Wednesday, Jul. 28, 2010

Cut down on clutter, but don't be wasteful

I have never been an extremely organized person.

I believe you are born either orderly or free-spirited. Contrary to popular public opinion, I think both options are just fine.

I believe this because, even without innate organizational tendencies, I have always managed to muddle through. I have a couple of college degrees, no trouble holding down a job, excellent ratings on all of my performance reviews and a perfectly clean permanent record. I have even managed to keep my kids fed and afloat.

But I will admit that I struggle with getting rid of things because I want them to be recycled, donated or repurposed whenever possible. Until I can find a way to dispose of things ecologically, I tend to keep them.

The problem I have with most professional organizers is that they advocate dividing clutter into just three main categories: keep, donate, trash. Sure they will recommend recycling the items that can be easily thrown into your recycling bin, but ultimately the end result is lots and lots of trash being added to the landfill.

I just cannot do that. I have to take the time to find the right tiny screwdriver to remove the battery from that broken toy. Then I have to make a trip to the North Wake Solid Waste Management Facility to recycle the battery. (I wait until I have lots of things to take to the dump - please no comments about wasting gas to recycle one battery.)

Bottom line, my way is more time-consuming than just piling everything into a trash bag.

So when I was presented with an opportunity to attend "Eco-Organization 101" I went in optimistic that this green organizing seminar could make my life easier by marrying organizational strategies with ecological sensibilities.

The presenter was Julie Seibert, owner of Healing Through Organization, the only North Carolina company that specializes in eco-organization services (Her website is at www.healingorganization.com).

But once the presentation started, I remembered the other thing that bothers me about professional organizers: They seem to believe that not being uber-organized is a disability or character flaw. Obviously, at this I take offense.

I think it is time that the uber-organized people of the world stop looking down their noses at those of us who take a more relaxed approach to organization.

If you are having trouble seeing my point, take a peak at "A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder - How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place" by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman. This book made me feel so much better about myself.

Chapter One opens with a quote from Albert Einstein: "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then, is an empty desk?"

Go Albert.

But I digress. Ultimately, de-cluttering is a good thing, if done in an ecologically sound way. So I will step off my soapbox and share my favorite tips from Julie's presentation:

Work with your natural habits when setting up a system. For me, this means having a system in place to streamline donating and recycling.

When you have electronic items to get rid of, go to www.buymytronics.com. They will buy your old BlackBerry, iPod or game console. They even pay for the shipping.

When you have a broken item that you are about to trash, post it to free cycle.com or the free section of Craigslist. Some handy person will probably snap up your broken treadmill in a heartbeat.

Most environmental damage is done during manufacturing, so buying less stuff, or buying used, is a great way to be kinder to the planet.

When you receive a gift that you have no intention of using, set it aside for regifting - but first note who gave it to you so you don't regift it back to the giver!

And lastly, allot five minutes of your day to organization. That seems reasonable, even for me.

Today I will concentrate on finding that tiny screwdriver.