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When I read this headline, I had to smile: The Green Pope: Francis is putting the full weight of the papacy behind efforts to curb climate change. Many Professional Organizers base their businesses on being ‘green,’ recycling, and simplifying the homes and lives their clients lead. After being glued to the television for the Pope’s entire visit to the United States (I was painting my bedroom at the same time), I couldn’t help but see a connection between this incredible man and some of the same ideals that relate to the environment and the business of professional organizing. After the Pope’s visit, I did some research, and two documents written by the Pope stood out.

The first document was published on June 18, 2015, when Pope Francis released the encyclical Laudato Si: On Care of Our Common Home. In this document the Pope calls on all nations and peoples to address urgent environmental concerns, including climate change. Francis reported that this encyclical was not really an environmental document; rather, it highlighted the developed world’s indifference to the destruction of the planet while pursuing short-term economic gains. The Pope states, “Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years.” Professional Organizers work with clients every day to set up home recycling centers, and the significance of that labor isn’t lost on us; we are helping our clients save the planet one household at a time.

The second document released by the Pope was The 15 Diseases of the Curia. The Curia Romana is the papal court, or the people who assist the Pope in the government and administration of the church. Pope Francis explains that these ‘diseases’ do not only concern the Curia “but are naturally a danger to every Christian, every curia, community, congregation, parish and ecclesiastic movement.” Number 13 on the list is the disease of Hoarding. In layman’s terms, a person tries to fill an existential void by accumulating materials goods, not out of need but only in order to feel secure and, as a result, burdens the soul. As a nation, we see this every day as shopping has become the national pastime, and anyone can accumulate goods 24/7 by using the internet and television. When people become overwhelmed with clutter and don’t know where to turn, very often it is the Professional Organizer who gets the call for help.

Finally, my hope is that no matter what our religious preference, we all take the words of Pope Francis to heart and be responsible stewards of our planet– our first home.

Clutter Quote: “Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will; or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it and we use it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude.” Pope Francis

Most people want to do the right thing and recycle, but sometimes it’s not easy. Outdated electronics, cans of oil-based paint, and piles of unwanted confidential documents take up valuable space in the basement or garage because you don’t know what to do with them. These things need to be discarded — but how?

There is confusion about recycling. Which things are considered household recycling and which are hazardous waste? You may be surprised to learn that nail polish is hazardous waste. Cellphones are hazardous waste, too. To add to the confusion, companies that pick up your household trash differ in what they accept: some take plastic containers marked 1 through 3 and others take 1 through 7. It’s no wonder people may be reluctant to recycle.

To help make it easier to get rid of your unwanted stuff, follow this list for electronics and hazardous waste recycling and shredding events through the fall in the Greater Philadelphia area. Events are either free or low-cost.

Note: Household batteries can be tossed with regular trash. However, for those with terminals on the same side (such as 6V, 9V or 12V) and button-cell batteries (used in watches, greeting cards and hearing aids), it is important to cover both ends with masking tape to reduce the risk of short-circuiting and fire. For the more common batteries (AA, AAA, C and D), cover the positive terminal (“+”) with masking tape.

Forget Google! Professional Organizers have a plethora of resources to share with you ranging from recycling centers to special events happening in your area. Here are my favorites:

Consignments shops

~The Attic, Manayunk

“Here at The Attic we aim to provide a fun and engaging environment while also offering advice on modern and vintage trends.”

4335 Main St., Manayunk, PA 19127

Phone: 215-482-0300

~Greene Street, Manayunk

“Since Greene Street opened its doors in 1997, we have been working to offer affordable fashion in a clean, organized, and modern setting.”

4313 Main St., Philadelphia, PA 19127

Phone: 267-335-5478

Donations

~The Salvation Army

This is a huge store which earned the nickname the “Pechin Street Boutique.”

4555 Pechin St., Philadelphia, PA 19128

Phone: 215-483-3340

~Colonial Neighborhood Council

“Colonial Neighborhood Council operates “The Well,” a thrift store offering a household items and clothing for adults and children.”

107 E. 4th Ave., Conshohocken, PA 19428

Phone: 610-828-6595

Recycling

~Best Buy

“Recycling Kiosks — Every U.S. Best Buy store has kiosks, just inside the front doors, to drop off ink and toner cartridges, rechargeable batteries, and wires, cords and cables, plastic bags and gift cards.”

