I can’t believe it’s already time to put off my spring cleaning until next year. They say no one has ever died from spring cleaning, but why take the risk?
All jokes aside, some of you may find the motivation to clean out the basements (eek spiders), sheds, closets (hidy-holes), and more. Dodge those spiders and explore your hiding places to rediscover your trinkets, old memorabilia, and mysterious liquids. Remember, don’t throw it out, sort it out!
Task 1: Closet
Let’s start with what’s in my favorite hidy-hole – my bedroom closet.
Step 1: Pull out all the discarded items from the floor.
Step 2: Separate into three piles: mend, donate, and keep.
Step 3: Snack break! Hard work deserves a reward, duh 🤪 !
Step 4: Sort through all your hanging clothes and drawers. All unwanted and unworn items go in the donation pile.
Step 5: Visit our page Recycling Guides to find your nearest donation location.
Okay, that was not too bad. I even relived some memories. But boy, does it feel nice to get rid of all that stuff that’s always in my way! On to task 2…
Task 2: Basements
I slowly creep down the desolate stairs into the dark abyss of a basement and I go for the light switch. Click clack, click clack, click clack… No luck. Great now to change the lightbulb.
Task 2.0: Operation Lightbulb
I crawl my way back upstairs to the closet. I pull out a light bulb and head back to the stairs. Great, what a waste. But is it a waste?
Lightbulbs are made of a lot of materials like glass and metal. Those things are recyclable, right? While that is true, lightbulbs can also contain hazardous materials like lead and arsenic and mercury. Which is why we call light bulbs “HHW” – household hazardous waste. Better to keep those out of landfills and getting in our water! Good thing the VBCD offers free, safe disposal for HHW. I’ll add the old bulb to the box for the summer collection events.
Attend a collection – “Collection Events and Services”.
Back to Task 2: Basement
Back to business! I finish my tromp down the stairs to my dusty basement. Here I have old paint, boxes of clothes, and decorations. It’s easy to sort clothes and add them to the donation boxes from the closet clean-out.
That just leaves me with a pile of paint cans. It’s been sitting there for years. What do I do with all that old paint?
Paint disposal can be tricky. It all depends on your paint. There are two main categories; oil-based (common for stains and outdoor paints) and water-based paint like acrylic and latex.
🛢️ Oil-based paints are hazardous and should be taken to a VBCD HHW collections, or as we call them, Recycle Roundups.
💧Latex-based paints are not hazardous, but must be dried out before disposing in the trash. Speed up the drying process by adding kitty litter or wood mulch. Remember to leave drying paint in well ventilated areas. The smell can be a doozy and make you woozy.
I finish up my basement and drag myself back upstairs with buckets of paint in tow. Oil-based paint in the Recycle Roundup pile and latex paint for the shed.
Task 3: Shed
Woah, this shed is a disaster! Who even put this stuff here… Right, that had to be me. I might as well finish the job and clean this junk out too.
Cleaners, motor oil, antifreeze, oh my! I definitely am not going to use any of this. Who knows when it even showed up here. A good bet is most items found in the shed are considered hazardous waste.
Check out your full list of resources in our Recycling Guides for all your options. Things like motor oil can be as easy to recycle as stopping at an auto parts store year-round.
Task 4: Celebrate
Geez, I am tired, but I am glad I got all my spring cleaning complete. I’ve crashed on the couch for the next week completely and utterly exhausted, but I feel so much better. I kept waste and hazards from landfills, decluttered all those hidy-holes, sppppooooky basements, and the shed for this year.
Have no fear, the VBCD is here! If you have any questions on where to dispose of your items, give me (Kalli) a call or shoot me a text to 269-633-9314. You can also send me an email at ResourceRecovery@VanBurenCD.com. See y’all next month when we get dirt-y (with compost, keep your mind out of the gutter).
-Kalli
