In my last blog post I wrote about greening your home by reviewing your cleaning supplies and personal care products. Here are a few additional ways to green your home and life that you may not have considered. Support Local Green Business The San Francisco Green Business Program makes it easy to find local certified business that meet high environmental standards. The guide has everything from architects & caterers to dry cleaners & grocery stores. PICK IT UP has been a proud SF Green Business since 2015! California also has a statewide Green Business Program if you are not in the bay area. Recycle E-Waste
We all love our devices! But with the latest device, comes the inevitable e-waste. Green Citizen, a local non-profit dedicated to reducing e-waste, states "Although electronic waste only accounts for 2% of America’s trash, it’s responsible for over 70% of the nation’s hazardous waste." Green Citizen helps by taking ALL e-waste (anything that plugs in) and either responsibly recycling it or reselling usable items. They offer hard drive destruction to secure your information and even partner with local SF public schools to bridge the digital divide! Green Citizen 1831 Bayshore Highway, Suite 2, Burlingame, CA 94010 (650) 493-8700 Monday-Saturday: 10am-6pm Safe Medication Disposal It is important to safely dispose of old or unused medications. Flushing is not recommended, as these medicines can contaminate our waterways. If you are located in San Francisco, all police stations have medication collection bins with no police report needed. There are also many additional drop-off sites around the city. Check out this list of participating pharmacies on the SF Environment website Each new green habit you adopt helps make our world a little bit cleaner. Of course I am always here to help with your home-greening efforts!
0 Comments
We all want our homes to feel safe, happy and health, right? For me, that includes making my home as eco-friendly as possible. Most of us recycle and have switched our light bulbs, but read on for some additional ways to green your home! EWG's Skin Deep Guide & Healthy Cleaning Guide Many of us use cleaning products in our homes and beauty products on our bodies without really know whats in them. Wouldn't you like to make informed choices? The Environmental Working Group's website arms consumers with all sorts of information for making healthy purchases for yourself and your family. Look up your personal care products in the Skin Deep guide to see what score they get. Use the Guide to Healthy Cleaning to find products that clean without harming your health. Remember that some of the best cleaners are vinegar, baking soda and hot water! Dispose of Toxics Properly Once you have made the decision to get rid of all the nasty chemicals in your home, you need to dispose of them safely. Items such as chemicals, electronics, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and pesticides should never go in your trash bins or down the drain. If you live in San Francisco, you can schedule a free home pickup from Recology by calling (415) 330-1405. You can also drop items off at at the Recology Transfer Station (the dump) Thursday – Saturday: 8:00AM – 4:00PM. You can find out more information here. If you are outside of SF, call your local waste management company for information about safe toxic disposal. All of these small decisions add up to a safer home and cleaner environment for all of us. Of course I am always here to help with your home-greening needs! Stay tuned for additional ways to green your home. Be Ready for Anything Being Californians, we all know we should have supplies on hand in case of an earthquake, but rounding up emergency supplies is just the first step to really being ready for anything. Creating a home inventory and vital records carrier can take your preparedness to the next level! Emergency Kit Be prepared to go without services for 72 hours in an emergency. Gathering three days worth of food, water, medicine and toiletries for each member of your family, including pets, is a good starting place. Then add a first aid kit, flashlights, warm clothes and a hand crank radio. Check out SF72 for additional essentials. It's likely you already have many of these supplies on hand. Gather them together to create a dedicated Emergency Kit. Store everything in a sturdy container in an accessible location. Be sure to label it and notify other family members. Alternately, you can purchase a ready-made kit at The Ready Store! Home Inventory Can you name all of the items in your home without looking? I certainly can't! That's where having a home inventory list comes in handy. It can save you time and money when filing an insurance claim. A home inventory can be as simple as a list of items for every room in your home and an accompanying video. You can also use apps like Centriq or HomeZada. Both offer free home inventory capability as well as additional services such as keeping manuals, warranties and maintenance information all in one place. Vital Records Accessing your vital records, such as birth certificates and passports, in an emergency can be essential. Keeping them secure, but easily accessible is important. It's a good idea to protected the originals in a fire-proof safe. You can then have copies in a folder where they are ready to grab in case of an emergency. Take your emergency planning one step at a time, knowing each measure helps your family be a bit more prepared. Revisit each of the above items every few years to keep them up to date. Of course, I'm always here to help! Being first aid certified is another way to be ready for anything. Check out the American Red Cross web site redcross.org for tons of local and online first aid classes. January is national Get Organized Month! Our Bay Area Chapter of NAPO (The National Association of Professional Organizers) has two great donation events happening in San Francisco this month. Children's Book Project Donation Event |
AuthorErin Becker is a Swimming in paper?
Download the free Quick-Guide to Paper Flow to start taming that pile! Having a hard time
getting things done? Subscribe to my new newsletter Find Your Focus! It’s full of useful and practical ways to bridge the gap between knowing and doing to help you reach your goals. Categories
All
|