Ms. Taken Blog

MTV is asking us all to clean out the junk!

It’s the unofficial holiday for late spring cleaning, a time to streamline with the hopes of actually keeping the junk drawer junk-free (good luck) and a time to pass your gently used everythings on to their next homes.

For all you pack rats out there who are thinking, “but it’s still good!”, allow this video to convince you otherwise.

Here’s a starter guide for where to send your excess stuff:

Clothing, Cars and Furniture

The options are endless. Send clothes (and shoes and bags and accessories) to a shelter, Goodwill, Salvation Army — anywhere but in the garbage.

Electronics

Old gadgets and landfills do not mix. Even if they’re smashed/shattered/kaput, old cell phones and lap tops can to go good use through recycling programs like Cell Phones for Soldiers.

Food

No-brainer. Follow Nick Cannon’s example and collect those canned goods (particularly proteins), unopened dry goods, bottles and cans of beverages, and baking ingredients and donate it to a food pantry, like Feeding America.

Books

Call your local library to find out if it accepts donations. Schools, shelters and community centers are also great drop-off points. Enter your zip code at GotBooks.com and the site will point you in the right direction to a nonprofit looking to stock its shelves. Do Something’s Epic book drive is another great place to start.

Stacks of magazines

Take them to your local recycling center … or, if you’re feeling creative, donate to art classes that might use them for collages and design projects.