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Donate Furniture
Got any
furniture you don’t need? Maybe somebody else might
be able to put it to good use. The websites below
exist to put people in touch with each other. |
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Furniture Re-use
Network
 The
Furniture Re-use Network provides a list of charity
organisations throughout the UK that will collect unwanted
furniture. Some collections are free, some aren't depending on
the area you live in. Furniture is then either resold at low
cost or donated to needy families.
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Time Taken:
A few
minutes to contact an organisation. |
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Impact:
Keeps
unwanted goods out of landfill sites. |
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Cost:
Nothing |
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Pyjama Rating:
No PJ zone, just day clothes |
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Similar sites:
1 more to explore!
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Exchange or Donate Books
Bought a
book and finished reading it? Well, don’t throw it
away. The websites below allow you to either
exchange your book with another one or donate it to
a worthy community cause that maybe desperate for
books. All you pay is the postage to ship it to
whoever needs it. |
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Read It Swap It
 Bought
a book and finished it? Don't know what to do with it? If you've
read it, swap it with ReadItSwapIt!
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Time Taken:
Up to 10
minutes to swap |
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Impact:
Stops
waste and promotes the recycling of unwanted products. |
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Cost:
Free if
you acquire something. Postage costs if you offer something. |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
17 more to explore!
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Exchange or Donate Unwanted
Films and CDs/DVDs
Did you know
that once you’ve finished with your CDs/DVDs you can
put them to good use afterwards. The websites below
allow you to swap them for other used CDs/DVDs or
donate them to worthy causes that raise funds from
the sale of used CDs/DVDs. |
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chanceXchange
 chanceXchange
is a free service where you can trade unwanted films, cds and
for those things that you really, really want.
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Time Taken:
Up to 10
minutes to become a media moghul – well sort of! |
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Impact:
Stops
waste and promotes the recycling of unwanted products. |
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Cost:
Free if
you acquire something. Postage costs if you offer something. |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
3 more to explore!
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Recycle Cars and Bikes
Rather than
selling or scrapping your car, why not consider
donating your car to help people who are less
advantaged than yourself. Check out the website
below who will deal with all the procedures in the
donation process. |
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1-800-Charity
Cars
 Donate
your unwanted vehicle to 1-800-CHARITY CARS free of charge to
help struggling families willing to work and become
self-sufficient, tax-paying members of the community. Collection
is free from your house.
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Time Taken:
Under
30 minutes to fill in form and answer door to car collector. |
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Impact:
Prevents cars from ending up at the scrap yard. |
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Cost:
Nothing |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
3 more to explore!
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Recycle Clothes and Shoes
Clothes for
some people are hard to come by. Maybe you’ve get
some in your wardrobe that you’re unlikely to wear
again. Maybe you might like to swap them or donate
them to a worthy cause that could sell them to raise
funds for charities. Check out the websites below,
if this appeals to you. |
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Soles 4 Souls
 Round
up your old shoes, bind each pair together with rubber bands and
either drop them off at one of their collection points or post
them to Soles4Souls. Then, when one of their relief partners
expresses a need for the shoes, they will be able to fill that
'order' with your footwear!
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Time Taken:
A few
minutes to package up. Put your best foot forward and
participate in this one! |
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Impact:
Keeps
unwanted shoes out of landfill sites and helping those in need. |
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Cost:
Postage
costs |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
4 more to explore!
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Recycle Electronic Gadgets
Electronic
gadgets get outdated quite quickly. Instead of
throwing them away, why not consider donating them
to the initiatives below, who will then match them
up to where they are most needed around the world. |
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inveneo
 Do
you have old thumb drives (aka USB Memory Sticks) at your office
or home that you don't use anymore? Inveneo are collecting these
drives to share with the organizations they work with. They can
be used in 100's of useful ways by students, aid workers, small
business entrepreneurs.
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Time Taken:
A few
minutes to package up. This surely gets a thumbs up! |
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Impact:
Keeps
unwanted goods out of landfill sites. |
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Cost:
Postage
costs |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
9 more to explore!
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Recycle Jewellery
Instead of
selling your unwanted jewellery, why not consider
donating them instead to the organizations below.
You’ll earn environmental and kudos points if you do
participate in the initiatives below. |
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Diamonds for
Dreams
 The
Diamonds for Dreams project, part of the Making Memories Breast
Cancer Foundation receives donations of unwanted jewellery which
it then sells to provide funds to make dreams come true for
patients suffering with metastatic breast cancer.
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Time Taken:
A
couple of minutes to wrap up. What a little diamond you will
be, if you do this! |
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Impact:
Fulfils
people's wishes, which maybe their last ones! |
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Cost:
Postage
costs |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
1 more to explore!
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Recycle Miscellaneous Stuff
The websites
below cover a multitude of items than can all be
re-used by somebody else. The initiatives below are
all dedicated to sourcing and matching needy people
or communities with the miscellaneous items listed
below. |
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California
Materials Exchange
 The
California Materials Exchange is an exchange group that enables
you to get rid of your non hazardous materials that you would
otherwise discard.
