We learned recently of an upcoming free shred event for Fairfax County residents in Virginia. Residents can take up to five boxes of personal papers to shred.
Do you shred your documents at home or how do you protect your identity?
Below is more information from the county’s website.
The Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program will be sponsoring one secure document shredding event in each supervisory district per calendar year. Shredding is a free service for Fairfax County residents.
Oct. 22 – North County Human Services Center, 1850 Cameron Glen Dr., Suite 600, Reston, VA 20190
Residents are limited to shredding a maximum of five medium-sized packing boxes of paper per household. This service is intended for shredding documents of a personal or sensitive nature such as tax documents, medical or financial records. Junk mail, newspapers, magazines and other forms of paper can be recycled through your normal recycling collection service.
Please remove all paper from binders and remove all paper clips, binder clips and rubber bands. This event is for paper document shredding only, we will not be able to accept information stored on film or computer discs for destruction.
Today, marks the beginning of Soles4Souls’ National Barefoot Week 2011. In short, it’s a week where thousands of people across the country are joining the cause, raising awareness about the millions of people, world-wide that go barefoot, and doing something about it. As a part of the week, Soles4Souls is distributing over 50,000 pairs of shoes in several cities across the United States.
As many of you know, I traveled with Soles4Souls in January 2011 to distribute shoes to children in Haiti. It was absolutely a life-changing experience. As I see it, with most charities, your funds go in their doors and you never realize the impact your support may provide. This is how Soles4Souls is unique as a charity. With the Travel4Souls opportunity, I was able to experience the extreme need in Haiti. Not simply through photos, or a video, but I was there! I gave sweat equity in carrying shoe boxes to the distribution sites, I jumped rope with children living in orphanages, and I washed the feet of children who received shoes from Soles4Souls. I participated in making a difference and I was a direct witness how they’re impacting and changing lives. I look forward to going back. I plan to travel again in January 2012 with a group of professional organizers.
Although this video doesn’t really do it justice, it does capture the need for shoes and the joy of the people that receive them:
If you’ve ever wanted to be a part of something greater than yourself, I highly encourage you to think about going on a trip. You can find out complete information as well as a list of their upcoming trips by visiting their website.
Visiting the Soles4Souls blog, I was able to read about their exiting events for Barefoot week. Here’s just a few.
“National Barefoot Day,” which will take place on Wednesday, June 1, 2011, will kick off various events across the country.Our first U.S. distribution of 2011 Barefoot Week will take place in Detroit.
On “Barefoot Thursday,” June 2, Soles4Souls Founder & CEO Wayne Elsey and staff will go barefoot as well as challenge all members of the press to go barefoot for at least four consecutive hours during the week and report on its effects to their viewers. Thursday’s distribution will be happening in St. Louis.
For “Barefoot Friday,” June 3, folks in need in the Boston area will receive shoes.
“Barefoot Saturday” and “Barefoot Sunday,” June 4 and 5, offers unique opportunities for congregations to remove their shoes and walk out of worship services barefoot. The efforts of participating congregations will go toward helping put shoes on the feet of barefoot children around the world. Visit www.barefootsunday.com to learn more.
On “Barefoot Monday,” June 6, we will be in Los Angeles delivering shoes and on “Barefoot Tuesday,” June 7th, we will head south to Atlanta to deliver footwear.
THIS WEEK, I would challenge you to tell at least one person about Soles4Souls. They’ve even provided you with a list of 10 ways you can help spread the word about the 300 million children around the world who’ve never owned a pair of shoes.
Which will you do? Please share your selection in the comments section below and join me and Soles4Souls to accomplish their mission of changing the world, one pair at a time.
Many of you know that I traveled to Haiti in January with the amazing non-profit charity Soles4Souls to help distribute shoes to children. Experiencing life in Haiti with these beautiful people was truly heartbreaking.
It was also a life changing experience. Upon returning to DC, I started collecting shoes for Soles4Souls. It was my hope to do a city wide shoe collection and involve schools, churches and neighborhood groups. However, my massive shoe collection has come to a screeching halt because neither myself or Soles4Souls were able to secure a storage location where community groups could drop off the shoes they collected.
Wait, where's my living room?
WUSA9 digital correspondent, Linsdey Mastis did a story on the evening news on March 7th. Although the news story didn’t help secure a storage location, many people brought me more shoes. I now have over 6,000 pairs of shoes in my condo. That’s why the news called me a hoarder. I guess if I’m going to hoard it might as well be for a good cause.
