Recently, makchic’s editor-in-chief shared her experience decluttering her house using the KonMari method – the Japanese art of tidying one’s home. Founded by Marie Kondo, the KonMari method is detailed out in Marie’s best-selling book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.” The popularity of the book led to a show called “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” which is trending on Netflix.
The show couldn’t have come at a better time. People went on a decluttering frenzy as part of their New Year’s resolution. But with cleaning, comes bags of unwanted junk. Now, the big question is, “What do I do with all these stuff?”
1. Department of Environment Malaysia – E-Waste
The Department of Environment Malaysia (DoE) classifies e-waste as non-working or obsolete electric and electronic appliances. Little do we know, we can reuse, refurbish and even recycle these broken appliances. The DoE has enlisted collection points all over Malaysia that receives and recycles your e-waste. As of now, companies listed receives television sets, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, computer, mobile phones, and other small appliances.
2. Kloth Cares – Old clothes, toys, bags, and other fabric items
Unwanted clothes often end up in landfills and make up 4% of solid waste. Fortunately, there are other options besides throwing them out with the trash.
Kloth Cares launched a Fabric Recycling Initiative with 69 bins located in the Klang Valley. The needy will receive donated clothes that are still wearable. Unwearable fabrics will be repurposed into industrial cleaning cloths or recycled to fuel cement kiln.
Do keep an eye on their Facebook and Instagram for locations of new bins.
3. Medal4Awesomeness – Running Medals
For old running medals that have never seen the light of day, there is Medal4Awesomeness. They welcome medals of distances from 10km, half marathons, full marathons and above.
Using marathon running as a metaphor, Medal4Awesomeness hopes that the medals will motivate underprivileged and terminally ill children to fight on despite the challenges they face.
Medals should be in good condition and lanyards removed before donating. They currently do not have a dedicated collection point, but they often announce pick-up points on their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
4. H&M and Monki – Clothes for Vouchers
H&M and Monki reward members of the public with 15% and 10% vouchers respectively for every bag of clothes donated. Depending on the condition, clothes will either be re-used or recycled. Shops will receive and sell wearable clothes as second-hand items. For old and damaged clothes, they are turned into recycled fibers for use as insulation and cleaning cloths.
5. Miscellaneous Items
Cash Converters Asia and Buy Sell Trade accept items that are in working condition for cash in return. There isn’t any limit to what you can sell as long as it has a resale value. You can sell off household wares, gadgets, toys, and even sporting items. House call services are possible if you have many large bulky items to sell.
6. Donate to charity
Kechara Soup Kitchen is a community group that provides help for impoverished individuals. They seek used clothes, raincoats, umbrellas, shoes, and hats. Items should be clean and in good condition.
Kedai Bless accepts second-hand clothes, shoes, small furniture, home decoration and also jewelry. 50% of their profits are donated to causes such as Myanmar refugee children, and the Orang Asli settlements.
Islamic Relief Charity Shoppe receives donated items such as clothing, kitchenware, and books. These items will either be stocked for emergency assistance or sold at a discounted price. Their charity causes receive proceeds from each sale.
Bargain Basement has two branches in IOI City Mall, Putrajaya, and IOI Puchong. They accept clothes, accessories, houseware, ornaments, and books to name a few. They also offer pick-up services for bulky items. Local charity homes such as the Autism Café Project and Yayasan Chow Kit have benefited from their proceeds.
The Salvation Army has four Family Thrift Stores in Melaka, Ipoh, Penang, and Kuching. They welcome any second-hand items that are useable and in good working condition. Recyclable items such as newspapers and tins are also accepted. The needful will benefit from donated wearable items while the stores sell off the rest. Proceeds from each sale are used to fund their community projects.
As tempting as it may be, try not to refill the voids that now you have in your home. Check out these helpful green tips and links to help you stay on track.
