Many more things in your house are recyclable than you might think. (iStock)
Feeling that itch to declutter the house? Whether you've made a resolution to master your mess of a home this year or whether it's time for that annual purge, the question will eventually come up: What on earth do you do with all that clutter? Well, for starters, you can recycle it!
The average household has the potential to keep 800 pounds or more of recyclables out of the landfill every year, according to Elizabeth Schussler of the nonprofit Recycling Partnership. Unfortunately, Schussler says, "Nearly all curbside recycling programs are set up to only accept paper, boxes, bottles, cans, and cartons."
What about all those other items piling up in your closets and basement? To help you do your part for the planet Earth, we've asked the experts to share the surprising home items that can be recycled rather than hauled out to the curb.
1. Pet fur
You didn't see this one coming, did you? The same stuff that makes pet owners feel that they're spending their days sweeping and vacuuming is recyclable—just send it to Matter of Trust, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, which will use the fur to make booms that are placed in the ocean during oil spills to protect beaches from the oil. They even accept human hair. (Although if you have large amounts of that lying around your home, chances are you face bigger problems than recycling.)
2. Lighting
Whether it's a dead string of holiday lights or a compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb that's no longer powering your bedside lamp, you can skip past the garbage can and head to Home Depot for free recycling. You can also take your CFL bulbs to most Lowe's stores for recycling—convenient if you've already got some batteries to drop off.
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3. Jeans
Well-loved jeans can be recycled at home—turned into rags for cleaning or sliced down to a pair of cut-offs—but if you just want those jeans gone, you've got options. Jean manufacturer Madewell accepts any brand of denim, which can be recycled and made into housing insulation. Plus, it will give you a $20-off voucher for making the trip.
4. Electronics
Heading out to buy a brand-new TV or laptop? "Of all the waste, electronic waste is the big one," says Patrick Fenlon, owner of Bin There Dump That in Thunder Bay, ON, in Canada. "Electronics aren't really meant for landfills." The solution? Ask the store what their policy is on taking back old electronics right when you buy the new one. Many retailers will take the old item back for free. Others, like Apple, even offer credits for some take-back items that are good for a purchase in their store.
5. Contacts
They're tiny, but there are a ton of them: Scientists at Arizona State University revealed in 2018 that billions of contact lenses are being flushed down the drain every year ... and ending up in our oceans. The solution? Recycle your contacts! The Bausch & Lomb company will take not only the contacts themselves but the blister packs you get them in. They'll even cover the shipping.
6. CDs and DVDs
Downloadable music and streaming movies have left us with plenty of useless discs lying around the house. Don't toss them! The CD Recycling Center of America will break down old compact discs, DVDs, and even Blu-Rays, to create a plastic used by the automotive and building materials industries.