There are way too many great services to name here, so I'm concentrating on the top-of-mind resources, as well as adding those subtle-body-and-environment-related ones that you would perhaps never think of.
Clutter Clearing
If you work with a space clearer (as suggested in Tier 2), clearing clutter is often a part of that overall process. The Karen Kingston space clearing website has some great solutions for that, too. Here is a link to an inspiring blog on the topic, and guess what? She offers online clutter clearing courses!
If you simply need professional help in your home for clearing clutter, sometimes you can trade time with a friend: you come spend two or three hours with me in my garage, then next weekend I’ll return the favor. Or, check Craig’s List for clutter clearers in your area, or do a general on-line search: there are tons! (Yes, this speaks to the Western World’s obsession with stuff.)
Household Hazardous Waste
When you are cleaning up your personal environment, it’s best not to destroy the shared environment in the process! (Better yet, research products *before* you take them home.) At the same time, don’t ignore those old containers of scary things under the sink: move them out of your space, as safely and responsibly as possible.
This website is a good high-level place to start: the U.S. EPA (or your country’s equivalent) Household Hazardous Waste page. Don’t let the text-heavy government look scare you. They link to all kinds of useful pages, like:
Earth911.com
Trying to find where to take something your local recycling company doesn’t handle? For example, I once had a piece of broken coffee table-size glass, and had a heck of a time discovering where I could take it.
The best recycling center I’ve ever seen is this one: the El Cerrito Recycling & Exchange Center. It’s a comprehensive, well organized recycling center and exchange center in one.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, by Gabor Maté
I’m including this book in the Clean & Green section for two reasons. One, it helps to clean up our inner-pollution of bad attitudes towards people we call “addicts” (most of us have some judgments). Two, it helps you to deal with your own addictions (virtually all of us have some).
“This is the domain of addiction, where we constantly seek something outside ourselves to curb an insatiable yearning for relief or fulfillment…We don’t know what we need, and so long as we stay in the hungry ghost mode, we’ll never know.” pg. 1
Get Rid of Junk Mail
Go upstream and stop the detritus flowing into your life. This website will walk you though getting rid of unwanted mail, phone calls, and even email. Credit card offers eating up trees and piling up on your desk? Opt-out. Catalogs clogging your mail box? Opt-out. Note: they are the Direct Mailing Association, which means they have an interest in getting you to buy stuff from their members, so you can “opt-in” as well as “opt-out.” They claim to represent 80% of direct mail in the U.S., so if you register your preferences with them, you’ve handled the lions share of superfluous and useless junk mail!
I also appreciate that on their FAQ they encourage you to contact them directly if you’ve made an independent request to a company to be removed from their list, and they have failed to comply.
Better World Club
An alternative to the American Automobile Association (AAA). I asked AAA if the rumors were true: does your company lobby to undermine emission standards, and other un-eco, un-helpful things? In their reply they said they “refute” this claim, but I was less-than-convinced by their language. So, I continue to recommend this alternative organization which does have an agenda: an eco-friendly agenda!
Clutter Clearing
If you work with a space clearer (as suggested in Tier 2), clearing clutter is often a part of that overall process. The Karen Kingston space clearing website has some great solutions for that, too. Here is a link to an inspiring blog on the topic, and guess what? She offers online clutter clearing courses!
If you simply need professional help in your home for clearing clutter, sometimes you can trade time with a friend: you come spend two or three hours with me in my garage, then next weekend I’ll return the favor. Or, check Craig’s List for clutter clearers in your area, or do a general on-line search: there are tons! (Yes, this speaks to the Western World’s obsession with stuff.)
Household Hazardous Waste
When you are cleaning up your personal environment, it’s best not to destroy the shared environment in the process! (Better yet, research products *before* you take them home.) At the same time, don’t ignore those old containers of scary things under the sink: move them out of your space, as safely and responsibly as possible.
This website is a good high-level place to start: the U.S. EPA (or your country’s equivalent) Household Hazardous Waste page. Don’t let the text-heavy government look scare you. They link to all kinds of useful pages, like:
Earth911.com
Trying to find where to take something your local recycling company doesn’t handle? For example, I once had a piece of broken coffee table-size glass, and had a heck of a time discovering where I could take it.
The best recycling center I’ve ever seen is this one: the El Cerrito Recycling & Exchange Center. It’s a comprehensive, well organized recycling center and exchange center in one.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, by Gabor Maté
I’m including this book in the Clean & Green section for two reasons. One, it helps to clean up our inner-pollution of bad attitudes towards people we call “addicts” (most of us have some judgments). Two, it helps you to deal with your own addictions (virtually all of us have some).
“This is the domain of addiction, where we constantly seek something outside ourselves to curb an insatiable yearning for relief or fulfillment…We don’t know what we need, and so long as we stay in the hungry ghost mode, we’ll never know.” pg. 1
Get Rid of Junk Mail
Go upstream and stop the detritus flowing into your life. This website will walk you though getting rid of unwanted mail, phone calls, and even email. Credit card offers eating up trees and piling up on your desk? Opt-out. Catalogs clogging your mail box? Opt-out. Note: they are the Direct Mailing Association, which means they have an interest in getting you to buy stuff from their members, so you can “opt-in” as well as “opt-out.” They claim to represent 80% of direct mail in the U.S., so if you register your preferences with them, you’ve handled the lions share of superfluous and useless junk mail!
I also appreciate that on their FAQ they encourage you to contact them directly if you’ve made an independent request to a company to be removed from their list, and they have failed to comply.
Better World Club
An alternative to the American Automobile Association (AAA). I asked AAA if the rumors were true: does your company lobby to undermine emission standards, and other un-eco, un-helpful things? In their reply they said they “refute” this claim, but I was less-than-convinced by their language. So, I continue to recommend this alternative organization which does have an agenda: an eco-friendly agenda!