Hey Collectors! Eco Organizing
Can you believe it is almost Spring? I love spring the smell of flowers, the rich scent of the earth, fresh cut grass. Spring always makes me feel hopeful and that anything is possible. It is also a great time for bringing ways to be green into your organization. Eco organizing doesn’t have to be complicated and you can have some fun! Let’s celebrate Earth Day a little early with some easy eco organizing tips.
First, I wanted to share some statics with you from TreeHugger.com. I would recommend reading the whole article. It is an interesting read with lots of good additional information:
1.4 Pounds: The amount of trash generated daily, on average, by every American. Packed in cubed feet it would be the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
254 million tons: The amount of trash that Americans generate in a year.
22 billion: Plastic bottles thrown out yearly.
12 feet: The height of a wall from Los Angeles to New York City that could be made from tossed office paper every year.
300: Laps around the equator that could be made in paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons disposed of annually.
2,000+: The number of active landfills in the country.
1000s: The number of inactive landfills in the country.
38.4 tons: the amount of garbage per person in Las Vegas landfills.
10 tons, or less: The amount of landfill waste per person in Idaho, North Dakota, and Connecticut
Hopefully, these statistics will motivate you to consider being green not only in your organizing but also your every day life.
Rachel’s Five Fun Eco Friendly Organizing Tips
1. Banker’s boxes. I love the size of banker’s boxes because they are easy to carry around the house and easy to label for sorting. My favorite part about banker’s boxes is that most of them have handles. They also stack nicely and are sturdy enough to reuse for years.
2. Creative repurposing for jewelry. Bangle bracelets are tricky to store. They don’t quite fit into most jewelry boxes and they don’t hang well on a hook.
Rather than stash them in the dark corners of your dresser drawers, create a bangle holder from items you already own.
Most bottles fit bangle bracelets quite well. Simply grab a bottle or any beer or soda bottle will do and stack your bracelets vertically around the bottle.
If you want to make your bracelet collection part of your decor, opt for a decorative bottle that’s slightly larger than the bracelets. They’ll stack nicely and rest around the bottle without falling to the bottom.
3. T-shirts. If you have a lot of t-shirts, especially ones from Jr. High, High School, College or perhaps races where you have competed, teams you support, etc. consider having them made into a quilt.
You will release all that clutter and have something useful that is fun and lets you enjoy good memories every time you use it.
4. Go green with your cleaning products. Most of the time we already have these items in our kitchen or pantry such as vinegar, olive oil, baking soda, etc. Here are 8 eco friendly cleaning recipes you can try: http://www.womensvoices.org/take-action-with-womens-voices/green-cleaning-parties/green-cleaning-recipes/
5. I love to repurpose clear plastic containers that I get from the store when I purchase shower curtains, pillowcases or bedding. I use the smaller clear pillowcase containers to keep my cords together. I love that these containers are sturdy, see through and you can easily label with a sharpie. With the different sizes you can use them for to store a variety of things. No more trips to the store to spend money on containers you already have at home!
Here’s another site I love that is full of good information: http://earth911.com
How are you green? What are your favorite eco-friendly tips for organizing or for life? Share in the comments below.
Do you need to get organized and want to be as green as possible? Are you looking for creative organizers who can help you declutter and repurpose? Collector Care can help you get organized and be environmentally friendly while doing it!
Call Collector Care at 925.548.7750 or email [email protected] to schedule your free 30-minute consultation and learn about how we can help you be more organized.