Sustainable Storage Made Simple: Eco-Friendly Organizing Solutions
As our homes get smaller, our storage needs become a concern. It’s easy to throw out anything we don’t need, but this contributes to a growing waste issue that threatens our environment and biodiversity. By considering and implementing a few simple eco-friendly organizational solutions, we can help combat pollution and minimize unnecessary waste. These helpful storage and organizational solutions are sustainable, easy to apply, and can help declutter your home in the long run.
1. Eco-Friendly Storage Containers
An eco-friendly storage solution is to use containers made from sustainable materials. This includes bamboo drawer dividers or baskets, fabric storage boxes made from jute or canvas, and glass, metal, cardboard, and wicker receptacles. Using these can help you implement a minimalist design philosophy, challenging the conventional belief that more storage means more clutter and advocating for a more intentional approach to organization.
2. DIY Upcycled Storage Solutions
Consider “upcycling” as a method for organization and waste reduction and as a lifestyle choice. Look around your home and find items you would normally throw out for lack of use. Consider how they might aid in organizing and storing other items in the home. This can include using Amazon boxes to store toys, pet accessories, or crafting supplies. The trick with upcycling is to make the item your own by painting or otherwise changing the item’s original appearance to make it more suitable for repurposing.
3. The Minimalist Home Movement
One way to facilitate organizational and storage solutions is to adopt a minimalist approach. Consider the “one in, one out” rule where you recycle, donate, or repurpose one item for every new item you bring into your home. Another option is to pack things away as soon as they are no longer in use – this means not leaving shoes in the hallway when arriving home, instead pop them back in the cupboard.
4. Go Paperless
As more people work from home, paperwork can pile up – not only from the working environment but also from bills, magazines, pamphlets, etc. Consider going digital to minimize how much paper is lying about the house. Use digital note apps instead of notebooks, arrange for bills to be emailed and stored on the cloud instead of sending them via snail mail, and subscribe to online newspapers and magazines instead of purchasing hard copies. This reduces waste and the need to store files and documentation.
5. Bring Back Old School Storage Practices
Remember how your grandmother would reuse coffee tins and mason jars for other kitchen items? This is a helpful and practical eco-friendly storage practice to inherit. Instead of buying plastic, wooden, or glass storage containers, re-use the ones you already get when you buy other food items. These containers can be decorated and used to store tea bags, cereals, snacks, pasta, and other pantry items.
6. Make Your Kitchen Eco-Friendly
A major source of plastic and other waste comes from the kitchen. For eco-friendly and sustainable storage and packaging solutions, consider using reusable silicone food storage bags, recycled plastic bins, cloth produce bags, stainless steel beverage and lunch containers, etc. Another helpful trick is to use refillable cleaning supplies and decant them into glass dispensers. These practices help to reduce excessive waste. Also, consider adding a recycling bin for plastics, glass, and paper waste.
7. Innovative Modular Systems
To optimize storage in your home, investigate unique frameworks like modular organizing systems that can adapt to your changing needs over time. These systems include adjustable shelving units, cube organizers, and furniture (such as sofas and Murphy beds). These systems can be made from sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, bamboo, and recycled plastic, and they challenge the belief that organizing solutions must be static and fixed.
8. Reuse Plastic Wisely
While many are against all plastic use, it helps explore the idea that certain recycled plastics can be sustainably used to store and organize your home if the products are sourced responsibly. To balance and be responsible for our consumption, recycled plastic can be used as storage bins, bottles, bags, plant pot covers, and small, lightweight furniture. This can help challenge the idea that all plastic should be discarded and instead advocate for its reuse when suitable.
9. Smart Organizing Systems
To organize your home, it is important to think of all the ways that we can reuse items to reduce waste. These items can then be transformed and used in a smart organizational system that uses storage boxes that are color-coded, labeled, and grouped to help identify items and simplify your life entirely. Smart organizational systems help to maintain a tidy home, prevent overspending, and promote minimalist practices.
Sources
Storage Strategies for Eco-Friendly Living: Declutter Your Space, Improve Your Mental Health
Sustainable Organizing: Eco-Friendly Products and Practices
