The other week, reader Sara delivered an urgent singing telegram to Thistle Headquarters. Actually it was just an email, but haven’t you always wanted to get an urgent telegram, or a singing telegram, or even better, an urgent singing telegram? ANYWAY, she mentioned how she’d recently done a little clean-up and came across all these binder clips she thought were lost. Sara was relieved she wouldn’t have to buy more of them, which in turn led her to realize how important cleanliness and organization is with regards to the green movement — knowing where stuff is means you’re less likely to forget about it; this in turn means you’re less likely to buy more of it, then find out some years down the road that, funnily enough, you’ve somehow accumulated seven staplers.
Besides this, a good clean-up session lets you discover clothes, kitchen gadgets, photos, tools and more that might otherwise have gone unused, which is just a waste of space. And if there’s something you realize has been collecting dust for a reason (like, say, that stupid Magic 8-Ball that always gives the wrong answer), it’s the perfect opportunity to Freecycle it.
Change #299, then, will be to start getting myself organized, room by room, cupboard by cupboard. I’ve already tackled the “random paperwork, extra sets of keys and knick-knack” drawer and most of my closet, but the goal will be to get every nook and cranny organized before I move out by the end of January. And it all starts today!
Or maybe tomorrow.
Photo of an obsessive-compulsive anal-retentive well-organized closet courtesy of these guys
Posted by Vanessa 
Green as a Thistle 