Put A Cork In It!

What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?   

~ W. C. Fields

 

So, is yours one of those families who like to save corks?  Well, mine is.  It's a habit that seems to go on throughout the generations of my family.  At one point in time, I remember a scare about the worlds supply of natural cork running out and the eventuality of having only synthetic corks to use.  This, I must admit, is not something that I can verify nor have witnessed at all.  There seems to be no shortage of wine, and no shortage of natural cork.  

Still, I still continue my obsession with saving corks!  Several years back, my brother gifted us all with hotplates made from some of the corks he had collected.  This was especially appreciated since my brother's good taste afforded a nice display of a wide variety.  Kits for projects like this are available in many common house-ware stores.

It's always a good idea to have an end purpose in mind (like my brother's cork hotplates) for anything that you like to collect.  Collecting can be a fun pastime, but finding a way to enjoy and share your collections is a way to enrich your life.

  

Giving, Receiving and Giving Again

"And the tree was happy"

— Shel Silverstein (The Giving Tree)

The average American uses approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree in paper 
and wood products per year.  - EPA Website statistic

Electronic correspondence is truly a wonder.  
We can keep in touch more than ever with our families, friends, associates, clients and acquaintences.
We are able to set up holiday, birthday, anniversary and special event reminders and then to follow up by sending an "e"-card to acknowledge them - amazing!
Yet, there are still many of us who enjoy checking the snail-mail box and and finding an actual piece of correspondence.  

For instance, the Hallmark company estimates that Americans send out approximately 57 million cards.  We will send about two and a half times that for Mother's Day.

Acknowledging important people in our lives 

in this time-honored and meaningful 

way can be a treasure more than any other "thing" we might give.

But giving doesn't have to stop there.  Our life cycles continue and it is important for us to continue to thank, honor and return the favor to the givers.

Here's how: 
Keep one manila envelope in a file.  Shred the envelopes and toss in the greeting cards you have received and are done with.  When the envelope is full, send it to St. Judes Ranch for Children to be made into new cards.  They accept all types of cards (Thank You, Get Well, Birthday, Mother's Day, etc).

The path to conservation starts on your doorstep. 


 

Creative Containers

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

-New England proverb   

Dare I say, Spring is finally here?  Yes, I am going to take the bold step forward and declare it!  And, with the promise of warmer days ahead, we can turn our sights to venturing outside and preparing our gardens.  Whether you have a large yard, just a small patch of earth, or even if your springtime greenery is indoors, there are ways you can enjoy the cathartic act of planting without spending more than the price of the seeds or plants.  

Sprucing up your garden with a new theme or creating a new planting space, inside or out, can be done simply through the use of some of the things you have lying around your house.  An old pair of worn out work boots make a great containers for outdoor flowers.  A brightly colored chipped piece of pottery adds it's own color to greenery.  An old mug that you like or a small bowl are also great options.

Just last week my daughter mentioned a planting idea she had seen that she'd like to try in her apartment.  It is to use hanging shoe pockets.  I love this idea and think it would also be great for growing an assortment of herbs in or near the kitchen.  What fun!  Take a look.

What Do You Do with Your Techno-Junk?

 Electronic waste accounts for 70 percent of the overall toxic waste currently found in landfills.

- Global Futures Foundation                                 

I received some pretty cool gifts for my birthday this month and one of them was this:

It's a bowl made from an old vinyl record album ("Saturday Night Fever" actually!).  My son picked this up for me in Philly.  I really love this.  It's an album from my era and looks great as a decorative bowl on my piano.

This makes me think about how we sometimes have a hard time parting with the things that were connected with our youth - even though we may never even pull them out of their storage boxes again.  And, especially when it comes to technology, even if we do venture a trip down memory lane the things we find may be unusable or toxic to just throw in the garbage.

If you're hanging on to records, cds or computer discs that you no longer have the technology with which to run them on, you have some choices.  

