I’ve been on a basement-cleaning frenzy over the last few weeks, after discovering mold growing on a cardboard box. Molds not only grosses me out, it totally freaks me out for its potential ability to create airborne toxins. It is just about the only thing that could convince me to spend several gorgeous summer weekends in the basement.

My basement had a bunch of stuff that was perfectly good, but that we no longer needed or wanted, so we started creating a pile to drop off at Goodwill. It got me thinking what an absolute marvel, and how totally green, organizations like Goodwill are.  Did you know that:

Last year, more than 66 million people donated to Goodwill. Goodwill accepts your new or gently used items — like clothing, appliances, electronics and furniture — and sells them in our well-known Goodwill retail stores. There are more than 2,400 Goodwill donation locations in the United States and Canada.

The sales of your donations help fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges.

In fact, donating clothes to a charity is so green that you can earn 20 points for it at Practically Green. But I never really thought much about how much benefit my basement stuff would provide until I got news from an industry friend, Park Howell, about a massive fire at the logistics and operations center for their local Goodwill. Without those donations, the 36 community programs they run don’t have funds so they are doing a MASSIVE drive (if you are reading us from Arizona, please donate!).  I never realized that cleaning my basement isn’t just green, it creates jobs!

Then last night,  I had the opportunity to visit another key player in the re-use market, Gazelle.com. Gazelle gives you cash for your unwanted gadgets (or if there isn’t any value, you can still send them in to be responsibly recycled).  They offer their services directly, but also power trade-in programs at places like Costco and Sears. I got to see part of their “logistics and operations center” and it’s really a marvel (and a perfect home for my box of random electronic stuff). Here are some photos:

First shipments arrive and are packed into bins and contents are verified.

Then each bag is sorted into bins labelled for every kind of gadget.They have bins for everything from Blackberries to iPhones to Camcorders.

Every item is then inspected and readied for reuse or recycling.  The inspection station ensures data is wiped and the product is functioning appropriately.  It then goes into a huge inventory room until someone repurchases the item through eBay or other outlets or it is dismantled and recycled appropriately.

Of course it’s great to get cash for electronics.  But what Gazelle.com has helped create is a way to extend the life of gadgets. This is really green because it combats the issue of perceived or planned obsolescence in technology AND helps keep e-waste from being disposed of improperly. By using Gazelle or services like theirs, you also can get 10 points for recycling your old computer, 10 points for recycling your cell phone, and 10 points for recycling other electronics on Practically Green. The final “feel good” benefit? These services makes technology available to people who might otherwise not be able to afford it.

So–one eco-friendly basement-cleaning later, and I’ve created jobs, battled planned obsolescence, kept e-waste out of landfill, helped someone access digital technology, and cleaned up our indoor air quality. And oh yes, earned 50 points on Practically Green!  Who knew basement cleaning could be so rewarding?