Remember Earth Day Everyday: Reduce Your Clutter, Recycle, and Reuse

I remember when EPA had a massive TV and print campaign in the early 90s for Earth Day, pushing you to “Reduce, Recycle and Reuse!” Each year since then I have tried to do my part to help our planet all year long by recycling aluminum cans, water and glass bottles, paper, plastics and even electronics. It’s not always the easiest or most convenient thing to do, but it’s necessary to do my part and take a step to help clean our planet.

Earth day reminds me of ways we all can help our environment year round by remembering the following points:

Reduce Your Clutter— “Reduce” was the term used in the original EPA slogan and is described as reducing the amount and toxicity of trash you throw away and reuse containers and products. Lets modernize this a bit to represent reducing the clutter in your home environment.

It’s not a coincidence that Earth Day observed in the “Spring Cleaning” season. Holding onto items you don’t need is not healthy for you or your family in the home environment. Clutter can quickly get out of hand like on that show A&E show Horders. After you take everything out of a space to start cleaning, note what you want to keep, recycle reusable items and dispose of trash properly. Keep like items together and make sure there is a special place for the things you regularly use. Store other items in protective bins until the next season of use. Train yourself to put things back in their “home” after each use. Taking these small steps, like ALWAYS picking up after yourself, will help train your brain to become clutter control robot.

Recycle— Spring cleaning is great, but one HUGE mistake people make is NOT recycling. Many often make the mistake of disposing old electronics, which is very hazardous to our environment. Sure sometimes you may have to go out of your way by driving to a center that take specialty items such as magazines or electronics, but its better than the alternative…harming our planet. To find out more information on what you can and cannot recycle, and also to find your local recycling center, visit this great online resource Earth911.com.

Reuse— Make sure when you are cleaning not to throw away items that are still in good condition and can be reused by someone else. A common mistake people make is holding onto items simply because they are still worth money…this just creates clutter. We all know that you can donate clothing and housewares to charities like Goodwill, but what about the higher priced items?  It may make since to sell higher priced good condition electronics, clothing, and really anything of value on craigslist.com or even on Ebay. If you don’t have the time or patience to undergo this project yourself there are many services that are willing to take your goods and sell.

Think, “Reduce, Recycle, Reuse!” Every environmentally conscious task we complete helps us remember that Earth Day really is everyday.