Eco-Friendly Approaches to Organizing: Wastefulness
Wastefulness is top of mind as we celebrate Earth Day this month and think about our ecological footprint. I get it! No one wants to be wasteful of the resources they have and no one wants to add to landfills. I often hear, “Isn’t it wasteful to throw things out?” I hear that. But I also believe that wastefulness happens at the point of purchase, not the point of removal. The more we consume, the larger footprint we have on the earth … we need bigger houses, off-site storage units, and more containers to store all the things we want to keep on-hand. How do we become good stewards of the resources we have … including time, money, AND nature?
Organizing is about learning how to manage our resources well. Most organizing projects start with an editing process because we need to see what actually needs to be stored in each space. However, it can feel very wasteful to let go of items. Some homeowners know how much they spent on each item, which can hold them back from letting it go. Others swear to themselves that they will now use that item in the future, even if they did not do so for the last 18 years. Others feel guilty about letting an item go that was gifting to them by someone they love. Others get overwhelmed by the decisions about where to bring the items they no longer want to store in their home … can they consign it, donate it, recycle it, up-cycle it?
If you want to avoid wastefulness of the items you store in your home, consider these tips:
Be a Ruthless Gatekeeper.
You can do yourself (and your home) a great service by being a ruthless gatekeeper for items that come into your home. Ask yourself, will I actually use it and do I love it. Maintaining our spaces becomes so much easier if we limit what comes into our home to at least meeting one of these criteria (if not both!). Also, the less we buy, the less companies will create … reducing our global impact on the earth.
Do Not Accept Guilty Clutter.
This is really a subset of tip #1. Guilty Clutter is anything that you allow into your home that you do not want or will not use but feel as though you must accept. (This really deserves a whole post unto itself!) Listen to me: I HEREBY GIVE YOU PERMISSION to politely decline such gifts, or thoughtfully re-gift or re-purpose the item while also honoring the sentiment of why it was given to you. If someone loves you, they do not want you to feel guilty. If this is a problem that surfaces for you when you organize, let’s talk more about how to do this well.
Know Your Recycling Options.
Knowing where you can send items to be re-used, re-purposed, or re-cycled can help the process feel less wasteful. Are there local thrift shops that serve a purpose you support? Are there local recycling events where you can take hard to dispose of objects (paint, electronics, etc.). Do you have a Free Fridge or food pantry nearby where you can donate unused, unexpired food? Maybe a local school or library could use your donated books? Do a little research first, and it may help ease the burden of letting things go.
Edit Your Home Regularly
Just because you spent $$ purchasing an object X years ago does not necessarily mean that the object still has value to you. Our needs and tastes change over time. It’s sometimes easy to think, “I COULD use this in the future.” But will you really? It’s OK to say, “I got my use out of this item and it’s time to have a new life somewhere else.” We can still hold on to the memories of an item (or person who gave it to us) without keeping the physical item in our home.
I hope these tips help you on your next organizing project. May you find ways this month to both love and use the items in your home! Happy Spring Cleaning and Happy Earth Day!
