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It Pays To Recycle

It Pays To Recycle

Why sit on piles of things you don’t use when it pays you to recycle your old stuff? Do a clean out to pad your wallet and free your psyche from unwanted clog. Even $100 makes a big difference when holiday shopping is on our heels! Since my workplace has began using recycling machinery such as cardboard balers, I’ve started to really enjoy recycling!

Clothes & Shoes & Bags

From cheap H&M to that couture gown your Mom splurged on and  now sits in your closet, there is place to dump the stuff you no longer wear and get cash for it.

  • Start with your local consignment shop.  There are high-end consignment boutiques (in NYC Ina or in LA The Archive Agency is a good example of this) for name goodies, and lower end consignment shops (Beacon’s Closet in Brooklyn, Buffalo Exchange Nationwide.)
  • There are even consignment shops that specialize in plus-size wear (like Larger Than Life in Dallas) and kids clothes (Clementine Consignment in NYC.) A google search in your town will turn up more than you think.
  • If you prefer to go the online route, use eBay.
  • For Jewelry, we love Exboyfriendjewelry.com (which has a tag line “You don’t want it, but he can’t have it back.”)  But you can also always resell good jewelry to a local jeweler, and particularly gold which has an outrageously good resale value right now.
  • RecycledBride.com is a green wedding marketplace where women buy and sell designer gently used wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, decorations, and anything else wedding-related.
  • Though you won’t get cash, a few sex toy stores (see list here) will give you credit for shopping with them when you send them your old sex toys to recycle.

Electronics & Cell Phones

Dated ipods, cameras, laptops, tvs, hard drives, cellphones, gaming consoles, etc.  These companies buy your old electronics and send you a box and postage so you don’t need to deal with post office holiday nonsense.  I just literally bundled up an old iphone – with a cracked screen mind you – and got $100 for it by using one of these services.

 

Ink Cartridges

This one is a real shocker, you can sell your old inkjet and laser printer cartridges!

See Also
JetBlue & Green: Airline Recycles 18.5 Tons of Used Uniforms, Saves Fabric from Landfills Giving It New Life

Cardboard Boxes

Furniture

  • Craigslist is the easiest way to sell furniture locally since you can specify area and that you aren’t interested in shipping large goods.
  • For higher-end name furniture, try Apartment Therapy.

And hell, it’s the holidays, whatever you can’t sell, there is a place to donate it.  See this comprehensive donate-ables list here.