Bonus

Tidy is blocks of 3 to 5 hours, nevermore. You will wear yourself out and lose sight of your purpose. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. Rome wasn’t built in a day!

1. Declutter in the right headspace
2. Don’t glorify throwing away
3. Upcycle wherever you can
   • Old t-shirts can be used in the gym (maybe cut the sleeves out)
   • Old clothes can be repurposed for kids dress ups
   • Boxes can be used for organising drawers
   • Old cutlery used for travel
   • Old towels can be cut to make dishcloths or rags
4. If it’s broken can you fix and donate?
5. Look beyond your charities
   • Facebook marketplace, Gumtree or eBay to make sure it will be reused
   • Jars, books and craft – ask your community social media, local library or childcare centre
6. Donate with foresight
   • Think about the volunteers, present it nicely (no garbage bags please)
   • Would you or someone you love buy it? If not, don’t send it to the op shop. $3M is spent annually to put donations in

Take a breath, come back to your mantra and listen to your gut. This is very important with sentimental items. If that doesn’t bring the clarity you need, put the item or category aside and we will go through it in our next session.

Absolutely! Leave it to the side and we will go through it together.

If you need to. I would prefer you declutter from easiest to hardest. So if you find books easier than clothes, start with books. If you aren’t sure where to go to next, refer to your tidy plan Sally made, or bring it up in the next consult.

Not sure if your decluttered clothes are op shop worthy? Or maybe they are simply stained, ripped, old…Manrags have you covered.

This Australian owned company are leaders in textile recycling. For a small fee, they will collect your old clothes and defer them from landfill.

Visit manrags.com.au for details

Manrags also have a Campaign program, you can be a Change Champion for your school, business or community and run recycling sock drive.

Check out Manrags.com.au/clothing-recycling-champion

Save Our Soles is a Victorian Sports Shoe Recycling Pilot Program who have partnered with sports retailers to recycle the rubber, leather and other fibres from sports shoes. There are over 100 collection locations across Victoria.

How does it work?

Drop off at a New Balance, Converse, Globe, rebel, Adidas, ASICS, SportsPower and JD Sports (click here for listing). The reusable component will be extracted and used to manufacture new products such as gym mats, floors and playgrounds.

Visit asgasosinitiative.com.au/ for details.

UPLIFT is an Australian based organisation who ship Bras and new underwear to our neighbouring Asian countries including Fiji, Solomon Islands,  Tonga,  Indonesia, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Cambodia,  Kashmir & Papua New Guinea.

They accept:

• Bras in good condition, they can be particular about sizing (so check online)
  (ideally 8-16, AA-DD cup in good condition, including crop top styles. Size 18+, A-DD cup ( 40+ / 90+ ))
• Nursing bras including crop tops, ANY condition
• Mastectomy Bras and Breast Forms (prostheses). These go straight to hospitals and are in high demand!
• Swimwear, any size. Swimwear is great for keeping warm if you are standing in the water fishing
• Underpants, new. In some places, a girl without underpants does not go to school during her period.
• Fabric Nappies, second hand or new.

Visit their Facebook page for details.

Visit website for collection points.

St Kilda Mums is a Melbourne based organisation with a mission to reduce landfill and support those in need. Their warehouse in Clayton Victoria accepts drop offs, or for $45 they will arrange courier/pickup.

What can be rehomed?

Click here for the full list

Fitted For Work provide services, some free including interview preparation & work wardrobes. 

The team at Fitted for Work say the golden rule is…if you wouldn’t wear it to work today, then our clients wouldn’t wear it.

They are looking for:

• Jackets and Coats
• Pants
• Skirts
• Tops and Blouses
• Modern suits
• Shoes
• Handbags
• Scarves
• Jewellery
• Underwear and garments (new with tags)

• Stockings
• Socks
• Make-up
• Deodorant
• Body wash and soap
• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Hair brushes, ties and clips
• Make-up brushes and applicators

If you have a lot of art supplies to sell CraftSwap is the place for you.

This online meetup is the ideal place to sell and buy unused supplies.

Visit craftswap.com.au for details.

Melbourne only

There is a Resource Rescue in Bayswater & if you have a lot of supplied he will pick up.

Animal shelters are the perfect place to donate a range of items. See below for a list of the most commonly accepted items.

Contact your local animal shelter to confirm drop off location. Or click here to visit the RSPCA donation site.

Brotherhood Books offer free pick for 8 – 25 boxes of books in some areas.

If you are decluttering a library, this is a great solution!

Learn how to donate at bsl.org.au/our-range/books/

Terra cycles is a world-leading recycling company. Whether it’s coffee capsules from your home, pens from a school, or plastic gloves from a manufacturing facility, TerraCycle can collect and recycle almost any form of waste. 

Some of their partners include:

Visit terracycle.com for details.

It is easy to keep mobile phones out of landfill with Mobile Muster’s recycling program. Visit mobilemuster.com.au for your nearest drop-off location.

OfficeWorks offers a range of electronic recycling such as keyboards, cables and more. Visit OfficeWorks Recycling for details (note what can be recycled do vary between stores, yet majority take printer cartridges).

Most electronics including TVs, old computers and appliances can be recycled through your local council. Visit your local RecylingNearYou for dropoff.

If you are buying a new TV, Harvey Norman will recycle your old one.