Spring is in the air which means that if you’re like the majority of Americans, you will do some form of spring cleaning.

This annual tradition, in which 69% of recently surveyed Americans partake in, has its benefits. Another Harris Survey of 2,000 Americans concluded that 86% of us feel more relaxed in a clean home.

And what’s the main culprit that we want to tackle? Clutter seems to be the worst offender.

So, once you’re done sorting, dividing, organizing and tossing, what do you do with all that stuff?

I’ve written an earlier blog about where to recycle, donate or upsell used clothing, but what about the “don’t know how to get rid of it” stuff?

Here’s a guide to some of those harder-to-know-how-to-dispose of items you may find lurking in your garages, attics and basements.

PAINT. Lake Oswegans have several options close to home. Both Miller Paint at 544 N. State Street and Sherwin Williams at 15659 Boones Ferry Road. They will accept small quantities of house paint, stains, varnish and primer for free. Habitat for Humanity Restore at 10445 SE Cherry Blossom Drive will also accept small quantities of household paint for free.

HAZARDOUS WASTE. Paint falls in this category, along with motor oil, batteries, CFL or LED light bulbs, and prescription medications (empty bottles into ziplock bags). All of these can be taken to the Metro South Transfer Station at 2001 Washington Street in Oregon City.

APPLIANCES. Habitat for Humanity Restore will take clean kitchen and laundry appliances 10 years old or newer and in good working and cosmetic condition as well as working dishwashers made after 2014. Newer microwave ovens in good, working condition may be resold in the store while non-working microwaves are accepted for scrap. Call for pickup or head over to drop off yourself. If you have a bigger load and don’t want to do the schlepping yourself, consider calling Big River Junk with rates based on the percentage of the truck bed you fill. Minimum charge is $100 for 1/8 of the volume up to $550 for a full truckload.

TELEVISIONS AND COMPUTERS. Goodwill Industries right here in Lake Oswego will accept televisions and computers and monitors. They participate in the Oregon E-Cycles program that accepts up to seven laptops, monitors, printers, televisions and computers for free. 17162 Lower Boones Ferry Road.

CELL PHONES. The Tigard Lowe’s has a recycle bin for cell phones at the Customer Service/Return desk at the entrance to the store. 12615 SW 72nd Avenue. Another option is to donate your old cell phones to the Call to Safety program. Call to Safety collects cell phones and laptops and distributes them to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. All profits are used to fund services for survivors who access the program. Phones do not have to be in working order and can be mailed to Call to Safety Cell Phone Project, P.O. Box 42610, Portland, Oregon 97242. Please do not include cases, any additional batteries or chargers (unless the phone is in working condition).

BATTERIES. Batteries Plus Bulbs at 7715-A SW Nyberg Road in Tualatin accepts your recyclable batteries, bulbs and electronics, although fees may apply. You can also take them to the Hazardous Waste Center at the Metro South Transfer Station at 2001 Washington Street in Oregon City.

ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT. Have your hockey stars moved out of the house? Traded in your old golf clubs for new ones? Play It Again Sports is willing to give you cash or trade for quality used fitness, hockey, baseball, golf, football and soccer gear. 9244 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway.

SHOES. I haul all the family shoes out of the shelves and spread them out on the garage floor every year to force family members to decide how many they really need. The ones that don’t make the cut can find another home. Options include: Donating to Soles4Souls (dropoff at DSW in Bridgeport), or to a homeless organization, especially if they are winter boots or shoes. Nike will recycle your running shoes through their Nike Grind program. Just drop off at any Nike store or outlet. Or pack up your gently used pairs and send to One World Running who will distribute them to developing countries. Mail to One World Running, P.O. Box 2223, Boulder, CO 80306.

If after all that spring cleaning, you’re thinking you can now downsize or need to get a bigger place, give me a call at 503.939.9801. I’d be happy to explore your home buying/selling options in today’s Lake Oswego housing market. You can also reach me at costellok@hasson.com and/or check out my website.