Overwhelmed with mail? Sign up for the National Do Not Mail List

I spend a lot of time helping clients sort through piles of junk mail: magazines, catalogs, coupons, flyers, brochures, postcards.  It's endless. Junk mail can eat up the flat surfaces of your space (kitchen and dining room tables, desk, coffee and side tables) and drain your sense of peace and calm.  Many people feel they need to hang on to junk mail as a reminder to get more information or complete a chore.  "I really do need to get the windows cleaned.  I'll hang on to this flyer about this window cleaning promotion."  "Oh, 20% at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  I'll hold on to this in case I need to go there."  "I know Nick and Jessica broke up but I really need to catch up on their wedding. I'm hanging on this People magazine from 2002."  

I would recommend if you receive an advertisement or coupon about a service that you're interested in, write down the important information on a To Do list and throw the flyer into your recycle bin!  Having information related to chores and tasks on one To Do list prevents the build up of multiple pieces of papers.  Also, you increase the likelihood of following through on completing a task when you have one place to easily refer back to for information.  

For coupons, I have a folder in my filing cabinet labeled "Shopping, Gift Cards and Coupons."  If I get a coupon or promotion in the mail that I'd like to use,   I write it down on my To Do list (Buy new shower liner at Bed, Bath and Beyond, use 20% coupon, expires 7/6).  I store current coupons in the folder and when I'm ready for a shopping trip, I go through that folder to collect any coupons and toss any coupons that might have expired. 

Information, including coupons, promotions and discounts, has a way of coming back into our lives when we're ready for it. I promise you'll live to see another jeans promotion from the Gap or another dry cleaning coupon.  

If you're overwhelmed by mail, you can sign up for the National Do Not Mail List.  DirectMail.com offers this service and provides great information in its Frequently Asked Questions section of its site. 

For some inspiration, check out the Do Not Mail Campaign  to learn more about the toll junk mail has on our environment and energy resources.  Here are two facts that Do Not Mail lists on its site:

• Approximately 44% of junk mail goes to landfills unopened¹³
• By the year 2010, almost 50% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is expected to be paper and paperboard waste¹⁴

• ¹³41pounds.org: http://41pounds.org/impact/
  ¹⁴Native Forest Network, http://www.nativeforest.org/stop_junk_mail/nfn_junk_mail_guide.htm.

Yikes! 

"Purge" Tip: CD and DVD Recycling

I recently mailed a bunch of my old CDs, DVDs and cases to a company, Back Thru The Future Technology Disposal that recycles them for free!  Well, you do have to pay for postage to mail.  This batch above fit in a medium USPS flat rate box and cost about $10 in postage.  If you're currently doing a little Spring Cleaning and feel inclined to toss old discs and cases in the garbage, here's some CD/DVD Recycling Facts you can find on Back Thru The Future's site that might just change your mind:

• A CD/DVD is considered a Class 7 recyclable plastic
• To manufacture a pound of plastic (30 CDs per pound), it requires 300 cubic feet of natural gas, 2 cups of crude oil and 24 gallons of water
• It is estimated that AOL alone has distributed more than 2 billion CDs. That is the natural gas equivalent of heating 200,000 homes for 1 year.
• It is estimated that it will take over 1 million years for a CD to completely decompose in a landfill.

"Bins" Tips: Is that a whole lotta rod in your small closet, or are you just happy to see me?

The two clothes closets in my home are pretty narrow and have limited rod space.  I called Handyman, Stephen Boykin to save the day!  He raised the existing rod and shelf and added a lower rod. We used a coat and shirt to measure the distance between the two rods and make sure clothes on the lower rod won't hit the floor.  We increased rod space without increasing the closets!  If you'd like to hire Stephen for your projects, email him at steve@thehoney-dohandyman.com. 

Organizing Inspiration: Before and After Pictures Tranformations!

 Before

 After

The Bins and Purge blog has a new section: Before and After Pictures!  Click on the "Before and After Pictures" tab above and check out my clients' progress!  Pictures include home office, kitchen, electronic cord and memorabilia storage.

