chilly weather, late-night school projects, and upcoming holidays.
Unfortunately, deep decluttering often leads to excess waste. The items you toss out from your storage room and closet can easily end up in landfills or incinerators that negatively impact the environment. However, with a little extra effort and creativity (and some help from your friends at Charlie’s Soap), you can weather the great fall purge while keeping it green. Here are a few expert tips for eco-friendly decluttering this season.
Reuse and Upcycle
While sorting through old clothes, toys, and household tools, it can be tempting to send anything non-essential straight to the trash pile. However, to reduce waste, it’s best to put some thought into what you’re able to keep in your household. Consider different ways that you can reuse items instead of throwing them away. Any item kept is one you don’t have to buy in the future, which helps you reduce the overall product consumption of your home.
Even if you don’t need the item as-is, keep your mind open. Often, there are many different ways that you can upcycle old materials for new purposes. Empty jars can be used as a part of your fall decor, and old tires can even be repurposed to use as a swing or planter pot in your backyard. Even that old stained sweatshirt may not need to be thrown away. With powerful stain fighters and detergents from Charlie’s Soap, you can tackle even the toughest set stains. Simply soak the garment in a tub of warm water and a few tablespoons of Charlie’s Soap non-chloride oxygen bleach. Then, launder as normal to give old clothes a new life!
Repair, Resell, and Donate
When cleaning house, you’re likely to come across a few broken items. Before throwing them in the dumpster, see if there’s anything you can repair. Even if you’re not planning on holding on to every item, repairing broken or worn materials allows you to resell more of your stash and send less of it to the landfill. With Charlie’s stain solutions, you can save that old stained hoodie and resell it to help another family while reducing waste (and getting some extra cash)! Alternatively, if you want to go the donation route, quality is key. It may feel like the job is done if you mass-send your items to your local donation center, but low quality donations likely won’t make it to the shelves. Instead, the donation center ends up sending broken and unusable items to—you guessed it—the garbage bin.
By repairing your items before reselling or donating, you up the chances that they’ll find a new home. Luckily, getting these items in good shape doesn’t have to require a ton of time or technical expertise. In some cases, your old items just need to be touched up. For example, if you’re looking to donate that old lawnmower, but it’s caked in layers of dirt and grease, you just need a tough cleaner like Charlie’s Soap 1001 Degreaser. Our all-purpose degreaser is strong enough to blast through even the toughest of stains, so it’s the perfect way to spiffy up old items for new use. For lighter soil, check out our Indoor & Outdoor surface cleaner, which promises a powerful green clean while being conveniently easy-to-use.
Recycle and Digitize
After you’ve upcycled, repaired, and donated everything that you can, it’s time to take a close look at your remaining trash pile. To make your decluttering as eco-friendly as possible, be sure to pick out anything that you recycle, including plastic bags, glass, and aluminum. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for anything that could be considered hazardous waste and kept out of public landfills, like paints, waste oils, and certain filters.
While you’re sorting and organizing, it’s the perfect time to take any leftover photos and records and scan them into digital files. Be sure to recycle any recyclable waste from digitizing, then enjoy the serenity of your clutter-free life.
Spruce Up with Charlie’s Soap
From deep cleaning to weekly sprucing, Charlie’s Soap has the cleaners you need to get the job done. We share your value for the environment; that’s why all of our products are biodegradable and free of fragrances, dyes, and other harmful chemical additives. When you use Charlie’s Soap, you can have confidence that you’re getting a truly green clean. It’s right there in our motto: we’re committed to a clean, for life.
