Earth Day is April 22nd. This week, I was planning to write an epic article about making big changes to create big change!
But then I was realized that we can create big change through small but consistent positive steps every day.
I was reminded as I (and you can try these, too):
- Filled my re-usable water bottle with home-filtered water;
- packed a lunch to eat between my client appointments;
- washed and re-packed my reusable drinking straw;
- opened yesterday’s mail while standing over the recycling bin;
- added errands to Friday’s Errand List (if you plan just one trip for all of them, you can save time, money and fuel!);
- planned our weekly menu, incorporating food we already have (saving time, money and minimizing food waste);
- wiped down the bathroom counter with a concentrated cleaner we mix and dilute ourselves;
- opened the blinds and curtains during the day while the sun warms the house;
- grabbed a sweater instead of turning up the heat;
- made sure my stash of re-usable shopping bags are back in my van where I need them; and
- encouraged and assisted my clients today to reduce, re-use and recycle.
These steps aren’t even hard to make. Little steps, turned into habits, taking no time at all to complete regularly, but amounting to a big difference over time. Like so many challenges, weight loss or fitness or getting organized, progress towards a goal is made daily in small increments.
So, with Earth Day just around the corner, how can you celebrate taking care of the earth every day? Not just once a year but every day in little ways?
“What Do I Do With All Those Magazine Articles?”
if you want to read your information like a book, or if you want your information to stay portable.
category. As you collect the articles, filing becomes so easy! Then, when you’re ready to review the file, you can pull out all the similar articles at once.
I detest errands and shopping. The expense, hassle and time spent. But, of course, there are items – food, clothing, supplies, etc. – that I need for my family, our home and my business. Errands and shopping are a necessary evil.
I have been pondering how to spend less time, money and hassle on running errands and shopping. I’ve talked to a lot of people also working on the same challenge, and we’ve learned a lot from each other!
Fall is in the air.
hello boots and wellies. Toss the old or unmatched flip or flop, get rid of all but the last pair or two of sneakers (“Truly, dear, no one needs 4 pairs of old sneakers for ‘yard work.'” ). Take in any shoes in need of repair, and put away the rest. Then make space for the colder weather shoes and boots. Do the same with sport items. Play it Again Sports, anyone?
returned to a store? Stuff that belongs to other people? Take those piles / bags and boxes that are next to the door or already in the car, and get them Gone, gone, gone!!
First things first, purge the garbage / recycling / donations. And pull out the cars while you work!
boxes. I know, it’s tough to decide do we keep the box the vacuum / lamp / appliance came in or recycle it? However, we’ve discovered that if we do need to pack the item up or return it, we can find another box (more come all the time!) or return the item without it. If you just can’t part with the boxes, break them down and store them flat.
outgrown sports items, chose to leave the items there (instead of hassling with selling them on consignment), they cut me a check. Beautiful! Try listing outgrown bikes and scooters on Facebook sell pages, there is a market for such things! And, thinking vertically again – install some hooks on the walls or beams, to get those summer toys and bikes off the garage floor for winter!
how long to keep certain types of papers. One idea that I shared with the group was the idea of “20 Minutes or 20 Dollars”. A couple of people made a point to tell me that they really liked the idea, so I thought I would share.
20 Minutes: 
The black spaghetti mess of unmatched, unlabeled and unclaimed charging cords from ancient phones or digital cameras gone by? Look around. If what you use regularly already has a cord attached, you could probably purge all of those unclaimed cords and spend $20 someday on a replacement in the very remote chance you actually needed one of those random cords. Clear up a whole lot of space, and bank on the fact you don’t need what is in that THAT box!
Sombreros (or similar items, you get the idea!). Sombreros are big. Awkward to store. Not a commonly used items, let’s face it. If you EVER had a need for a sombrero – party, costume, school presentation – you could either spend the $20 to buy one at a party store or on-line, or better yet, ask 10 friends if anyone has a sombrero, and I bet someone does!
already, especially considering we just painted the kitchen and office. We will also look for any supplies, like paint brushes and rollers, etc., before we head to Home Depot to buy paint and supplies.
I recently worked with a lovely client in her laundry room. As we got started, she mentioned some great product ideas for shelving units and wall hooks for cleaning supplies, and I was all set to google those ideas on my phone, too, because Yes! That sounds waaaaaayyy more fun than tackling a pile of laundry! HOWEVER… that is not how Organizing works.
Here’s something to remember: almost every organizing project requires at least some purging, some “letting go” of stuff.
items, found in every kitchen EVER.
round 2-cup containers with screw-on lids, flat squares and a few large ones for our recent homemade ice cream habit!).
keep fewer containers overall, but can safely use the glass containers for storage, cooking and reheating.