Spring Clean Success

We’ve all spent more time at home than we usually do lately.

For many of us, some of that time has been spent decluttering. Now that it’s spring, you’re probably itching to get all that old junk out of your home to make way for the new. So, what are your options for reselling, recycling or donating your used goods in our local area?

Donate to a good cause

There are loads of options for donating clothes, furniture and other household goods that are in decent enough repair to be loved anew. Besides being an eco-friendlier option than making more landfill, with more Australians financially struggling right now, your old sofa or winter coat might just make someone’s day.

Organisations include:

The Salvos Store in Tempe is something of a landmark in our local area. Not far from Ikea, it accepts and sells furniture, electrical goods, books, toys, clothing and more.

St Vincent de Paul Society takes clothes, furniture, homewares, toys and books. Some stores can take electronic goods or arrange pickup.

The Refugee Council of Australia does not accept goods but has a list of organisations across Sydney that accept goods to distribute to refugees and people seeking asylum.

The Generous and Grateful connects donations with people rebuilding their lives after experiencing hardship, such as the recent bushfires. They are currently accepting donations in great condition at their West Ryde warehouse.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 73% of clothing ends up landfilled or incinerated at the end of its life. Dress for Success helps improve the employment options for women in need by providing nearly-new professional attire. Here’s where you can donate your quality “gently used” business clothes.

Mummies Paying it Forward supports a number of charitable organisations, community support groups, hospitals, and women’s refuges by providing essentials for families, children and babies. Find out how you can donate goods or funds here.

The Women and Girls Emergency Centre in Redfern also accepts donations of things like used laptops, household goods, cleaning products and non-perishable foods to help women and children escaping domestic violence. Check the website for full details.

Recycling and electronic waste

A stalwart of the Inner West, Reverse Garbage has long been on a mission to minimise goods going needlessly into landfill instead of taking your donations and reselling them cheap to artists, students and those in need. From arts and crafts supplies to factory offcuts or furniture, you can find some amazing and unusual things at the Marrickville warehouse or online store. There are also workshops aimed at helping people learn the skills needed to upcycle their finds into art or usable goods. Find out if your goods qualify for donation here.

Another great organisation making sure that used goods don’t just add to Australia’s landfill problem is The Bower, an environmental charity focused on the ‘circular economy’ by offering services and programs encouraging repair and reuse. The Bower has four locations in Sydney, all doing innovative things, including workshops and community hubs offering repairs and used goods.

If you’re got trickier things that need disposing of and are not sure how to do it safely yourself, find out about drop-off points and collections in the inner west for household chemicals and electronic waste.

The Inner West and City of Sydney Councils offer a pickup service for bulky household items, furniture and white goods, as well as information on community recycling services.

Sell, swap or share

There are many places online that you can post to sell, swap and share platforms such as Gumtree, Freecycle, Zilch, eBay, Facebook Marketplace or local pay it forward groups.

If you’d like to find out more about the Inner City and Inner West and all it has to offer new and existing locals, please don’t hesitate to get in touch – we’d love to chat to you.