Peace of Mind Organizing

Seven ways to get organized while staying green

29 May 2009

So much of decluttering is about letting go. Disposing of things. Getting rid of excess.

But when you care about the environment, it can be difficult to let stuff go if it’s going to clutter up the environment. Sure, it’s easy to rent a dumpster and fill it up. Okay, not easy, but easier than caring where the stuff ends up. But if you’re committed to being kind to Mother Earth, then decluttering often involves extra steps.

I’ve been thinking about green organizing as I prepare the free talk I’m giving on the topic on June 9. Here are a few ideas for keeping your green cred while getting organized and letting go of excess.

1. Give away, don’t throw away. Find a favorite charity who will welcome your donations. If possible, schedule regular pick ups from them and keep a bag or box handy for storing your donations.
2. Sell your stuff the easy way. Sometimes having a yard sale or selling on ebay feels like more trouble than it’s worth. (For folks who have difficulty with organizing, a yard sale can be a nightmare.) But there are some easier methods for selling things. Craiglist is easy and free and it’s local, so it doesn’t involve shipping. (I’ve both sold and bought a car on Craiglist and have also sold lots of books.) Gazelle is a very easy way to sell used electronics. (I blogged about my experience with Gazelle a couple of months ago.) If you’re in St. Louis and you have a lot of stuff to sell, Charles Peper of Peper Auctions can come take it off your hands and sell it at auction for a cut of the proceeds. If you don’t live in St. Louis, perhaps you have a similar service in your area.
3. Sort your recycling as you use it. Sometimes the thought of having to sort old bottles, paper, cans and other recyclables is enough to make you just let it pile up. Unless you have a recycling service that doesn’t require sorting, set up individual bins for each type of recycling and sort into them as you’re disposing of things. Don’t forget to store those bins near where you use them—if you have to walk out to the garage put things in the recycling bin chances are pretty good they’ll hang around in the house for awhile first.
4. Use shreds for packing material. We all know how important it is to shred paper with identifying information in order to prevent identity theft. Certainly the shredded paper is recyclable. But you can go a step further and use those shreds as packing materials, rather than recycling them. It’s better for the environment than styrofoam peanuts, too.
5. Go paperless. Consider paying your bills online and viewing your statements online rather than receiving them in the mail. Not only is paper saved, but you don’t have to shred or file those statements after you’ve paid the bills.
6. Reuse and repurpose. Rather than throwing a potentially useful item away, think about you how might repurpose it in your home. This can be as simple as using old checkbook boxes as drawer dividers or perhaps turning an old door into a desk or other work surface. Use your imagination and think creatively about how you might reuse an item before you toss it or give it away. A note of caution: Don’t hang on to it “just in case.” If you can’t think of a use for it give it away (or sell it) so someone else can.
7. Think before bringing new things in. One way to avoid clutter (and cluttering up the environment by decluttering) is to reduce the amount of stuff you buy. If you think twice before making purchases, and avoid impulse purchases altogether, you’ll have less to get rid of. Consider living more simply.

If you live in St. Louis and would like to learn more about this topic, come to my free talk on June 9 at 11:30 a.m. in Kirkwood. Go to the events page of this website to learn more and to register. The talk is free, but registration is required.

Tagged with: charles peper, craigslist, decluttering, environment, gazelle, recycling, repurposing, speaking, workshops

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