Minimalism is a lifestyle, and so it must follow you wherever you go, including on your travels. As you pick up and move to a new place, whether for a few months, a year, or several years, you collect a surprising number of things. And this number may only be discovered by the time you decide to move again.
Today, I am going to provide a guide to rid yourself of your possessions. Whatever doesn’t spark joy must go. This particular post will specifically target those living in Spain.
1. SELLING 2. DONATIN 3. RECYCLING
Photo by KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
1. Sell your undesirables
In this digital age, the world is your oyster. You can sell an item from many locations in the world using a variety of sites that best appeal to your needs. Some simple ways to sell items while in Spain are through Facebook and Wallapop (not sponsored but would love to be!)
Facebook. If you happen to be staying in Spain for a while, there are dozens of online groups you can join. Especially if you are a foreigner, various ex-pat groups bring together people like you for support in your journey. And a lot of groups that will allow you to post items you are looking to sell. Gather your items and take a pic for a post. List the items and prices and let people come pick them up, or perhaps you can deliver. It’s that simple.
Wallapop. Originally a Barcelona startup, Wallapop is kind of like the Spanish Craigslist. It’s an app that allows you to buy and sell second-hand items. Download the app (the country listed on your app-store matters), make an account, take a decent photo, publish, and communicate by the app with buyers.
You can package the item for sending or have the person come pick up the item or you deliver it yourself. You and the buyer discuss the details including the payment method. Wallapop has its own shipping and safe payment methods so you can choose an option you are both comfortable with. If necessary, you can purchase packing boxes, envelopes, bubble wrap, tape, ect from the local China Bazars found all around regions of Spain.
If you are not looking for a means of making an extra euro from the things you no longer want, keep reading to see what more this there for your undesirables.
Photo by KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
2. Donating your undesirables
CLOTHING. If you want to donate clothing is your best bet. Humana is a local charity and clothing store with various locations all throughout Spain. Not only do they sell used clothing, but each store has a special containers dedicated to donations. You can donate clothing, shoes, bedsheets. And sometimes when you do you will be handed a coupon for the store. You can look up the locations of the donation containers here.
TOYS & GAMES. You can donate toys left in good condition at town halls during winter months. However, there exist neighbors associations that will take such items all year round. For this, you will probably need to google your local town hall. There are also churches throughout the region that also accept various donations. However, they usually take things that are in good condition.
BOOKS. If you happen to have books written in English, you can take them to J&J Books & Coffee. They are a local English language bookshop and bar. Every book on display is on sale. They also do a book exchange. Take your book donations there, and depending on the book, they will give you shop credit to purchase a new book. If you want to use your book credit another time, they will give you a card listing the credit you acquired. It will be valid to use up to one year. It will be valid to use up to one year. So bring in your books. You might be able to exchange the books you are bringing for new ones!
EVERYTHING ELSE. If you are living in the region of Madrid for some time, there is this cool Facebook group called Trash to Treasure (Madrid). It functions like a Facebook group where you post things to sell only, they make it pretty clear, that everything posted must be to give away for free; donated. Trash to Treasure encourages you to give away items before you think about throwing them out or recycling. That means chairs, cups, diapers, books, pots and pans, and seeming useless or broken items. You never know what someone might need. Your junk might truly be someone else’s treasure!
You can also post if you are looking for an unusual item in particular. Maybe someone doesn’t use it and is willing to give it away freely. Anyway, join the group and check it out.
Photo by KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
3. Recycling
There might not be a better place to get rid of your things than the local trash / recycle bins. There are various kinds throughout the region. And although they may vary in appearance, they remain consistent in their color-coordinated organization.
RECYCLING BINS
GREEN. Glass. Place glass jars (not the metal lids), glass containers, and bottles. Pretty simple and straight forward.
YELLOW. Plastic & Metal. You put the metal lids from the glass jars and bottles here here. You also deposit all your plastic food containers here and any other plastics like those box-shaped containers that hold milk or soup.
BLUE. Cardboard & Paper.Deposit paper items and cardboard here. Don’t, however, put food bricks. I am referring to the box-shaped containers that hold milk or soup.
BROWN. Organic. This bin primarily takes leftovers and scraps. I try to think of brown bins as collectors of compost items. So this would include food, napkins, dirt, plants, coffee grounds, etc. These bins are more common in some regions than others.
ORANGE. General / Other. General domestic trash goes here. This means food scraps, cat litter, rubber, paper, or cardboard that is stained by a substance, cork from bottles, light bulbs, ceramic, porcelain, and plastics that are not from a container or a wrapper.
Here is a cool recycling guide I found (Spanish). It should apply to most regions of Spain.
FURNITURE & SPECIAL ITEMS. For things that cannot be deposited into the traditional recycle bins, because they are either too big or dangerous, you may have to rely on punto limpios or other services. Puntos limpos are facilities or designated locations where city workers collect such items for safe recycling. Items like printers, mirrors, light bulbs, furniture, and phones are some of the things you can leave there.
Depending on the item and where you live in the region you might need to call a number, from puntos limpios or other services, and request a scheduled pick-up of the item. You will leave it outside and someone will come to pick it up. Or, you can leave large furniture (or whatever) by your local recycling bins, and there will be a weekly pick up by the city at a specific hour. Again, this depends on the region you reside in.
Check your local town hall website for specific information about puntos limpos in your region. If you are living in the region of Madrid, here is where you can find the list of fixed/mobile locations. This site does well explaining puntos limpios in Spain and recycling too!
MEDICINE. Did you know you can drop off old medicine outside local pharmacies There is a box called “Punto Sigre.“There you can deposit expired medicine, medicine boxes, the medicine you no longer need, and medicine packaging. Check out their site I have linked above! They explain who they are, what they do, and what can and cannot be recycled.
BATTERIES. If you want to get rid of batteries, you can go to your local Dia, Carrefour, or Mercadona and there should be a drop-off point near the entrance. Also, at some pharmacies, there will be a place to donate batteries out front. At such places, I found what appeared as a green tube filled with batteries created by ecopilas.
4. Final thoughts
It’s fairly easy to be a minimalist in Spain. There are ample options for you to do away with possessions you no longer want or need. Many of the Spanish people I meet appear fairly neat and clean, and they remain with their old keepsakes as much as the next person. I even discovered that many even go to far as to donate their old toys to younger family members and neighbors. And as for their more modern items, they seem to have no problem selling, donating, or trashing them.
So what did you think of this article? Did you find it useful? Do you have another resource that would help other fellow minimalists living in Spain? If so, leave a comment below!
I want to say thank you to all my friends assiting in my research for this article. And to the rest of you, may you continue adventuring towards a life that fulfills you!
Featured Image by Adrianna Calvo
