Creative-Reuse Centers Turn Clutter into Treasure

At The Clutter Fairy, one of our favorite ways to dispose of stuff that our clients are ready to part with is by donation to a creative-reuse center. “Creative reuse” is the practice of applying imagination to reclaim unused, unneeded, or waste materials and turn them into art supplies, craft materials, or tools for the classroom.

In Houston, our local creative-reuse resource is Texas Art Asylum, at 1719 Live Oak, near downtown Houston. Texas Art Asylum accepts all sorts of unwanted materials (art supplies, books, baskets, beads, buttons, cardboard, office supplies, and much, much more) and offers them for sale to the public. They also collect and organize materials that are suitable for classroom use and make them available cheap at special sales for school teachers. Visit their nonprofit affiliate, The Center for Recycled Art, for information about the next teacher sale.

Not in Houston? Not a problem. The good folks at Lancaster Creative Reuse in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, have put together a list of creative-reuse centers across the U.S. and around the world. The page also contains resources for starting a creative-reuse center in your community.

Creative reuse means you reduce the amount of material going to the landfill, and your clutter becomes treasure for an artist or teacher. We call that a win–win situation!