A month of Earth Days - Cleaning House!

As I sit here drinking my organic tea, that costs me about 3 cents per cup, out of my reusable cup I think about the million other people that are doing the same thing and that makes me feel like I am making a big difference instead of just thinking of it as one cup at a time.

I started thinking about issues that people have in life (issues I have in life) and how people can help themselves, help the environment, and save some money all at the same time.

At work and at parties some people make fun of me - oh you make your own baby food, I don't have organic fruit so I don't know if there will be anything for you to drink. I honestly don't find myself to be very green and all that. I find that there are a lot of aspects to a green lifestyle that people just can't relate to so it is like talking to a wall. One thing I feel that everyone has in common is too much stuff and the desire to get rid of it and declutter their lives.

Mail/Catalogues - the first area that I feel where everyone has an issue. You order a $20 pillow from Pottery Barn and suddenly you not only get that catalogue but a million other catalogues. I find this incredibly obnoxious. Several years ago I saw an article about a company called GreenDimes. They offered a service where you sign up and pay and one-time fee and they will stop the catalogues that you request, so you don't have to stop all catalogues, and they will also plant trees with the fee that you pay. That company is now called Tonic, http://precycle.tonic.com/. When I signed up it was $15 and now I believe it is $30 but I would still sign up. I can't tell you how well this has worked! We barely get any catalogues now and I love it! All of that stuff that just comes in the mail and you throw away in the recycling bin you can stop. I know that recycling is good but it is even better if it is never produced. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Mail/Credit card offers and such - Every time I get one of these in the mail - from the airline that you have a frequent flier account with or the hotel where you stayed, I call them and have them remove me from all of their marketing mailings and let me tell you it worked.

I find with mail - if there is anything that you constantly just throw in the recycling bin there is a way to get rid of it.

Tennis Shoes/Sneakers - we take a lot of things to Good Will or get rid of them on craiglists.com or freecycle.com but old tennis shoes were one thing that I had no idea what to do with and I felt guilty about just throwing them in the trash but I knew that no one wanted to wear my old shoes. I found an outlet - http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/. You can either go to one of their drop off centers or mail your old shoes in and they use the materials to build playgrounds for kids. Check the site out - it is pretty cool. They have a whole video of how the process works. I have a drop off center about 3 blocks from work so I let people know at work I am going to drop some shoes off that week and I have had several people bring their shoes and we drop them off and then go and grab a coffee now that it is getting warmer out.

Newspaper - I read most things online now - I can't seem to keep up with newspapers and they end up laying all over my house and the husband gets mad. So the newspapers have been canceled and we are saving a little money. I do read a free newspaper every morning on the way to work and there is a little recycling center right when I get off the train so I usually throw it in there. But for the past couple of months I have been collecting them to help in my garden. I had heard this trick from a few people. When you are working in your garden if you lay down newspaper, about three sheets deep, wet it and then put down mulch it is a chemical free and cheap way to help with weeds. I have done this for the past two years and it works well - it doesn't stop all weeds but it stops a lot of them and I feel better about that compared to the other alternatives. I do use some organic food for the vegetables and such but that can be expensive. Plus it gave M a chance to play with the hose and be an very helpful assistant one Saturday.

I know there are a million other things that you can do to get rid of clutter so please share them. I loved that The Gap was taking in old jeans to recycle them into insulation and then they gave you a discount on a new pair - I think that is great! Does anyone know of a service, kind of like Nike, that takes jeans for insulation from the public?