Back in 2019, makchic‘s publisher and owner 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.
If you have just spent the final months of 2022 cleaning, tidying and decluttering, you may have bags of unwanted junk sitting in your store. Now, the big question is, “What do I do with all these stuff?”
1. Department of Environment Malaysia and ERTH – 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.
ERTH makes it super easy for you to recycle any e-waste. Only one working device or three defective devices are needed for pick up from your house, plus payment for the items will be made via e-wallet or by bank in the same day itself. There is also a 24/7 drop off point in Cyberjaya, and 100% of the e-waste will be recycled with a government-licensed recycling facility.
2. Kloth Cares – Old clothes, toys, bags, and other fabric items
Unwanted clothes often end up in landfills and make up 5% of solid waste. Fortunately, there are other options besides throwing them out with the trash.
Founded in 2013, Kloth Cares aims to address the challenges with fabric waste by. They have over 280 Kloth Cares Bins installed to date in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan. In support of circular economy, they have a strong partnership with Life Line Clothing Malaysia (LLCM) and Selangor Youth Community (SAY), and work together in giving new life to fabrics.
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. Uniqlo is another shop that takes in lightly used clothes (but with no vouchers given in exchange), and will pass them on to refugees, as they collaborate closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
5. Miscellaneous Items
Cash Converters Asia accept items that are in working condition for cash in return. They accept small household items such as kitchenware, dinnerware, electrical appliances, pottery, display ornaments, power tools, sports equipment, musical instruments, watches, jewelry, among others. They do not accept clothing, shoes, books, large furniture, or damaged items.
6. Donate to charity
Kedai Bless accepts second-hand clothes, shoes, small furniture, home decoration and also jewelry. All 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 sold at a discounted price, and their charity causes receive proceeds from each sale.
Bargain Basement has four branches in IOI City Mall, Putrajaya, and IOI Puchong, UTAR Kampar, and UTAR Sungai Long. 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, and bulky items can be collected from location (WhatsApp: 011-629 21078). 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.
Community Recycle for Charity (CRC) will pass on the clothes and furniture donated directly to charity homes. Other recyclable items such as glass, plastic, and metal will be separated by their volunteers and then sold for cash. The entire amount received will then be used to fulfill the wish list of the charity homes and school projects. Cash donations are not accepted.
7. Give Direct- Facebook Groups
Why not try searching for a recipient directly who may be more than happy to receive your unwanted items? There are many Facebook groups where people give and received freely with the idea that someone’s trash may be another treasure. Try posting your items on Beli Nothing Project Klang Valley, Trash Converters Malaysia or Giving & Taking Free Stuff (Freegans of Malaysia).
As tempting as it may be, let’s try not to refill the voids that we now have in our home; here are some helpful green tips and links to help stay on track. Let’s work together in building a circular economy for a greener future #makchicmumsquad!