Even busy working moms think about spring cleaning this time of year. For me, when the sunshine comes in through my windows again after the long winter I realize how dirty my house is. The cleaning binge that ensues is a very important yearly ritual that ensures a livable human habitat. But what do I do with some of this stuff I need to get rid of? Do I just throw everything in the garbage?
Nope.
Spring cleaning is an excellent opportunity to refresh ones memory about the proper way to dispose of household items or make plans for reuse. Working at Columbia Springs, I am very lucky to have experts onsite to answer questions and send me in the right direction. Our expert staff have also shared this information with you at https://www.columbiasprings.org/resources. Here you can be directed to resources about composting, recycling, up-cycling and more.
Another incredibly useful tool for disposing of stuff properly is provided at the Clark County website https://www.clark.wa.gov/public-health/recycling-z#. Here there is a field to type in the name of the object you want to recycle or dispose of properly and it will tell you what to do with it. How cool is that!
If you have a household item that it broken but possibly fixable you can bring it to Columbia Springs’ Repair Clark County event. The next one is at Cascade Park Community Library, 600 NE 136th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98684, on May 4th, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. The fix rate for items participants bring in is over 80%, so there is a very good chance that old lamp, walker, bike, stereo or vacuum of yours could get a second life after our volunteer fixers get a look at it.
For many people spring cleaning includes the timeless trip to the Goodwill to drop off used clothing and household items for resale. I always make these trips after spring cleaning or before a move. Beyond the donations, Goodwill shopping is something of a religion with many of my family, friends and co-workers. It can become competitive to see who can get the best deal on something lightly used and really cool. The champion is still my older son who found a $700 stereo for $10 at a Goodwill. He was told it was broken, but when he brought it home he plugged it in, turned up the volume and it worked just fine.
Spring cleaning is as much of a state of mind as it is a chore. Viewing it as an opportunity to not only tidy up ones home but to leave a lighter impact on the environment makes it matter.