Electronics Recycling Day

Twice a year in my hometown of Decatur, the city hosts their Electronics Recycling Day. If you live nearby, dig out your old electronic items and take them to the Decatur High School Parking Lot (corner of N. McDonough Street and Howard Avenue) this Saturday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Here's just a sample of what you can recycle: desktop or laptop computers, telephones and telephone equipment, mini-towers, monitors, typewriters, label makers (it's so sad when these old friends die), copiers, mice (not the kind that like cheese, please), fax machines, joystick game controllers, answering machines, printers and cartridges, digital cameras, zip drives, speakers, PDAs, pagers, VCRs, DVD players, routers, scanners, cable converter boxes, CD players, portable game players, cables, GPS receivers, radios, and stereo equipment. (I am SO asking my husband to get rid of some of those turntables in the attic!)

In addition to electronics, they will also be accepting clean Styrofoam (peanuts, packing boxes, plates, cups, trays), batteries of any type, and mercury thermometers and thermostats. They will not be accepting televisions and microwaves, however.

Electronics dropped off during the event will be sorted to be re-used or disassembled into their raw materials. It is recommended that computers be erased of all personal information prior to disposal at the event.

Last fall, 66 tons of electronics were diverted from the landfill! Note that you don't have to live or work in the city of Decatur to participate. So if you've been meaning to get rid of some of those old electronics from your home and office, this Saturday is the time! I can think of a few clients of mine that could still benefit from this purging opportunity....Come on, you can do it!

And if you'd like to volunteer for the event, please contact Chris Carroll at (404) 388-0023, Scott Thompson at scott.thompson@mindspring.com or the City of Decatur Public Works at (404) 377-5571. Please forward this to anyone who think may have electronics to be recycled.

Downsizing Part II: Donating What You No Longer Need

In our last issue, I gave you tips to help you begin the downsizing process if you are preparing to move into a smaller space. Once you start to purge what you no longer really need, you'll want to create a few different piles:

• a trash pile
• a recycle pile
• a donation pile
• a resell pile

It's pretty obvious what happens to the trash pile, though I've given you some junk removal sources below if your pile is too big. Let's look at some Atlanta-area donation and recycling options.

Donating Clothes and Household Goods

Thrift Stores: If you haven't been to a thrift store in the last couple of years, let me just tell you that the quality of the merchandise has improved. I believe one of the reasons for this is because we are buying and getting rid of more "stuff" than ever. Clothes and household goods have a shorter life span so items often are not as worn out by they time they are donated as they may have been in years past. That said, make sure that the items that you donate are at least in fair condition. Spare the urge to donate clothes with stains or tears, shoes with holes, or chipped dishes. A couple of the more popular and more reputable thrift stores in Atlanta are Goodwill and Salvation Army. There may be others in your area, but check to see how much of their revenue goes to the needy before donating.

Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta (www.furniturebankatlanta.org) - Offers free pick-up in Cobb, DeKalb, most of Fulton, and most of Gwinnett counties. Does not accept office or outdoor furniture, large appliances, pianos, or water beds.

Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities (www.aadd.org) - Accepts clothing and household goods

Atlanta Union Mission (www.atlantaunionmission.org) - Accepts clothing, furniture, household goods, toiletries, large and small appliances. Will pick up in many metro-Atlanta counties.

American Kidney Fund (www.akfpickup.org) - Will pick up clothing and household goods or you may search for nearby drop-off boxes through their web site.

www.earth911.org - Great recycling, donation, & disposal site searchable by your area. They included DeKalb Farmer's Market, Whole Foods, and nearby county and city recycling programs when I searched using my Decatur ZIP code.

Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) - Site where you can sign up for your local Freecycle group, post the item you'd like to give away, pick which member you'd like to have it, and schedule a time for them to pick up the item. No money can exchange hands.

Junk Removal: Just Trash It (www.justtrashit.com) and 1-800GotJunk (www.1800gotjunk.com) offers residential and commercial junk removal.

Did I miss anything? If so, please leave me a comment. Be on the lookout for Downsizing Part III where we'll cover lots of ways that you can make a little money off of the things that you no longer need in your home.

Give Your Stuff a Second Life

My husband and I are crazy about cool old photos, and I recently came across this one of a Goodwill truck from the early 1900s. The writing under the Goodwill logo says, "Springfield Goodwill Helps Folks to Help Themselves."

If you fast-forward 100 years to Goodwill Industries International's web site, you'll find that their slogan today is "Let's go to work!" The site explains that more than 82% of Goodwill's revenues are used to fund their employment and training programs. I love the idea that, by giving your stuff a second life through donation, you might also be giving a person a second chance through the development of practical job skills.

As a Professional Organizer, I've dropped off countless bags of my client's donations at the Goodwill truck near my house. Yes, it's convenient. But I also prefer Goodwill because I've been a Goodwill shopper for a couple of decades. My husband, Greg, and I are collectors of mid-century modern artifacts. Put more simply, we collect cool old stuff from the fifties. In the nineties, we found most of our collection by prowling around thrift stores and flea markets. Greg is also a crazed collector of vinyl records (mostly weird old country music, nowadays) and Atlanta history books and postcards (remind me to tell you about his Atlanta history web site someday), so we often poke our heads into thrift stores when we're traveling. Let me tell you, the most organized, most professional, best stocked thrift stores are Goodwill stores.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should run out and go shopping at your local Goodwill store. My goal here is to get you to give your stuff a second life by donating it, not to encourage you to bring more stuff into your home or office. I just wanted to sing the praises of one of my favorite charities. If you live in Atlanta, there are tons of other good local charities that could use your donations including The Salvation Army, Dress for Success, Travelers Aid Atlanta, The Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta, The Atlanta Community Tool Bank, and local church charities, just to name a few.

Don't think you're just wasting your stuff when you donate it. Know that there are people who would be delighted to buy your "junk" off the shelves and racks of your local thrift store. So, if you haven't used it, don't love it, and it's not broken, consider giving your stuff a second life by donating it to whatever charity warms your heart.