Please watch the news video and leave a comment if you have any last minute connections that can help secure a drop off location. If not, I’ll be shipping the shoes off to the Soles4Souls warehouse before the end of March.
As many of you know, tomorrow (January 5, 2011) I am headed to Haiti, forgoing a typical winter vacation, so I can distribute shoes to orphans. I’m traveling with the amazing organization, Soles4Souls, an international shoe charity that collects, recycles and reuses shoes from footwear companies and the general public.
While in Haiti, we will be staying at the Haiti Outreach Ministries (HOM) compound in Port-au-Prince (PAP). We will visit Cite Soleil, a suburb of PAP, noted as the poorest slum in the entire Western Hemisphere. Poverty here is indescribable. There are no public services, and the roads are barely passable.
Nearly 300,000 people live in the area of approximately 2 square miles. The area is viewed as a difficult place to work; hence few non-government organizations, or other services are available here.
This is a typical street in Blanchard
Next we’ll visit Blachard (“New Land”), another suburb of PAP, located directly north of Cite Soleil closest to the PAP airport. It is the home to about 200,000 and is growing. We’ll also visit Ibo Beach, a small rural community of about 15,000 people, located 25km northwest of PAP. Finally, we’ll visit Repatriote, the newest community being built on former cropland, with the primary intention to house Haitians returning (displaced) from the Dominican Republic.
While at HOM, we’ll have about eight hours of electricity each day, powered by 23 solar panels. There is no refrigeration, air conditioning, indoor bathroom, or hot water. We will stay in the second floor of the school building, which was not damaged in the earthquake, which occurred on Jan 12, 2009. Although the conditions will be different than what I’m used to, I’ll have no room to complain.
Our itinerary will be as follows:
Day 1 – I leave DC at around 7 AM, fly to Miami where I’ll meet the other volunteers. Together we’ll board a flight to Haiti, arriving at 4 PM. We’ll board a bus, travel to HOM, eat dinner, gather for a team meeting and crawl into our bunks for bed.
Day 2 – After breakfast, we’ll have our first distribution in Blanchard for school-aged children. Following lunch we’ll have a second shoe distribution, but this one will be for infants. We’ll board a ‘tap-taps’ for a ride through downtown PAP and to view the Presidential Place. Following dinner and a team meeting, I’m sure our volunteer team will pass out from exhaustion.
Tap-taps are basically, local public transportation on four wheels. It might be a former school bus, or a pick up truck. They can be painted with beautiful exteriors, religious slogans, or have loud sound systems inside. I wonder what we’ll be riding on.
Day 3 – Following a breakfast of muffins, fruit and coffee, we’ll travel to Cite Soleil for our third shoe distribution. We’ll be working with kids in first – third grade. After lunch, we’ll give shoes to adults in Cite Soleil. Following the distributions we’ll take a bus trip through the mountains and have the opportunity to buy some gifts.
Day 4 – We’ll actually visit the beach community where we will have lunch and spend time playing with the orphans. I’m taking several toys I can leave for the children. I’ve heard from many people the beaches in Haiti are breathtaking. This will be the first time I’ve been to a beach other then one in Florida, California, or Delaware.
Day 5 – We’ll conclude our trip early in the morning and depart for the airport around 8 AM. I’ll be back in DC about 12 hours later.
I look forward to sharing more of my experience with you. It’s through the generous donations of friends, family and my clients that I am able to take this trip and provide shoes to so many people in need.
Shoes stored in the Soles4Souls Warehouse
If you’ve not donated you can still help. First, a simple click here will take you online where you can donate any tax-deductible amount you see fit. For every $1 donated = 1 person will receive a pair of shoes. Maybe if you have 10 pairs of shoes, you donate $10. Or perhaps you donate the amount of your most expensive pair of shoes in your closet? Visit this fund-raising page to help me reach my goal of touching thousands of souls.
Shoes stored in my condo - You might think I was a hoarder.
Finally, I officially kick off a Soles4Souls shoe drive in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area in late January. I’ve started collecting from clients and friends, and as you can see my condo is overrun with shoes. I hope you’ll donate your unwanted footwear to my collection and volunteer if you’re able to assist.