"Purge" Tip: Re-Book and Re-Do Your Bookshelves

We love our books and no matter how crammed our shelves are, we find some sort of space to squeeze just one more book in.  I recently trimmed down my book collection and donated about 40 books to Books For People.  Books For People is a great charity that picks up books anywhere in Los Angeles County and sells them to raise money for the S.A.Y Yes! Center for Youth Development, a charity benefiting homeless children living around the Skid Row area of Downtown LA.  The books they are unable to sell are donated to local libraries.  Books for People also accepts CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes and LP records.  Click here to schedule a free, super fast pick up.  Support children, local libraries and your buckling bookshelves!

"Bins" Tip: 13 Pocket Accordion File from the Container Store

 I recently worked with a client who uses an accordion file with alphabetized tabs from the Container Store to organize receipts.  Receipts are filed by store or business name (so Apple Store receipts go in "A" and Trader Joe's receipts go under "T").  Many organize receipts by type: Gas, Food, Home Office, Parking, etc.  If you like alphabetize your receipts, here's a great tool! To purchase the receipt file or larger letter file, click on the link above.  The customer reviews offer other ideas to use this product: organize coupons, greeting cards, and school work.

"Bins" and "Purge" Tips: When your mascara starts to "flake out" on you

I recently did a little makeup makeover on my own and stumbled on this great article on About.com.  You can click on the title to view the link or read below!

Once you purge old makeup, how can you organize it?  I suggest a small three-drawer container that can you easily store under the sink or bathroom shelf.  Here's one from the Container Store! Each drawer can be assigned to hold specific makeup and brushes for face, eye, and lip.  You can add another container for nail, skin, and hair products.

What Is the Shelf Life of Makeup?

By Julyne Derrick, About.com Guide

Every woman we know has a pile of makeup in her drawer that she "sometimes" uses. Translation: Never uses, but keeps just in case she finally learns how to properly apply blue eyeshadow.  Beauty products do have a shelf life, however, and chances are that blue eyeshadow with the glimmery bits that you bought a couple years ago (for Halloween?) has long expired. Here's a quick guide on the shelf lives of typical beauty products. We've listed them in alphabetical order. Oh, and just one quick little "PS": Please keep in mind that these are estimates, no matter what anyone tells you, it's unlikely you'll go blind from using 2-year-old mascara.

• Concealer Up to 12 months.

• Powder 2 years.

• Cream and gel cleansers 1 year.

• Pencil eye liner Should be sharpened regularly. Will last up to 3 years.

• Eyeshadow Will also last up to 3 years. Extra tip: A dark eyeshadow can double as eyeliner, in fact, most makeup artists swear by eyeshadow used as eyeliner. You'll need a super-flat eyeliner brush for this (MAC, Sephora and Aveda have great brushes). Get the brush a little damp and dab in dark eyeshadow (black, brown or deep jewel-tones work great). Wiggle the brush into your lash line focusing on the space between your lashes, then sweep the color just above your lash line.

• Brushes Wash every 2-3 months in a mild detergent.

• Sponges Wash weekly and discard monthly.

• Foundation Check the ingredients: A water-based foundation will last up to 12 months, oil-based will last up to 18 months. You may find you need two different shades of foundation each year: One for summer when your skin is naturally darker and one for winter when you're lighter. Extra tip: If your water-based foundation dries out before it's expiration date, simply add a few drops of alcohol-free toner and shake to mix it in. No need to do this to oil-based foundations. Because they contain oil, they will tend to separate. You have to shake anyway.

• Lip liner Up to 3 years. Extra tip: Skip the push-up lipliners. They're expensive, tend to break and you never really know how much you have left until you run out. No need to spend money on lip liners, there's no secret to greatness for this product. Save your money for powders and foundation.

• Lipstick Some experts say 1-2 years. Others say up to 4 years. What everyone agrees on is that if it smells rancid, throw it out, it's spoiled. Extra tip: If you store lipstick in the refrigerator, it will last longer. Bonus tip: Want your lipstick to last longer during the day? Shade in lips with lip liner before applying lipstick.

• Mascara This product expires the fastest: Throw out after 4 months. Extra tip: If you don't want your mascara to expire faster than its fresh date, don't pump the wand in and out -- you're only exposing the product to drying air.

• Nail Polish Up to 12 months, depending on the quality and how many times you take it on a plane (the cap always unscrews on me during flights, leaving my purse a -- fume-y -- mess!).