Being organized helps your life run more smoothly.
But did you realize that it helps Mother Earth, too?

It’s true.  Let’s look at the recycling principles – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – and how they relate to being organized.

Reduce

Think twice before you buy something. Ask yourself: Do I need it? Will I use it? Do I love it?  If the answer to these questions is “no”, then you probably shouldn’t buy it. When you buy only things that you need, use or love, you’re keeping your home or office from becoming cluttered.  Which means that you’re not going to have more stuff to get rid of later.

If you know what you have and where to find it, you’re not going to be buying duplicates of things you already have. Which means that you’re not going to have food go to waste, or extra things to declutter.

Reuse

One of the places people get stuck when decluttering is in deciding what to do with things they no longer want, need or love, but that are still usable by someone else who might need them.

You could ask your family or friends if they want the items.

If the items are designer clothes, purses, etc., you could take them to a consignment/resale shop.  There are also a number of websites that specialize in reselling high-end goods.

If the items are more mainstream, you could try selling them on ebay, Craigslist, or on your local area’s Facebook classifieds page.  Some neighborhoods also have Facebook pages where people post items that they want to sell or give away.

And of course, you can donate the items so that someone else who needs them can benefit.  Many charities will even pick the items up from you.

Recycle

You probably have a number of things that aren’t in good enough shape to sell or donate.  You don’t have to send them all to the landfill!  There are a growing number of haul-away services that will come pick up your discards and take them away to be sorted.  They will recycle whatever they can – including things like pieces of old wood, which you can’t typically put in your curbside recycling bin – before dumping anything that remains in the landfill.

So, how about it? Are you ready to get organized and do something good for yourself and the planet?