Most people have a pile of “just in case” items in their house. Perhaps your clutter has been getting a little out of control lately. However, clutter can prevent you from living your happiest life by creating unnecessary distractions, adding stress to your life, and even keeping you up at night. Here are some eco-friendly ways you can declutter.
1. Put it in the cloud
Putting your documents, photos, and memories in the cloud is as easy as scanning and storing them online. There are lots of different services to choose from based on whether you’re primarily storing written documents, pictures or other kinds of important information. This is great as backup for anything that could potentially get lost. Storing your items in cloud storage also allows you to transition to new phones and laptops without having to retrieve your documents.
2. Be careful about what you donate
It’s easy to think that whatever you donate will be useful somehow to someone else, but make sure your items are in good condition. If your items aren’t in decent shape, then they’re probably not useful for others.
3. Choose green cleaners
There are lots of household items that can double as cleaning agents. For instance, vinegar is recommended by some experts as a safe and effective way to clean many household surfaces, such as the bathroom. Vinegar has enough acidity to clean inorganic soils. Many cleaners are toxic, but vinegar can help you avoid that. Try to find eco-friendly cleaners that can make a difference. These cleaners are not very expensive; an all-purpose, eco-friendly cleaner can usually be picked up at the grocery store for as low as $3.
4. Get into recycling
Recycling helps reduce pollution, as well as overproduction of the same items. It can reduce greenhouse gasses and harsh chemicals that typically come from garbage. You can recycle in many different ways: Sign up for a program that will pick up your recycling for you, drive to recycling and trash centers and drop off your stuff there, or donate your leftover items. The resale price of items that you donate can be tax-deductible, and the places you donate to will usually help you to figure out how much the stuff you donated is worth.
5. Know what to throw out
Try to keep the big stuff—bedding, electronics and appliances—from ending up in the landfill. You can do this by taking care of your items carefully, as well as buying less stuff. If you’re ready for new items, make the necessary fixes and donate them.
The decluttering expert Marie Kondo famously recommends that if an object doesn’t “spark joy” when you see it, then you’re probably fine to get rid of it. This is all part of understanding our relationship to objects and finding an equilibrium that can help us to be healthy and happy.
Deciding which objects to keep isn’t easy. If you need some extra time to think about it, consider putting items you’re unsure about into storage. The cost of renting a self-storage unit in Atlanta is reasonable (averaging $107.91 monthly over the last six months).
6. Envision a new purpose for extra space and items
Extra clutter can have an influence on both your physical and mental well-being. This is why decluttering is a way for you to improve your own health and live a more environmentally friendly life. If you have extra space, give it a purpose. This can be an extra guest room, a workspace, a library or other options. This helps you make sure that stuff doesn’t get stored there in the future and the room maintains its cleanliness. If you need some help, one option is to hire a professional organizer, but this isn’t cheap, averaging $50 to $90 per hour.
There are tons of personal benefits to decluttering. Finding eco-friendly ways to do it can help you feel good about your overall impact on the environment. The better you take care of your large items and your house, the smaller your carbon footprint.