Get Organized!! - the Zero Waste Way! - But How?

This is something I really want to do - get organized!

I think I must start keeping track of all the letters and e-mails and stuff... what I wrote to who, and what I still intend to.. all contacts, specifics.. companies and shops where I have talked about some stuff already..

Also, how to keep track of all the excellent websites and blogs etc? (I think there are websites to help with this, but forgot, which! :)


I already have a few folders on the computer and in RL, I'm guessing more can be done.. Computer is not 100% reliable so some RL backup at least would be good.

Being zero waste, I will try to not actually buy any more binders or folders, but either make or reuse! (some are re-used from Mom's old office already, anyway! much better to give 'em a new life than throw away, no?)

Now this quest to Get Organized isn't new. I have checked out Simpleology, the excellent website of GetOrganizedNow, everything I could read online on Getting Things Done, FlyLady's excellent home-organizing tips! - but still!

Some methods (Simpleology, GettingThingsDone) can be incredibly paper-intensive! How is that eco-friendly? (especially if you haven't been able to source completely TCF paper yet!) Or, some people use a PDA! (a little electronic gadget which needs batteries and energy to run, plus toxic chemicals and valuable resources may be necessary to make it, AND there are chances to drop it or damage it or forget it in places! & thus put all those valuable resources to a horrible end!) Okay, some PDA-phones with wonderful multitasking abilities exist too, but surely that would mean abandoning my dear old Nokia? (that still works okay!)

BIG binders are not compatible with any occasional backache and remain on the shelves/unused for too long. So these are best for 'archives' rarely accessed. Tiny folders can get everywhere (& I admit I may have too many already) - easier to use though.

I have even a few binders on organizing, lol!! & I still don't feel very organized! :)

I have been guilty and frustrated with all those little (or bigger) pieces of paper that-still-may-come-handy someday.. (Such as, shopping lists, daily to-do lists (often just left on their own to actually do themselves!) - sometimes even writing things down somehow signalled to my brain - 'It's done! No need to do it now' - out of sight, out of brain!)

So I resorted to good ol' journal! I go through these notebooks pretty quickly though, like 1 a month... So finding chlorine free is really a must..

Am also intrigued by the so-called Hipster PDA too!!

(ballpoint pens and markers are largely a no-no though, they go into landfill! & yes, I have sinned in the past! especially 'gift' one-time-use only pens are a waste of resources! so I try to stay away..)
/the zero waste idea would be to use paper printed on one side or 'scrap' paper - we've done it in the past, including old envelopes and Grandma even sacrificed old bills and such!/

& Interesting idea for a DIY Hipster nano-PDA! (if you have a lot of business cards, which I don't!:)

(okay, the metal staple is not exactly zero waste and reusable, maybe something else could be used?)

I actually had a system in place a few years ago, that kinda worked.. (before it become kinda overwhelming) - so I think it would be great to do it again..

I watched David Allen of the GTD fame & decided a de-cluttered mind is definitely worth it (& already almost filled a small notebook with my to-do's and thoughts! /sigh/)

It is TRUE that my mind was MUCH calmer then, when I had the SYSTEM to rely on, so I'll try to set up one again! (& already started de-cluttering my e-mail inbox!:)

So, how do YOU manage to get yourself organized - possibly the ZERO WASTE way?

Any suggestions Welcome!!

I'm not 'naturally organized' so I need all the help I can get! :)

PS Since this decision I already managed to de-clutter my room a bit, analyze our recycling booklet (results to be posted! some of them shocking!!), unsubscribe a catalogue (& find another to unsubscribe!:) Ahh! Feels a bit better!

Chaos into order? Zero Waste Report #1!

Okay, so I'm still battling with Blogger (& so are some of my Livejournal friends, who haven't been able to post comments! Thanks for visiting anyway!!) - but I thought I'd just go ahead & start this thing proper.

I am learning from the lovely Danda at Dandaworld to be a bit more systematic and bring some order into this chaos!
Our household is, well, a tiny bit chaotic.

We do recycle, but hm... Not 100% of time (sometimes things like tuna tins have gotten thrown in with the rest of garbage, cause no one my Sis could be bothered to wash them up proper)

RECYCLING STATION
Our 'recycling station' - hm! We do have two (three) bins in our pretty almost-new kitchen, one for 'mixed garbage' and one for paper (that usually gets burnt in the furnace, as it's typical here). /I'm not completely happy with this, as I'm not sure how chlorine-free the paper is, especially as Sis & Dad insist on damn catalogues (while Mom & I'd love to cancel them!) and those have been known to be a source of heavy metals also! - A friend of mine who works in a Slovenian printing shop has informed me that eco-awareness there is 'disastrous'! - Maybe topic for another rant post!/
Also, the mixed-garbage bin is too big! As it has been pointed out (and observed!) the bigger the bin, the more waste may be made!
We had a smaller bin in the old kitchen, and I think less waste was made cause simply there wasn't so much place for it!

There are small bins in the toilet and bathroom too, which we thought was the 'height of hygiene' when we bought them a couple of years ago (after observing this in Uni dorms), but now I wish we hadn't bought them, as they only seem to give people incentive to make more waste - more easily!
I wish it were harder to throw away things!

