I have a few cell phones that need recycling, and I had heard that local battered women's shelters were looking for items like these (I guess they can use then to call 911 if there is no service?).
As I searched on the internet, I found a great article on How to Recycle Anything. This is a great resource that provides suggestions on how to recycle, reuse and/or donate your unused and unwanted items to local charities, including (but not limited to) battered women's shelters and children's shelters.
This article provided numerous suggestions, including one to get rid of cell phone clutter, and help a woman or family in need through the Wireless Foundation, who "refurbishes phones to domestic-violence survivors (www.calltoprotect.org)...".
Our local women's shelter is always looking for gently-used and day-to-day items, which includes many of the things we take for granted: deodorant, toothbrush/paste, phone/calling card, clothes, blankets, pillows, sheets, etc. How easy is it to donate some of these items?!
I also have a pair of eyeglasses that I no longer use, and read that I can take these to a doctor's office or store who then donates them to www.givethegiftofsight.org.
Did you know that you can recycle your holiday cards, too?! "St. Jude's Ranch for Children, a non-profit home for abused and neglected children, reuses cards by cutting off the front cover and then are glued onto new cards." What a great idea!
You can also search online by item you wish to donate and/or the "cause" or charity you would like to support. This way, you have more motivation and emotional "tug" to follow-through and make the donation.
So, in my case, I began wondering what local children's hospitals or NICU's needed, and a quick search on the internet resulted in requests for preemie, infant and children's clothes, rocking chairs, blankets, and more!
We have a garage-full of items that is waiting to be sold in a yard sale (when the weather cools down). I now plan to take a mental inventory of items that I can easily and quickly donate to a worthy cause, instead of trying to sell for minimal payoff.
And, on a lighter note of reusing...
I also read in a parenting book that you can recycle/re-purpose broken crayons by placing same/like-colored crayons (about an inch long) in separate muffin tins, bake and your child has a fun new & improved crayon! (you can also make a rainbow of crayons!)
The best thing about recycling, donating and reusing is that many of these items do not take a special trip to donate; just take them along with you to the mall, "mega store" or doctor's office and they'll do the rest!