Bestseller Andrew Mellen Teaches How to Unstuff Your Life Sustainably

“The most organized man in America”, best-selling author and green professional organizer Andrew Mellen will be in town from New York to teach his Unstuff Your Life Workshop at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center as part of the Earth Day Marin April Series on Saturday, April 27th from 10-11:30am. Limited tickets are available.

Mellen's workshops are both entertaining and full of insights - as his website aptly puts it: "think Antique Roadshow meets Let’s Make A Deal sprinkled with a little Doctor Oz. No question is too silly [or challenging] and every answer promises a surprise!" 

San Geronimo Valley Community Center and Earth Day Marin's Hannah Doress caught up with Andrew for an interview:

Hannah: Thank you for the great suggestion last year - we redid our living room and are very happy with the results. However, our house is a mess and I want to get rid of a bunch of stuff - what are some important tips to help me clear out in an environmentally conscientious way? 

Andrew: Avoid landfill. Even the most environmentally conscious of us can get overwhelmed and fed up with the process of getting organized. In those moments, it becomes easier to say, “This is impossible,” and just toss everything out. Resist that urge.

Be proactive. Equally as dangerous is the misguided but earnest desire to find the perfect new home for things you’re letting go of OR the perfect place to recycle or repurpose an item. Waiting too long to let go of something is just as counterproductive as chucking it all into the trash. I’ve come across more situations where someone was stockpiling toner cartridges or other toxic materials under the guise of finding the perfect place to send them, which was just fancy and green procrastination.

God forbid something happens to you before you get those things out of your house—sadly, once you’re gone you have no control over where they end up. And if the person who comes to clean up behind you doesn’t share your ethos around the environment, all that delaying was a waste of time because the first thing they’ll do is toss everything into a dumpster.

A quick Internet search on “green or environmentally sound recycling of ___________ in zip code ____________” will yield you at least one if not many options of where to take those sensitive items.

Hannah: Does being organized help the earth? If so, how?

Andrew: Of course it does! In many ways! The better organized you are, the smaller your carbon footprint. You become more efficient in how you consume everything you don’t produce. You waste less and spend less energy as fuel in your car since you’ll never again leave the house without everything you need for the day. No more running home because you forgot the one thing that’s crucial for the day’s success. 

You spend less time and money replacing misplaced items or buying duplicates. You also have more time to spend doing the things you love—whether that’s gardening or working on civic matters or tackling climate change.

Hannah: What typically happens for people who you help go from disorganized to organized? How do people change and what influences people to make those changes?

Andrew: There are so many benefits to getting and staying organized. I’ve heard from people that the benefits include everything from losing weight to getting better jobs, falling in love and finding deep, sustainable joy in living every day. Not to mention being able to find anything you’re looking for in 30 seconds or less.

Getting and staying organized is not rocket science. Everything you need to know is summed up in The Organizational Triangle®: One Home For Everything; Like With Like; and Something In, Something Out. There are many ways to augment the triangle but these three simple principles are the foundation of getting and staying organized. And anyone from 4 to 104 can understand and apply them with equal success! 

Hannah: What are some of your favorite green things to do when people are reorganizing their homes?

Andrew: Eliminate plastic. I’m on a mission to find a manufacturer who has the vision and resources to return to cellulose-based plastic manufacturing. It seems the only way to have plastic in our lives that would actually be biodegradable or recyclable. Until then, I encourage people to replace plastic with glass or metal whenever possible. Beth Terry’s book, Plastic Free, is an excellent resource.

Recycle responsibly and promptly. So many people who care about the environment are holding things under the guise of finding the perfect place to send them to be recycled. See my answer above for an easy search string to find the best places near you to get rid of those unwanted and potentially toxic things.

Additionally, many technology companies now offer trade-in and trade-up programs where they will give you credit towards a replacement device when you bring your old device in for proper disposal/recycling.

Clean with plant-based products. Vinegar-, oil- and fruit-based cleaners can do a great job and get toxic chemicals out of your home. There are great websites that show you how to make your own cleaning products that don’t involve cooking lye in the backyard like the Beverly Hillbillies. Check out http://tinyurl.com/green-cleaning11 as a start.

Compost. I’m advocating for New York to finally establish universal curbside composting—it already exists in some neighborhoods. And if you have a yard and any plants at all, there’s no reason not to compost. It is simple, free and everything growing near your home will love you.

Hannah: What environmental issues, movements or methods are you really excited about right now?

Andrew: Plastic. As I mentioned earlier, we’ve got to find a way to either develop a truly plant-based easily degradable plastic or eliminate its manufacture. From the fossil fuels that are its source of raw material and energy to the potential off-gassing into the foods we put in it, it’s a troubling product.

