Spring is often considered to be one of the best times in the year to reset your home, whether deep cleaning it or clearing out your closet. But before you start purging clothing or other household items you no longer need, it’s worthwhile to think about where your unwanted stuff will go.
Canadians produce an estimated 12 kilograms of textile waste per person, according to joint research from Seneca College and the University of Waterloo. While much of this waste ends up in landfills, the researchers found that 65 per cent of it could be reused, and 21 per cent could be recycled.
Experts say there are plenty of environmentally conscious ways to deal with gently used items without creating more waste. Here are some of their tips for how to get rid of your stuff, sustainably.
1. Start small
Sheri Pavlović, who goes by Refashionista Sheri, offers free tutorials for upcycling clothes and other items on her website. She says the first step to decluttering is starting with a small area such as your closet.
She suggests putting on your favourite songs and trying on clothes to decide if they still fit or are worth keeping. “If you’re still unsure, ask yourself these questions: Have I ever used this? Do I use it frequently? If I didn’t have it, would I really miss it?” Pavlović said.
2. Sort in piles
Once you’ve identified the things you want to give away, Pavlović advises dividing them into three piles: upcycle, sell and give away/swap/donate.
The first pile is for items you want to keep but need an update. This includes anything that can be transformed and reused to either wear or decorate with. Items in good condition go in the sell pile. Those you don’t want to keep but also don’t belong in either of the other piles belong in give away/swap/donate.
Pavlović suggests inviting friends and family over to have a peek through your give away pile and bring their own unwanted items for a swap party.
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3. Donate the right things, locally
Wendy van Beilen runs Tackle Your Stuff, a decluttering and downsizing family-owned business in Ottawa that she and her aunt set up in 2012. It partners with local charities and grassroots organizations for donations, and van Beilen advises individuals to try to do the same when spring cleaning.
“I would rather donate to a local charity that helps the community as opposed to a big company making money off of charity,” she said.
Before donating, van Beilen recommends contacting charities and asking what types of things they’re looking for – and only giving items that meet their needs.
She notes that some organizations collect very specific things – such as the Toronto-based Artscan Circle, which accepts donations of new and lightly used musical instruments to give to Indigenous youth in remote communities.
4. Connect with neighbours
Other spring cleaners may prefer to donate or even sell things they no longer want to people in their neighbourhood.
Christophe Doyle, managing director of the Nextdoor Canada app, says he’s noticed many users looking to get rid of stuff close to home. The app has a built-in marketplace called For Sale & Free, where users can buy, sell or give away items to people in their area.
“We’re seeing a real surge of ecoconscious community initiatives on the app where neighbours are organizing to reduce waste and help each other save money,” Doyle said.
Pavlović also recommends using neighbourhood-focused apps, such as Karrot, as a way of finding local homes for items you wish to sell or donate.
5. Digitize/Donate
It may be harder to figure out what to do with some items that are piling up in our homes. For items such as documents, photos and videos, van Beilen suggests converting them into digital formats to help reduce clutter. Historical records including letters, diaries, maps, stamps and old photographs can also be donated to library archives and historical societies. “If people are not concerned about giving their grandmother’s wedding photos away for privacy reasons, they can be donated,” van Beilen said.
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6. Develop sustainable habits
While donating items can divert them from landfills in Canada, experts say much of the clothing Canadians give away still ends up creating waste in other countries.
“You should go and see the landfills in East Africa with Toronto Maple Leaf shirts. We’re exporting our garbage,” said Kate Bahen, managing director of Charity Intelligence Canada, a non-profit organization that researches charities and advises donors on where to spend their money.
In 2023, Canada exported US$144-million in used clothing, making it the ninth largest exporter of used clothing in the world, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Destinations for used-clothing exports included Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, India, Tunisia and Nicaragua.
Bahen echoes the advice of other experts who suggest Canadians focus on donating useful items to local charities. She also says it’s best to avoid unlicensed donation bins because clothing dropped there is usually sent to other countries.
But she notes items that are in poor and damaged conditions should simply be thrown away. “We need to put more stuff in the garbage where it goes to a Canadian landfill that has proper environmental controls rather than in garbage dumps around the world.”
For van Beilen, it all comes down to keeping possessions at a minimum in the first place to avoid waste. “Less is more,” she said.
