Where to donate fixtures prior to your home renovation in Greater Boston

Many of our clients put sustainability and energy efficiency at the forefront of their remodels, whether it’s energy-efficient doors and windows, lights, appliances, and/or insulation driving the remodeling process. Or sustainable and responsibly sourced materials could be key. This can range from recycled products to sustainably harvested wood to none Volatile organic compounds Or materials emitted from gases.

However, there is another element to sustainable remodeling that occurs before anything is installed. Donate or sell what you can before the demolition crews show up. There are many options in today’s social media world that allow people to reuse items instead of throwing them away where they would otherwise end up in already full landfills — or worse, somewhere in the environment.

What people may not realize is that before remodeling, there are organizations that will remove things like kitchen cabinets (and sometimes countertops), appliances if they are relatively new, and kitchen sinks and faucets. They will also take bathroom fixtures and lighting in good condition. Not only will these items stay out of the landfill, but they will go into remodels for people of more modest means.

The two organizations we use are Boston Building Resources For things like cabinets, fixtures, and Habitat for Humanity brings back stores For furniture and some appliances.

We contact them well in advance of the remodel, send photos, and usually do a walk-through to make sure the donations are viable for another home. They do charge a fee, but we have found that it is equal to or less than the cost of having our demolition company remove the items and take them to the landfill. Our customers are pleased that much of what we remove for remodeling can be reused in this way. It takes a little coordination, but it’s worth the effort.

Reader response:

A recent column talked about it Renovation of the historic Asa Gray House in Cambridge. As it happens, one of our readers is a professor emeritus at Harvard University, who specializes in Asa Gray. He took the time to write to us and add additional details and history about this important home. We love reader feedback, so thank you for the thoughtful response we’ve included here:

To the editor,

Having witnessed several renovations of the Garden House (Asa Gray House) in Cambridge, I took a peek at what was done in this latest renovation to upgrade and protect this important home.

Although, as you point out, Asa Gray was not originally inhabited (the first occupant was William Dandridge Peck who oversaw the Botanic Garden), it was traditionally known as the Garden House. It was located in the Botanic Garden which was located at the corner of Garden Street and Linnean Street in Cambridge. The garden is now the site of Harvard University’s Botanic Garden Apartments. Gray’s wife, Jane Loring Gray, lived in the house until her death in 1909; Gray died in 1888. Harvard then sold the house and moved across the street to its present location.

Just to set the record straight, I believe those cabinets mentioned are not mahogany, but eucalyptus. They were used to store dried plant specimens that were the subject of Gray’s studies. These specimens came from explorations in the western United States and from around the world, especially Asia. Eucalyptus woodWith its chemical composition and distinctive aroma, it could have been used to protect these precious plants from insect pests. The plants are still available for study at the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University where they continue to be used to document the world’s flora. The seeds would not have been germinated in these tanks but in the conservatory adjacent to the Garden House in the Botanic Garden. The garden contained many exotic plants, some of which were the first of their kind to grow in New England.

The gray color, the cabinets and the house represent a certain period in the development of science in North America. The Grays welcomed botanists from all over the world with warm hospitality and botanical treasures, making the Garden House an essential stop for any visiting botanist.

Yours truly,

Donald H. Fester

Asa Gray Professor Emeritus

Harvard Herbs

Mark Philbin is Project Development Manager at Charlie Allen Renovations In Cambridge. Send your questions to [email protected]. Questions are subject to editing. Sign up for the Globe’s free real estate newsletter – our weekly digest of buying, selling and design – on Boston.com/address-newsletter.