Waste not, want not

In our affluent Western World we accumulate a lot of material goods or ‘clutter’ and sometimes it does us good to have a clear out. Spring is the traditional season for a big clean, but it can easily be any time of the year. Moving house is also a good opportunity to take stock of our many possessions; as is starting or leaving a job. It gives us the chance to re-assess our life-style and appearance and to make a new start.

Instead of throwing things away and them ending up on a vast land-fill site, we should consider re-cycling. Our High Streets are lined with charity shops, all clamouring for our donations. In some areas there is a regular stream of charity collection bags dropped through our letter-boxes exhorting us to give away unwanted items.

The sensible approach is to have a methodical plan of action otherwise you will waste time repeatedly checking the same things and end up exhausted. Tackle the job room by room, keeping strictly to this. Give each room a thorough cleaning at the same time dispose of any items not used for one year, and those items no longer needed. Check that they are clean, in good repair or working order and sort them into categories such as clothes, bric-a-brac, electrical items and so forth. Bag them up and dispose of them responsibly with the charity of your choice.

You could also think about making money out of them. Selling them at a car boot sale is a popular option, as is advertising online.An easy way for some items is to sell them directly to a specialist for example, we at Mazuma Mobile take phones for cash. Most homes harbour many old, forgotten mobile phones so your clean out should yield at least two or three phones for cash. Mobile phone recycling is a very responsible way of dealing with your old phones.