The Purge

The first step to reorganizing my whole apartment had to be getting rid of, well, bags and bags full of stuff.  Some things had to be donated, others recycled, and some were just tossed.

The pictures below are the two piles that still remain in the apartment.

What I discovered along the way is that responsibly disposing of stuff can get complicated.  Thankfully, Oak Park has a wonderful list of places that take donations and/or hazardous waste.  Unfortunately, I didn't discover this list until I was nearly done with the purge and had already done a lot of donating and recycling.

My husband Matt took most of our electronics (that have been sitting in a closet waiting to be recycled for ages now) to an electronics recycling even at the zoo.  The EPA has a webpage with information on how and where to dispose of and donate electronics.  A lot of charities will hold recycling events to raise funds (like the one at the zoo where Matt took ours).  Check out any organizations you support to see if have similar programs.

I had a gallon Ziplock bag packed to capacity with expired and unused meds, and I was extremely lucky that I happened to be looking for a way to get rid of them when the DEA was holding a prescription drug take-back day.  The FDA has info here and here on getting rid of drugs if you're interested.

Old books, clothes, working appliances, etc are getting donated to a local thrift shop.  Textbooks, however, are a different story.  Nobody around here seems to want old textbooks.  So I compared the amounts various websites would pay for them, then decided to donate them. They sent me a printable shipping label, and all I have to do is box them up and drop them off at UPS.

During the Great Gluten Purge I found a lot of non-perishables that I could take to the local food bank.  I also put all of our wheat flour in Ziplock bags.  I can't donate it because it's been opened, so if you happen to want some flour and you live near Oak Park, let me know.  Otherwise, it's going to get added on to somebody's Mother's Day present.  "I love you.  Here are two bags of flour.  Happy Mother's Day"

So, hopefully someone will benefit from what I learned in this process.  Also, be sure to check your own city's website for a list of helpful drop-off locations before going through all of the complicated searching I did.


Resources
http://www.oak-park.us/public/pdfs/Public%20Works/04.02.08_Recycling_Guide.pdf

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/UnderstandingOver-the-CounterMedicines/ucm107163.pdf

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm

http://www.bigwords.com/

http://www.betterworldbooks.com/buyback.aspx