Back in September, I attended my monthly meeting with the Environmentally Conscious Organizers which is a special interest group with the National Association of Professional Organizers. Our guest speaker was Beth Terry, who is the author of “My Plastic Free Life.”  In 2007, Beth began an experiment to see if she could live without plastic and began blogging her experience after seeing a picture of a sea bird carcass whose belly was full of plastic.

She explained how recycling is a business and if there is no market for certain plastics they add them to our landfills or ship them to China just as our e-waste gets shipped to Africa. The best thing we can do is put very little into our recycling buckets as well as our landfill cans.

Most of us at the meeting had heard about the large amount of plastic floating in our ocean. According to Greenpeace.org “The trash vortex is an area the size of Texas in the North Pacific in which an estimated six kilos of plastic for every kilo of natural plankton, along with other slow degrading garbage, swirls slowly around like a clock, choked with dead fish, marine mammals, and birds who get snared. Some plastics in the gyre will not break down in the lifetimes of the grandchildren of the people who threw them away.”

You may be asking, “What does this have to do with organizing?”  Well, this knowledge allows us the chance to train our clients on the many ways we can live in an environmentally conscious home.

Here are some tips from Beth’s list of 99 ways to live a plastic free life from her plastic free living guide.

1.  Carry reusable shopping bags
Say no to plastic produce bags. If you have a car, keep your grocery bags in it and remember to bring them into the store with you! And one more thing: reusable bags are not just for groceries! Carry them for all your purchases, from electronics to clothing.

2.  Give up bottled water
Not only does it come in a plastic bottle, but tremendous resources are used to extract, bottle, and ship it. And many brands of bottled water are simply filtered tap water.  Instead, carry a stainless steel travel mug or water bottle at all times for coffee and other beverages while out and about.

3.  Choose reusable glass or stainless steel containers for leftovers
We save nearly all glass jars and bottles for purchasing bulk foods and for storing leftovers in the refrigerator or even the freezer. When we run out of jars, we store leftovers in bowls with saucers on top instead of plastic wrap. Bowls with saucers are great for stacking as well.

Recently, my workshop for the Holistic Mom’s monthly meeting on “Paper Management for the Green Home” was rescheduled due to a foot of snow. Like many of us, you may be stuck inside during these cold winter days. So why not take advantage of being indoors and organize your home office? Here’s a plan to help you clear your desk while “going green” with less paper.

The first step is to go online and opt out of the unwanted mail coming into your home. Try DMAChoice.org for general junk mail, TrustedID.org for unwanted catalogs and Optoutprescreen.com for pre-approved credit card offers. Create a new email address for coupons and ask to have your monthly statements sent via email.

There are also some wonderful apps for your phone. Catalog Spree allows you to view a variety of different catalogs online. Retail Me Not offers coupons to local stores, and Snip Snap stores your coupons digitally after you take a photo of them on your phone.

Now that you’ve reduced the paper input, it’s time to tackle the existing paper piles.

SORT

• Sort the important mail from the unwanted mail which can be recycled
• Store coupons in your glove compartment
• Place bills in a basket on your desk
• Assign each family member a file or basket

PROCESS

• File your new insurance policy, bank statements and receipts immediately
• Add events to your calendar then use a clipboard for your invitations
• Shred monthly utility bills after the new one comes in

FILE

• Set up your files in alphabetical order
• Assign labels, examples include:
  • Auto- EZ pass, AAA & car purchase receipts
  • Banking- pin numbers, credit card information & credit report
  • Insurance- auto, life & homeowners
  • Medical- test results, EOB’s (Explanation of Benefits) & paid bills

SHRED

• Anything with your social security number unless you need it for tax purposes
• Documents with your signature
• Forms with your birthdate on it
• Account numbers

Holistic living is a lifestyle which seeks balance knowing that all things are interconnected. What you bring into your home directly affects how you feel. How does your home make you feel? Is your home office stressing you out? Try to tackle your paperwork often, perhaps in short intervals, every other day. If you need help, get help! Remember, your home is your sanctuary.