Recycle Christmas Light Strands

Do you have strands of Christmas lights that are old and faded, broken, burnt out, or you just don't want them anymore? Before throwing them in the trash only to end up in landfills, why not consider recycling them? Christmas lights are 100% recyclable!

How are they recycled? According to an article from BrightHub.com, "When your lights are received in a recycling center, they are sorted. The loose bulbs and other unrecylcable materials are discarded. The sorted light strings are then sent through a shredder which chops the lights, wires and plastic into very small pieces. They are then separated by the various elements that make up the lights, such as copper, glass and plastic. These materials are then shipped out for further processing and turned into new items."

There are many mail-in programs that will recycle your lights for you. Most provide a 10% or 25% discount on the purchase of new lights and some give the recycling proceeds to Toys for Tots or other charities.

Here are some of my favorites:

5 Star Holiday Decor Light Recycling Program (www.fivestarholidaydecor.com)
Christmas Light Source Recycling Program (www.christmas-light-source.com)
Holiday LEDs.com Christmas Light Recycling Program (www.holidayleds.com)

How do you recycle your Christmas lights?

September is National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month. Are you ready if a natural or man-made disaster were to strike? It's time to get prepared and organized to keep you and your family safe in the event of an emergency. Having an Emergency Supply Kit for your household is a must! There's no telling how long you'll have to survive completely on your own before help arrives. You're also going to need a Family Emergency Plan (FEP). Who to call? What to do? Where to meet? Ready.gov offers some great tools to help you get prepared:
Emergency Supply Kit
(A recommended 3-day supply of what to have in your kit)
Family Emergency Plan
(A form for contact information and meeting locations, complete with cut-out cards to be carried with each family member)

For more great tools and information visit Ready.gov.

Best Buy Recycles Electronics

Did you know Best Buy recycles old electronic equipment? Yes, it's true! It doesn't matter where you bought it, they'll recycle it. How cool is that? They recycle TVs, DVD and MP3 players, cell phones, CDs, audio and video cables, computers, monitors, home stereos, car audio, fans, vacuum cleaners, and more. It's absolutely FREE in most states (with a few restrictions) and they allow you to drop off 3 items per household, per day.

Restrictions:

• They do not recycle hard drives. So if you're recycling a desktop or laptop computer, you must first remove the hard drive. You can do it yourself or they'll do it for you for a small fee of $9.99.
• Some states charge a $10.00 fee for TVs and monitors, but they'll give you a $10.00 Best Buy gift card in exchange.
• No microwaves or any items containing Freon (i.e. air conditioners, mini refrigerators)
  

So get out there and dispose of your electronics properly. Best Buy makes it easier than ever!

Do you know of any other places that recycle old electronics?

Stop Unwanted Mail - Fantastic Resource!

Does your mailbox look like this? According to CatalogChoice.org, "on average, we get 900 pieces of unsolicited mail per yer." Unbelievable! Interested in reducing that amount? Think of all the time and trees you'll save! I'm happy to announce that CatalogChoice.org is not just for catalogs anymore. They're now a resource for stopping all kinds of junkmail, such as credit card offers, coupons, letter size direct mail, other unsolicited marketing offers, and even phonebooks. How cool is that? To get started go to www.CatalogChoice.org and set up an account. It's fast, simple to use, and it's free!

Bed, Bath, and Beyond - Great Resource!

In need of a great place to shop for organizing products for your home? Visit your local Bed, Bath, & Beyond store (if you haven't already). It's one of my favorite places to shop for myself as well as for my clients.They have a fantastic selection of organizing products for the home, especially for the kitchen and closets. And the best part... they honor all original Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons (expired or not) and you can use more than one coupon per visit! How cool is that?

4 Ways to Get Rid of Unwanted CDs

With music going digital these days, what do you do with all of your unwanted CDs? There's really no need for them to take up valuable space in your home anymore. If you're ready to let them go for good, below are some great ideas for what to do
with them.