~Whole Foods Market, Plymouth Meeting (the biggest & nicest store I have ever seen)

Recycle batteries, cork, plastic bags, Brita filters, yogurt cups & plastics #5

500 W. Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462

Phone: 610-832-0010

Events

~Household Hazardous Waste Collection

Saturday, May 30- Montgomery County Community College

340 DeKalb Pike (enter campus at 595 Cathcart Road), Blue Bell, PA 19422

~Paper Shredding

Saturday, August 15 (9am – noon)- Abington Junior High School

2056 Susquehanna Road, Abington, PA 19001

~Tire Collections

Saturday, June 6- from 9:00am – noon, Montgomery County Community College

340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422

~Finally, did you know about MedReturn Drug Collection Units? There is one at the Montgomery County Courthouse.

2 E Airy St., Norristown, PA 19401

Phone: 610-278-3000

Some restrictions and fees may apply. Ask the Professional Organizer you hired. They’ll know!

Are you one of the (scientifically identified) 6 million people who avoids shredding your sensitive documents because of your home shredder. 5.9 million of that number have actually burned up at least one home shredder at some point. 5.8 million have burned up more than one. (I might have made those numbers up.) It might be twice that high. Most families should own a cross-cut personal shredder. They are actually very easy to keep in good shape.
Here’s help on how to use your home paper shredder.

• Buy the best home shredder you can afford, without breaking the bank. You can find many options under $50. If you work at home or like to shred a lot, you might need a higher capacity machine costing between $50 and $200.
• Know your sheet capacity. If the shredder says, “Max. 8 Sheets,” like mine does, it really means 4-6 sheets of regular copy paper at a time. It does not allow for heavier paper, plastic, brochures, or folded items.
• Don’t try to shred everything. Don’t just shred everything because it has your name or address on it. Information anyone can get from a quick Google search or from the phone book doesn’t need to be shredded. However, anything with financial account numbers on them (like your bank statements and brokerage accounts) should be shredded. Your grocery store junk mail, just because you may have a frequent shopper club number there, is not sensitive information. Really, it’s not. Nor are most of your utility bills, believe it or not. Don’t make your little household shredder work harder than it needs to. Use it only for what needs to be shredded.
• If the shredder is usually unplugged for safety or other reasons, then you’ll probably be batch shredding. Your machine will only shred for 15-20 minutes before it overheats. Just give it a rest, and finish your batch another day, or after the machine has had a chance to cool down. Better yet, stop when you hear the motor or the blades laboring. That “rrr…rrr…rrr” sound means you are either feeding it too much paper, or the machine needs a break.
• Occasionally, give your shredder a little treat and lubricate the cutting blades. You can purchase special feeder sheets or shredder oil for this purpose. I’ve used my sewing machine oil with good results. You only need to do this a few times a year.
• Don’t keep shredding if the bin is full. The already shredded paper will jam up against the rotating blades, over-heating the shredder faster than needed. Empty the bin often.
• Unless your shredder specifically allows for it, don’t feed plastics through the machine. They tend to gunk up the blades. I’ve had to surgically remove hunks of melted plastic from household shredders. If your shredder is equipped to shred credit cards and/or computer disks, empty the basket of paper before shredding these items. The paper is recyclable with household recycles in most places. The disks probably aren’t. Throw plastic bits out in the trash separately from the paper.

If you follow these guidelines, your home shredder should do the job for many years. However, if you regularly have more than 2 shopping bags full of material to shred, you can search for free or low-cost community shredding events in your area. Just Google “shred events” and your city, zip code, or region. You can find a current list of shredding events in the greater Philadelphia region

Here is a list of rolex replica shredding events in the Delaware Valley. If you are planning to attend an event, it’s wise to check the website or call or e-mail to make sure the event isn’t iphone 5c refurbished canceled due to weather or other circumstances.

If you can’t wait for an event, try drop-off shredding services from Staples, Office Depot, Wiggins, or Mail Source (Springfield) for about $1 per pound.

Happy shredding!

Friday, May 2  3 pm – 5:30 pm West Chester
West Chester Wiggins Auto Tags — 1301 West Chester Pike, West Chester, PA 19380
2 paper grocery bags are $10.00 http://www.wigginsshredding.com/residential/tear-fests.php

Saturday, May 3  9 am – 12 pm Buckingham
Buckingham Township Public Works Building — Residents Only
4991 Upper Mountain Road, Buckingham, PA 18912
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 3  9 am – 11 am Newtown
First National Bank & Trust of Newtown — Bucks County Community College
272 Swamp Road, Newtown, PA 18940
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 3  9 am – 11 am
Middletown Township (Residents only)  — 3 Municipal Way, Langhorne, PA 19047
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 3  10 am – 1 pm Lawrenceville
Rider University Faculty, Staff, Students & Alumni only
Rider University General Services Building
2083 Lawrenceville Road  Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
http://www.shredone.com/community-shredding-events

Saturday, May 3  8 am – 12 pm Phoenixville
Schuykill Township
(CAT Pickering on Charlestown Road)
1580 Charlestown Road  Phoenixville, PA 19460

