Wednesday is January 1 … a new beginning … a fresh start. Many of us are taking down our Christmas decorations, cleaning out closets, and de-cluttering for the new year. Don’t just send all that stuff to area landfills. There are several ways to let your unwanted items do a little local good:

1 | Donate Your Artificial Trees to the Moore County Library – If you bought a new Christmas tree this year and don’t quite know what to do with the old one, the Moore County Public Library would love to take your old artificial tree to use during their summer reading program. Donated trees may be dropped off as the rear entrance to the building.

2 | Re-gift to Moore County Spay & Neuter – Did you receive a Christmas gift that’s just not your style, the wrong size, or a duplicate. Re-gift it to Moore County Operation Spay/Neuter and they’ll resale it on their auction Facebook page. All funds raised are used to spay and neuter local “community animals” … from Lynchburg Square cats and other areas. All re-gift donations will remain anonymous. You can drop of donations at Lynchburg Vet Hospital or Lynchburg Gifts & More.

3| Pack a Give Back Box – Take one of the Amazon or other boxes your Christmas items arrived in, pack it full of new or gently used items you no longer need, print a free shipping label from the Give Back Box website, and ship your items to an area Goodwill. You can also drop off items locally at the Goodwill Store located in Tullahoma.

4| Donate Your Real Trees to the Elephants – Hohenwald, Tennessee is home to one of the largest elephant sanctuaries in the country. There are 11 elephants in residence there who have retired from zoos and circuses and they can eat up 150 pounds of food a day. Christmas trees contain plant material and resin that are high in nutrients. Donated trees may be brought to the The Elephant Sanctuary located at 27 East Main Street. Please make sure they are free of all tinsel, decorations, etc. For more information, click here.

5 | Recycle Your Real Trees with the Fishes – Your real Christmas tree may have served it’s holiday purpose but you can donate them to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and make a fish’s day. The TWRA will accept live, undecorated tree donations at the Fall Creek Falls State Park Boat Dock on January 8. All donated trees will be sunk into area lakes to improve fish habitat. For more information, visit their Facebook page. •

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper that publishes new stories every morning. Covering Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}