Go Green! Recycle in Your Home

recycling by orphanjones (CC BY 2.0)

Over the years, our planet has changed due to the pollution and contamination us humans have done to the land, water and air. If we continued with this type of behavior, earth would have probably been in a post-apocalyptic state. Thankfully, there has been a positive impact on returning Mother Nature to its original state. We’ve figured out ways how to preserve earth such as recycling. It takes little steps in our everyday life to make our planet green once again.

Recycle your clothes

clothes by matjan89 (CC BY 2.0)
clothes by matjan89 (CC BY 2.0)

Over time, we start to accumulate a lot of clothes, making less space for any new clothes we buy.  Next thing you know, we are only wearing things that are an easy grab from our closet and drawers. When we start our mid-fall cleaning, we look through our closet and see that much of our clothing had been hiding.  If you haven’t worn your clothes for a month or so, it’s probably time to donate or upcycle them. You can donate most gently used clothes to local thrift stores.  If you don’t have as many clothes but have gotten tired of wearing the same outfits, you can also trade with friends. You’ll be getting a whole new wardrobe for free. If they’re too worn you can make rags to clean your home. Regardless, the important thing is you recycle unwanted clothes.

Recycle your old cell phone

Smartphones! by Sklathill (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Smartphones! by Sklathill (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Nowadays, people are getting a new smartphone every time a new model comes out. We go from the 5 to the 7th within the blink of an eye.  After we get our upgrade, we forget about our old phones. Then, we just have them laying around our house collecting dust. Instead, you can make some money by recycling them at certain places, such as the Eco ATM or shipping them to Gazelle. You can also donate your old phone to charities such as The Hope Phones or Cell Phones for Soldiers. They will make sure to recycle the phone for you.

Recycle most of your junk

joyas realizadas con plástico by Reciclado Creativo – The Reuse Factory (CC BY 2.0)

A lot of times when we’re cleaning our home and throwing away junk, we don’t know that more than half of the stuff we’re getting rid of can be recycled. If you’re disposing newspapers, old essays, or empty water bottles, they can easily be recycled. You can throw them in your blue plastic container and your local waste hauler will pick it up to recycle it. If you’re feeling a bit craftier, there is a lot of DIY projects you can make just using newspaper or any plastic bottle. You can make some really cool jewelry with plastic bottles by following these tips.