More Green Ideas

Words in green are little things to do to be greener.
I discovered a paper recycling collection box at a school not too far from here. I have no school kids, so don't hang around those places much, but while I walking my little doggy in the farther reaches of the neighborhood, I saw it. They have a list of things on it that they accept and among the newspaper & magazines was listed, office waste, boxes and - wait for it....wait for it....JUNK MAIL! Last year I took my name off a bunch of lists to decrease the volume of junk mail I receive and it has diminished, but not disappeared. Now I have a place to put it besides the land fill. I am so happy. If my husband takes a slightly different route to work he can drop it off once a week or so, thus only adding a couple hundred feet to his drive and not wasting gas by making an extra trip. BTW - he goes to work REAL early so won't get involved with the school zone, buses, or minor pedestrian traffic. It has been only 5 days since I started saving the paper waste and already have a 16"X16"X14" box FULL. I will probably need a bigger box when I finally get around to purging my files from last year to make room for 2009's stuff - I know!!!! It is almost February and I have not made a dent in it yet.

I also joined FreeCycle. It is a group online where you can list things you want to get rid of, but don't want to just throw away thus adding to the growing landfills (we call the one closest to us "Stink Mountain"). I have gotten rid of a lot of perfectly good stuff that I was tired of storing and figured I'd never use again (or fit into), and someone else wanted. I reccommend it highly, especially since Spring Cleaning time is rushing at us like Dino the dinosaur on The Flintsones. People list the stuff they don't want to move, the boxes after they are finshed moving, lots and lots of baby stuff. Let's face it - those babies tend to grow out of stuff so quickly it hasn't had a chance to wear out yet. Many people even post things that they NEED that might be in someone's drawer or closet and they hadn't thought of getting rid of it - for instance - that old cell phone charger for the phone you replaced a few years ago and it doesn't fit anything in your house, or the old cell phone itself. Computer cables, monitors, TVs, appliances, small & large, working or not. There are a lot of handy people out there who would love to fix the old washer, or drier, or desk top PC, or refrigerator that you replaced. They might use it or sell it for a few bucks. . . either way they will come take it out of your way and it is no skin off your nose. The main rule is you have to give it away - not try to sell it - that is why it is called FREE Cycle. Many people get stuff on Freecycle to supplement their own stuff for yard sales. I would rather give it away than bother with yard sale, but HEY - I'm lazy, and a little generous, I guess.

I had a box of stuff that I was getting ready to list on Freecycle, but Purple Heart called and said they were going to be on my street and wondered if I had anything I could donate - so I saved it for them. Recycle, repurpose, reuse, reduce - DONATE! Now I get a tax receipt for the stuff I was getting rid of anyway. It's all good.