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Written by Natalya Stanko   
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Monday, 21 February 2011

Green Storage
Are your closets driving you crazy? Staying organized saves time and frustration, but did you think about how it could also help the environment. By knowing what you have and where you have it, you won't buy the same stuff twice, thus conserving natural resources. By getting your belongings off the floor and into storage, you'll save space and be less inclined to move to a larger home. By keeping your home tidy, you won't need to use as many chemical cleaners, which are an environmental burden, and by the way your household cleaning chores will become much less of a pain ☺ Plus, when you keep your things in good condition, you need to replace them much less often, which is a win for your wallet along with the environment. Finally, by organizing your perishables, you're more likely to consume them before they go to waste.

To get organized, you'll need to invest in environmentally friendly storage units and containers. This guide shows you how to choose the right ones.

BENEFITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: You'll create less waste and use less resources and harmful chemicals.

BENEFITS FOR YOUR HEALTH: Clutter isn't good for your health—if you've ever seen the TLC program Hoarding: Buried Alive, then you know what I’m talking about! Environmentally friendly storage units emit less cancer-causing chemicals and allergens than conventional storage solutions.

Cost: Moderate

Time: Moderate

Step 1: Get rid of some stuff

The less you own, the less you need to organize. If you have books that you haven't read in years or shirts that no longer fit, give them to a local thrift shop or charity organization.

Having difficulties letting go of your possessions? Take inventory of all of your belongings. Count everything. Now ask yourself: do you really need (or even want) that much stuff? Come up with a plan to prioritize what you need most, what you definitely can give away, and then what you’d like to keep but don’t NEED to keep.

Step 2: Buy or build a storage unit

It's important to invest in a storage unit or two—something with shelves, drawers, or bins that make your belongings easily accessible for daily use. Before running out to the big-box store to purchase a new unit, consider buying used. Visit a thrift shop or scour Craigslist—if you're tight on cash, make sure to scan the “free” category.

If you're a DIY-er, build your own storage unit. This will enable you to customize it to your needs and to control what materials you use. If possible, use materials that you (or your neighbor or local junk yard) already own, such as wood scraps.

You can even fashion durable storage units out of layers of surplus cardboard. True, you might not want cardboard furniture in your living room, but the material might work well in an office or closet. Not every storage unit has to be eye-catching, and not every piece of cardboard furniture has to be unsightly, as the artist Leo Kempf proves with his inspiring designs.

Whether you buy a storage unit or build it by hand, give preference to these eco-friendly materials:
  • Recycled or reclaimed wood.

  • Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, an international non-profit that promotes responsible forest management. By buying FSC-certified wood, you'll be protesting against clearcutting, which contributes to deforestation. To search for FSC certified products, check here: info.fsc.org.

  • Formaldehyde-free wood. Formaldehyde is a chemical found in many wood products that contributes to allergies and even cancer.1

  • Low-VOC or zero-VOC paints. Like formaldehyde, paints high in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emit harmful chemicals into the air, which endangers you, your family, and the environment.2

  • Wheatboard, made from wheat-straw, a renewable resource.3

  • Sunflower board, made from sunflower hulls, a renewable resource. Both wheatboard and sunflower board do not contain formaldehyde or VOCs.4

  • Organic cotton, which contains no pesticides.

  • Bamboo, which grows quickly without pesticides or fertilizers. It is considered to be one of the most renewable resources around due to its rapid growth!
Whatever you do, don't buy those big plastic bins. They're made from petroleum, and they never biodegrade.

Step 3: Concentrate your efforts in the kitchen

Organization is crucial in the kitchen. Unlike clothes or books, food that isn't stored properly can go to waste in a matter of hours. More than a quarter of the food that Americans prepare is never eaten! To make sure you're not creating waste, follow these guidelines:
  • Clean out your refrigerator, and put any leftovers in proper containers, i.e. non-plastic ones! Don't be tempted by the recycled plastics, especially those labeled “3” or “6” because they contain harmful chemicals that can leech into food. For more on plastics: "A Smart Guid to Plastics".

  • Choose glass or steel containers instead of plastic ones. They cost more than plastic, but they last longer and don't stain or trap smells.

  • Ditch the flimsy plastic bags, and store your produce in organic-cotton mesh bags.

  • Avoid plastic sandwich bags and instead opt for cotton and hemp bags, or reuse wax bags, which are biodegradable and compostable.

  • Skip the disposable plastic wrap and buy reusable bowl covers instead, or simply cover a bowl by placing a plate on top. If you must use aluminum foil, remember that you can use it more than once. Step 4: Stay organized Now that your favorite dwelling is organized, keep it that way. All it takes is ten or so minutes per day. Your housemates – and the environment – will thank you!


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1 http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html
2 http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html
3 http://www.naturalbuilthome.com/products/349-wheat_board
4 http://www.naturalbuilthome.com/
5 http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Consumer-Products/Green-Fashion.html
6 http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/organics/food/fd-basic.htm




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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 August 2011 )

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Green Facts

  • Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

  • Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

  • Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.

  • 82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.

  • Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.

  • An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!

  • One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.

  • Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.

  • Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.

  • A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.

  • A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.

  • Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.

  • You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.

  • Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.

  • In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.

  • Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.

  • Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.

  • 77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.

  • Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

  • A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.

  • Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.

  • Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.

  • States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.

  • Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.

  • The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.

  • You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.

  • American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.

  • Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.

  • You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.

  • If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.

  • Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.

  • In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.

  • Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.

  • A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

  • Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.

  • It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.

  • Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months

  • For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.

  • Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.