DrDeClutterBlog.com

The City of Longmont, CO fire stations are accepting used bicycles for donation to Bicycle Longmont’s Christmas Bike Program. Drop off unwanted, used bikes at the nearest fire station. Santa’s elves will repair the donated bikes! Go Santa!!

Kids receive repaired and happy bikes through charity organizations: The Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley, the OUR Center, the Inn Between and the school district’s Safe Routes to School Program.

This is the 21st year the Christmas Bike Program has been helping local children get a “pre-owned” bike to change their lives in an important way. A bike might enable a child to earn money with a paper route, see relatives who live far enough away that walking would take too long, get groceries and . . . just have some fun with friends or alone!

Scooters and tricycles are also welcome.

Make a difference this year. Declutter and old bike for a new life for a child.

For more information, call 303.709.6991.

Start a Christmas Bicycle Program in your community this year!

Longmont United Hospital, our local hospital, is having its annual “pharmaceutical take-back day” tomorrow from 8-2 pm just inside the main entrance, and it’s free.

Don’t flush your medications as they go into your water systems and we ALL get to share in the cocktail of pharma for years to come. YIKES! Think estrogen . . . seen any man-boobs lately? I rest my case!! Read more below.

Check with your local hospitals and see if they can take your unused and unwanted medications to dispose of properly.

TIPS ABOUT MEDICATION DISPOSAL

1. DO NOT Flush Them Down the Toilet or Pour Down the Sink

Why? Experts say it may have potential harmful effects on the environment and to us. Disposal via the toilet takes your drugs into the local sewage system. Modern water treatment plants are not fully designed to deal with medication disposal. The long-term health risks posed by consumption of even minute quantities of these medications in drinking water and the full extent of environmental damage remains unknown. 

Plus, these drugs can leach into the local water table, eventually coming out somewhere, like a nearby lake or stream, or even worse out onto your own property, where pets, livestock or wildlife could be at risk.

2. Don’t Throw Them Into the Trash

Safety experts say “no.” First, kids and pets can find them. Then, your trash will eventually make it to a local landfill, where your medications could still have the potential to leach out (see water above).

DO THIS: Many municipal or local trash services now have local household waste facilities where you can safely drop off your medications for incineration. Call your local trash service for options in your area.

3. Return Them to Your Pharmacy

Pharmacies are not required to take back your unused medications, but some will.

DO THIS: Check with your local pharmacies and drugstore chains as some do sponsor regular “clean out your medicine cabinet” drives where customers can return old, expired or unused medications, supplements and other over-the-counter products. Call your local drugstore or pharmacy for options in your area.

4. Return Them to Your Doctor

Not all physicians or doctor offices will take them. Some may not be fully prepared to safely handle the process.

DO THIS: Call ahead to see if your doctor can offer safer medication disposal methods. Plus, as in the beginning article above, check with your local hospital to find out if they have a “take back” day.

 5. Sell them.

Nooooooo! I’m just kidding! But, I know that crossed your mind, right?!

There are plenty of people who have 18+ gallon tubs of bottles filled with medications that “were just not the right one” before the doctor changed the script one more time. It’s very frustrating, not to mention costly, however clean out your tubs and dispose of properly. Let - it - go! See #’s 1-4 above.

An article in my local paper today says that The OUR Center’s hospitality center, kitchen and pantry needs items. I’m sure your local shelters and food banks need supplies and help too!

Declutter your pantry, closets, drawers, garage shelves, etc. and you may find plenty of overstock to share, like: coffee mugs, napkins, toilet tissue, plastic baggies, dry erase and permanent markers, stainless steel spoons and forks, packing tape, paper towels, towels and trash bags.

Their day shelter needs rain ponchos, shaving cream and razors, toothpaste and toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products and deodorant.

The center’s clothing bank needs gloves, plastic and vinyl tarps, socks, sleeping bags and large trash bags too.

The food banks can use food, but also your physical help to sort and stack items.

Dollar type and buy-bulk stores are great places to get a big bang for your buck to take new to these needy places as well.

In other words, jump in and help out as you can each month. Others will be very grateful.

Soon enough you’ll be putting away those swim suits and shorts and digging out the sweaters and socks. The beginning of the school year is a good time to do this sorting for children.

If your children have outgrown their summer clothes, won’t wear them again next year or just want to clear some space, it’s time to sort, store and swap!

SEASONAL SORT, STORE AND SWAP

At the beginning or end of each season is a good time to sort through what hasn’t seen the light of day and move it out so others can enjoy it.

1. SWAP: Some clothes may be just right sizes for friends, family or other school kids who can use them this year. Put into a SWAP box. Call these families and tell them to do the same if you all have kids the same sizes and growing into sizes you need. Plan a day at one of your homes and bring all the clothes - SWAP! Have a fun day adding to your child’s wardrobe, trading clothes for free.

2. DONATE: The clothes that are not swapable or no one has that size child - put into a DONATE box. I let the thrift store employees decide whether they are “good enough” or not to keep moving along.

