Earth Day: Easy, Convenient Recycling in Kingwood and Houston

Originally written for  www.keepkingwoodgreen.org  by Jan Zaremba-Smith (April 2011)

 

Kingwood TX recycling

 

 

It is easy to get stuck in an organizing paralysis with recycling.  Getting behind with recycling can lead to lots of organizing challenges.  For Kingwood and Houston residents, there are easy and convenient ways to recycle e-waste and BOPA materials!

  • Goodwill http://www.goodwillhouston.org/ has a special program with Dell called Reconnect http://reconnectpartnership.com/ . Goodwill accepts any brand of used computer equipment in any condition and anything that can be connected to a computer; monitors, printers, scanners, hard drives, keyboards, mice, speakers, cords & cables, software, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Zune, Microsoft-branded Webcams, etc. They will pick these items up from your house along with any other household donations or you can drop them at one of their convenient locations.
  • Best Buy will accept ALL electronic waste (no more than three per visit) including monitors and TVs up to 32″ (they charge $10 for a TV but give you a $10 gift certificate in exchange).
  • Styrofoam chips and even blocks can be brought to most UPS, FedEx or Mailbox stores. They reuse them for their packaging.
  • CFL Bulbs and regular fluorescent bulbs are recycled at Home Depot or Lowes.
  • Rechargeable batteries can be recycled at many hardware, electronic, and department stores (Alspaughs, Sears Hardware, Best Buy, and Radio Shack). You can also recycle your old cell phones at Alspaugh’s Ace Hardware for the benefit of Keep Kingwood Green.
  • Used Motor Oil can be recycled at O’Reilly Auto Parts, 3219 W Lake Houston Pkwy in Kingwood (next to Walgreens).

All items above can also be dropped at the Westpark Consumer Recycling Center (for City residents only) at 5900 Westpark located at Hwy. 59S between Chimney Rock & Fountain View (Galleria Area) : www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/westpark.html or the Harris County facility if you live in Harris County but not in the City of Houston at 6900 Hahl Rd @ 290 & N. Gessner, 281-560-6200281-560-6200 Check for operating times. http://www.eng.hctx.net/watershed/hhw_facility.html

All other Hazardous Waste (fuel, pesticides, chemicals, etc.) can be brought to the North Environmental Service Center (713)837-9137(713)837-9137, located at 5614 Neches, Building C. It is open to Houston residents only, every 2nd Thursday of the month from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harris County residents can take them to the Harris County site listed above.

Want more ideas? Visit earth911.com.

 

Turning Clutter into Cash

turn clutter into cash

 

Your clutter can bring in some cash.  Often my clients think about selling their stuff rather than donating.  If you have the time and want to recoup some income from your items, you can turn this clutter into cash. There are several ways to go about your sales to bring in cash. Here are a few options to consider when going this direction with your stuff.

 

Consignment shops (furniture, clothes)

These shops offer you the opportunity to sell high end items with minimum work.  You bring the items to the shop, they market and more.  Consignment shops take only perfect or nearly perfect, current items. Pricing is done by the shop.  You receive a portion of the sale for your item. Typical length of consignment is 3 months.

Furniture shops local to Houston: The Guild Shop, Stillgoode Consignment

Women’s attire shops local to Houston: Consignor’s Club, Trendsetters, Mustard Seed Resale, Designer Diva

 

Community Garage Sales (any items)

Throughout Kingwood and other communities, more areas are hosting local neighborhood garage sales. There are tips and tricks to maximizing your income from a sale. During the day of the sale, there is more traffic as multiple families are selling. Be ready to commit time to sorting, pricing, and finishing up after the sale. Pricing is typically 25% of original cost and negotiating happens.

 

Online associations (collectibles)

If you are a collector, find the online association of that interest.  There is an association for every collectible. A client recently made a 4 figure income from selling Star Wars items in perfect condition.

 

Online apps and online sales (any items)

You reach many more potential buyers with these apps.

  • Facebook Marketplace
    • People love this app because often you know people in your community.
    • There are so many items for sale from appliances to used wood flooring.
    • It markets for you easily.
    • You make 100% of the profit.
  • Nexdoor
    • You are connected to people in your area which has a feeling of a secure transaction.
    • Post items for free and make 100% of the profit.5 Miles
  • Post your item on an online garage sale, like KingwoodYardSales.com or TheWoodlandsonline.com (or your local community site).
    • There is a small fee for joining or join for free if your car sports advertising for this app.
    • From large to small items, this is a great site for appliances and home goods.
  • Gazelle.com,
    • Trade-in and recycling firm that helps sell all sorts of items, from cell phones, laptops and tablet computers to digital cameras and video gaming consoles.
    • Get an offer and receive a check.
  • Poshmark
    • Sell everything from women’s clothing to handbags and shoes, even jewelry and makeup on Poshmark. An online commerce marketplace for fashion, this app is a great tool for the fashion-forward set who want to clean out and update their closet and make some money in the process.
    • There is a fee for sales.
  • Decluttr
    • Sell DVDs, CDs, electronics and more on this site.
    • Use the free app to scan the barcode and value your item.

In every case online, use multiple good photos. Use specific designer names in the heading of your post to draw attention to the item. Be honest about imperfections and wear. Be prepared to be responsive.  If you are concerned about trust and security, meet at a public common location and ask for cash.

 

Just remember, what you might think is valuable just may be or may not be. It’s easy to check online with using the item description and the completed sales on ebay. It gives you an idea of the value of your item.  Turning clutter into cash can be fun and feel like a game!

 

5 Small Starts to Organizing

getting started organizing with 5 small spots

 

 

I am often asked where to start organizing in a home or office. It just takes starting in a small spot. Here are 5 you can start in to feel successful and motivated.

  • Car glove box! You can easily clean out receipts, old insurance papers and other odds and ends.
  • Silverware drawer! It gets a little crazy sometimes getting utensils back in the right slot. Take a few minutes to sort and clean out.
  • Sock drawer! There are just too many socks sometimes. Match up the socks, and toss the rest. Be brutal!
  • Top drawer of your desk! We just slip papers in there, just too easily.  Spend a few minutes tossing what is old, unused or broken in there, decide what really belongs in this space, distribute the rest, and then you are more productive than ever.
  • Email inbox and processed folder. You don’t have to keep all the emails in your inbox.  Add a subfolder called “processed,” “read,” or whatever you what to name it, for the emails you have read and want to keep.  Keeping your inbox just for incoming mail will be more effective and efficient.

What small stuff do you do to get organized?

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