Thank you for your support of this mission. I couldn’t do it without you.
Warm regards,
Scott
Soles4Souls distributes usable shoes to people in need around the world. Since being founded in 2005 by Wayne Elsey (CEO), Soles4Souls has given away more than 12 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently distributing one pair every 7 seconds). The shoes have been distributed in 125 countries, including Haiti, Kenya, Nepal and the United States.
Our friends at Diana’s Books let us know that Arlington E-Care is happening October 16th, 2010 from 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM at Thomas Jefferson Middle School at 125 S. Old Glebe Rd. The school is one block east of Glebe Rd. and one block south of Rt. 50. The entrance will be marked.
Arlington County continues to set the standard for the ultimate reuse/recycling event with Arlington E-Care. Arlington residents can bring the following items and they will either be reused or recycled properly. Items marked with an * have a nominal fee.
hazardous household materials
bicycles* $10 donation and the bikes go to Bikes for the World
small metal items
computers* $15
electronics*
televisions* $20
clothing, linens, shoes
microwaves
air conditioners
eye glasses (for South Arlington Lyons Club)
medical equipment (Being shipped to remote locations by Virginia Hospital Center Medical Brigade)
Diana’s Books will be on hand accepting books, CDs, DVDs, and audio books.
For full information on Arlington E-Care download this brochure.
Last week, I wrote about a professional organizer in Washington, DC who happened to also be a hoarder – a hoarder of denim. I’ve been collecting denim for Habitat for Humanity since April. I wanted to share this update with you. As of May 17, 2010, I’ve collected 376 pairs of jeans. In my last post, I mentioned my goal is to collect 5oo pairs total. It takes 500 pairs to insulate one entire Habitat Home.
If you live in the Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, Montgomery County or Prince Georges County in Maryland and you have jeans to donate, please leave a comment below. I’ll make arrangements to pick up the jeans or provide you my postal address for delivery or mail. You can also drop off jeans before May 23 at Vastu located at 1829 14th ST NW, Washington, DC.
Thanks for supporting this worth while adventure.
Special thanks to Steve Oatmeyer, a friend and talented graphic artist who created the denim graphic for this Declutter Your Denim Drive.
Habitat for Humanity is collecting denim for the COTTON. FROM BLUE TO GREEN® denim drive. All donated denim will be recycled into UltraTouch™ Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation for Habitat for Humanity homes. What I love is that UltraTouch™ contains no chemical irritants and requires no warning labels compared to other traditional products. There are no VOC concerns when using UltraTouch™, as it is safe for you and the environment. This makes it very easy for the volunteer Habitat home builders to install the insulation.
What recycled denim insulation looks like.
So why am I trying to collect 500 pairs of jeans you ask? It takes 500 pairs of jeans to insulate one Habitat for Humanity home. As a professional organizer who encourages people to declutter their closet, I thought, why not turn the unwanted denim of my clients into something good. I began telling clients and friends about my idea right before Earth Day. I started my efforts by posting notes on Facebook, on my Twitter profile, and emailed other members of the National Association of Professional Organizers asking everyone to donate jeans and to help me spread the word. Now I’m taking it to you, my readers.
I’ve been blessed so far with my collection efforts, but still need help to reach my goal of 500 pairs of jeans. One client donated over 50 pairs from her family. Real Estate Agent, Hub Krack told his friends and clients and dropped off 18 pairs of jeans. At the NAPO Conference in Columbus, Ohio, 67 pairs of jeans were donated by numerous organizers attending the conference. Professional Organizer Tanna Clark of Nashville, TN wrote a check to Habitat for Humanity for $125.00 to help cover the cost of shipping of the jeans and many others donated cash. One of my favorite local furniture stores, Vastu is currently accepting donations of jeans on my behalf until Sunday, May 23rd. Read more about that on their blog post, Declutter Your Denim.
Currently I have 338 pairs of jeans, but it is not enough. Can you help spread the word? Please announce it on your Facebook status. ReTweet this blog post on Twitter. Clear out your closet and donate your denim to Habitat. Comment here about recycling efforts in your community. Or, if you’re a fan of Habitat for Humanity, tell us why. If you have jeans to donate, tell me how I can reach you and I’ll schedule a pick up date or you can drop them off at Vastu.
The current denim collection in my kitchen.