Read more about SHWAPPING for adults items too!

Plan ahead! National Garage Sale Day is Saturday, August 9!

Clear out your clutter by holding a garage, yard or tag sale! Your trash will become someone’s treasure — and stay out of the landfill a bit longer! Two stones, one happy bird!

Get 5 Solutions to Get Ready for Your Garage Sale here! 

Organizing is best done with the right containers.

When it’s harvest time — which can be early or late in the year depending on what you’re growing — there are plenty of great containers available to do the right job for gathering, harvesting, canning, pickling and much, much more.

You know what a box, tub or basket looks like, but what about these: Do you know your bushels and your pecks? How about a barrel and a heap?

An old song goes

“I love you, a bushel and a peck,
  a bushel and a peck and a hug around your neck,
a hug around your neck and a barrel and a heap,
  a barrel and a heap and I’m talking in my sleep, about you …” 

Well, here’s the answer!

Three units of capacity of fruits and grains are in the words to the song.  What are they?

     • a peck is 8 dry quarts;
     • a bushel is 4 pecks or 32 dry quarts;
     • a barrel is 105 dry quarts;
     • a heap is an informal unit meaning a lot

If they’ll get you a “hug around the neck” I’d be learning about and using them really fast!!

I love bushel baskets! Happy Heaps of Harvesting!

This magnificent horse of many recycled parts can be seen at the Leanin’ Tree Museum, Boulder, CO. I just love it!

What crafy, creative things can you do with your left over parts?

Make sure to get out and see your local treasures this summer!

Let’s wash, rinse and reuse our Ziplock and other baggies - save the environment!

There are all kinds of plastic bag dryer gadgets, I have one with tulips on the ends that I love! but . . . the paint does wear off after a while, so I’d recommend plain wood like these.

This one has the bio-green bags with it. I use these too and they work!

What to toss, pitch, recycle, donate or re-gift! Oh, my! 

When you’re organizing, sorting and purging a “space” — closets, drawers, garage, etc., don’t throw out items that are still “good enough” for someone else to love and treasure! And, don’t wonder where to put those found new gift items again. Here are two great tips for decluttering, organizing and managing stuff and stress!

Think inside the box, well, three boxes actually.

1) Make a Donation Box!
Give landfills a break and share your unwanted treasures.

Get a large cardboard box. Label it “Donation Box.” These are the things you don’t use, but someone else could be using right now.

Put this box in your garage or closet, someplace easy enough to put more items in. Then, every time you find something in your home you no longer use, but is still “good enough” for future use, put it in the Donation Box.

Repurpose! Take the box to your favorite charity or thrift store once each month. You’ll feel great knowing you’ve helped someone, blessed someone and inspired someone with your treasures set free!

2) Make a Gift Box!
When you declutter, you will find items that you bought on sale or clearance that you thought would be great gifts for future events. You might have even had someone in mind, or not, either way they are perfectly new and good items that are just waiting for someone to be gifted with them!

Put these items in your new box or lidded tub labeled, “Gift Box.” Now, when you’re invited to a Baby Shower, Wedding, Birthday Party or White Elephant Gift Event at the Office, you’re way ahead of everyone else! You’re always ready with a nice gift — no stress, no last minute shopping, no hassle. They’ll wonder how you’re always so organized and prepared!

3) Make a Greeting Card Box!
Same idea, right? Right!

I’ve used all of these boxes for years, but because I so enjoy greeting cards have always really loved #3. Use a shoe box sized clear container, or even a nice, solid shoe box and label it “Greeting Cards.” You can even make it easier to find the cards you want by making dividers with labeled index cards for the different categories of greeting cards like Birthday, Sympathy, Wedding, etc.

When you see cards you like or that are on sale, get a few extra that would match your family, friends and co-workers personalities so you’re way ahead of ready!

BONUS! These three boxes will help you and your home be less cluttered, less chaotic and be more organized! All VERY good things!

Keep thinking inside the box. Make other boxes and containers that suit your specific needs!

We drive way too much sometimes, especially when we can walk to lots of shopping, eating and other shopping places within a mile of where we live or work.

WHY WALK, NOT DRIVE BENEFITS
Save gas, money and the stress of traffic and parking, plus, get some (possibly well-needed) exercise and stress relief by being outdoors and maybe walking with friends or family, deepening your relationships too! Plus, you may find out about shops and things on the way and back you never took the time to stop and explore!

Website developer Kathryn Benedicto decided to pursue One-Mile Radius Living — finding walkable spots in her ‘hood to get the same things she was driving long distances to get. Kathryn says she got her idea after realizing that her driving habits kept her thinking like a car commuter even when she wasn’t commuting!

Put on your fun shoes and get ready for your One-Mile-Radius Living walk yourself! See Benedicto’s cool and pracitical idea WalkScore and start walking! 

Just plug in your zip code, or your exact address, city, state in the Address bar and get going!  You can even share in the comments what great spots you’ve discovered near you.