Professional Organizer Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland Scott Roewer’s organizing blog DeClutterYou

I often find dead electronic laying around the homes of my clients.  You can’t donate them, you don’t want to fill the landfills, so you need to recycle the electronics, right?  According to the site, Earth911, ‘e-waste is growing at three times the rate of other municipal waste and e-waste may be responsible for as much as 70% of the heavy metals in landfills, including 40 % of all lead.’  That’s insane, people!

There is a free electronics recycling event on December 14th in Bethesda, Maryland.  Now is your chance to make a difference.

The event is from 12 PM – 4 PM at Walt Whitman High School.  I recommend you get there early. Accepted items include:

If you can’t make it on December 14th, the Shady Grove Transfer Station has electronics recycling every day for Montgomery County residents!  No need to wait for those special monthly collection events.   There is a limit of three TV’s per drop off.

Shady Grove Solid Waste Transfer Station
16101 Frederick Rd
Derwood, MD 20855

* Please use the Car Entrance to the facility.
* Open daily 9:00 AM. to 5 PM (Sunday – Saturday)
* Household Hazardous Waste can only be received during these hours — please do not drop off this
material at other times.
* These hours are only for Montgomery County residents – sorry business owners.

Don’t miss the 7th Annual Recycling Roadshow!  It’s hosted by Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program, the Students Against Global Abuse from Herndon High School, and the Town of Herndon this October 25. This recycling event is in honor of America Recycles Day. The goal of America Recycles Day is to build consumer demand for recycled products and to educate all Americans about the environmental and economic benefits of recycling. We want to make consumers aware of the importance of “buying recycled.”

This year they’re accepting pretty much everything!  Read below for a complete list.

• bicycles ($10 donation requested to cover shipping fees)
• cell phones
• clothing
• compact fluorescent bulbs
• computers and peripherals
• eyeglasses
• gently worn shoes
• clean/working microwaves
• rechargeable batteries (no automobile batteries)
• clean bed linens and towels
• personal documents for secure shredding (5 medium-sized boxes max per household)
• televisions
• window a/c units
• working sewing machines

Where:  Herndon High School
700 Bennett Street, Herndon, VA 20170

When:  October 25, 2008

Time:  10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Sponsored by the following organizations:
Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program
Covanta Energy, Inc.
Fairfax County Public Schools
HHS Students Against Global Abuse
Town of Herndon
ServiceSource
Bikes for the World
Art for Humanity
Safeguard Shredding
OAR of Fairfax
RBRC

I received a call from Lesli Foster, weeknight anchor on WUSA9.   She asked if I would join her live on the 5:00 PM news to discuss getting organized for the Fall.  Excited by the opportunity, I had just a few hours to pull something together and pitch the idea to Lesli.  Thanks to the Container Store, Rubbermaid, and HomeRule for providing the products I’ve suggested we feature.

Starting off, check out these amazing new food storage containers Rubbermaid provided.  They’re called Easy Find Lids.  After you’re done with those large, home cooked holiday meals, you’ll need some quality food storage containers for the leftovers.   Why not pick up a set that have lids that snap to the base of the containers so you can easily find the right lid.

They come as small as .05 cup up to 2.5 gallons and all sizes in between.  With this graduated size design, they easily nest together. I’m a huge fan of square storage containers because they optimize your storage space.  Yes, you can microwave and freeze meals in these containers.  They’re also dishwasher safe.  Now all I need is a dishwasher!  Buy these awesome containers at your local Target or most grocery stores.

The Container Store has introduced numerous eco-friendly storage products in their collection.  I’m loving the rich plum color of their Library office collection.  The Office Storage Boxes, Magazine Files, and Desktop File box would make a wonderful set for your home office.

They’re constructed of recycled
heavyweight fiberboard, have a linen weave fabric exterior, and a white paper-lined interior.  They’re excellently crafted and have a nice metal label holder to easily identify the treasurers you’re storing inside.

I challenge you to think “outside the box” about how you can use this collection outside the home office.  Perhaps the Office Storage Boxes would be good to store paper keepsakes, or one of those numerous art projects elementary-age children bring home, or a needlepoint or craft project on the sofa table.

The Magazine File would be a nice option to store papers to take to work or for outgoing mail you want to drop in the mailbox on your way out the door.  I also recommend a File Box for your kitchen counter if you need to have quick access to school papers, sport schedules, tickets, gift certificates, phone directories, and so forth.  Do you have any other ideas?

