Streamlining Your Household Waste Removal: Tips and Tricks
Accumulating rubbish is a natural consequence of living in a house. There’s no way to get around it. However, whether you’re selling your home, doing some spring cleaning, or simply decluttering your living space, household rubbish hinders tidying things up.
Read ahead to understand what we mean by household rubbish and how you can use the 3 Rs of waste management for 12 effective ways to remove it.
What Is Household Rubbish?
Household rubbish includes unwanted items and waste material produced in normal day-to-day living. This can include worn-out furniture such as old sofas and chairs, old clothes, used cans and bottles, and other waste materials.
Keep in mind that the ideas discussed in this article will help you manage household rubbish on a day-to-day basis. If you’re looking to get rid of a large volume of house rubbish, you can hire a professional to take care of it.
How Can You Remove Household Rubbish?
The first step for removing household rubbish is to reduce your consumption of products that cause waste. To do so, you can:
Use A Water Filter
While some households prefer drinking tap water, many buy water bottles daily. This creates a large amount of plastic waste. Investing in a water filter can help you reduce the money spent on the water and the waste it produces.
Invest In A Reusable Water Bottle Or Coffee Mug
Many of us buy water bottles and coffee from coffee shops on the go, which adds to our household rubbish in empty bottles and cups. You can reduce this rubbish by buying a water or steel bottle to carry your water and a stainless steel mug that can keep your coffee hot.
Plan Your Purchases
Walking into a grocery store without a list of exactly what you need means that you’ll probably buy a lot of unnecessary stuff. And the more you buy, the more waste you accumulate. Planning your purchases by writing them down ensures you don’t buy unnecessary groceries and products.
Choose Quality Over Quantity
Conscious consumption entails buying fewer but higher quality products that can last longer. We are especially tempted to buy cheaper clothing and apparel. However, while sustainable luxury brands tend to cost more, they last longer, reducing your household rubbish.
Reuse
Reusing waste products around the house can help you save money and reduce rubbish. Here are some ways you can reuse common household items:
Jars And Containers
Glass jars, plastic boxes, and metal cans are great storage containers. You can use old coffee cans and mason jars to store pantry items such as pulses and spices. You can also use these in home decor, as desk organizers, or as holders for bathroom items.
Paper Products
You can repurpose paper from newspapers, paper bags, magazines, old calendars, unnecessary documents, and old assignments to make items such as wrapping paper and DIY envelopes.
Clothes And Towels
Old towels make exceptional cleaning rags and dusters. You can reuse old clothes by upcycling them into fashionable ‘new’ clothes. Torn-up clothes can create braided rugs and wall hangings, while old jeans can be refashioned into handbags. The possibilities are endless!
Plastic And Shopping Bags
Instead of throwing out used shopping bags and getting new ones each time, take them with you when you go grocery shopping. You can also use plastic bags as pet waste bags or trash bags.
Recycle
Recycling can help you put old materials to good use. Here are a few items you can recycle to reduce your household rubbish.
Papers And Books
Old newspapers, printer paper, wrapping paper, magazines, paper bags, and other loose paper products can go directly into your paper recycling bins. However, if you have books that are in relatively good condition, those can be donated.
Books that are not in great condition can go into your recycling bin with the hardcovers or spines removed.
Electronics
Old electronics cannot be tossed into the recycling bin or trash as they contain heavy metals and chemicals that can damage the environment. Instead, you can see if the company you bought your electronic equipment has a recycling program.
Many companies, such as Apple, accept old equipment in exchange for a discount on a new item. If the company does not offer a recycling program, the recycling facility in your city may be able to deal with electronic materials.
Batteries
Just like electronics, throwing used batteries in with normal recycling materials or trash is unsafe. But some places — like post offices and libraries — have bins to drop off batteries. Check to see what options your city offers for recycling batteries.
Aerosol Cans
If your aerosol can is empty, it can be tossed into recycling with other metal cans. However, if the liquid is left, it would be considered hazardous waste. The simple way to address this issue is to use up the entire contents of the can before disposing of it.
Now that we’ve gone through 12 tips to manage daily rubbish let’s discuss what to do when dealing with a large amount of rubbish during a house move.
How To Go About Rubbish Removal During A House Move?
If you’re moving houses, there’s bound to be a lot of rubbish you need to get rid of. This is a great opportunity to declutter your home and eliminate anything you don’t need or use anymore.
The first step is to go through all your belongings and decide what you want to keep and what you can get rid of. Once done, you can start sorting your rubbish into different categories.
Here are some common categories for rubbish during a house move:
- furniture
- appliances
- electronics
- clothing
- kitchenware
- books/magazines
- miscellaneous
Once you’ve sorted your rubbish into different categories, you can start dealing with it accordingly. For example, furniture and appliances can be donated to charity or sold online. Electronics and kitchenware can be recycled at your local recycling center. And clothing and books can be donated to second-hand stores.
Another important thing to consider when removing rubbish during a house move is how you dispose of it. After all, not everything can be donated or recycled. You’ll need to ensure you dispose of all your rubbish responsibly, so it doesn’t end up in a landfill.
The best way to do this is to hire a skip bin from a reputable company. This will ensure that all your rubbish is disposed of properly and not in landfills.
When hiring a skip bin, choose the right size for your needs. Also, check with your local council about any restrictions on what can be placed in a skip bin.Once you’ve sorted and disposed of all your rubbish, you can finally start enjoying your new home!
Final Words
Dealing with rubbish can be a hassle, but it’s something that we all have to do. Following the tips in this article can make dealing with rubbish much easier. And by disposing of your rubbish responsibly, you can help to protect our environment.