Thousands of Pounds of Clutter Recycled and Reused at Annual Clear Your Clutter Day

On April 26, 2014, hundreds of Harford County-area residents unloaded pounds of clutter at the fourth annual Clear Your Clutter Day hosted by Sappari Solutions Professional Organizing and Harford Community College (HCC). Nearly 500 vehicles full of unwanted items were unloaded by volunteers from the many participating organizations responsible for repurposing or recycling the discarded items. 

The response from the now clutter-free attendees was overwhelmingly positive, according to the post-event surveys and anecdotal responses.

“We’ve really got collecting clutter down to a science! The event ran very smoothly, thanks in large part to our fabulous volunteers,” said event co-organizer and owner of Sappari Solutions Nettie Owens. “We helped people de-clutter their homes and supported worthy charities in our local community—it was a win-win for everyone!”

In all, event partners collected:

·         Fifteen 50 gallon bags full of plastic grocery bags collected by Klein’s

·         Approximately 11,230 pounds of paper for onsite shredding by ShredInstead

·         104 cell phones, proceeds from which will support client services at  SARC

·         More than 70 boxes of books and 200 eyeglasses collected for the Lion’s Club

·         Gently used tools and housing supplies collected for Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna which filled a box truck to 75 percent capacity

·         Miscellaneous items for Goodwill from 202 donators that filled a single 52-foot trailer

·         100 purses collected for the Harford Family House Purse Auction

·         Approximately three and a half tons of miscellaneous electronics and 12,600 pounds of scrap metal, plus an additional 50 laptops and 40 flat screen computer monitors collected for recycling by BumbleJunk of Bel Air.

·         Cash donations of $2,120 for Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna.

Owens says the event would not have been possible without the support of event sponsors and partners including Bumble Junk, Goodwill of the Chesapeake, Shred Instead, Lions Club of Bel Air, SARC, Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, Harford Family House, Klein’s ShopRite, Vehicles for Change, Harford STYLE Magazine, Harford’s Heart, Harford Bank, Downtown Bel Air Alliance, Harford County Office of Recycling, Harford Cable Network, Bel Air Athletic Club, Brand It Images, JigSaw Marketing Solutions, Harford County Government, Bruce Hechmer from Long & Foster, MyWay Storage, Jim Miele from Miele Wealth, Kilby Cream, Keen Contracting and Rita’s Italian Ice Churchville. “We are also grateful for the support of Clear Your Clutter Day volunteers from Grace Assembly of God's Serve Fest, other local ministries, Comcast Cares and Target,” says Owens.

As a fun addition this year, attendees were encouraged to participate in a pre-event scavenger hunt: from April 1-26, Sappari Solutions posted on their Facebook page a different type of item to set aside each day and bring to Clear Your Clutter Day. Those who successfully brought all 26 items were entered into a raffle to win a one-month membership to the Bel Air Athletic Club. The grand prize winner was Cindi Hall of Harford County.