Events

Saturday, May 3  10 am – 12 pm Ridley Park
State Rep. Nick Miccarelli
605 E. Chester Pike  Ridley Park, PA 19078

Events

Saturday, May 3  1 pm – 3 pm Dallastown
York Township
190 Oak Road  Dallastown, PA 17313

Events

Saturday, May 10  9 – 1 pm  Oaks
State Rep Warren Kampf
422 Business Center  Mill Road  Oaks, PA 19456

Events

Saturday, May 10  9 am – 11:30 am  Philadelphia
State Rep. Mike McGeehan
Linden Avenue Boat Launch
Linden Ave. & Delaware Ave.  Philadelphia, PA 19114
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 10  9 am – 12 pm Philadelphia
State Senator Stack
Parkwood Shopping Center
12361 Academy Road  Philadelphia, PA 19114
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 10  9 am – 12 pm
First Federal of Bucks County
Bucks County Community College – Lower Bucks
1304 Veterans Highway  Bristol, PA 19007
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 17  9 am – 12 pm
Borough of Media
301 North Jackson Street  Media, PA 19063

Events

Saturday, May 17  9 am – 12 pm
Bucks First Federal Credit Union
Bucks County Tech. High School
610 Wistar Road  Fairless Hills, PA 19030
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 17  10 am – 12 pm  West Chester
West Chester Wiggins Auto Tags
1301 West Chester Pike  West Chester, PA 19380
2 paper grocery bags are $10.00
http://www.wigginsshredding.com/residential/tear-fests.php

Saturday, May 17  9 am – 11 am Easton
Williams Township
Municipal Office
655 Cider Press Road  Easton, PA 18042
(Residents only)
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, May 31  10 am – 12 pm  Philadelphia
Passyunk Square Civic Association (PSCA)
1400 East Passyunk Avenue & Reed  Philadelphia, PA 19147

Events

Shredding Events in Spring 2014

It’s that time again! Paper shredding event season has begun. Here is a list of shredding events in the Delaware Valley this spring. If you are planning to attend an event, it’s wise to check the website or to call or e-mail to make sure the event isn’t canceled due to weather or other circumstances.

If you can’t wait for an event, try drop-off shredding services from Staples, Office Depot, Wiggins, or Mail Source (Springfield) for about $1 per pound.

Happy shredding!

Saturday, April 12  9 am – 12 pm  Abington Residents Only
Abington Township Public Works
2201 Florey Lane  Abington, PA 19001
http://www.shredone.com/community-shredding-events

Saturday, April 12  9 am – 11 am  North Wales
EZ Storage – Montgomeryville
289 Dekalb Pike  North Wales, PA 19454
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, April 12  9 am – 12 pm  Berwyn
Friends of Easttown Public Library
720 First Ave.  Berwyn, PA 19312

Events

Saturday, April 12  9 am – 12 pm Collegeville Residents Only
Montgomery County
Perkiomen Valley Middle School East
100 Kagey Road, entrance on Campus Drive  Collegeville, PA 19426
http://www.shredone.com/community-shredding-events

Saturday, April 12 9 am – 12 pm Collegeville
Perkiomen Valley Middle School East
100 Kagey Road (enter on Campus Drive)  Collegeville, PA 19426
http://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/6715

Saturday, April 12
NBC’s Great Shredder Event
Wells Fargo Center
See http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/contact-us/community/ for updates.

Saturday, April 19  9 am – 12 p.m Douglasville
Amity Township Crime Watch
Redner’s Market
Intersection of Rt. 422 and Rt. 662  Douglasville, PA 19518

Events

Saturday, April 19  10 am – 12 pm York
State Rep. Kevin J. Schreiber
101 South George Street  York, PA 17401

Events

Saturday, April 26  9 am – 12 pm Philadelphia
American Heritage FCU Main Office
2060 Red Lion Road  Philadelphia, PA 19115
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, April 26  9 am – 12 pm Philadelphia
American Heritage FCU Rhawn Street Branch
430 Rhawn Street  Philadelphia, PA 19111
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, April 26  9 am – 12 pm  Horsham
American Heritage FCU Horsham/Maple Avenue Branch
339 Maple Avenue  Horsham, PA 19044
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, April 26  9 am – 11:30 am  Chalfont
Merck Sharp & Dohme Federal Credit Union Chalfont Branch
335 West Butler Avenue  Chalfont, PA 18914
http://www.titanshredding.com/Community-Shredding-Services.aspx#calendar

Saturday, April 26  11 am – 2 pm Philadelphia Residents Only
Philadelphia Fed Credit Union Operations Center
12800 Townsend Road  Philadelphia, PA 19154
http://www.shredone.com/community-shredding-events