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Time Taken:
Under
30 minutes to fill in form and answer the door to a collector. |
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Impact:
Keeps
unwanted goods out of landfill sites. |
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Cost:
Nothing |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
6 more to explore!
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Recycle Mobility / Medical Items
(including spectacles)
All sorts of
medical equipment can be re-used and donated to the
various organizations listed below. Depending on the
item, some organizations will collect, some have
drop off points and some will only accept posted
items. Either way, any medical items you can donate
will be put to good use for needy people around the
world. |
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Chariots of Hope
 Chariots
of Hope accept donated wheelchairs, which are then repaired and
distributed, at no cost to the recipient, to those in need.
Chairs can be collected or posted!
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Time Taken:
If
being collected, then under 10 minutes. If being posted, then
under 30 minutes to package up. |
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Impact:
Provides hope to mobility impaired people. |
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Cost:
Nothing, if collected. Postage costs, if posted. |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
9 more to explore!
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Recycle Printer Cartridges and
Mobile Phones
Ink
cartridges and mobile phones are everywhere and so
much of them get chucked away once the user has
finished with them. Stop, don’t through them away.
They can be used to raise funds for charities. All
you have to do is request a Freepost envelope and
pop it in the post at no cost to you. All of the
organizations below offer this service, so there’s
no excuse to chuck those ink cartridges and mobiles
away now. |
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British Red Cross
 The
British Red Cross happily accepts used printer cartridges and
mobile phones. Request a Freepost envelope and use it to send
the cartridge or phone at no cost to you.
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Time Taken:
Approx
a minute to request envelope. Approx a minute to stuff the
envelope. |
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Impact:
Raises
money for charity |
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Cost:
Nothing |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
23 more to explore!
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Recycle
Rubbish!
One person's
rubbish is another person's treasure. It doesn't get
any more real than this, as the websites below
literally recycle your rubbish and either turn it
into something practical or help you find the very
rubbish you're looking for! |
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TerraCycle
 Terracycle
recycles the trash you Freepost them and makes products out of
them. They will donate a small amount of money to a non-profit
organisation or school of your choice for every bit of rubbish
they receive. When we mean trash, we literally mean trash. See
for yourself!
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Time Taken:
Approx
10 - 30 minutes to package up. Maybe a bit longer to accumulate
the rubbish! |
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Impact:
Earn cash from your trash for charities and schools. |
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Cost:
Nothing |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
2 more to explore!
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Recycle
Surplus or Used Stationery / Toiletries / Toys
How many
pens, pencils, toys, soap bars do we actually need?
Not as many as most of us have actually got. Spare a
few of these items, as the littlest of things
sometimes mean so much to some people. |
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Mary's Meals
Backpack Project
 Fill
up an old school bag/back pack with some everyday school things.
These bags will then be given out to poor children, mostly in
Malawi, Uganda, Liberia and Romania. Good quality second hand
items are encouraged to be included in the pack, which can then
be posted off to a Distribution Centre.
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Time Taken:
Approx
10 - 30 minutes to package up. That's another action in the bag
then! |
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Impact:
Benefits children in various third world countries |
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Cost:
Postage costs |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
1 more to explore!
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Recycle/Swap Everything
As the
saying goes, one person’s rubbish is another
person’s treasure. You’ll be amazed at what you can
get rid of. The sites below all offer a matching
service for people’s ‘wants’ and ‘offers’. If you’re
disposing of stuff, then the collector will pick up
from your house. Disposing of unwanted items has
never been so easy. |
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Freecycle
 Freecycle
is a grassroots and entirely non-profit movement of people who
are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns across
the globe. Got something that's unwanted. Offer it up for free,
where almost anything and everything goes. Collection is
normally from your house.
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Time Taken:
A
couple of minutes to post an 'Offer' ad. A couple of minutes to
receive a reply - possibly! |
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Impact:
Keeps
unwanted goods out of landfill sites |
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Cost:
Nothing |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
16 more to explore!
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Recycle Used Postage Stamps
Postage
stamps are still around, despite the ever present
email. There are charities out there who eagerly
accept used postage stamps. They sell them on in
bulk to dealers who are willing to pay for such
items. Any monies raised goes straight to the
charities coffers. |
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Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds
 Cut
the franked stamps from your post and donate them to the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds to raise funds that
contribute to saving the Albatross. In fact all types of stamps
can be used - franked, unfranked, UK, foreign or First Day
Covers.
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Time Taken:
Frankly
speaking, it should take under a minute to cut out the stamp |
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Impact:
Stops
the unnecessary death of albatrosses |
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Cost:
Postage
costs |
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Pyjama Rating:
Day clothes and PJs |
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Similar sites:
1 more to explore!
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