{"id":455,"date":"2012-04-10T01:18:25","date_gmt":"2012-04-10T01:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/?p=455"},"modified":"2018-09-12T16:37:11","modified_gmt":"2018-09-12T16:37:11","slug":"clear-clutter-quickly-for-a-healthy-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/clear-clutter-quickly-for-a-healthy-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Clear Clutter Quickly for a Healthy Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- SPONSOR UNIT BEGINS --><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/www.greengoessimple.com\/partner\/content\/homeimprovementblogsftp\/programsend\/programunit.js?Page=partner\/unbranded\/homeimprovementblogsftp\/archive\/2011-11-21\/feature\/organized_home\/index.html\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- SPONSOR UNIT ENDS --><\/p>\n<p>By Emily Anderson for <em>Green Goes Simple<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Admit it: You need help! You may not be a hoarder, but you probably have parts of your home (basement? hall closet? under the bed?) that you\u2019d rather keep hidden.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t worry, though &#8212; you\u2019re not alone. Most of us don\u2019t even know how much stuff we really have, let alone know how to get ourselves organized. Before hauling everything to the curb, try these planet-friendly steps (no landfills included!) to clear clutter quickly and breathe a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Give Yourself an Audit<\/strong><br \/>\nPull all of your things out from hiding and begin to create three piles: \u201cDonate,\u201d \u201cRepurpose\u201d and \u201cNeeds Repairs.\u201d You can donate items, sell items at swap meets, or trade items for things you do want. Electronic and computer companies like Dell and Apple have sophisticated programs for reusing equipment. You can also sell items online via <span style=\"color: #3333ff;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebay.com\" target=\"_blank\">eBay<\/a><\/span> or <span style=\"color: #3333ff;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.craigslist.org\" target=\"_blank\">Craigslist<\/a><\/span>, or trade items on <span style=\"color: #3333ff;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.freecycle.org\" target=\"_blank\">Freecycle.org<\/a><\/span>. At the very least, you can donate items to a local <span style=\"color: #3333ff;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodwill.com\" target=\"_blank\">Goodwill<\/a><\/span> store.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Be a Pickup Artist<\/strong><br \/>\nFind a set of small storage bins &#8212; plastic or canvas &#8212; and keep a couple in each room of your house to stash random items quickly and neatly. I keep a few canvas bins in each room for wayward items like toys, magazines and books, so I can easily clear the clutter and then put it in its proper place later. Keep a bin by the front door and make a habit of removing your shoes when you get home. (Bonus: This is an easy way to keep your home clean!) While you\u2019re at it, use some of the storage bins to keep your recycling sorted &#8212; mark one for glass, one for plastic and one for newspaper.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Stop the Junk Mail<\/strong><br \/>\nAmericans receive almost 4 million tons of junk mail every year &#8212; that\u2019s about 100 million trees, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. And more than one precious resource is cut short by junk mail: The average American spends the equivalent of eight months of his or her life opening junk mail. Check out <span style=\"color: #000099;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.donotmail.org\" target=\"_blank\">DoNotMail.org<\/a><\/span> for information on what steps you can take to get your name removed from marketing lists. And don\u2019t worry: Even if you don\u2019t get coupons in the mail anymore, you can still find great deals on household goods online. Go straight to the websites of the brands you love, or check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.groupon.com\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #3333ff;\">Groupon<\/span> <\/a>and <span style=\"color: #3333ff;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livingsocial.com\" target=\"_blank\">Living Social<\/a><\/span> to take advantage of special deals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Go Shopping<\/strong><br \/>\nKeep everyday items intelligently organized &#8212; and well stocked &#8212; to avoid a frantic search or an unnecessary purchase. Extra batteries, paper products, cleaning supplies, even shampoo, soap and toothbrushes are wise to keep on hand. And consolidate shopping trips. You\u2019ll save time, gas, energy and money by combining multiple errands into one trip. While you\u2019re at it, consider doing more of your shopping online. Many sites will keep a record of your common purchases so you can consult your personal shopping list when you log on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Repeat<\/strong><br \/>\nYou don\u2019t have to<br \/>\ntake on everything all at once. Do a little organizing whenever you can, and it<br \/>\nwill all eventually add up to a cleaner, greener home. Remember: The things<br \/>\nthat are good for us personally are often also good for the environment. This<br \/>\nis especially true when it comes to our living spaces. Get your home a little<br \/>\nmore organized and you\u2019ll be well on your way to living &#8212; and saving &#8212; green.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Emily Anderson<\/strong> <\/em><em>is the author of<\/em> Eco-chic Home, Eco-chic Weddings <em>and<\/em> When Changing a Lightbulb Just Isn\u2019t Enough. <em>Her work has appeared in<\/em> Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies\u2019 Home Journal, The New York Times and her blog, <a href=\"http:\/\/goodwithstyle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>GoodWithStyle.com.<\/em><\/a> Her articles have previously appeared on Green Goes Simple.<\/p>\n<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" 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You need help! You may not be a hoarder, but you probably have parts of your home (basement? hall closet? under the bed?) that you\u2019d rather keep hidden. Don\u2019t worry, though &#8212; you\u2019re not alone. Most of us don\u2019t even know how much stuff we really have, let alone know how to get ourselves organized. Before hauling everything to the curb, try these planet-friendly steps (no landfills included!) to clear clutter quickly and breathe a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-green-living","category-interior"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/187"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeimprovementblogs.com\/hg-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}