In today’s post, Nancy shares an organizing roadblock she has encountered when getting organized. Can you relate or do you have different organizing obstacles? Let us know in the comments!
I worked for many years for environmental groups, and environmental issues remain very important to me. So I try to lead a green life. One way is to make sure that when I get rid of things, I do it responsibly. I sell or donate as much as I can and recycle as much as possible. I hate the thought of throwing things away!
That’s why I used to have a pile of torn, stained clothes and towels in my closet. They weren’t suitable for donation, but I knew that the fibers could be used—somewhere. The problem was, I couldn’t figure out a way to get those textiles to such a place. My county’s recycling program didn’t take them. There were no local animal shelters that needed them, and no drop-off locations nearby. I already had plenty of rags. So for years that pile stayed in my closet, growing bigger and getting in my way.
I finally decided that it was OK to discard all that fabric. And I accepted the fact that my desire to be a good environmental citizen could sometimes get in the way of my need to declutter and stay organized. Sometimes I had to choose, and sometimes that choice would be to use the trash.
This was a liberating concept for me. I had been holding on to all sorts of things because I’d felt guilty about sending them to a landfill or I was waiting for the right recycling opportunity. Today, I still reuse, recycle, and donate as much as I can. And there are some things, like household hazardous waste, that I would never consider disposing of in the trash. But giving myself permission to throw some items in the garbage has made a big difference. I am moving things out of my house that would otherwise get in my way, or at the very least annoy me.
In the meantime, I try to head off this decision in the first place by limiting what I bring in to my house. Less stuff in to begin with means fewer things that will have to be discarded later. In the end, I think that’s one of the best ways to honor my environmental values.
If you are hesitating to get rid of things because of green concerns, it may be time to give yourself permission to get rid of some of them. Then work at reducing waste going forward by not buying things you don’t need or that won’t last.
I’d love to hear if you’ve had similar problems with moving things out of your house. What has tripped you up, and why?
This sounds so familiar! I have a similar problem with clothes: I have a huge pile of children’s clothes which in my eyes need mending, but everybody who is not the sewing type would just throw them away. So they stay forever in my sewing room (because I hate mending), cluttering my sewing space, until my children have grown out of them. Thanks for the reminder, that one just has to move forward sometimes!
Yes, forward, but it can be hard! I can see how you’d want to mend those clothes…but I can also see how you wouldn’t get around to it. I don’t like to do that either. This is a great example–thanks for sharing it.
I agree that priorities can shift given the situation. Sometimes getting the item out is more important than finding a perfect “final destination.” I have been happy to see the proliferation of USAgain bins, which accept the type of fabric you are describing as they are committed to keeping textiles out of landfills.
Thanks Seana. I’ve been monitoring USAgain and there is a collection site now that is kind of/sort of in my area. I hope they do more. But I agree, sometimes you just have to get the stuff out of the house.
Thank you so much, Nancy, for this post. Two years after my father’s death, I am still sorting through my parents’ lifetime accumulation of stuff. We shared a home in their later years, so I’ve been blessed to have unlimited time for the project, but the lack of a deadline has caused countless stashes of I’m-sure-I-can-figure-out-something-to-do-with-this-besides-the-dumpster items. When I just can’t come up with a better solution than the trash, it helps me a little to stop a moment and appreciate the usefulness the item once had, and remember that it has already served the purpose for which it was created.
I can imagine that you have an extra layer of difficulty since it is your parents’ stuff…and it sounds like there’s a lot. But I really love your idea about considering that the objects have served useful lives; I think that’s a great way to frame things.
Just a few months we got rid of a box of perfectly good books. They had been in a bag awaiting donation to either a 2nd hand shop or a home for the elderly. We just didn’t get round to actually dropping them off. One day DH had enough of them and dumped them in the paper recycling bin. Not an ideal solution for sure but it definitely felt good to finally let go of them – and I ‘consoled’ myself by thinking that paper recycling is at least better than the landfill…
I had the same pile of clothes that weren’t suitable to donate, but that I couldn’t bring myself to throw away. Finally I googled textile recycling and my city and found there were drop off boxes not too far from me including one for USAgain. I also found out some Goodwill locations send the items not suitable for sale to recycling. You have to call your Goodwill and ask.
I’ve also had luck listing things on my local freecycle type group. I try my best to reuse and recycle as much as possible, but yeah sometimes there is no other option but the trash.
I’ve also had a similar thought about “it’s served the purpose for which is was created” (I love the way Susan says it!!). And also if it is something I am sentimental about and having a hard time letting go of even though it is causing stress and irritation…I just snap a picture with my smartphone!! Having that photo “to hold on to” has gone a long way toward helping me let go of a lot of things I no longer need and use (but still “love”)…
I have organization issues also because I don’t know what to let go of or afraid I may need it later. I would have to say my office is worse but functional. I can read these kind of blogs all day and it’s still hard for me. I have even tried looking at other examples and tried to apply them but end up with a bigger mess than i began with.
For the record H&M (and a few other retailers) take old worn out textiles. I know H&M uses clothes/linens in unwearable condition to stuff items and make cleaning rags.
I have a difficult time with letting go of my old letters. People are writing fewer of them these days, so perhaps this issue will solve itself. 😉 Nonetheless, I should take a look
Good for you, Nancy, for caring about the planet. We’ve been watching ‘Our Planet’ on Netflix (highly recommend). What amazing coverage of nature and its inhabitants. One startling statistic that is mentioned is that the human population has more than doubled in just sixty years! It is definitely time to take care of and conserve our resources.
What great suggestions all around! I had no idea that H&M takes unwanted textiles, Caroline.
That would be to take a look at them again and see if I truly need to keep them all