I will be collecting denim until I reach 500 pairs or until August 20th, which ever comes first. Officially denim is being collected through August 20th at the following locations:
In April 2008, the Consumer Electronics Association published a Market Research Report called: Trends in CE Reuse, Recycle and Removal which reported the average American Household has 24 electronic products per household. I don’t know about you, but as I look around my apartment, I have MANY more then 24! With that said, when it is time to recycle the items, we all must do our part to recycle the electronics.
This weekend, Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services is hosting another FREE electronics recycling event.
(The event will be held in the parking lot behind the school and near the school’s stadium.)
They also accept electronics daily at their Solid Waste Transfer Station.
Full electronics drop-off event collection schedule can be found on their website. Accepted items include:
small electronic appliances
calculators
camcorders
CDs and floppy disks
CD players
cell phones
computers and computer-related products
consumer electronics
copiers
cords and cables (including chargers)
digital cameras
electronic typewriters
fax machines
microwave ovens
monitors
personal digital assistant equipment
printers
projection equipment
scanners
telephones
small electronic toys
televisions
VCRs
If you’re curious what exactly happens to the items after they’re collected – read this post.
I’m a huge fan of Goodwill for many reasons. Mainly because it’s a convenient way for my clients to donate items that have outgrown their home. And by doing so, they support Goodwill’s mission to educate, train, employ and place people with disabilities and disadvantages. By supporting Goodwill of Greater DC, we’re assisting people right here in our own area.
Goodwill will be hosting a Trunk Show in DC and is calling all fashionistas, designers, and eco-friendly shoppers to attend and shop ’til they drop! Goodwill of Greater Washington’s Travelin’ Trunk Show will be returning to Greater Goods on Saturday, June 27th from 12:00 – 3:00 PM.
Greater Goods is located at 1626 U Street NW in Washington, DC 20009. If you’ve not had the chance to visit this very cool, eco-friendly store, now you have two reasons to check out the Trunk Show! While at the store, be sure to checkout and register for one of their ‘Green Living’ classes.
Goodwill will have racks and racks of contemporary and vintage fashions along with donated fabrics and buttons. So, if you’re in the market for some vintage fashion or some fabric to make your own creations, please check out this event on June 27th.
Goodwill also will be accepting donations from your home or closet. All proceeds from this event will support Goodwill’s mission to educate, train, employ, and place people with disabilities and disadvantages throughout the greater DC area. For more information on Goodwill’s mission and fashion events, visit this website, or read their fashion blog.
As a professional organizer, I often find
that my clients have dead electronic equipment cluttering their closets or their garages. The e-waste is there because they do not know what to do with it. I appreciate they don’t want to simply toss the TV, computer, or microwave in the trash! Most would agree, that our landfills are full enough.
I spoke with Peter Karasik who is the Section Chief of the Division of Solid Waste Services of Montgomery County. We spoke about the upcoming electronic recycling events in Montgomery County. He recommends to residents they stay in their vehicles as they approach the unloading zone. They have staff who will unload the cars. This keeps the traffic moving and makes the process faster for everyone.
For the drop-off, electronics should not be in boxes or bags unless you have multiple small electronics or if want to keep cables or power supplies together. Karasik estimated they could collect 20 – 40 tons of electronics during each collection date. The e-waste is shipped off to a processing plant in Elkridge, Maryland called E-Structors. E-Structors does all the data destruction, separates the glass, pulls the copper from wires, and cuts up circuit boards into 1″ squares. Their process is EPA-approved and results in the materials being 100% separated and recycled. Nothing from their process ever enters the nation’s waste stream. That’s incredible!
In my opinion, Montgomery County continues to lead the way promoting their recycling efforts. They’ve published a calendar on their blog of the upcoming recycling events and you can subscribe to receive future dates via email. You can also follow the recycling events on Twitter by following @GoGreenMC Here’s the full list for the my faithful readers of Declutteryou.com!
Fax Machines, Microwave Overs, & Personal Digital Assistant Equipment
Printers, Projection Equipment, & Scanners
Telephones, Small Electronic Toys, Televisions, & VCRs,
I love that every single item collected is recycled! Did you notice they do not accept videotapes? I’m looking for a local resource for people to recycle VCR tapes.
If you live in Montgomery County or know someone who does, tell them to clear out their closets, garages, attics and basements. It’s time to recycle all their electronics in Montgomery County, Maryland!
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