recycle Archives - Page 2 of 3 - SOS: Simple Organized Solutions LLC

How Much Trash Can I Find?

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-02-15T12:46:41-06:00February 17th, 2021|Categories: Downsizing|Tags: discard, donation, downsizing, purging, recycle|

The answer to this question is, a lot! Depending on the size of the items and the amount, a junk hauling service may be in order. Whether you’re moving to a smaller home or not, it often surprises my clients how much trash we find when downsizing. However, when you’re downsizing to prepare for a move, the purging process is more involved. Since you are moving to another home, you have to literally touch every item you own and look in every nook and cranny in your home to determine what to keep and what to discard. Your home needs [...]

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Remember The 3 R’s as You Downsize

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:17-06:00December 4th, 2019|Categories: Downsizing, Recycle|Tags: downsizing, recycle, reduce, reuse|

The 3 R’s are - reuse, reduce and recycle. These are very important R’s to remember at all times. I just read something the other day on the internet somewhere, I can’t remember where, that suggested we add a 4th R – refuse. The context pertained to refusing to use disposable plastic water bottles. That’s a great idea. I think it could be added to the 3 R’s and considered as you downsize, and not just for disposable plastic water bottles. Refusing to add another unwanted or unneeded thing to our living environment makes sense. Throughout our lives we downsize [...]

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Recycling Locations Around St. Louis MO

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:21-06:00May 29th, 2019|Categories: Decluttering, Recycle|Tags: discard, donation, MO, recycle, St. Louis|

Whether you have curbside recycling or take your recyclables to a facility, some items are not allowed in the bins. Your service provider typically provides a list of items that they will accept. Some bins have stickers on them to show the acceptable items. There are items however, that need to be discarded but are not on the list of accepted items. Donation to a favorite charity is always an option for recycling for gently used items. You want to be a good steward of the earth and keep as much out of the landfill as possible, but may not [...]

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Plastic Grocery Bags Are Not Good For Long-Term Storage

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:23-06:00February 20th, 2019|Categories: Storage|Tags: clutter, containers, recycle, storage|

Currently, the big question on my mind is, why do so many people use plastic grocery bags for storage? I see this in my client’s homes as well as family member’s homes, even my own. Not by me of course, but others. I’m calling them grocery bags but the reality is that all stores where you purchase products use them. Maybe grocery stores were the first ones to start using them, who knows, I certainly can’t remember that far back. I see them in refrigerators, freezers, drawers, closets, garages; everywhere humans store things. Instead of storing packages of meat in [...]

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Organizing Cables – How to Avoid The Spaghetti Effect

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:24-06:00October 31st, 2018|Categories: Home Organization, Organizing Tips|Tags: containers, organizing process, plugs, recycle|

Do you have a box of cables that you don’t know what they are or what they belong to? Do the cords around your tv or entertainment center look like a mass of spaghetti? Do you have cables attached to power strips that are not attached to any device? Maybe they are attached to devices but you can’t figure out which device goes to which plug? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a cable organization dilemma! First let me say that you are not alone. So many of my client’s homes have this same [...]

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Purging Holiday Decorations

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:28-06:00December 13th, 2017|Categories: Decluttering, Donation, Holidays|Tags: donate, holiday decor, purging, recycle|

The holidays are upon us and there is much to do. From creating menus to shopping for gifts to putting up holiday decorations. The earlier we start on our to-do list the better. Decorating is one of those things that can be done early. We may not think about purging as we decorate but it’s a great way to reduce the amount of decorations as well as creating more storage space. Not everyone decorates for the holidays but many of us enjoy showing our holiday spirit in this way. We accumulate many decorations over the years. We acquire holiday decorations [...]

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Should I Sell or Donate Unwanted Items?

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2023-04-20T11:31:56-05:00October 4th, 2017|Categories: Decluttering, Donation, Recycle|Tags: donate, organizing process, purge, recycle|

During the purge part of the organizing process, I’m often asked if an unwanted item should be donated or sold. This is a great question! The short answer is that it’s an individual preference. In my experience, most people know what mechanism they want to use to discard unwanted items. There are some items that have been in families for generations, and the current owners think they may be of value, but they’re not sure. For those items, I recommend getting an appraisal to determine value. Then decide whether to contact other family members to see if they want the [...]

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Where to Donate Your Treasures

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:29-06:00June 7th, 2017|Categories: Decluttering, Downsizing, Recycle|Tags: charities, donate, purge, recycle, tips|

I’m often asked, ‘where do I donate _______?’ (fill in the blank). When I’m asked this question is typically during, or after a purge session. Whether it’s spring cleaning, or time to downsize, you may come across items that are not trash-worthy. These items still have mileage in them and you don’t want them to end up in a landfill. The obvious solution is to recycle them. Recycling has a variety of meanings; send to a recycling facility, repurpose/reuse, sell or donate. This post focuses on where to donate specialty items. There are many charities that accept donations. The [...]

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Go Green During Spring Cleaning

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:35-06:00April 26th, 2015|Categories: Planning, Recycle, Spring Cleaning|Tags: green, recycle, spring cleaning|

Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Spring cleaning is a process that can take quite a while. It’s not typically done in a weekend. There are many rooms and spaces to consider, along with the yard and perhaps a vehicle or two. As we clean, we declutter and clear our homes of items we no longer need, want or love. Some of the items to discard are still in good shape while others are not. The items that still have life in them could be donated to a charity so that someone could reuse them. Non-working items such as, [...]

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How to Squash Your Paper Clutter Pests

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2020-11-17T13:41:37-06:00August 24th, 2014|Categories: Home Organization, Paper Management|Tags: clutter, papers, purge, recycle|

What is at the top of the list in terms of clutter in your home? Most everyone I talk to about organizing says that paper is their number one issue with clutter. I can relate because paper is on the top of my list as well. It accumulates at an alarming rate. Some of it is important, some not so much, and some not at all. Wherever it may fall on the scale of importance, I think we can all agree that too much paper equates to paper clutter pests. It comes from a plethora of sources. It may arrive via snail [...]

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