"Green" Organizing

"Green" Organizing is a growing trend developing in the professional organizing industry. And it's here to stay. Green Organizing is an environmentally-friendly approach to professional organizing emphasizing the principles of “reduce—re-use—recycle”. It encourages thinking about the social and environmental impact of your purchases, as well as the ethics of the companies you buy from.

Green Organizers promote:

• Using recycled and/or biodegradable products where possible and feasible
• Re-using products rather than buying new products
• Limiting the amount of unwanted items going to landfills by donating, free-cycling, selling and recycling as much as possible
• Purchasing organizing products from companies that adhere to environmentally sustainable manufacturing practices

There is a new Yahoo group that provides an amazing network of resources for professional organizers and others who strive to practice simple, green and sustainable organizing. If you are interested in green organizing check it out at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simple_and_sustainable_organizers/ Green Organizers are also working on a set of voluntary Green Ethics to supplement the existing NAPO Code of Ethics http://www.napo.net/get_organized/ethics.html Here are some examples that may inspire you in how you organize your home.

As a Green Organizer, I will strive to:

• Limit the nature and volume of the products I consume and discard
• Purchase from Green product and service vendors.
• Teaching Green practices to my children.
• Set up effective and efficient recycling centers in my home.
• Find creative ways to store potentially useful items or give them away for future re-use instead of throwing them away.
• Purchase earth-friendly, second-hand, or locally-produced products where feasible.
• Follow Green disposal practices such as:
  • Using recycling centers
  • Finding individuals or organizations who need unusual items I need to get rid of
  • Safely and legally disposing of toxic items.
• Share my knowledge of green organizing with others.
• Encourage vendors to offer more earth-friendly products.

If you want to use a green approach to organizing your home or office, you can find great ideas and links to many resources for recycling, donating and buying green at neatliving.net © 2006 Ariane Benefit, Neat Living All rights reserved.

Ariane Benefit is a professional organizer, speaker, and author of the popular Neat Living Blog at http://www.NeatLiving.net which provides free organizing tips, home makeover photos and much more. Her mission is to inspire people to simplify, clear clutter, and organize so they can live a life they love! She provides simple practical organizing solutions for people who just want a neater, simpler, less stressful life – not a perfect one. She can be found on the web at http://www.neatliving.org