Maybe I've been watching too many hoarders shows on cable TV or maybe I'm just sick of looking at the clutter in my house these days, but I'm on a purging mission.
Since I moved in with my husband 14 years ago, we've moved 11 times. Out of those places we lived in each place less than 3 years, with the exception of our townhouse where we lived for 4 years. I have moved the same crap from house to house for 14 years. So now, since this is the last house we'll live in til we retire (I hope!), I am taking it upon myself to finally purge of this shhhtuff.
It's a very liberating experience, and I've always wanted to live more simply. I have what the organizational experts call "memory clutter", and LOTS of it. I keep ticket stubs, theater programs, and city maps of places I've been. Mainly it's because I have the worst memory and would forget about these events otherwise.
But on the other hand, I'm very type-A and believe in "a place for everything, and everything in it's place". I also believe in the technique of getting rid of something if you bring in something new. I go through the kids toys, books, and clothes as often as I can (once every 2 months or so) and have a designated spot in my storage room where I'll either sell the stuff (in a yard sale or consignment sale), or I'll donate it. My husband gave me a scanner for Christmas which has me scanning recipes, articles and, hopefully soon, receipts so I can have less mounds of paper in my life.
Knowing the stuff isn't going into a landfill is the most gratifying thing for me. And getting it out of my house is the best feeling in the world. Breathing a little easier without stressing about this junk in my life is the best reward, and not a bad way to start out the new year.
Hope you can purge and de-clutter your space in order to live more simply. Remember to recycle the papers you get rid of and back up any files you put into your computer. Also, get a shredder to dispose of personal documents or take your stuff to a community shredding event.
Happy purging!
Showing posts with label environmental blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environmental blog. Show all posts
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Green Festival recap
There were plenty of vendors in attendance to show you how to green your home, but I wasn't in the market for that. There was a row of booths dedicated to being a green parent for infants and toddlers, but not for older kids like my own. And then there were a few clothing vendors who sold clothes made of organic cotton or recycled water bottles that were overpriced. Then there were those EXTREME eco-products like compost toilets and a spray that takes the color and smell out of the urine in your toilet bowl so you don't have to flush it. I can't make stuff like that up.
There were only a few select vendors that caught my attention where I actually spoke with their spokesperson or company owner for more than just a few seconds. The rest of the booths started to blend together after a couple of hours spent there, which was highly disappointing. If you tried one chocolate sample, you tried them all, you know? There weren't enough companies promoting things for greening everyday living and that was disappointing.
Another disappointment in the festival was that their ad promoted a children's section that was going to highlight what the new National Children's Museum in DC would feature. And because of this I decided to take my 9 year old son with me. It was a waste of time. They had reserved some open space in the convention center where kids could draw with crayons, make crafts out of plastic bottle pieces, and play bowling with some 2 liters filled with rice. Thank goodness my son found the rest of the stuff in the other booths interesting or I would've owed him plenty for dragging him through this festival.
But the biggest disappointment for me was the prices of the things sold. The chocolate bars being sold, (that we so eagerly tried in the many samples they had shared), cost $4 a bar!! A 2-year-old's dress cost $45? Really? Sure it was made out of recycled water bottles, but it's still for a child who's going to outgrow it in a few months anyway. Some people are eager to spend this kind of money, and I guess that's great for stimulating the economy. But for the most part, there are still people struggling out there to make ends meet and I believe the green movement will not go anywhere if it can't be affordable to everyone.
I already felt a little out of place since I wasn't a Rastafarian, hippy, or LGBT, so it didn't seem like the heavenly place I anticipated the festival to be. The food they served was mostly vegetarian, vegan, or goat (that one really threw me off!), so we had some curried tofu and rice, and some vegan version of lasagna that was pretty disgusting.
Sooo, the conclusion of this story is to say that I felt that although I am a proud environmentalist, even I felt excluded from this crowd. I feel like there is so much improvement to be made in order to get this movement into the mainstream. I seem to be pretty normal in comparison to some of these extreme vegan, hemp-wearing, patchouli-smelling people and I hope to be able to bring the rest of you normal people into this movement with me. A few simple steps don't have to cost you your paycheck, and some things will actually save you money. I was pretty disappointed not to find anything like that at the festival, so maybe I'll set up my own booth at the festival next year. :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Paperless environment
Have you ever thought about how much paper you use in a typical day? Between receipts, work and home offices, and junk mail, it can really add up. What can we do to eliminate such waste?
REDUCE
Just say no...
to ATM receipts, gas station receipts, or any other automated receipt where they actually give you the choice. These little pieces of paper can amount to a lot. Less is more.
Print on less paper
When you print from home or work, think about 1) whether you really need to print it, 2) whether you could print on both sides of the paper, and 3) if you could use already used scrap paper instead. This will save you money in the long run by not having to buy as much paper.
