Eco-Organizing: Sustainability & Home Organization
Getting organized means letting go of things that no longer matter to you. Instead of throwing them away, consider one of the below programs as a way to responsibly recycle, donate or consign your stuff. Know of a great program that I missed? Let me know.
Happy Hauler Seattle
Have a lot of things that could be donated or recycled through various programs? Happy Hauler is a family-run business that does it all for you and sends you the receipts. They even group items and do things like donate an entire kitchen of supplies! Happy Hauler is also a NAPO Washington State business partner.
Marine Layer
Send your clothes to Marine Layer and they upcycle them and give you a credit. Learn more about their Re-Spun program.
Seattle Goodwill
I can’t have a list of donation partners without including Goodwill. It has a convenient donation program for clothing, furniture and household items that enables their job training and education programs.
City of Seattle
For Seattle residents, check out the city's Where Does It Go? Tool. You can easily determine whether you can recycle an item in your public utilities bin.
Little Free Library
Pack up your books that need a new home and drop them off at Little Free Libraries. My son and I have done this together and it’s like a treasure hunt for drop-off locations.
Mary's Place
Donate any in-season clothing and certain household items to Mary’s Place, which provides safe housing to women, children and families. Check out the wish list for current high-need items.
thredUP
thredUP is an online consignment store that will buy your women’s clothes and accessories, and children’s clothes. You receive cash for your items or shop on the site. Anything they don’t buy from you can be returned to you or responsibly recycled.
Staples
Staples has a robust in-store recycling program that includes laptops and other tech, batteries, printer cartridges and more.
Madewell
Bring any pair of denim jeans at a Madewell store and you’ll receive $20 off a new pair. Madewell’s recycling partner turns the jeans into housing insulation.
Ridwell
One of the best ways to stay organized is to have a regular way to reduce as you go! Ridwell picks up difficult-to-recycle items and has a rotating category for specialty items like eyeglasses, sports equipment and portable devices.
Soma
Soma collects new and gently used bras for women in need. You also receive a $10 Soma credit for your donation.
Mattress Recycling
Mattress recycling can be tricky. Many nonprofits are unable to accept used mattresses and therefore too many mattresses end up in a landfill. Amerisleep has put together a helpful guide sharing how to find mattress donation and recycling options in your area.