Mom & Sis still insist on iffy hair products & deodorants etc with lots of throwaway packaging.. So currently I'm not focusing on those little bins, as they're not fully within my control.. /I do try to nag inform and inspire when appropriate, or just ignore.. until I have other things better under control.. or find better and alternative products they could use easily../
I started in my bathroom, where I'M in control, and am now moving on to kitchen! :)

We have a separate tiny plastic bin (with a non-tight lid) on the kitchen counter for compost/peels/ leftovers.

Then, things get taken downstairs (where the monsters are)!
Monsters, aka, all Dad's things!! (toxic poisons and all!!)
Sometimes the tins ruminate for a while on his big desk of tools, then get taken to the 'small garage', where there are boxes for this! The compost bin is there also, and a big box with plastic bottles (Sis still drinks Coca Cola! ugh!).
Truly we consume much less 'plastic food' and drinks than our neighbours, but still - I'd love to have juice etc produced at home/locally and available in glass bottles etc! We've done this at times and peach nectar was yummy!

Basically, it would be great if 'the small garage' could be organized better!!
As it is, it's also freezing cold there, so I barely tiptoe to the compost bin and put stuff in (it's later taken to the compost heap by Dad).

There are doors between the main garage and the small garage (where the car is), so the smell is not a problem. (There's no lid on the big compost bins, and well, sometimes it can smell a bit - it's still yummy food for the veggies and Dad keeps saying we need more compost - so it's very precious!)
I'm not sure if a lid would interrupt with the natural decomposing process or not, it's just always been done this way.. (On the farm where my Dad grew up they had a no-lid bucket in the kitchen 'for the piggies' too..)

So, basically this is the description of our 'recycling station'!
It kinda works for us, though some things could be improved!

LOCAL RECYCLING FACILITIES
There are big containers for recyclables (paper, plastics, tins, glass) about 200m away from our house, for all the neighbours to put stuff there.. This system works quite well, I've seen kiddies (& other neighbours) bring in stuff on wheelbarrows or even small wooden carts.. /Unfortunately not all neighbours are on board with this, but I've seen many and this gives me hope!!/

There has been some speculation whether the recyclables are really taken away separately by the waste trucks (basically people have given this as a reason not to do it!) - I always answer that in another city, when it was done, it was a pilot programme to assess how many people would be willing to recycle and it's even more important to recycle in this case!

In the summer, at times there were too many plastic bottles, and they waited outside the plastic container.. sometimes stuff got scattered around.. I guess it's important for everyone to MINIMIZE the plastic bottles in the 1st place (most stuff in them is really unhealthy for you anyway!)
This is a small town 'where village meets the town' and 'mini-markets' (with plastic food, & a plastic bag frenzy!) are 'the latest rage'! grr!!
Instead of preserving the beautiful nature, they are planning another one!! ugh
In one of them, I haven't been able to find a single thing without artificial food preservatives or excess baggage!
(They have eco bananas, but wrapped in plastic!!)

THE MAIN PROBLEM: Plastics from buying food!!
Many of those are non-recyclable, and even if some of them have #numbers and are theoretically 'recyclable' - hmm.. who knows? In a video on recycling in Slovenia the expert (head of recycling company) said things get sorted and some things that are impossible or 'uneconomical' to recycle proper still get 'processed for energy' - and we all know what that means!!
I've also read articles on recycling 'film plastics' (like bags or food packaging) being 'uneconomical'! - So the terrible plastics worry me tremendously & would love to find ways to shop without them completely!!
/It's been done for centuries, why not now??/

SHOPPING OPPORTUNITIES
It's not really easy to find zero waste food and other stuff in these mini-markets, still, it's partly doable.. some veggies are packed, and some aren't, depends on the veggie - and the shop also!!
There's no everyday 'farmer's market' or 'health food store' (the first ones are half-an-hour drive away) - fortunately we do have a 'fair' once a month or so..
& Luckily Sis did get the phone number of a lady selling homemade butter and cottage cheese/quark, so YAY!! The 1st Zero Waste Wahoo!! :)

We get some milk and eggs, rabbits and beef from farmers directly, so these are pretty much 'zero waste', when fresh... The stuff from the garden is also pretty much Zero Waste.. Trouble is the frozen stuff, which is partly still in the terrible plastic bags! (the rest are ex-quark/ice-cream or Tupperware/Curver containers!)
Unfortunately the 'Yoghurt Wahoo' is not such a Wahoo anymore, as Sis & Mom want low-fat yoghurt (& maybe we've all been scared a bit by a possible dioxin scare - there's a PVC window producer locally..)
So the yogurt production has dwindled... (I keep wanting to try & make yogurt out of 2-day old milk, but people keep drinking/using it away!!)

Not surprisingly, our garbage is much less than our neighbours'! Mostly 1 plastic bag a week, while the neighbours (often) make 2 full huge bins!

So, the idea is to keep minimizing garbage, finding ways to buy ZERO WASTE (YAY there's been talk of organic food baskets or such in Slovenia too!! still, there are no good eco farmers with extra food to sell locally, that we would know of.. maybe more research would be needed..) - especially meat and such...

Will be detailing the battle for this in the next blogs... (as an ex-vegetarian, I am properly terrified of handling raw meat, but if I don't do it, who will??)
My family keep bringing 'plastic meat' (wrapped in tons of plastic or worse) from the super-markets!! grr!!
Is it really impossible to get semi-organic zero waste chicken or pork? Or, uhm, sausages or similar?

Stay tuned!! :)