My church, uh, I mean The Container Store also has these awesome, multi-functional Feathergrain Bins.  I’ve used these with many clients who love their size, the light weight and nice quality. We’ve stored everything from pet supplies, toys, and magazines to craft items.  They come with handles or with lids.  I recommend you check these out A.S.A.P.

I have a few other suprises I’ll be sharing on the news segment, so tune in or set your Tivo.  The segment will air at approximatley 5:30 PM on WUSA9.

Recently I worked with a client who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. We’ve been clearing out her basement in order to create a home office and exercise area. In the process we discovered a box full of jeans. No, the box wasn’t full of Earnest Sewn, 7 For All ManKind, or Diesel. We had the wide leg kind, short-short cut-offs, painter jeans, and even the classic overalls. Holly explained “my accumulation of jeans was inspired by a quilt my mother made when I was in high school.”

Holly found numerous things to donate (which really helped move the basement project along). I left her with the assignment to find a new home for the donations before I returned one week later. Today, Holly emailed me to say she found the perfect place for the denim. “Since I recognize that I will never get around to making a quilt for myself, and that I can put the jeans to a good use, I was able to let go of them.”

An eighth grade student in Montgomery County, Christa Guild, is collecting jeans for a denim drive sponsored by Cotton Inc. and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County ReStore in Gaithersburg.

All the jeans collected will be shipped to California. There the jeans begin their transformation into Cotton Fiber Insulation. California-based Allen Company donates their resources to bale the denim. Next, the material is sent to JBM Fibers in Texas. JBM converts the denim back into cotton fiber. Eventually, the cotton fiber will be sent to Arizona, where Bonded Logic Inc. makes it into UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation. It’s lots of work for a cool product, which Habitat for Humanity will use in new houses built in New Orleans and the Gulf region.

As noted in the May 7th edition of the Montgomery County Gazette, Guild has already collected 114 pairs of jeans. She said, ‘‘we’re trying to get 500 because that’s how much it takes to insulate one house.”

The denim insulation is not created with harsh chemicals, is 30% more sound proof then fiberglass insulation, is hypo-allergenic, and it is not itchy like other insulation. The UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation can be installed without gloves or masks. Wouldn’t that make every insulation installer happier?

Cotton Inc. partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County ReStore to bring the drive to Montgomery County for the first time this year, said Adeela Abbasi, marketing and communications manager with Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The goal for the county is to collect 2,500 pairs of jeans and insulate five homes.

Deadline for donations is September 2, 2008!
Be sure to donate before Labor Day. Take your jeans to:

• Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 9100 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg

The United States Postal Service has selected DC as one of ten cities to participate in a pilot program for recycling used small electronics. Ten cities doesn’t sound like very many, but it includes over 1500 branches. If the program is successful it could go nationwide.

You can recycle your cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, digital cameras, ink cartridges, and other small electronics by simply dropping them in the small, postage-paid mailer available at DC area USPS branches.

According to a press release on the USPS website, the free program has a corporate sponsor.

Postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a nationally recognized company that rec

ycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics. If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled. Clover Technologies Group has a “zero waste to landfill” policy: it does everything it can to avoid contributing any materials to the nation’s landfills.

It’s great the Postal Service is willing to participate in this program, enabling consumers to make environmentally friendly choices for their small electronics. I’ve wanted to test out the program so I took a field trip to my local Post Office branch. The box of return envelopes is not terribly large, so you might need to look around for it. Also, it appeared to be empty because the roll of envelopes was caught inside the box.

Once I had the envelope in hand, I was able to slide in a few different items. There are a few limitations which are not specified on the envelope. It is small, so whatever you slide inside must fit in a 5.5″ by 6.25″ envelope and total contents can’t weigh more than 13 ounces. The envelope doesn’t say the weight limit and I’m not going to pull out a scale to weigh the phones. If they want the phones, they’ll take them, right?

With a quick trip down the street to the
post office box, I was able to drop the mailer directly into the mail box. Because of the thickness of the phones I could not put it in the mail slot at the building where I live.

