The Recycling Corner
- Paper or Plastic?
I've often wondered about plastic bag recycling - why are they collected at the grocery store but not at the dump? Do the stores really recycle them or do they just put those bins there to make us feel better? Is it okay to put dry cleaner and newspaper bags in the bins as well?
I checked recently at earth911.com (see last month's newsletter for more info on this resource) and found that stores that give away plastic bags in many cases are actually required to provide those recycle bins you see by the entrance.
Yes, they do recycle the plastic bags by heating them into small pellets which can then be used to form many other plastic products. They are actually less expensive to recycle than many other products, but they don't take them at the dump because they require a different process than the paper and bottles, and they're so lightweight but strong, they often jam the sorting machines.
By the way, it IS okay to include dry cleaner and newspaper plastic bags with the grocery bags.
To remember to take your plastic bags back to the store, stuff them into your reusable shopping bags, and add "recycle plastic bags" to your grocery list to remind yourself to take them back on each trip. |
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| Dear ,
 I just got back from a 4-day trip to Monterey, California (that's me to the left in the Pacific Ocean), a few days after taking a week-long vacation here on Cape Cod. I know - life is good!
In addition to being wonderfully enjoyable and refreshing experiences, getting ready for the vacations reinforced for me an important time-management lesson about the effectiveness of setting priorities. See my Time Management Tips section below for more about how to incorporate those pre-vacation strategies into your everyday life.
In addition, this month I unravel the mysteries of plastic bag recycling (does anyone else wonder about why we have to recycle them differently than everything else?), and talk about one way to control your paper clutter by being more realistic about what you can and will read.
I hope you'll be getting to someplace fun this summer and that you're enjoying the beauty all around you. Call me if I can help.
- Maryann Murphy , Your Professional Organizer |
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Shrink Those Paper Piles!
Piles of paper are among the most common and most frustrating issues causing clutter in people's homes and offices. Sometimes the piles are so big and so many, we can get overwhelmed and not know where to start trying to clear them up.
This month let's talk about one of the major categories of paper we save, and how we can reduce those piles to a more realistic size.
Do you have piles of articles, books, magazines and newspapers you can't throw away because you plan to read them "someday"? To see how realistic those plans are, the next time you spend some time reading, pay attention to how long it takes you to read an article, chapter or a page. Use a timer, and write down your results. Then, take a look around and count the number of articles per magazine, chapters per book or pages per newspaper you have waiting to read. Add them all together, and prepare to be shocked!
In my experiment with this week's TV Guide:
- Reading just the articles took about an hour.
- It was another 17 minutes for the crossword puzzle, and
- 16 minutes for the Sudoku.
- To read through all the program listings would have been about 30 minutes, and
- Flipping through advertisements I wouldn't stop to read would be at least another 5 minutes.
That's about 2 hours and 15 minutes total for one piece of very light reading that contributes very little of significance to my life (although it's entertaining). And since I don't usually sit down and read straight through these magazines, there's a very good chance that I would look at some of these pages multiple times, adding even more to the time taken (some might say wasted). Just imagine how much more time it takes to read through more serious matter like a news magazine or an article for your work.
Try it yourself with a couple of the items in your "I plan to read this someday" pile. Now multiply your average reading time per magazine times the number of magazines you have in your pile. How likely is it really that you'll have the time to read this month's issue, let alone the 15 back issues you've been saving for when you have some "free time"?
 Doing this exercise can help you realize what's realistic for you and help you set guidelines for yourself. Figure out how much time you really have for reading in a typical week. Keep track of how much reading you get done on your next vacation as well (I always assume I'll have plenty of time to read on my next vacation, but as you can see above, I often want to do other things then as well)! Now add it all up and figure out how many articles, magazines or books that gives you time to read. Not as much as you'd need, is it?
Start getting rid of the old issues and articles you'll never read. Stop keeping unrealistic amounts of paper to read "someday". Someday is today. If you don't have the time to read it now, you probably won't have more time to read it later either, especially when more magazines, papers and books will have joined the pile by then. Make the time to read when you can. But pick the best and most current stuff, and get rid of the rest regularly.
By the way, I archive these newsletters on my website, www.maryannmurphymsw.com, so you can always find back issues from the past year their if you do ever find that "extra time" to read! |
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Time Management Tip
Do you ever find yourself more productive just before a trip away? Knowing that your preparation time is limited (that plane is taking off at 3:15 whether you make it to the airport on time or not), and having extra motivation to get your work completed (you and your family and friends want to be able to relax on your vacation) helps you get clearer on priorities, and it's a well-accepted observation that more gets done on the day before a vacation than in the weeks before or after. So how do you take advantage of this phenomenon to make yourself more productive every day?
It's simple: Treat every day as if it's the day before vacation. Identify the most important things to get done - the things that, if you suddenly won a free trip to anywhere in the world, you would still have to do before you could go. Not just because they're urgent, but because they're important. These may be commitments you have made to others, activities in your business that actually bring in the money, and tasks that bring you closer to your most important goals. Make a list of those priority items and get going on them, one at a time, full energy and full focus, until they're done! Even if you don't end up on vacation at the end of the day, you'll enjoy your evenings much more knowing you've accomplished your most important things. |
 Please call me at 508 292-6706 if you need additional help organizing your home, your office, or your schedule. I can come to your home or office and help you there, or do coaching by phone. I also conduct trainings and do public speaking for corporations and community groups on Organizing, Time Management and Public Speaking.
As always, your feedback is important to me. Please let me know what topics you are interested in so that I can address your questions and comments in future editions. My business relies on referrals, so please forward this to anyone you think might benefit from it. Thanks! |
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Sincerely,
Maryann Murphy, MSW
Professional Organizer, Speaker, Trainer
(508) 292-6706
Director of Professional Development, NAPO-NE
Chronic Disorganization Specialist, NSGCD
Division F Governor,Toastmasters International District 31
Member, National Speakers Association (NSA)
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