Everyone has been paying attention lately to what they want to keep in their lives (or house) and get rid of.  After the Marie Kondo trend – many people took to clearing out their closets and simplifying their lives.  Enter the pandemic, which has further caused us to adjust many things in our lives: our priorities, activities, jobs, and wardrobes (some of us now live in sweatpants, 24/7). But it’s also reaffirmed one our most important priorities – the health and wellbeing of our planet and getting rid of things in our lives that don’t bring us joy.

Here are eight ways you can simplify your life, declutter and make an impact on the planet:

1.     Sign up for electronic statements. Instead of receiving those bulky account statements and notices in the mail, sign up to receive them electronically with eStatements. You’ll not only save paper, you’ll score a key victory in your War on Clutter.  Learn how to set up your eStatements here.

2.     Shred and recycle. Find yourself with a little extra time? Spend it cleaning out old documents in your file cabinets like old bank statements, tax forms, and other documents. Then, shred and recycle them. If that’s not possible, wait for a community shredding day. Pro Tip: Avidia hosts free community shred days. Check out their upcoming 2020 dates here.

3.     Donate used electronics. Got old cellphones? Computers? Televisions or other electronics just taking up space in home? Donate them to a place that will recycle them. For example, Best Buy takes back old electronics – regardless of where they were purchased.  Also, many charities will take cellphones and refurbish them for those in need.

4.     Donate or sell used clothing. If you’re really bored or motivated to clean, go through your closet and drawers and donate gently-used clothing. Sites like thredup.com, the world’s largest online consignment and thrift store, allow you buy, sell, or donate clothes to help reduce clothing waste.

5.     Make contributions to a food pantry. With the economic strain of COVID-19, many food pantries and banks face severe shortages. You can help ease the burden for families struggling to buy groceries by cleaning out nonperishable items in your pantry and donating them to your local food bank.

6.     Get rid of the plastics in your life. Let’s face it, plastic is a part of our lives. But, there are some easy ways to reduce it like using re-useable water bottles instead of bottled water, and silverware instead of plastic products. Take an audit of the plastic used in your home and try to figure out ways to reduce it.

7.     Plant a garden. Need to get out of the house? Get some fresh air and exercise by building a garden. Growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs can help create cleaner air and reduce your carbon footprint.

8.     Buy nothing. That may sound extreme, but you can actually participate in a worldwide social movement known as the Buy Nothing Project, which encourages sharing and eliminates waste. With Buy Nothing, you could set up a Facebook Group to encourage participation to share goods and items with others in your community.

9.     Clean up your coin.  As you’re cleaning your house, you may come across a lot of coin.  Stop by our Framingham locaiton or Avidia Financial Center in Hudson to use our coin machines (and save yourself on those fees from those supermarket machines).

Now open that drawer and start sorting through what brings you joy.