1. Recycle
Check with your local computer recycling center (if your city has one). Chances are they'll gladly take your CDs off your hands for you. All Best Buy stores nationwide recycle CDs. Drop them off at the free kiosk just inside the door. For more information and to find a Best Buy store near you visit www.bestbuy.com/recycling. Another option is the CD Recycling Center of America www.cdrecyclingcenter.org. They'll recycle your CDs for free, however, they charge a small fee for the packaging (i.e. jewel cases, sleeves, and slim cases).

2. Sell Online
The following online companies will give you money for CDs in good condition with original covers.
www.SecondSpin.com
www.CashForCDs.com

3. Donate
Give them away to a friend or family member with the same musical tastes as you, who'll really appreciate them. Donate them to local charities like the Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Local libraries often accept CDs, as well. Call ahead before dropping them off.

4. Sell/Trade Them at Your Local Music Store
Do a Google search online to find stores near you or look in your local Yellow Pages directory. There are still stores out there who do this kind of thing. If you live in the Santa Rosa, CA area try The Last Record Store or Incredible Records & CDs. Call ahead first, to make sure they want what you have. If they're too outdated, they may not want them, but it's certainly worth a try.

Proper Disposal of Medications

As an organizer, my clients ask me all the time what to do with unused or outdated prescriptions or over-the-counter medications. This is a great question since options are slim.

If you flush medication down the toilet, they can enter the soil, surface water and groundwater, causing harm to fish and wildlife (modern wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove synthetic pollutants like pharmaceuticals).

If you throw medication in the trash, children or pets could possibly find them. If swallowed, they could be poisoned.

If you continue to store them in your home, it creates an opportunity for illicit use. One in five teens report intentionally misusing someone else's prescription drugs to get high.

So what's the answer?

• Call your local drugstore or pharmacy for options in your area. Pharmacies are not required to take back your medications, however, sometimes they sponsor "clean out your medicine cabinet" drives where customers can return unused medications, supplements, and other over-the-counter products.
• Check with your police department to see if they have a drug collection program.
• Check to see if your community household hazardous waste program collects medications.

• For those of you who live in Sonoma County, great news! There's now a Safe Medicine Disposal Program. You can take your unused medication to a participating pharmacy and they'll collect them FREE of charge and place them in a secure bin to dispose of them properly. For a list of participating pharmacies click here.
  

• As a last resort, if no collection options exist, follow these steps: (1) Remove all labels containing personal information from prescription bottles (2) Mix all unused drugs with coffee grounds, kitty litter, or another undesirable substance, and/or (3) place this mixture in a sealed container before disposing in the trash.
  

Reduce the Clutter in Your Mailbox

Junk mail is a major problem in America. It's causing clutter in our homes, it's costing us money for disposal of what doesn't get recycled, it's wasting away our precious trees, it's taking up space in our landfills, and it's taking up our valuable time. On average, we spend 8 months opening junk mail in the course of our lives!

I've put together a list of online resources to help you reduce the clutter in your mailbox. You can either take the time to do it yourself or, for a small fee, you can seek the assistance of an online service to help you.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
(The single largest provider of direct mail lists)
www.dmachoice.org
FREE to register online. $1.00 to register by mail.
Catalogs & junk mail.

Bay Area Junk Mail Reduction Campaign
www.StopJunkMail.org
Download your FREE Stop Junk Mail Kit

www.CatalogChoice.org
FREE service! Catalogs only.

www.StopJunkMailing.com
($25.00 one time fee) Catalogs & junk mail.

www.StopTheJunkMail.com
($19.95/year) Catalogs & junk mail.
* They plant 1 tree for each membership!

www.MailStopper.tonic.com
($20.00/year) Catalogs & junk mail.
* They plant 5 trees for each membership!

By using one of the above resources, you will see less junk in your mailbox very soon!