Why organising is good for the environment

Last week I had the unexpected pleasure of being invited to speak at the SUSTAIN Show, as another speaker had to pull out at the last minute. The title of my presentation was "Decluttering your way to a healthier home, life, and mind". I believe living an organised life has a direct benefit on our internal environment (body and mind) and external environment (home, work place, and global environment), and today I want to share with you some of what I spoke about at the show – how the old "reduce, reuse, recycle" is the central core to my role as a Professional Organiser, and how you can implement this in your home and life.

Reduce

• Declutter – put items back where they belong, and get rid of stuff that has no current purpose or adds no value
• Reduce what comes in – say "no" to junk mail, don't accept freebies for the sake of it, and opt for online bank statements and bills
• Reduce what’s in your schedule and on your "to do" list, which should also reduce your stress
• Reduce wasted time by establishing morning and evening routines, and have a designated home for the car keys and school bags, which should also reduce your stress
• Reduce what you buy, and therefore what you spend, by using a meal plan and shopping plan – this will also reduce the food that you waste by only buying what you need when you need it and avoiding food expiring
• Reduce the number of things you own by streamlining and using multi-functional products (I go through this with my clients when I help them get set up for their baby – rather invest in one item which can multitask and fulfill various functions for a longer period of time, than getting 4 different things). A good example is household cleaning products – you don’t need 15 different bottles of stuff in your cupboard; there are great natural multipurpose cleaners on the market these days, or you can easily make them yourself (again, Pinterest has a wealth of info on this) 

Reuse

• Repurpose what you can at home – storage boxes, nappy boxes, clothing, etc. Pinterest has zillions of clever ideas on how to repurpose items around the home. Don't assume you need to go buy more stuff
• Get involved in collaborative consumption. Check out this fantastic TED talk by Rachel Botsman explaining this rising phenomenon. My favourite quote is “you need the hole, not the drill”. Some of the local collaborative consumption sites here are Open Shed, Rentiod, and Freecycle.
• Donate – pass things you no longer need on to family and friends, or donate to charities like St Kilda Mums, Fitted for Work, Men’s Shed, Footpath Library
• Sell items you no longer need on Ebay, Fishpond, or Gumtree, so that someone else can get use out of it

Recycle

• Very little should land in your bin after a decluttering exercise – you should be able to find a way to recycle just about everything (and if you cant – call me and I’ll find it for you!) 
• There are loads of private companies out there these days who recycle mattresses, e-waste, ink cartridges, mobile phones, CDs and DVDs, XRAY films, you name it! Plus stores like Bunnings, Officeworks, and Ikea have recycling bins for things like batteries, lightbulbs, and mobile phones. Check with your local stores what they can accept
• At the very least, find out how to dispose of items responsibly, don’t just chuck it in the bin or leave it on the nature strip. Check what programs your local council has, as some have specific e-waste and chemical waste collection days

Coming from an environmental science background, this is obviously all very close to my heart and I can go on about this all day, but I'll restrain myself! As always I would love to hear from you if you have anything to add, or questions to ask. Just comment below!

How to Detox Your Home in 4 Easy Steps

This week I am thrilled to have Pearl from Resparkle as my first guest post. Enjoy!

Ok so perhaps you've embraced the organic lifestyle, an avid juicer or now a gym bunny, but do you still find yourself struggling with brain fog, sleeplessness or suffer from sensitive skin/sinuses? The culprit could be the quality of indoor air you breathe daily. Yes, indoor air is among the top 5 environmental risks to health according to numerous studies done in the US.

Common health problems that result from exposure to poor indoor air quality include: sensory and skin irritation; neurotoxic symptoms; hypersensitivity and odour and taste symptoms. Long term symptoms such as cancer and respiratory disease may be caused by long term, periodic exposure to chemicals.

While we do not have much direct control over the fumes & pollution we’re exposed to outdoors, we can take control in our homes. In this article, I share 4 easy ways to detox your home so it is a truly healthy sanctuary that you can retreat to after a long day.

(1) Rethink Artificial Air Fresheners/Deodorizers

I’m a scent junky so I totally get that you want your home smelling good but artificial air-fresheners are a toxic cocktail of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs can cause nausea, headaches and even cancer. Did you know that at the back label of many air-fresheners actually says “Inhaling contents can be harmful or fatal”?? Check out a photo taken from a randomly picked air freshener from Coles:

Instead, scent your home with essential oils. It might be more expensive for that tiny bottle but a little goes such a long way.
Here’s an easy way to keep your toilet smelling great:

(2) Ditch the chemicals starting with the nastiest 

If you’re using chemical-based cleaners around your home, you are exposing yourself to unnecessary poisons. One of the most toxic offenders are bathroom or glass cleaners that often contain chlorine or ammonia. (Did you know mixing chlorine & ammonia was used as a weapon during WW1? Now why would you want that in your home?!)
Ditching chemical-based cleaners is perhaps the most impactful way you can adopt immediately.

A good resource when deciding on what cleaners to use is the EWG website (Environmental Working Group). It has a comprehensive list of cleaning products and rates them according to their impact on our health and environment. http://www.ewg.org/guides/categories/3-Bathroom

So start switching to natural cleaning products and it is important to make sure the store bought ones are made of 100% natural ingredients. Many “green” brands that position themselves as “natural” often still contain nasty chemicals. You don’t want to be forking out a small fortune only to be still cleaning with toxic chemicals.
Resparkle’s range of organic cleaners are made from 100% natural plant based ingredients and the best part is it does not cost more than most chemical-based ones.

(3) Improve Indoor air & energy with plants

Studies conducted by NASA confirms that, the simplest way to purify and revitalize indoor air was to introduce plants in your home. They absorb toxic chemicals through their tiny openings in their leafs, filter them through their root system and the release pure oxygen into the air.
For example, the Boston fern can remove up to 1.8mg of formaldehyde per hour (a common cancer causing chemical found in furniture and particle board). The Boston fern is also a low pollen plant so if you’re sensitive to pollen, this is the plant to get!

Read more about how plants improve your health and what plants to get here. http://resparkleaustralia.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/how-do-plants-improve-your-health-and-increase-the-flow-of-positive-energy/

(4) Detox your Garden: Don’t use pesticides: Use natural soap!

Yes, soap-based solutions have been used for centuries as all-purpose pesticides. They're nontoxic to the environment and to people — and they work on a wide variety of garden insects by disrupting their cell membranes and causing dehydration.
The key is not to use too much soap, or you'll also kill the vegetation near the pests. Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons liquid soap, such as Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Soap (do NOT use detergent) into 1 quart water in a bucket, then transfer to a spray bottle.
If you need to get rid of weeds, just pour hot water or vinegar at the roots. It will wilt and die in no time!

Pearl, founder of Resparkle – Australia’s first & only certified organic cleaning products that truly doesn't cost the earth. www.resparkle.com.au