So you’re about to move home or just think its time for a declutter. Back home, you’d (rather ashamedly!) take a trip to your local municipal tip – problem solved, but how do you get rid of your once prized possessions here on the Red Dot? Here’s our guide:
Recycling in the Heartlands – The Karang-Guni
If you live in the HDB heartlands or in an accessible landed property, you may have heard honking sounds coming from a bicycle honk every week. That’s the Karang-Guni or the Rag-and-Bone person – or the ‘beep-beep man’ as he’s affectionately called in our house! These people travel on bicycles with carts or in small lorries and make their rounds collecting mainly old newspapers in exchange for a token sum based on weight.
Should you have household electrical items or used clothing to let go, the Karang-Guni can make you an offer as well. Locals enjoy this to-your-doorstep service, as well as the haggling process involved. You can just leave it on the pavement outside your property as an offering and it will be gratefully picked up!
Trash to Cash – selling your unwanted items
Let’s face it – in affluent Singapore, even thrift stores are inundated with stuff. Sometimes, the only way of making sure pre-loved items go to someone who cherishes it is to make them pay for it.
Facebook groups - Youngsters have been known to hawk items successfully on Instagram. Not into hash-tagging? Singapore has quite a few Facebook Groups for off-loading old stuff, such as SG Secondhand Garage Sales and various Expat classified pages. There are even groups for specialised items like baby stuff.
Apps - Seems like there’s an app for everything! Try Carousell, (addictive despite all those Carou-hell stories). Alternatives like Letgo, Tompang and Shopee have yet to dethrone this app but are worth a try. There are also apps for specific categories, like Bakipa – for children’s products and services.
Garage Sales - If you have a lot to sell, a garage sale might be more efficient. Advertising can be done on Gumtree or supermarket notice boards or even carefully placed ads around the neighbourhood. There are also several organized pre-loved sales where you can purchase a table for the day to sell your belongings. Check out social media and school newsletters for details.
Pre-loved, Re-loved
Decluttering can be stressful, but knowing that your pre-loved items will go to someone that cherishes them does wonders for the souls of compulsive hoarders. Here are some of the places that will take your unwanted stuff:
Salvation Army - the most obvious choice for a range of items from clothing to books to furniture.
Smaller thrift stores and recycling initiatives include MINDS Shop - in support of the intellectually disabled in Singapore.
New2U Thrift Shop, by Singapore Council of Women Organisations (SCWO) - a great place to shop too
H&M Global Garment Recycling Collective - ironically, one of the perpetrators of burgeoning wardrobes worldwide offers incentives for decluttering!
Pass-It-On - passes on household items to families in need
Foodbank - compulsive supermarketers can offload here
Room to Read - offers book swaps.
Humanitarian Organisation of Migrant Economics (HOME) - accepts household items to help migrant workers.
Babes Crisis Pregnancy Support - accepts baby items to unwed young mothers.
And for all your electronic waste, StarHub, DH and TES-AMM have teamed up to provide easily accessible recycling points islandwide for all your unwanted electrical goods -
Written by Fay Ashworth and Elaine Pang of Singapore Expat Solutions
Singapore Expat Solutions offer relocation and lifestyle services that help expatriates call Singapore home. Their range of services were established through their own experiences of being expatriates and wanting to make life easier for everyone setting up home on the little red dot. Find out how Singapore expat Solutions can make your life easier for you!
