Declutter Game Challenge - Day #19: Recycling Parents

It's Day #19!! I was on set once again for the last show of a local production of which I was crew. So, I still played Earth Mother and collected the bottles and cans from the actors, but on our way out a colleague pointed out a RECYCLE can right in the building...now how did I miss that thing ALL weekend? SMH!!

Anyway, I visited my parents after the show (since it was an early one) and they had their recyclables waiting for me to take. Here's the deal. When our city first introduced the new trash (black) and recycle (blue) receptacles, they were so excited to recycle. They diligently sorted the items and took pride in the fact that they were doing it (even though I was trying to get them to do it for YEARS before the city got new bins...but I digress).

Now, for my parents...the thrill is GONE!! They stopped sorted and started to just throw everything in the trash. They are older, so they get a pass, but I would still find myself digging through their trash bin and sorting it for them. I would take home their stuff and put it in my own. So, we made a deal. If they were to go back to sorting, I'd always pick it up from them and put it in my recycling. After all, they want to "help the environment", but weren't fanatics (like me). So, when they the fill bags, they leave "my recycling", as they call it, in the garage.

Here's two bags I picked up from them on Day #19. There were more than 19 items (yes, I counted while dropping them in my blue bin), but I still needed to make up 9 items from Saturday, so I'm right on track. My parents' recycling, my recycling...it's all out of our houses and our lives!!

Happy Earth Day!! Declutter Game Challenge - Days 12-18

Happy Earth Day!!

Well, it's Earth Day in my neck of the woods and to "celebrate" our local zoo sets up a recycling center for people to get rid of old stuff they need to declutter. They work with local companies and agencies like Goodwill, Lott Industries and the like, to collect and sort items that the community brings in. I waited in the car lane for 30 minutes to get into the zoo, but it was worth it to rid my life of all this junk cluttering up my house!!

This event comes at a perfect time for me because I'm soooooo behind on my Declutter Game Challenge. So, I used this opportunity to catch up on 105 items which is basically all of this past week. I grabbed a few boxes and went through the house and started filling them up. I posted a video on my facebook page to show you just how packed my car was. See it here: Earth Day at the Zoo

I felt so light after this haul got out of my house!! Of the 105 items, I was able to get out 96 of them. I'll make up the rest with a freecycle list of items, but TODAY, I decluttered the following: boxes, phone books, paper, CDs, magazines, books, encyclopedias (I'll show this on Day #16), laptop battery, purses, clothes, shoes, keyboard, coats, cell phone and accessories, a broken chair and desk drawer and a printer. Whew!!

Take a look!! What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? Will you be able to reduce, recycle or reuse?

Decluter Game Challenge - Day #16

Okay, I got rid of these items at the Zoo Recycle Day, but I still wanted to separate it out from the others, since there was 16 of these. Do you remember encyclopedias? Yeah, before Google, we actually looked up information and researched in books!!

I have always been a nerd and my parents gladly obliged when I asked for books. Speaking of my parents, I found this partial volume of encyclopedias in my parents' garage. They did a decluttering of their garage a couple of months ago and my Dad let me know that I still had books and miscellaneous items in there. Imagine my surprise to see my childhood books in there. Wow!!

So, I gathered them all up and threw them in the backseat of my car. I had the intention of taking them to Goodwill, but I hemmed and hawed, wondering it maybe the library might want them or could I give them to my nieces or some other child. They were dusty, but nothing I couldn't get off. Plus, they were in great condition!! 

Intentions are great, but in truth life got in the way, so now weeks later, I STILL had them in my car. Earth Day at the Zoo was the PERFECT way and reason to get them out of there. The best thing about it is Goodwill is who unloaded my car at the recycling event, so it got to the original destination anyway. Win-win!! Love when things work out!!

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Declutter Game Challenge - Day #11

Hey there!!

Just checking in on my decluttering challenge!! This was a quick and easy one. I keep a bin in my kitchen cabinet that holds my house recycling. Once it's full, I take it outside to the recycling receptacle. This one included old items in addition to empty ones. That can opener no longer works and that container was horribly stained and bubbled from over use. When you can no longer use it or you no longer love it, it's got to go!!

Before I took this one out to recycle heaven, I snapped a pic for this challenge!!

Just a few items...11, perfect for Day #11 of the challenge, so here it is!! 

Declutter Game Challenge - Day #10

Hey everybody!!

This is my favorite decluttering challenge day so far!! I briefly mentioned before that a few times a year my sorority does a service project reading to children at the library. We always provide cookies, milk and we donate books to them. We've completed our events with the kids, but we had leftover books and I got stuck with them. I asked the librarians if they could use them and they were so happy to receive them to give out to more kids!!

So for Declutter Game - Day #10, I donated 10 books to our favorite librarians at our favorite branch!! This went well with this month too. Not only is it Earth Month, but April also houses National Library Week!! It's a win-win for us all!!

Big shout out to Ms Judy and Rebecca at the Mott Branch Library!! Thank you ladies for being who you are to the children and the community!! We appreciate you!!

Declutter Game Challenge - Days #7 & #9

Hey!! Catch up time!!

I combined my Declutter Game Challenge Days for #7 and #9. They were really easy ones, but they were done after the fact and out of order, so I'm just reporting them.

For me decluttering is not just about physical stuff, but virtual stuff too. I checked most of my emails via my smart phone (we're so dependent on our handheld technology now), so I rarely see the emails piling up in my Junk Mail. So, for Day #7, I decided to empty them for my seven email addresses. It wasn't super quick though because I do glance through them to make sure a legit email didn't get in there by accident (technology isn't perfect). I emptied those folders and was satisfied.

Then Day #9 kind of fell in my lap. I have been part of the crew for a local theater production and while cleaning up backstage, I found so many empty or half empty bottles of water. Of course some of them "fell" into the trash can. Being the Earth Lover that I am, I made sure everyone knew I was collecting the bottles to be recycled (instead of going to the never never land landfill). I gathered as many as I could find and put them in my receptacle at home.

Glad to get rid of my junk and others' junk too!! Enjoy your day!!