Are you getting ready to tackle some Spring Cleaning around your home or office? Clearing clutter (and cobwebs) can help you save time. When clutter (things you no longer need, want, or add value to your work or life) is out of the way, you’ll be able to find what you need, when you need it, much faster. Focus on what matters most to you. Clearing clutter is a critical first step to organizing.

After you’ve decluttered your space of items you no longer want, you may be wondering what to do with them. We’ve got you covered! There are a variety of organizations that handle donations, recycling, trash and hazardous waste. Especially relevant, if you’re in the greater Seattle or Eastside area, are these upcoming opportunities to let your items go.

Upcoming Recycling and Donation Events

• Ongoing: Owen’s List – Have some difficult to dispose of items that you don’t want to add to the landfill? Six-year old Owen, and his father Ryan have found many alternatives to landfills and make it easy to get your stuff there. Read their story and sign up for their email list to learn when they’ll be in your area to pick up items. Thank you to client and Interior Designer Melinda Slater of Slater Interiors for bringing this great resource to our attention.
• Sunday, April 15: The City of Sammamish and King County are holding a recycling collection event and bin sale at Eastlake High School and Discovery Elementary. Details can be found here.

If you’re looking for other recycling events in King County, here is a link to their website.

Upcoming FREE Shredding Events

Securely disposing of paper clutter and documents that are past their retention date can be a struggle.  If you have more paper than you can process through your home shredder, here are several upcoming FREE shredding events:

• Saturday, April 7, 10am-2pm: Windermere Real Estate is providing free shredding services at its Bellevue South office, located at 14405 SE 36th.  Bring your old bills or sensitive documents for professional destruction.
• Thursday, April 19, Wells Fargo Advisors is holding an event from 3-6pm at its offices in the Maple Street Building, located at 1180 NW Maple Street, Suite 150 in Issaquah. This document may be useful as you consider what to bring with you.
• Saturday, April 21: In the Queen Anne area, there will be a Shred, Recycle, Donate event.

Dates and information about other local shredding events can be found here.

Beyond Spring Cleaning and Paper Shredding

We always say that organizing is a process, not an event. When you finish your Spring cleaning efforts, consider setting up systems for long-term success. Would you like to reduce the amount of paper that you have to process, retain or dispose of? Here are five easy tips for moving towards a paperless system.

Did you uncover papers you need to keep but want help organizing?  Our Professional Organizers are experts at creating efficient and effective paper and digital filing systems that work for each individual. In addition, we help people develop organized habits to maintain their system, as well.

Contact us to learn how we can help you create an organized system for your documents at home or at work.