Getting rid of your old stuff can give you peace of mind
Thrift stores are an eco-friendly way to shop. Instead of creating new clothes and home goods out of new materials, you can just pass along the perfectly usable items that you don’t want anymore. And as you purge, you’ll likely give yourself a mental health boost too. Studies have linked high levels of clutter to a drop in life satisfaction and a spike in the stress hormone cortisol. A stress-free home for you and eco-friendly “new” goodies for whoever buys it—it’s win-win!
Signing up for e-bills reduces the clutter
If clutter is stressing you out, a growing pile of mail only adds to your mental anguish. Sign up to replace paper bills with email reminders, and unsubscribe when you can from junk mail. Use dmachoice.org to take yourself off the list for entire categories (think catalogs or ads) for a small $2 fee, or sign up for the free, Federal Trade Commission-approved service optoutprescreen.com, which means you won’t see any of those pre-approved credit card or insurance offers clogging up your mailbox. One less thing for you to worry about and fewer trees lost. Make sure you know these nifty ways to reuse bottles and jars.
