A gift, not a regift
Last month I was given a beautiful set of scented hand creams as a holiday gift. I’m allergic to perfume, so there was no way I could use it. In almost every post on this … Continue reading
Category Archives: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
green organizing
Reusing store bags
I saw an article by Deborah L. Shelton in the Chicago Tribune about the writer’s love-hate relationship with stuff. She mentioned how in the process of moving, she freaked out when she saw how many … Continue reading
Holidays are over; now what?
Now that the holidays are over, or soon will be, the festive decorations hanging around in your home or outside will need to be put away. No matter how big or small, putting decorations away … Continue reading
Clothing from babies to toddlers
Elena, whose son is almost two, called me for help organizing his bedroom. When I walked into the room, I saw four huge bins filled with baby clothes that Elena’s friends and sisters had handed … Continue reading
Free pick up service!
When I was growing up, my mom always seemed to have one or two big garbage bags full of things we no longer used waiting in the basement until a local non-profit organization came to … Continue reading
Turning Unused Cell Phones to Good Use Again
I recently helped Melissa* go through her office space and discovered that she had four old cell phones she no longer used after upgrading a few times. She had forgotten she still had them and … Continue reading
Tackling the basement
From J. and M. Chicago, IL: After construction on our home, we had a new, expanded kitchen and family room, as well as an expanded basement. The basement became the repository for boxes of “stuff” … Continue reading
Discovering my town’s Recycle Center
Like most people, I make a habit of recycling plastics (the ones that have numbers 1-7 in a triangle on the bottom) and papers whenever I can. My city’s recycling truck doesn’t pick up some … Continue reading
Packing up for the move a pain or a liberation?
In the last 12 years, I have moved eight times and to four different states. There were always a few boxes that remained unopened after the early moves. Eventually, I would open the boxes and … Continue reading
Can an electronic device be saved from going into landfill?
Recently I went to my town’s recycling center, for the first time. I had this old Sony CD player that no longer worked because the batteries leaked. I had tried to get it fixed when … Continue reading