Eco-Organize Your Home

by Perri Kersh

As an organizer, a common question I hear is “have you always been organized?” For me, that answer is “yes” (trust me, naming my business “Neat Freak” was no accident!). But as an eco-friendly organizer, when asked if I’ve always been green, I’m not able to answer “yes” with quite as much confidence. I think I’ve always been aware of trying to live with less, but I’ve certainly left my own giant footprint on the earth. Now that I’m a mom, I’m trying to heal the damage left by that footprint and un-do some of my less-than-earth-friendly ways. What I can say with great certainty is that living a greener life can lead to a more organized life (or perhaps it’s the other way around?). Here are a few of my favorite ways:

Go on a junk mail diet!

More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail, while creating and shipping junk mail produces more carbon emissions than 2.8 million cars. Add to that the billions of gallons of water used to produce and recycle junk mail each year AND the precious time you spend dealing with it and you’ve got one pesky problem. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too pleased that marketers are coming, uninvited, into my mailbox, wasting natural resources AND my time.

Reduce your junk mail clutter and regain up to 70 hours a year (no joke…that’s a lot of time!) by going on a junk mail diet. Check out CatalogChoice a free service that allows you to opt in or opt out of pretty much any catalog you can imagine.  Another great service is 41pounds.org a company that promises to reduce the 41 pounds of junk mail that you receive each year by 85-90%, including catalogs and credit card offers. Five years of service costs only $41.  Wanna try it out?  The Green Parent is giving away 2 gift certificates today…each redeemable for FIVE years of junk mail reduction services from 41pounds.org.  Enter below!

This is one diet that won’t leave you hungry for more. Just think of all the fun you can have with the time freed up from junk mail!

Think Before You Buy

Another way to live a more earth-friendly life and improve your organizational skills is to get in the habit of ALWAYS thinking before you buy. I spend most of my days as a professional organizer helping my clients figure out what to do with their “stuff”-the stuff that makes them feel like they’re suffocating, keeps them from enjoying their home, stuff that reminds them of a past they don’t want to revisit, or stuff that they feel they should keep “just in case.” Ask yourself these questions whenever you get that urge to purchase:

1. Do I really need this?
2. Where was it made and how did it get here?
3. Can I recycle the box or the packaging materials?
4. Would I buy this if it were not on sale?
5. Do I look fantastic in it?
6. Where am I going to put it? And if it goes there, what will I need to get rid of to make room for it?

I don’t want to take the joy out of every trip to the mall, but by simply asking these questions, you may find you come home with less, which allows you to live a simpler, more meaningful, less “stuff-filled” life.

Give Your Stuff New Life

Finally, get resourceful when it comes to purging. I’m a big fan of getting rid of the things you don’t need, use or love. But you can’t just throw it all in the trash. Here are some common items my clients want to rid their spaces of that can find new life elsewhere:

• Molded Styrofoam: You know, the stuff that your flat screen TV comes packaged in-you can take it to your local UPS or FedEx shipping location and they’ll recycle it or use it for packing material right in their store. Shipping peanuts can be returned there, too.

• Old Linens: Obviously, if linens are in good shape, you could donate them to a local charitable organization or even sell them on Craig’s List. But if they’ve seen better days, don’t just trash them. Contact your local animal shelter and donate old towels, sheets, curtains and pillows to be used in animal cages. Our local shelter is always more than happy to have them. In fact, they said they’d stop needing them when puppies stop chewing (in other words, NEVER!).

• Art supplies, wine corks, wall paper samples, OH MY!: Even the most “curious” items could be someone else’s treasure. Check your local phone book or simply Google “materials exchange” to see if your area has a place to donate these items. Or, check your local school district to see if a creative art teacher is interested in creating some “found art.”

• Cell phones and personal data assistants (PDAs): You’re probably aware that you can donate these to a local domestic violence organization to be re-used by women in need (as long as phones are working order-just be sure to remove any personal information before donating). You can also send your phone in for credit with Terrapass (www.terrapass.com), a carbon offset organization that allows you to offset your carbon usage for car travel, plane travel, events and more.

My goal with each of my clients is to help them live their most organized life, surrounded by the things they truly use, need and love. If, along the way, I also help them to become more aware of their environmental impact and make even one decision that reduces that impact, then that benefits everyone.

Organizing expert Perri Kersh began her career as a professional organizer and time management consultant in 1992. But, truth be told, she’s been organizing most of her life. Through various careers in counseling, marketing and consulting, she finally settled in to her passion and started Neat Freak in 2005. As an organizing consultant, Perri works with families, individuals, small business owners and students to help them declutter their space and their lives so they can function at their very best.  Learn more about Neat Freak Professional Organizing at www.neat-freak.com and visit Perri’s blog at http://neatfreak.wordpress.com.  When she’s not busy organizing for others, she frequently shovels up after her husband and two young children.

TODAY’S CONTEST

Win FIVE years of junk mail reduction from 41pounds.org.  Here’s how to enter:

1. Subscribe to The Green Parent via RSS or Email.  If you’re already a subscriber, just leave me a comment below and say so!

2. Join The Green Parents Forum (already a member? leave a comment below!)

3. Spread the word about this contest via Twitter, Stumble, Digg, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

Leave a comment below each time you do one of these things...each comment equals one entry.  The winning comment will be chosen by Random.org.  Contest ends Sept 12th.

Thanks all for entering! Here are the winners…
Here are your random numbers:

2
9

Timestamp: 2008-09-13 14:08:14 UTC

Congratulations Karissa and Danielle!!!