Overall I think the program is great. One suggestion is the USPS could include one mailer in each person’s mail box to increase the awareness of the program. Perhaps Clover Technologies Group should also pay for an advertising campaign to promote the project. I’ve shared the program’s information with many clients, friends, and local ‘green’ stores and no one had heard about the program. Perhaps the program can expand the number of locations the return envelopes are available? Most people avoid a trip to the post office at all cost!

If you’re reading this blog post and live in one of the 10 cities that is piloting this program, how did you hear about it?

Junk mail is a huge waste of time. Don’t you agree? Unwanted mail is often what I see cluttering clients’ counter tops, entryway tables, home offices, and the never ending ‘in box.’

I dare you to follow these steps. I dare you to take a step forward by stopping unwanted mail. Do you accept this dare? If so, here’s how!

Step One

Stop unwanted junk mail by registering

with the Direct Marketing Association’s Preference Service.  Click on “remove my name from those lists.” You have to select each company individually, which can take some time, but in the long run it’s worth the extra effort. A credit card is necessary to confirm your identity, but there will not be a charge.

Step Two

Take a stand to reduce local junk mail through these resources.

• Valassis Marketing – Call 888-241-6760 between 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM EST or complete this online form
• VAL-PAK Coupons – You need to have a current pack envelope when you remove your name. Complete this online form
• Call Carol Wright – 800-67-TARGET to get off that list

Step Three

Remove your phone number from the lists those

pesky telemarketers use by completing the Do Not Call Registry online. This list was previously only good for five years, but in February 2008 a new law made it permanent.

Tip to Share with Friends

If you move, do not fill in the USPS change of address cards. I’ve heard over the years that the address changes are sold to companies.  I reviewed the privacy statement and the 62 FAQ’s on the USPS website, but didn’t find anything for or against this belief.  I believe it is true, so stay away!   If it is true, you’ll be right back where you started.

Step Four

Cease bank and credit card offers by contacting the appropriate bank.  Banks and credit providers offer the opportunity to opt out of marketing efforts.  Some banks require a form, others require only a phone call.  Here are a few popular banks in the DC area:

• Wachovia’s Online Form
• Bank of America’s Online Form
• Citibank – Call 888-214-0017 and tell them you’d like to update your privacy choices.
• Chevy Chase Bank – Call 301-987-BANK or 1-800-987-BANK to update your privacy choices.

Step Five

Fellow organizer Ramona Creel offers additional tips on stopping junk mail in this post.  If you aren’t satisfied with the suggestions above, she offers some unorthodox approaches.

We’re passionate about stopping junk mail.  Be sure to subscribe to our blog by RSS Feed or via email (see upper left corner to enter email address).  We’ll be sharing more helpful information in the near future focusing on companies who will help you get rid of junk mail.

Do you have any other tips for our readers?  Please leave a comment with you ideas.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance estimates that 75% of obsolete electronics are <currently being stored, which will one day result in a massive disposal issue for the country and the world. Perhaps that’s why Mayor Adrian M. Fenty kicked off this new program.

Mayor Fenty announced the District began its first permanent free, weekly Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and electronic recycling (e-cycling) drop-off site, at the Benning Road Trash Transfer Station on May 17, 2008. In addition to the HHW and e-cycling collections, the District will also offer the metropolitan area’s first permanent weekly document shredding service for residents at the Benning Road Trash Transfer Station, which began May 24. The Benning Road Trash Transfer Station will be open every Saturday, excluding holidays, from 8 am to 3 pm. Weekly HHW and e-cycling collections will begin this summer at the Ft. Totten Trash Transfer Station.

Items will be removed from your vehicle and placed in roll-away containers for disposal.

Acceptable HHW items include:

• Leftover cleaning and gardening chemicals
• Small quantities of gasoline, automotive fluids & antifreeze
• Pesticides and poisons
• Mercury thermometers
• Paint and solvents
• Spent batteries of all kinds
• Automotive fluids
• Asbestos tiles

All electronics will be broken down into parts and recycled or disposed of safely. The computer hard drives will be wiped clean three times using US Department of Defense high-level security wiping procedures.

Sorry, but they don’t want the following items:

• Ammunition
• Bulk trash
• Wooden TV consoles
• Propane tanks
• Microwave ovens, air conditioners and other appliances
• Radioactive or medical wastes

For information about this exciting new HHW and e-cycling program, visit DPW’s website or call the Mayor’s Call Center by dialing 311.

Happy recycling,