Next-gen green building. The innovation in materials we can use to build safe and beautiful spaces—whether commercial or residential—inspire me. I love shelter and industrial design and I’m tremendously encouraged by the innovation I see happening in those fields.

Hannah: Anything else you want to add?

Andrew: Take before pictures. I understand that when working alone it can easily seem impossible to tackle whatever organizing project is in front of you. That’s why a camera is one of the three tools you need on hand,

It’s likely that even after a long day of trying to get organized, you’ll feel like “nothing” got done. That’s not true. It may feel true but it isn’t. The before pictures will prove to you that something has happened and be just what you need to change that feeling from failure to success.

Use a timer and a stop watch. We love to say,”Oh, I’ll finish that later. It’ll only take me 15 minutes.” Few of us know how long things take to do and yet we’re often running around late and frantic and surprised by how long something actually takes to get it done. Take the mystery out of your day and you’ll be both pleasantly surprised and horrified by how much time you’re spending on certain tasks and activities. The beautiful thing is that once again, the truth will set you free. Once you know how long something takes, you’ll have all the information you need to never be late or hectic again!

Visit http://www.sgvcc.org to get tickets to attend Andrew Mellen’s workshop on Saturday, April 27th from 10-11:30am. Tickets are $20 and partial proceeds benefit the San Geronimo Valley Community Center. Please be prompt. Cosponsored by Good Green Moving and Earth Day Marin. 

Please scroll down for workshop details and more about Andrew Mellen's engaging and practical workshops.

This event is part of the Earth Day Marin April Series. The other remaining event in the series is Slide Ranch Spring Fling, a great family farm nature and farm education event on Saturday, April 27th from 10-4pm. 

All the Exciting Details about the UNSTUFF YOUR LIFE Workshop Saturday:

A 90-minute practical workshop to get and stay organized for good
Led by Andrew J. Mellen, bestselling author of Unstuff Your Life
Saturday, April 27th, 10-11:30am
Please be prompt

One of the country’s most sought-after professional organizers brings his practical and useful strategies for creating order out of chaos to San Geronimo Valley.

Whether you want to get a handle on a crowded kitchen, a disorganized closet, are drowning in papers or sick and tired of always losing your keys, you’ll find the answer to your problem at this Unstuff Your Life! Workshop at San Geronimo Valley Community Center.

Featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Women’s Day, Ladies' Home Journal, GQ, Martha Stewart Living Today, HGTV, NPR, InStyle, Better TV, All You and others, “The Most Organized Man in America,” Andrew Mellen, brings over 14 years of knowledge, skill and compassion to his work that makes his practical methods and solutions stick.

From hardcore hoarders to overwhelmed soccer moms, and from harried executives to small business owners, there’s something for everyone at an Unstuff Your Life! workshop. 

Andrew Mellen has helped corporations, small businesses and individuals throughout the U.S. get organized, simplify their spaces and their lives, and achieve a degree of efficiency, productivity and calmness that had previously eluded them.

Recognizing that it's often the 'stuff behind the stuff' that keeps people stuck, Mellen approaches getting and staying organized from practical, spiritual and environmental perspectives, helping people to shift their relationships with objects and regain precious time for the things that really matter – which often aren’t things at all.

Both fun and informative, this 90-minute workshop will be jam-packed with useful tips, tools and suggestions.

Attendees will learn: 
★The three most important rules for getting and staying organized; 
★ How to make time for things you love, not just the things you have to do; 
★ How to manage email, photos and papers; 
★ The dos and don’ts of filing; 
★ How to distinguish trash from treasure and urgent from important.

BONUS: This workshop will also feature a discussion of green and socially responsible alternatives and practices, and along with other concepts, will explore the 5 'R's: reduce, reuse, recycle, rot, and rebuy.

Every workshop includes an extended Q&A where practical answers are offered to real-life challenges. Think Antique Roadshow meets Let’s Make A Deal sprinkled with a little Doctor Oz. No question is too silly and every answer promises a surprise!

Space is limited – advance purchase recommended. Buy tickets now. 

Tuition for this workshop is $15 in advance; $20 at the door.

“A good sense of humor and a considerable amount of compassion make the tasks in this book feel much easier to tackle. Unstuff Your Life! is an extremely helpful and practical book, always pointing us to the bigger picture.”
-- Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness and Lovingkindness

More blogs by Hannah Doress: http://sananselmofairfax.patch.com/users/hannah-doress/blog_posts

Earth Day Marin Major Sponsors include:

MCE

Sunrise Center

Marin Transit

Citizen's Climate Lobby

Marin Sanitary Service

Resilient Neighborhoods

Hannah Doress Events

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