Few chores are more satisfying than whole-home decluttering. Clearing out the excess and deep cleaning neglected corners makes your home look better than in years. But unfortunately, it also produces a lot of waste. So rather than sending your old stuff to the landfill, follow these tips for eco-conscious decluttering.

1. Donate Instead of Throwing Away

Throwing stuff out is the easiest option. You have to drop your property at the curb, call the city for large items, and wait for them to disappear. Unfortunately, it’s also the option with the most significant environmental impact. If you want to divert waste from the landfill and be a little more eco-conscious, donate good-quality items to local thrift stores and nonprofits instead. Here are some familiar places to donate household goods:

  • Thrift stores for clothing, books, toys, housewares and recreation equipment.
  • Secondhand building supply stores for building materials, large appliances, fixtures, and lawn and garden supplies).
  • Animal shelters for towels, sheets, and blankets.

If you’re unable to donate an item, whether because you can’t find a place to accept it or it’s too large to transport, try to give it away before throwing it out. You can find people seeking free household goods through Craigslist, the Buy Nothing Project and Freecycle groups. If you don’t get any takers, move on to step two.

2. Recycle What Can’t Be Donated

Not everything is appropriate for donation. For example, if an item is broken or you can’t find takers, seek ways to recycle it instead. In addition, most cities have recycling programs for large appliances, electronics and other hazardous household waste to keep these items out of landfills where they contribute to pollution. Learn from the EPA what constitutes dangerous household waste and contact your city’s waste management department to learn how to recycle or dispose of these items.

3. Think Twice Before You Buy

Once your home is decluttered, you’ll want to keep it that way. However, if you shop on impulse rather than plan your purchases, it won’t be long until your closets overflow with clutter again. To stop accumulating stuff only to throw it out, avoid impulse shopping and maintain your eco-conscious lifestyle by buying quality items designed to last. For example, LED light bulbs are more expensive than CFL bulbs, but they last for years. That means cost savings and less trash headed for the landfill in the long term. Lifehacker names other products you should spend more on to buy quality.

4. Take Collections Digital

Your photo albums, record collections, and books hold a special place in your heart. Unfortunately, they also take up a lot of space in your home and require natural resources to produce. For a conservation-minded approach, opt for digital versions instead. E-books, digital photos, and music files need fewer resources to create and store than their physical counterparts. Scan your existing photo collections; while it doesn’t eliminate the waste of printed photographs, digitizing photos ensures your memories are preserved for years to come.

5. Use Green Cleaning Supplies

Once your home is clutter-free, the next step is to clean it up. Depending on which cleaning products you choose, this chore could have an environmental impact. Rather than relying on cleaners that release volatile organic chemicals into the air, be eco-conscious and make your own simple household cleaners using safe ingredients like vinegar and baking soda. While investing in cleaning tools, consider picking up a high-quality vacuum. Save yourself the hassle of constantly changing vacuum bags and investing in a bagless model. Make sure to research reviews before making a purchase.

The choices you make at home don’t just affect your family. When you mindlessly throw things away or buy cheap products that only last a season before they break, you’re harming the environment, too. Thankfully, there’s a better way. Follow these rules as you declutter and clean your home for a clean home without a dirty ecological footprint.

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