Welcome to a new and regular slot on the Eco-Worrier blog. Each week, I will post up ideas of how to deal with unwanted belongings in a green and ethically clean manner.
What I'd like from you is two fold. Firstly, subject ideas. Don't know what to do with an old shower curtain? Got a load of video tapes lurking that need a new home? Tell me about it. Email me (my email is on the right) or leave me a comment on this blog and I'll do my best to feature your idea in this slot. The other thing I'd like to hear is your suggestions for what to do with the items being discussed. Let us in on your secret decluttering solutions. I'm hoping the section will become a useful stash of green ideas to help people cope with their clutter.
So, shoes'.
Are they fine quality and in good nick? In which case, go to the My Shoes campaign, which raises money for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust. It collects designer shoes to sell on eBay (donations need not be Jimmy Choos, but it helps if they are something that people would be prepared to pay for).
Offer them to your friends. You could organize a clothes swap at someone's house. Everyone should bring a few pieces of unwanted clothing and, erm, you swap. Helps if everyone brings wine and nibbles too. And you can suggest a small amount as an entrance fee to go to charity. If you live in London there's an official swap happenning on 21st February, see here.
Give them to a reputable charity shop. I am less inclined to use textile banks ' most of the contents will end up sent abroad to be sold in developing countries (see here) ' and I certainly wouldn't trust those leaflets that float through the front door, for the following reasons.
If you've got any running shoes, you can donate them to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program. It will accept shoes of any brand. Find out where your closest collection point is here.
Find your nearest shoe recycling centre. Do this by clicking here, then type shoes into the search engine and then type in your postcode to find your nearest recycling facilities.
Since spring is coming, boots could be inventively reused as flower pots. Try winter pansies, cyclamen or geraniums, or maybe some rocket (you'll need a greenhouse or sunny window sill to germinate salad seeds at this time of year). Also, don't forget to make drainage holes in the bottom of the boots.