I had the opportunity to write an article for a sassy organizer who wanted to tuck in a bit of green into her newsletter, what a fun writing project !
In writing the piece below we wanted clients not to feel overwhelmed.
There is certainly enough of that in the world already
Greening your garage requires organizing too
By Karen Hanrahan
If you are beginning to ponder greener pastures with regards to your garage, consider taking an inventory of what’s actually in your garage and see where shifts can be made. Be mindful that going green is a gradual process. Incremental steps are better than doing nothing at all.
Should you consider a clean sweep, Pure Organization is here to help
Not sure what your attitudes are ?
Values regarding how green you want to be are very individual. Certainly today you have more eco-conscious products available to you than ever before. Determining your personal philosophy is about identifying products and techniques that accomplish your goals while not harming the environment.
Toxic products
▪ If you have toxic products are they stored safely?
▪ Are you prepared to replace them with green alternatives?
▪ Do you know where or how to dispose of toxic products?
Recycling
▪ What could you do differently to make your recycling efforts more productive?
▪ Are you aware of how to properly dispose of various electronics ?
▪ Did you know that CFL lbulbs have mercury in them and are not curbside recyclable?
Gardening
▪ Would you consider mulching, composting and collecting rainwater?
▪ Have you considered natural pest control?
▪ What power tools could be replaced by hand tools?
Seasonal needs
▪ Are there lawnmowers that are more eco friendly?
▪ What snow salts are less harmful to the environment?
▪ Could you start riding a bicycle again?
Useful websites:
American Horticultural Society
Where to recycle those curly bulbs?
Karen Hanrahan is a wellness educator/consultant, author of the Blog: Best of Mother Earth, and is an advocate of the green movement.
As a Green mom on a budget I can definitely say that trying to green your home, yard and even garage can be a bit intimidating. It’s important to know why you don’t have to do it all at once and you don’t have to sell a kidney to do it.
Part of being Green is knowing that every thing you do has a consequence especially toward the environment. By changing little things in our daily lives (such as adding water filters to reduce bottled water usage and using rain barrels to reduce tap water waste) you as an individual are certainly making a BIG difference.
I read an article recently about how using a recycled rain water is a great way to add natural nutrients back to your garden. So I went online, purchased one and we have been using it! My kids love to play in the water and we are not getting needless resources from the tap (not to mention saving money on the water bill!)
I’d like to encourage others to find one small convenience in your daily lives that you could change to make more Green. If everyone did it, the impact would be… phenomenal.
If your interested in purchasing a rain barrel, they have some very affordable ones at the Green store on http://www.greeneutopia.com . They also had a lot of Great information for those of us always looking for new ways to make life ‘Greener’
God Bless!
Sabrina
Thank you for your comments and suggestions Sabrina – we are really lucky locally to have a very active ecology action center that hosts make your own rain barrel workshops – i hope to attend the one in august!!
http://www.ecologyactioncenter.org/