Apparently Americans statistically throw away a little over 4 pounds of trash each day. I don't know about you, but I'd rather lose those pounds of my waistline instead.
That being said not all trash is created equal. Curbside recycling doesn't accept all items, charity shops don't want your broken or junk items (Please don't give secondhand shops broken, overly dirty or damaged goods. It ends up costing them to dispose of your trash and taking money away from their helpful programs) and it can be confusing what to donate where.
Here's a few ideas broken down for where to donate used items for recycling or reuse:
Obviously when you have gently worn clothing, shoes, household decor and kitchen goods look into your local secondhand and charity shops. These provide a wide variety of service to their communities, they provide jobs and education and also keep items out of landfills. Goodwill for example uses money from their donation sales to help people find jobs and further their careers, helping to remove barriers and increase human dignity.
Many clothing companies also have clothing buyback programs where you can sometimes even earn rewards and coupons for donating clothing back to the original company. See Patagonia, North Face, Nike. H&M, Zara,
Soles4souls and One World Running have great programs for donated shoes
For electronics and related items see this electronic device and company list from the EPA
Have items your local recycling won't accept? Visit Terracycle and look into their Zero Waste Boxes.
Have clothing or shoes that are too worn for further personal use? See the Council for Textile Recycling to see how these things still have further applications and how to keep them out of landfills.
If you have construction materials, tools or building goods consider donations to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore.