Simplifying the GREEN Way!

Yes, the term "green" is quickly becoming cliche, but I still feel strongly about it!  As I've said before, I've been passionate about the environment long before it was trendy...

Anyways, as I've been working on simplifying and decluttering my life and home, I realized a big cause of the clutter is because I HATE to throw anything away.  I always feel that an item may be able to be re-used at a later date, or someone else may actual want it and be able to put it to good use (since one person's trash is another person's treasure!), so I hate to send it to a landfill...  So, I've been very diligent about either recycling or donating the majority of the "stuff" that I'm cleaning out!

So, I just thought I'd share some of my "Green" tips here, in case you ever need to clear anything out!

First of all, if you don't have one yet, contact your trash company about getting a recycling bin!  We are fortunate enough that our trash company provides us with a recycling bin that is the same size as the trash bin and can be wheeled down to the curb!  No more carrying the small, overflowing, rectangle bin!  Plus, we don't have to sort!  We just throw our plastics, paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, etc into the bin!  I LOVE IT!  So seriously, call your trash company and see what they can provide!  There may be a slight charge for the bin, but hey, shop around!  A lot of trash companies have coupons on their websites.

Next, a big dilemma I had was what to do with old, scratched CDs and DVDs!  So, I Googled "recycle cds", and found the The Compact Disc Recycling Center of America.  You can just mail your junky, scratched CDs and DVDs to this address:

CD Recycling Center

68H Stiles Rd.

Salem, NH 03079

 
They recycle everything that comes with a CD: the paper insert, the case, and the CD.  You do have to separate these components, but it's not too difficult!  I just did this, and I sent only the CDs and DVDs, because you DO have to pay to ship them.  It cost about $1 to mail the stack of CDs pictured below.  Then, I threw the paper and plastic cases into my own recycle bin. 
 



My final tip of the day is to donate anything you don't want!  You could donate to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or any local mission.  

About a year ago, I volunteered at the Holland Rescue Mission.  My task was to sort through the shoes that had been donated, making sure that the matching pairs were tied or banded together.  Other volunteers were sorting through the clothes and miscellaneous items that had been donated. 

We learned that A LOT of their donations were actually items that Goodwill couldn't/wouldn't sell in their store.  The Holland Rescue Mission takes these unsellable items and crates them up and sends them to third world countries.  We were told about someone who had witnessed the delivery of these crates of clothes, shoes, and random stuff and they said that the people of that country were so incredibly grateful and happy to recieve these items that were considered "unsellable" at a Goodwill store in the United States. 

So this just goes to show that while you think that something is trash, you should still try to donate it!  It could get sent to some far off land where someone will really appreciate it and can use it!!!

I know that I am still not 100% green, or even 50%.  I admit that I have wasteful habits and do things that are harmful to the environment.  But I try as much as I can to reduce my impact on the environment.  I encourage you to do the same!  Every little bit helps!!!

What tips do you have to share about being "green?"

You Can Simplify More Than Just Fractions!

So for the past who-knows-how-long, I have just not been very happy. I've felt unfulfilled, restless, anxious, and stressed. And I think the reason for all of that was because I've been focusing on a lot of different activities and priorities, and I haven’t been very focused on what I love most. After reading a few inspiring blogs, I made a short list of what I love most, and I am going to work on getting rid of everything else that didn’t make that list.

So, I’ve started to simplify my life by getting rid of the extra stuff that just stresses me out! This has actually been going on for a while, but I didn’t even realize it. Before, I was basically focused on cutting out unnecessary spending, but looking back, I realized that this was actually simplifying my financial life.

One of the first things I did earlier this year was down-grade my cell phone. I used to have a Verizon plan that I only used about 15% of the minutes each month. I really don’t talk on the phone that much, I mostly keep in touch through emails. So, I switched to a phone where I pay by the minute. Not only did I down-grade the plan, but now my phone is just a phone! No camera, no downloaded ringtones, no internet. Basically, all it does is make/receive calls and it can still text message. A bonus about this phone is it is made from recycled materials and is also easily disassembled for recycling at the end of it's life. Plus, it came with a pre-paid envelope to send in my old phone for recycling! The only downside is I was unable to keep the phone number I’ve had since I was 16, but I’m starting to get used to it.

The next financial simplification involved Chaz. We finally got rid of his car at the beginning on the summer! We bought his BMW back in 2007 at the same time as we were buying our house. Looking back, that was a really dumb idea! The car itself wasn’t necessarily the financial drain, it was mostly the interest rate on the loan that was ridiculous. We were basically paying all this extra money for nothing. So, he listed it on a Craigslist, and in less than a week, it was sold! What a relief that was! So for a while, we were a single car family. It worked for us because we work less than a mile from each other, so we were able to carpool to work. Then, we were lucky enough that my mom decided to sell us her old Taurus for extremely cheap, so we still don’t have a car-payment! The other expenses that this elimated were full-coverage car insurance, and the pricey upkeep of the BMW! It feels great to be car-payment free!

Since the idea of complete simplification struck me, we started working on getting rid of the clutter in our house and garage. In our years together, we have just accumulated so much “stuff.” And most of it is stuff we don’t really need! So last night, we brought a car-full of stuff to Goodwill to donate. That barely made a dent in the clutter, but it was a start. We plan to go through our basement soon and remove a bunch more junk.

And finally, I did the unthinkable to move towards simplification. I cancelled our cable!!! When we first moved into our house, we had Digital Cable with HDTV, a premium sports package, HBO, Encore, Showtime, and DVR. When the economy took a downturn and both Chaz and I took paycuts, we downgraded to what we thought "we couldn't live without" - which was only Digital Cable with HDTV and DVR.

Now that I am focusing on what I love most, I realized, we can live without cable TV. It is really a time drain for both of us. The TV is currently on from the time I get home from work, until I go to bed at night. I’m not always watching it, but I do get sucked into it and it takes away from the time I could spend being productive around the house, or quality time Chaz and I could be spending together. By ridding TV from our lives, it would free up so much more time. So I just wanted it all gone!

Well, I called Comcast today and said I want to cancel my entire cable package. Of course, they tried pressuring me into other packages, thinking that it was only financial reasons behind my cancelling. I tried to explain to them that I just wanted to eliminate TV because it was just a distraction. Unfortunately, it was actually less expensive to keep the very basic package of only local channels because it gave us a discount on our internet connection. So, there will still be a little bit of distraction left around. But since we’ve gone from getting 100+ channels to getting 10 channels, hopefully we won’t be drawn towards the TV as much!

There is still a lot more in my life that I need to simplify, so this is just a start for now! I'm looking forward to my journey of simplification and focusing on what I love most!

"Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it."
~Robert Brault