It’s that time of year. Spring is here and you can finally open the windows to let fresh air in, giving you a burst of energy. If you find yourself motivated to deep clean or redecorate your space this spring, I have assembled a detailed list of options for donating, re-purposing, selling, recycling or properly disposing of a wide variety of household items (plus a few resources for shopping!).

How to give items a second life – When you find yourself with items that are in great shape that you simply no longer have a use for, there are several options to get them to someone who can use them. There are several great organizations who pass your donations directly on those in need without being resold. The best example is NW Furniture Bank. They also operate a retail store called Hope Furnishings where the proceeds are used to buy new items for those in need such as mattresses. For other drop-off options, consider the Habitat for Humanity stores, Jubilee Reach, (Goodwill (multiple locations), and Mary’s Place. To donate furniture and more (construction materials), consider Second Use.

Where to consign (and buy) furniture and larger accessories – There are several great options for local furniture consignment. One that does double duty in selling great items while also providing valuable job training skills is Renew Home & Decor in Everett (3331 Broadway, Everett, WA). Other great options are Foryu Furnishings (2299 140th Ave. NE, A, Bellevue, WA), Found Interiors (706 Market St, Kirkland, WA).Ballard Consignment (5459 Leary Ave NW, Seattle, WA), Everett Consignment (3210 Hewitt Ave, Everett, WA), The Furniture Guy (12431 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA) are all part of the same company. Besides being great resources for consigning items, all these stores offer a great selection of beautiful and interesting items with which to furnish your space.

Where to take large-sized or bigger quantities of cardboard – The Houghton Recycling & Transfer Station (11724 NE 60th St., Kirkland) has a drive-up drop-off lane that doesn’t require a fee payment and where you can deposit both regular and corrugated cardboard into large bins (saving you the trouble of cutting it up into small enough pieces to fit in your blue bin). They take even more items at no charge - be sure to read their fact sheet for the full list, hours of operations and requirements for items.

Where to take styrofoam and other unusual items – You might be surprised to learn that all Republic Services customers have the option to drop off many hard-to-recycle items at their Bellevue Customer Care Center just off Northup Way (1600 127th Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA 98005). The list includes household batteries, used cooking oil, hardcover books, rigid plastics (such as coolers, lawn chairs, and laundry baskets), bicycles and bike parts, scrap metal, small appliances and electronics, fluorescent tubes and bulbs, propane cylinders, clothing, and household textiles, and most notably, Styrofoam. Please note that each category of item comes with specific instructions, so visit RepublicServices.com for hours and full details.

How to recycle items that Republic Services doesn’t take – As just mentioned, Republic Services accepts many surprising items for recycling at their Bellevue Customer Care Center. However, there are still several categories of items that they do not accept. These include plastic bags (they get caught in machinery), shoes, and a broader range of light bulbs and batteries. For a fee, Ridwell comes to your house every 2 weeks to pick up these items from a designated bin, plus a special rotating category of a featured item to either recycle or to donate to good causes. Past special categories for recycling have included items such as bottle caps, prescription pill bottles, and twist ties. Like Republic Services, they also accept textiles that have reached the end of their useful life (such as old clothes or towels). A 12-month membership paid in full is currently $204 for zip code 98005 (pricing varies depending on pickup address). Visit Ridwell.com to learn more or sign up.

How to safely dispose of paint, household chemicals and unusual items – There are so many other items you may need to part with that I haven’t covered here. Visit info.kingcounty.gov or Google “King County what do I do with” to find an extremely useful page by the Solid Waste Division. Click on “Browse complete materials list” to see their extensive coverage of where you can either donate or properly dispose of your item.

I hope you found this list of resources helpful. If you did, drop me a note at info@interiorharmony.design – I’d love to hear from you!