Well, now it’s time to dig deeper into the unnecessary clutter that’s been hanging around our house waiting to be responsibly disposed of or taken to a better home. Our metropolitan curbside recycling service picks up metal cans, glass and plastic bottles/jugs, and paper and cartons weekly. Good. Done.
BUT, the city doesn’t take plastic bags, bubble wrap, small plastic bottles, etc. I had collected quite a few of these items and wanted to be a responsible recycler rather than just dumping them in the garbage can.
Soooo, time to make another trip to the HUB (Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub). Hopefully your community has a similar free resource. I packed my car trunk with 2+ months worth of:
- 50+ plastic bags
- plastic bubble wrap
- 15 #1 plastic tubs
- 3 large Styrofoam packing blocks
- 3 aluminum foil containers
- 20+ small plastic medicine bottles
- 50+ small plastic caps
- 2 non-working pens
- Half used make-up that I don’t use any more
- a pair of wearable but extra sneakers
Then I drove to a local thrift shop and dropped off a skirt and a pair of slacks that I seldom wear. 
My home is certainly not yet clear of unneeded stuff, but it feels rewarding to be making progress. The point is to keep acting to be environmentally responsible with packing material and extra stuff.
The next step for me is to more vigorously evaluate what I really need for everyday life. There are still a lot of belongings that
- I seldom use
- I’ve been saving for the kids but they may not want it
- or that I might need in an emergency. But…Hey, such an emergency hasn’t come up in perhaps 10 years
It’s sobering to me to think I have extra clothes that I don’t wear, camping gear that I haven’t used in years, books that I don’t plan to re-read, toys that the grandkids have outgrown, etc. Yet some people don’t have necessary clothes right now, don’t know what fun camping can be, let their kids watch too much TV because there aren’t appealing toys to play with. Hmmm, sounds like decisions for future blog posts.
How do you make decisions about what useful stuff to keep and what to give away?
