- Instead of throwing away your old furniture, computers or other large items, you could donate them to charity if they are still in reasonable condition.
- Give your old clothes, books, CDs and bric-a-brac to a charity shop, provided they are in good enough condition to be reused. Most charities cannot take electrical goods for reasons of health and safety.
- If your old sheets and shirts aren’t in good enough condition to give to charity, tear them up and re-use them for dusting and polishing cloths. Or they can go to a textile bank.
- Advertise unwanted items in local papers. Or why not put a notice in your local newsagent window?
- Join the Lewisham Freecycle Network (external website) – a grassroots movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free across the borough.
- If you are moving house or having a spring clean, consider having a stall at a car boot sale or jumble sale. You may be amazed at the value of your unwanted items.
- Use old glass jars for homemade jams and chutneys, pens and pencils and other odds and ends.
The recycling useful websites page can help you determine what to do with your used products.