- If you have unwanted good quality furniture you can donate it to the Furniture Reclamation and Delivery Enterprise (FRADE) or the Kings’ Church Furniture Recycling Scheme. Both schemes give people on low incomes the chance to buy furniture at greatly reduced prices. They both offer a free collection service. FRADE can be contacted on (01325) 01325 357379 while Kings Church can be contacted on (01325) 469884. For more information click here.
- Take old clothes and bric-a-brac to a charity shop, car boot sale or jumble sale
- Sign up to recycling marketplace websites like www.recycle.co.uk and www.freecycle.org. They give you the chance to give away unwanted items to people in your area – keeping them out of landfill
- Recover old furniture to give it a new lease of life
- Host a clothes recycling party and ask all your friends to being items they no longer want. You can swap clothes and end up with a whole new look
- When you've finished reading a book, lend it to a friend
- Use glass or plastic containers to store things in (just make sure they are properly labelled)
- Reuse yoghurt pots or the bottom half of plastic bottles to grow plants in
- Reuse envelopes by sticking a label over the old address
- Plastic carrier bags can be reused as shopping bags or bin liners
- Get your printer and toner cartridges refilled when you've finished with them
- Before buying a new electrical appliance check how much it will cost to repair it so you are not tempted just to throw it away when it breaks
- Keep a pile of scrap paper by the phone for messages
- Use old T-shirts, towels and shirts as dusters or as rags to for clean your windows
The last thing that should cross your mind is to throw it in the bin!