Use recycled paper
This goes for printer paper, journals, notebook paper, etc. Less energy used to make virgin paper and it increases the demand for recycled products.
Eliminate junk mail
How? Visit:
www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/
http://www.ecocycle.org/junkmail/index.cfm
http://www.donotmail.org/
Stop the catalogs!
Shop online instead. Call the customer service number on the back of the catalog and ask them to take you off their mailing list. Pottery Barn and their affiliates seem to be the ones that are delivered the most often, but there are several others out there.
Borrow instead of buying magazines
They have the exact same copies that are on the newstands at the library. And they're free! I believe you can check out the older versions but have to read the latest ones at the library. But it eliminates waste, fuel to deliver these magazines, and saves you money!
Online newspapers!
Unless you love getting the Sunday paper for the comics, coupons, or just to enjoy with your coffee, read your headlines on the computer. Or find other uses for your used newspaper, such as for packing boxes that you ship, or paper hats and paper airplanes for the kids. Use comics to wrap kids presents. Finish it off with a pretty ribbon and it makes a beautiful presentation. And when you're done, RECYCLE IT!!
Paperless billing
Pay your bills online. You can do this through your bank and with the company directly. This will eliminate those bills getting mailed to your home (less fuel), or having to go to the post office to get stamps and mail them back (less fuel). It's less paper to dispose of and less paper for those companies to have to produce.
REUSE
If you want to take it one step further in your environmental efforts, reuse as much paper as you can. I cut my letter sized paper in 4 and use that for scrap paper to make grocery lists, etc. I use a lot of the paper from flyers or regular mail for my kids to draw on. And then, of course, I use some scrap paper for printing things like coupons that I find online.
RECYCLE
Once you're done with your used printer paper, junk mail, and regular mail, please recycle it! Even your phone books are recyclable so don't just toss it so it can end up in the landfill. Don't forget all of the paper in your shredder! Every recycling center accepts paper.
More websites:
About paper in our society:
http://ecology.com/features/paperchase/
About the environmental benefits of recycled paper:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=24437
Try these tips in order to use less paper, or at least dispose of it in a more responsible way. Less paper, less clutter in your home. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
REDUCE
Just say no...
to ATM receipts, gas station receipts, or any other automated receipt where they actually give you the choice. These little pieces of paper can amount to a lot. Less is more.
Print on less paper
When you print from home or work, think about 1) whether you really need to print it, 2) whether you could print on both sides of the paper, and 3) if you could use already used scrap paper instead. This will save you money in the long run by not having to buy as much paper.
Use recycled paper
This goes for printer paper, journals, notebook paper, etc. Less energy used to make virgin paper and it increases the demand for recycled products.
Eliminate junk mail
How? Visit:
www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/
http://www.ecocycle.org/junkmail/index.cfm
http://www.donotmail.org/
Stop the catalogs!
Shop online instead. Call the customer service number on the back of the catalog and ask them to take you off their mailing list. Pottery Barn and their affiliates seem to be the ones that are delivered the most often, but there are several others out there.
Borrow instead of buying magazines
They have the exact same copies that are on the newstands at the library. And they're free! I believe you can check out the older versions but have to read the latest ones at the library. But it eliminates waste, fuel to deliver these magazines, and saves you money!
Online newspapers!
Unless you love getting the Sunday paper for the comics, coupons, or just to enjoy with your coffee, read your headlines on the computer. Or find other uses for your used newspaper, such as for packing boxes that you ship, or paper hats and paper airplanes for the kids. Use comics to wrap kids presents. Finish it off with a pretty ribbon and it makes a beautiful presentation. And when you're done, RECYCLE IT!!
Paperless billing
Pay your bills online. You can do this through your bank and with the company directly. This will eliminate those bills getting mailed to your home (less fuel), or having to go to the post office to get stamps and mail them back (less fuel). It's less paper to dispose of and less paper for those companies to have to produce.
REUSE
If you want to take it one step further in your environmental efforts, reuse as much paper as you can. I cut my letter sized paper in 4 and use that for scrap paper to make grocery lists, etc. I use a lot of the paper from flyers or regular mail for my kids to draw on. And then, of course, I use some scrap paper for printing things like coupons that I find online.
RECYCLE
Once you're done with your used printer paper, junk mail, and regular mail, please recycle it! Even your phone books are recyclable so don't just toss it so it can end up in the landfill. Don't forget all of the paper in your shredder! Every recycling center accepts paper.
More websites:
About paper in our society:
http://ecology.com/features/paperchase/
About the environmental benefits of recycled paper:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=24437
Try these tips in order to use less paper, or at least dispose of it in a more responsible way. Less paper, less clutter in your home. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
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