Try a craft.  For vinyl records, you can actually make your own bowl like the one my son gave me.  Old cds can be turned into all sorts of other items: coasters, sun-catchers, even clocks!

If you don't feel up to crafting but are still motivated to clear out some old stuff, make sure you dispose of your techno-junk responsibly.  Participate in local electronics recycling events in your area or check Earth911 to find out how and where to dispose of it.

Be A Supporter - Not a Hoarder!

"To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, that is to have succeeded."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hey Ladies, this one's for you!

How many bras do you have in your drawer?  Four, five, six.....ten, twenty?  What types?  Underwires, no underwires, sports bras, lacy ones, solid colors, florals, push-ups, criss-cross, strapless, blue, black, white, red, green......!

Do you use them all? Do you replace the old when you buy new ones?  Or is your bra drawer a bottomless pit of historical bra designs? A stratosphere of bras from all the stages of your life?

Really, how much of your bra collection is made up of the ones you use and love? 

Rather than hanging onto the past or avoiding the 20 minutes of sorting it will take to decide which bras are really the ones you want, why not decide to share the wealth and unstuff your overflowing dresser in the process.  There are women out there who could benefit from having the bras you really don't use.  It's a Win-Win!

Take some time this week.  Sort through.  Toss the shabby ones in the trash, keep the ones you know you use and love, and put the others into a mailing envelope or small box.  Once that's done, go to this site to see where to ship them:  http://www.brarecycling.com/index.shtml.

Be a supporter, not a hoarder.

Cheers!

Save a Tree: Organize Your Files

 

"In the long term, economic sustainability depends on ecological sustainability."

— “America’s Living Oceans”  [Pew Oceans Report, 2003]

Between the time that is lost searching for papers and documents and the cost of all the reprinting because we can't find documents in time to use them, it's no wonder our economy and forests are suffering.  In my career as a professional organizer, I have the opportunity to affect both economic and ecologic change especially when it comes to paper-waste.  Assessing the productivity of an office begins with the actual arrangement of the office.  Choosing and arranging your office desks and file storage has a bigger impact that it may at first seem.

Trying to work around pre-existing furniture and set-ups merely because that's 'the way it has always been' is the first mistake when addressing your office set-up.  The consideration of space and placement affects the flow and efficiency of your working environment.  Living with arrangements that impede your space taxes both your creativity and your productivity. 

According to Brother International, "...76 hours per person each year are lost as a result of disorganization in the workplace."  The results of this survey show that over $177 billion is wasted in simply looking for misplaced items/files in the office.  Can today's economy afford that?  Personally, mine can't.

The collateral effects of this disorganization in our offices are the resources that get wasted and mis-used.  The Brother report further goes on to say that "more than one-in-three [of the 800 respondents] say they “somewhat” or “very” often must spend time reprinting previously created documents because they have been misplaced.  This figure balloons to 48 percent of Gen Y employees, a group already under severe marketplace employment pressure." 

Starting from scratch is daunting.  Like re-inventing the wheel.  But if the wheel you're working with is square, maybe it's time to save yourself and the world more pain and go back to the drawing board.

What to Do with Hazardous Waste?

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. " — Chief Seattle

Old T.V.'s, computers, printers, paint, cleaning agents, motor oil....

Are you storing trash in your home simply because you don't know how to dispose of it? Or because you're not sure when the collection will be? Rather than keeping a build-up of hazardous materials in your home, take a pro-active approach.

Go to your city or county website and look up their recycling program for a calendar of hazardous waste collection dates.  Add all the dates to your own calendar.  Putting the dates on your calendar will remind you when the event is coming up. Since they normally last all day, even if you notice it on the date you'll have time to find some things you can get rid of and get them out.

Goodwill and Staples have ongoing computer recycling programs, but check with your local stores first to see if they participate.  Most do.

Here's a link to the Delaware County, PA site.  If you don't know where to look for your local program, go to Earth911 to find out!