Organizing all those Great Ideas

Want to de-clutter but remember all those great ideas? And save paper?

Use Evernote to save your ideas, things you see, and things you like. Then find them all on any computer or device you use. For free.

http://www.evernote.com/

Cleaning Up Cleaning Habits

Once you have begun to de-clutter and organize your home you will literally feel the difference. Cleaning will be easier! Why not continue that good feeling by using some green products? Home products like cleaning agents, aerosols, air fresheners, and disinfectants contribute to the problem. These products may also contain hidden cancer-causing ingredients.

Many eco-friendly products save you money in the long run because they are concentrated. They also smell good! Many products are available in stores, but here are some resources:

http://www.greennest.com/

http://www.ourgreenhouse.com/

http://www.akeena.net/

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

http://www.mrsmeyers.com/

http://www.methodhome.com/

http://www.simplegreen.com/

http://www.eco-me.com/

What it means to be a green organizer.

When I started my professional organizing business, I was trying to find my niche when someone suggested bringing what was very personal to me into my professional life. I found this Green Code of Ethics from another professional organizer that I have adopted.

http://www.srfboy.com/greensurfers/greenbuilding/greenorganizing.htm

As a Green Organizer, I will promote:

* Using recycled and/or biodegradable products where possible and feasible
* Re-using products rather than buying new products
* Limiting the amount of unwanted items going to landfills by donating, free-cycling, selling and recycling as much as possible
* Purchasing organizing products from companies that adhere to environmentally sustainable manufacturing practices

As an eco-organizer I will personally strive to:

* Limit the nature and volume of the products I consume and discard
* Purchase from Green product and service vendors.
* Teaching Green practices to my children.
* Set up effective and efficient recycling centers in my home.
* Find creative ways to store potentially useful items or give them away for future re-use instead of throwing them away.
* Purchase earth-friendly, second-hand, or locally-produced products where feasible.
* Follow Green disposal practices such as:
o Using recycling centers
o Finding individuals or organizations who need unusual items I need to get rid of
o Safely and legally disposing of toxic items.
* Share my knowledge of green organizing with others.
* Encourage vendors to offer more earth-friendly products.

Cutting down on piles of paper

The daily mail is a huge source of clutter and can soon overwhelm you if you do not have a system in place to deal with mail and paper in general. Chris Walters of the Consumerist has 8 great tips to stopping junk mail BEFORE it enters your home:

1. Use their form to generate 17 ready-to-mail requests to different direct mail companies. DoNotMail will take the data you enter and create a PDF document with all 17 letters ready to print and send. http://donotmail.org/form.php?id=50

If you don’t want to enter your personal info into a random site, you can use fake data and then download the PDF document for a reference to create your own letters.

2. Contact Opt-Out Prescreen online https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t
or at 1-888-567-8688 (888-5-OPT-OUT) from your home telephone .

3. Email your removal request to Abacus Direct at optout@abacus-us.com

3. Remove your name from ADVO Inc. by calling 1-888-241-6760 or completing the form at www.advo.com/consumersupport.html

4. Fill out the form on the Direct Marketing Association’s website at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing

5. Email your removal request to Publishers Clearinghouse at privacychoices@pchmail.com

6. Get off Val-Pak’s list by filing out the form at http://www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm

7. To remove yourself from Acxiom’s list, you must request a mail-in opt-out form by calling 1-877-774-2094.

8. DoNotMail.com notes, “Catalogs may stop coming when your other removal requests are processed, but you can always call the catalog company.”

Recycling Electronics

DID YOU KNOW THAT?
In 2005, the EPA estimated that unwanted electronics represented 1.9 to 2.2 million tons. The majority of these products, about 1.5 to 1.9 million tons, were discarded in landfills with only 345,000 to 379,000 tons recycled.

Three easy steps

Step 1: Select the product to trade-in and describe its condition. Step 2: Ship your product with the prepaid shipping label provided. Step 3: Receive your reward card in the mail.

http://www.econewonline.com/

Excess stuff to give? Help out a non-profit

Throwplace, “the internet’s landfill alternative”, allows you to donate goods that can be used by non-profits. Your non-profit can also sign up to get goods as well. Registration is free.

http://www.throwplace.com/

Saving paper and cutting down on clutter!

Here is a nifty product to help you stay organized without using paper.

http://www.cocoaliving.com/products/slate

You can use it at home or on the go. You place templates beneath the transparent writing surface. The CD included with the Slate contains over 500 templates.

They also have a desktop version that can cut down on clutter. You can jot down notes, to do’s, events, in one place.

Happy Friday!

De-cluttering? Do you Zwaggle?

Zwaggle is a national network of parents who have come together to share.

It’s simple: You receive Zwaggle points (or Zoints) by giving your gently used things to other families, then use those Zoints to obtain “new” things for your family.

Sound financially smart? Ecologically responsible?
Like a fun way to provide for your kids? IT IS!

Categories include: arts and crafts, strollers, DVD’s, furniture, holiday fun and many more.

Check it out:

http://www.zwaggle.com/

Waste not, want not. Eco-organizing

Make a use it or lose it basket with products you don’t love and aren’t going to use (lotion, shampoo, sweaters, shirts, pants, office supplies, etc.). Take the basket to work to share with others or keep it in your home and let friends and family know they are welcome to take any item in that basket.

Another fun idea is to have a party with your friends and have everyone bring over what they no longer love and use and swap! Make it fun by having wine and cheese or beer and pizza.

If your friends and family are less than enthusiastic take your basket to your favorite charity.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Green Organizing

When organizing you can still be green. You don’t have to go out and spend hundreds on new, matching containers; get creative with what you have around the home. What is most important is that you have a home for your belongings and systems set up that work for your natural habits.

Reduce: Ask yourself if you really need an item before purchasing. Then ask yourself again. Being organized helps you reduce duplicate purchases.

Reuse: Amy Gallagher of LowLande design gave me this great trip. Use those plastic curtain zipped bags to hold cords. They are a great size for this and they are clear so you can see what is inside and use a sharpie to label what the cord is for. I love Votivo candles and I reuse the pretty containers to hold small items like rubber bands and paper clips. You can take tour moving boxes to a local moving company which will reuse them or sell them.

Recycle: When pitching magazines and papers (shred important documents!) don’t forget to recycle.

Think of how creative your grandparents and great grandparents were during WWII. Nothing was put to waste then. It is my hope that one of the positive outcomes of our current economy will be people reducing, reusing and recycling more.

Happy Friday!