Think Green

eco-friendly grocery bag of produce
March is a great month to be eco-friendly when organizing your home.

March is the month when we think shamrocks, leprechauns and all things green! This is also a great month to be eco-friendly when organizing your home. Here are some great ways to put things in their place while keeping the environment top of mind.

Shopping bags can be a nuisance. Try hanging tiered magazine racks in your garage to hold paper and plastic bags from the grocery store. Even better, use a bicycle hook and hang recyclable grocery bags in a spot where you won’t miss them on your way to reuse them at the store.

At your desk, reduce the amount of paper you toss in the trash, and add a recycle bin for your paperwork. If you get a lot of junk mail, place a bin in your office, and label it “need to unsubscribe.” 

Repurpose old shoe boxes as storage containers. They are sturdy and an ideal size for cabinets and drawers. Add color by gift wrapping the outside of the box and use gift tags as labels.

Retrieve empty pickle or pasta sauce jars, and use them to organize household items, such as pens, pencils, buttons, makeup brushes, rice, spices and even Legos.

Reclaim lumber scraps and turn them into floating shelves, drawer dividers, book ends or crates. 

Repurposing and recycling items lessens our environmental footprint. By rethinking how we use items and doing our best to avoid adding to the landfills, we can help keep our environment green. —Contributed by Kira Vanderlan of zestfuldesign.com