Once you’ve sorted, stacked and decided that it’s time to pair down your possessions, what should you do with all the clutter? You could take it all to the curb, or you could get rid of it the green way. Find a new home for everything with our tips to recycle, donate and reuse the stuff you might otherwise send to the landfill and keep the clutter from coming back.

Stop Clutter Before It Starts

One of the easiest ways to reduce clutter, is to simplify what comes into your home, and that’s going to require a shift of consumer habits according to Renee Loux, author of Easy Green Living. “Our insatiable appetite for stuff has continuously crept up on us and the volume of stuff we all have is excessive,” she says. So before you buy anything, ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” As a more conscious consumer you should also think about quality. You may want to start investing in one item (a pair of shoes for example) that will last a long time rather than several that will fall apart quickly.

But no matter how well you control your buying binges, there’s still an unavoidable flow of things coming into our lives, says Loux. Case in point—that mess of grocery bags under the sink that seems to grow out of control all on its own. But you won’t need to bring them home if you invest in reusable cloth bags. Keep some in your trunk and handbag at all times. Another kitchen nightmare? All of the condiment packs and plastic utensils that come with takeout. Ask the restaurant to leave them out of your order if you don’t plan to use them. And if wire hangers are clogging your laundry room and closet, take them back to where you got them—the dry cleaners.

“Paper is by far the number one source of clutter in a household,” according to Candice Moore, a Tucson, Arizona-based professional organizer and owner of Life Organized. Luckily, unwanted mail is easy to control. Save trees by signing up for a service like GreenDimes that’ll reduce the postal pile up of catalogs, credit card bills, circulars and more for $20 per year. The company even plants five trees per customer. Moore deals with a more sensitive paper issue, too—her first grader’s paper trail. “I ask her to empty the contents of her backpack into a special inbox every day,” Moore says. After bedtime, Moore decides what gets discarded and what special ones get displayed on the fridge.

Turn Trash Into Organizing Tools

Before you purchase new organizing products, take a second look at the clutter you’re throwing away. Be inventive about reusing items in a new way. For example, if you still have plastic groceries bags getting into the house, Moore says to stuff them in an empty tissue box under the kitchen sink for easy access. If you’re crafty, turn old cereal boxes into magazine organizers by cutting them at an angle across the front, says  Loux. She also found a use for plastic water bottles—when storing boots stuff one in each shoe to help it hold its shape. And while old plastic takeout containers shouldn’t be reused for food due to potential Bisphenol-A leaching, they do make great organizers when tucked out-of-sight in a bathroom, kitchen or office.

Turn Discards Into Dollars or Donations

One good incentive to start tackling the discard pile is the potential to make some extra cash. If you have items that are in good condition start selling online at sites like eBay.com, Zwaggle.com and Craigslist.org. Or do it the lo-fi way with a yard sale. And if stuff doesn’t sell, consider posting it to give away on Freecycle.org.

Donate anything that’s in fair condition. Check out the usual suspects salvationarmyusa.org, goodwill.org and amvets.org. Or keep it local by calling neighborhood senior centers, churches or community centers. A nearby pediatric ward or day care may accept your gently used toys or baby gear. And if your books don’t make the cut at the used bookstore, find a school, library or literacy program that will accept them at literacydirectory.org. 

Go the Extra Step to Recycle, Even the Trickiest Trash

Even if you can’t recycle it curbside, it doesn’t mean it can’t be recycled. Luckily, you can find resources to responsibly recycle just about everything including old VHS tapes, disposable cameras, light bulbs or heavy-duty batteries. Visit Earth911.org to find local options by entering the item you have to recycle with your zip code. 

In addition, office supply stores usually accept ink and toner cartridges, rechargeable batteries, cell phones and electrical cords. Nike will turn your worn out sneakers into athletic playing surfaces and new kicks through their Reuse-A-Shoe program. Shipping materials like bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts sometimes arrive on the doorstep in droves. While they’re not recyclable, you can give them a new life. Loux suggests dropping them off at a private postal center in your neighborhood.