Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
You’ve gone through your stuff, now what?
If you’ve done the heavy lifting of Spring Cleaning, yeah!! Throw yourself a party! There’s no greater feeling than having finished clearing out unwanted “stuff” and getting your home organized.
But what are you going to do with all that stuff you want to get rid of? Throwing it away seems wasteful, not everything is donation-quality, and no else seems wants it.
Sleek Home Solutions to the rescue! I’ve been doing a deep-dive into the best ways to recycle unwanted items and am so happy to share it with you all. Whatever it takes to keep stuff out of landfills, right?!
Recycling @Target
Did you all know that Target will give you discounts and/or eGiftCards for certain items you recycle with them?!
Old, expired or damaged car seats can be turned in at Target’s TRADE-IN events that happen a few times year. They’ll give you 20% off toward the purchase of a new car seat or stroller! Check out all the details at this link. The next event is happening April 16-29, 2023.
Target even has an electronics TRADE-IN. Wondering what to do with your old tablet, ear buds, speakers or video games? Check it out here. If you have an eligible item, they’ll give you a quote for the value, you mail it in and they’ll send you an eGIFTCARD in return. How easy is that?!
Have you noticed the recycle bins near the check-out in every Target store? Next time you go, bring your plastic grocery bags and plastic film, glass/plastic, even cell phones and ink cartridges (no gift cards for these, though)!
Not only is Target one of the best places to shop, they’re also helping us recycle more and more items to keep them out of landfills - absolutely amazing!
Batteries and Lightbulbs
Lowe’s and Home Depot both have bins in-store to recycle your plastic shopping bags, RECHARGABLE batteries, and certain types of lightbulbs. Look for them near the store entrances.
If you’re in the Austin area, you can drop used alkaline batteries at any public library location, plus a few other places. Batteries Plus Bulbs offers battery and lightbulb recycling, too! This includes all types of batteries from cars, to watches, to regular AA, AND bulbs like LED, Compact Fluorescent, halogen, you name it! Give your closest location a call in advance, there may be a recycling fee depending on the type.
Best Buy Electronics Recycling
Not only does Target recycle small electronics, but Best Buy does, too! And Best Buy isn’t closing the door on larger items, either. Check out their Electronics Recycling page to get all the details.
If you’ve got old TVs, computers, video games, cords… For a fee they’ll even haul away old appliances like dishwashers, freezers, even wall ovens! If you’re DIYing one of your spaces, this could be a great option for recycling the old, bulky items.
Austin Recycle and Reuse Drop-off Center
If you can dream it, they’ll recycle it (almost)!
If you’ve never been out to the Austin Recycle Center, it’s a trip. They’ll take almost everything from old paint cans, oil, cardboard boxes, clothing… Here’s the list of items that make the cut. It’s basically a one-stop-shop for everything that you can’t donate but need to get rid of. Make sure to MAKE AN APPOINTMENT and take as much as can fit in your car!
If you’re not in the Austin Area, check to see if you have a Recycle Center in your area. Chances are you do, and it can make a world of difference to recycle rather than putting it in a landfill.
The City of Austin has a website dedicated to helping you find the best place to recycle your household items. If you’re looking to recycle old textiles and clothing, paint, batteries… the site will give you the name and info of a whole list of places that will take your unwanted stuff. There’s even a contactless curbside pick-up for clothing and housewares. Check it out and schedule your pick-up today!
It’s funny, but this blog post started out as a short IG post and quickly snowballed into an entire write-up! I’m so happy about the unending options to recycle items that don’t need to be thrown away. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!