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Whenever I go to drop something off at the residential dumpster where I live, I am mortified at what I find inside. I have discovered everything from handmade afghans to adorable children’s toys to usable appliances in working condition.

Why do these items end up in the dumpster when they could be in a thrift store? I don’t know. I would assume however that the answer is that most people feel that going to the thrift store is “just too much work.”

You too may have felt the urge to throw out items when decluttering instead of thrifting. I’m not judging you—I’ve been there too. Decluttering is already a lot of work.

But there are a lot of great reasons to thrift your usable items! Here are a just a few that will hopefully give you pause the next time you are headed for the dumpster.

1. It is less work than you think.

How close is your nearest thrift store? I live in a small rural community. Even though the town is tiny, there are literally three thrift stores to choose from.

So even if you live in the middle of nowhere, you probably have thrift stores close by where you can drop off your unwanted items. If you are in the city, you should have numerous options available within just a short drive of home.

Still don’t feel like making the drive on a regular basis? If you buy a large plastic storage container, you can label it “Thrift” and stockpile items in it over time. If you don’t want it cluttering your home, you can just put it in the back of your car. Then you can drop off your items at thrift when it is convenient to you.

2. You are reducing the waste in landfills.

To keep our planet green and healthy, we need to reduce waste. One way to do that is by making sure that only actual trash winds up in landfills. When you thrift items instead of throw them away, you are doing your part to protect the environment.

3. Someone somewhere really wants and needs the items you do not.

Finally, one more reason to thrift your unwanted items when you declutter and organize your home is because someone else somewhere could really use them.

Remember how exciting those items were when you first bought them? If you throw them away, they go to waste. But if you take them to the thrift store, someone else could feel that same excitement when they find them, and at a bargain price too.

There is no reason to deprive someone else of value that you no longer perceive. One person’s junk really is another person’s treasure. When you help others find and afford items they can cherish, you help add value to the world instead of subtracting it.

You now have a few great reasons to thrift items the next time you take on a major decluttering project instead of tossing them. Read on to 7 Reasons to Thrift Instead of Throw Away, Part 2 to discover more.