Organzing Your Wrapping/Green Ideas

Here are some suggestions:

Instead of getting all different kinds of wrapping paper for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, etc. consider getting just butcher block paper that you can dress up with bows, artworks, etc. ; create your  signature color (purple should stand out at every event!): or simply choose three colors such as silver, white and red that you can mix and match for the occasion.

When wrapping gifts consider assigning one color for each group of people to make mix ups less likely and easier for you to organize.  Immediate family could be white; co-workers could be red; cousins silver, etc.

Some eco-friendly options instead of wrapping paper include: using newspaper (foreign & comics are good choices); old maps; reusing paper from last year (simply set an iron on low and smooth); leftover fabric; old calendars, catalogs, magazines; jars and other resusable items such as a cake pan.  Have fun getting creative!

Look for non-paper  (http://www.islandnet.com/~ecodette/ecosource.htm)  and high post consumer content ( http://www.endoprint.com/wrapping-paper-s/3.htm&click=16 and   http://www.greenraising.com/Recycled-Gift-Wrap-C12.aspx ) as this closes the loop. Also check out reusable wrapsacks:  http://wrapsacks.com/

Remember to reuse bows; my mother has been doing this since I was a child and they last several gifts.  I also like to reuse the clear containers curtains come in to keep ribbons.

Give an Experience

Most environmental damage is done in manufacturing stage; the less consumerism, the better it is for the environment.  The EPA estimated Americans produced 254.1 million tons of household trash in 2007.  In 2008 when the economy tanked landfills reported a 30% decline in waste. What is an experience or event or class that you have always wanted to take?

Simply Stashed

I had the pleasure of meeting the mompreneur Christy Gibson Hicks who invented this product.  They are stylish, eco-friendly (they meet the highest European standards for baby products), reusable, fun and they will not open doors.

Check out her line that includes mini products for seniors and children as well as a version for your garage.

This is one green organizing product you can feel good about purchasing!  To receive 10% off use the code:  Julie

http://www.christydesignsonline.com/

Easy Way to Properly Dispose of Batteries

How many times when decluttering do you wonder if the batteries are still good?  Or do you already have a pile that need to be properly disposed?

In Raleigh, you can drop off at any fire station.  With 28 in the area, there is likely one nearby for easy drop off.  This is an easy way to dispose of used batteries properly.

While you can use rechargeable batteries for everything (I would not recommend them for smoke detectors) they are great for many other electronics and items we use daily.

To find a fire station near you:

http://raleighnc.gov/search/content/Fire/Articles/FireStations.html

To learn more about rechargeable batteries:

http://www.greenbatteries.com/

Live outside the area?  Find out how to dispose of batteries where you live:

http://earth911.com/

Affordable School Supplies!!!!

If you have not heard of or been to The Scrap Exchange in Durham I wholeheartedly recommend a trip! This place takes stuff that people would normally toss and use it to create art or for other projects.

If you are a teacher, home school your kids or need back to school supplies, this is an affordable gold mine!  Some of the “new” items they recently received this month include: 1940-70s Vintage Magazines, Mini Glass Beakers and VXI Tuffset Headsets.

It is a great place for an alternative birthday party for kids, too or to get your creative juices flowing. For instance, they have wallpaper samples. I am in the process of repairing my old dollhouse for my nieces and those samples are going to be perfect!

Check out their groovy site:

http://www.scrapexchange.org/

For those outside of the Triangle area, here are some similar stores:

http://www.scrapbox.org/ in Ann Arbor

http://www.artsandscraps.org/  in Detriot

http://urbanore.ypguides.net/ in Berkeley

http://www.mfta.org/ New York

If you have not heard of or been to The Scrap Exchange in Durham I wholeheartedly recommend a trip! This place takes stuff that people would normally toss and use it to create art or for other projects.

If you are a teacher, home school your kids or need back to school supplies, this is an affordable gold mine!  Some of the “new” items they recently received this month include: 1940-70s Vintage Magazines, Mini Glass Beakers and VXI Tuffset Headsets.

It is a great place for an alternative birthday party for kids, too or to get your creative juices flowing. For instance, they have wallpaper samples. I am in the process of repairing my old dollhouse for my nieces and those samples are going to be perfect!

Check out their groovy site:

http://www.scrapexchange.org/

For those outside of the Triangle area, here are some similar stores:

http://www.scrapbox.org/ in Ann Arbor

http://www.artsandscraps.org/  in Detriot

http://urbanore.ypguides.net/ in Berkeley

http://www.mfta.org/ New York

Donating Stuffed Animals

Purge before the school year starts.  Here is a wonderful local resource where you can donate them.  If animals are stained, torn up, etc. then do not donate them.  I always tell people would you give it to a friend or family member?

For North Carolina residents: brandi_byers@yahoo.com

Currently accepting items: Gently used stuffed animals, new stuffed animals, gently used children’s books, new children’s books, gently used baby/children’s blankets, new baby/children’s blankets.

To find a chapter near you:

http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/Chapters.html

Get a New Look by Organizing!

I organized a playroom this week and was amazed at how different the room looked when I was finished. It was like it was a brand new room simply by de-cluttering and getting everything organized.

I also rearranged furniture and the owner was going to add some more furniture from other areas of the home. If you want a new look, organizing can be a cheap alternative to buying new furniture. Give new energy to the room by getting rid of what you aren’t using, get it organized and “shop” in your home for items that can give the room a new look!

Carole Marcotte specializes in Interior Re-Design and will comb through your houses and create a new look with what you already own.  Learn more about her here:

http://www.formandfunction-raleigh.com/

Happy organizing!

All I am askin’ for is a little RESPECT!

In the September 2009  issue of O magazine Suze Orman talked about money and personal power. Her last point was about how you respect your possessions says a lot about how you respect yourself.

Suze talked about when she was wealthy she would throw her clothes into a pile each day because she was too lazy to hang them up and thus spent a ton on dry cleaning.  She felt it showed that she didn’t respect the money she worked so hard to earn. Now, her closets are “temples of organization.”

Sometimes a room becomes so overwhelming you don’t know where to start. That is where a professional organizer can come in and help.

Are you showing respect to those items you worked so hard to earn?

Eco-Organizing your Paper! Part 2

Of the 42 percent of the world’s industrial wood harvest going to paper. Industrialized nations, with 20 percent of the world’s population, consume 87 percent of the world’s printing and writing papers. Global production in the pulp, paper and publishing sector is expected to increase by 77% from 1995 to 2020.

By going green with your paper you can make a difference.  Here are easy peasy tips:

If you are buying paper, remember to look for  post-consumer recycled content, which avoids cutting down any new trees, and “closes the recycling loop.”

A recent study estimates that Americans could prevent the logging of over 16 million trees annually if everyone switched from paper bills to Internet banking.  Most institutions provide E statements for 401 K and credit cards can provide paperless statements.

Buy recycled filing products. Most stores offer recycled products with non recycle materials.  The more demand that is created for recycled products will help bring prices down.

All FreedomFiler label kits are currently manufactured in the USA and are printed without using any plastic components.  The packaging is streamlined to remove all extraneous printed materials to use as little paper as possible.  The company is also green in many ways. Find out more at https://freedomfiler.com/AffiliateClickThrough.cfm?cid=9749

Think before you print!!

Print on both sides.

Keep a box to place paper with one used side at your desk. Flip and use the other side for scratch paper.

The Other 2 New R’s

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