Halloween Candy Buy Back Program: Declutter Excess & Old Candy

Today's declutter mission is to declutter excess Halloween candy you've got in your house, either that you bought too much of and didn't get to pass out to trick or treaters, or that your children collected from their parties and other holiday activities.


Ideally, this is an annual 15 minute mission that you'll do about a week after Halloween.

A week of extra candy seems about right, but after that let's be real. Aren't you tired of the candy yet? If nothing else, you and your kids have already probably eaten the favorites so everything else that is left is just extra calories and cavities waiting to happen without much enjoyment.

So, today's the day to get rid of it.

Halloween Candy Buy Back Program: Giving Candy To The Troops

You've got lots of options for what to do with this uneaten candy.

I'll discuss many of these options below, but one of the most popular is the Halloween Candy Buy Back program. At the link is the official website for this nationwide program.

It was started by a dentist in 2005, and since then many dentists have joined to participate.

The idea is that kids bring in their candy and dentists "buy it" back from them. The payment isn't always monetary. Each dentist gets to decide how they'll buy it back, and they could give money, but also exchange it for toothbrushes, etc.

The dentists who collect the candy then have partnered with another group, called Operation Gratitude, where the ship all the Halloween candy that they buy back. The Operation Gratitude group then creates care packages for the troops overseas, which include candy, toothbrushes, and other items.

So basically, the candy doesn't go to waste but it doesn't go in your kids, or your mouth either.

The website for the program (see the link above) has a way to search for a buy back program that is close to you. All you have to do is put in your zipcode.

This can be a fun activity for the kids, and help them to give back instead of just hoarding all their candy, plus it declutters your home and your waistline! Win, win, win!

I've got a couple more ideas below for more ways to declutter your Halloween candy.

Top photo courtesy of normanack

Other Ways To Use Leftover Halloween Candy {Or Get Rid Of It}

As cool as the Halloween candy buy back program is, I know it might not be convenient for everyone to do.

So here's even more ideas for how to get rid of your excess candy, plus tell me in the comments even more ways you've thought of to accomplish today's decluttering mission.

Donate It:

Halloween candy is food, so you can donate it just like any other food to a food pantry or similar charitable organization, using all the same common sense rules.

Obviously, no opened candy, but individually wrapped treats are the norm for this holiday so it isn't too difficult to follow this rule.

Here's a photo, below, from a reader, Dee Dee, who donated all her holiday candy. She said, "Over 5 lbs of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas candy that is going to the police department with the hubby tomorrow!"

Take It To Work Or Church:

Leave a free bowl of candy at church or work, giving people a treat so you don't eat it yourself.

Give Treat Bags To People:

You could package up excess candy into treat bags and give them to individuals such as your mail carrier, garbage collectors, etc. that provide a service to you frequently, just as a thank you for them.

Recipes Using Leftover Halloween Candy

There are so many creative recipes people have made that use up leftover Halloween candy. Here's a link to a round up leftover candy recipes.

Trash It:

This suggestion can irk some people that don't like to waste food, but it is a possibility.

If you find yourself trashing a bunch of candy though each year I'd strongly suggest in the future you do less trick or treating with your kids or buy less candy, because really just throwing stuff away isn't all that ideal.

But honestly, trashing it is better than eating way too much of it either, since that also isn't that good for you.

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

Get This Holiday Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home

Right now you're decluttering holiday items and decorations, and there's a lot of these types of items around your home.

Get your 1 page holiday decluttering checklist, plus 32 other decluttering checklists, to help you declutter your entire home here.

I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.

In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!

Top photo courtesy of terren in Virginia and bottom photo courtesy of Accretion Disc

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

How To Declutter Fall Decorations

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