<\/strong>Winning the war against clutter can be tremendously satisfying. That may be why a whole industry has developed around fighting clutter.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n You can see it on Oprah, and you can ooh and ah at the worst cases on shows like \u201cHoarders.\u201d You can even pay an organization coach to get your clutter under control \u2013 if you\u2019re willing to pay up to $50 an hour.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n But you can also just take a few easy steps on your own. Because cutting clutter means reducing waste, the King County Recycle More. It\u2019s Easy to Do. program has designated May 9-13 as Spring Cleaning Week. You can find lots of resources at www.kingcounty.gov\/recyclemore<\/a>, but here are a few to get you going.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start in the home office, often the most cluttered room in the home:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jettison junk mail. <\/strong>Those foot-high piles of papers in your office include a lot of junk mail, don\u2019t they? Catalogs and coupons and fliers. Aiiee! Get in the habit of either filing incoming mail or putting it directly in the recycling bin. Better yet, get off of mailing lists by using the free non-profit service www.CatalogChoice.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Pitch packing material. <\/strong>Get rid of that Styrofoam stuff sitting in the corner because you don\u2019t know what to do with it. To find stores that will accept your clean used packing peanuts (they reuse them), go to www.loosefillpackaging.com<\/a> or call the polystyrene industry\u2019s Peanut Hotline at 800-828-2214. For those bulky Styrofoam packing chunks, recycling options are limited, but V & G Styro Recycle in Renton just west of IKEA (www.styrorecycle.com<\/a>) will take them at no charge.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Unplug your electronic waste. <\/strong>Under the state\u2019s E-Cycle Washington program, the electronics industry pays the recycling cost for computers, monitors and TVs, so you don\u2019t have to! Maple Valley Goodwill participates in E-Cycle or find recycling and reuse locations and info (you may have to pay to recycle some items, like printers)\u00a0 at www.ecycleWA.org<\/a> and www.takeitbacknetwork.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s zip into the kitchen and cut clutter there:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Free your food.<\/strong> You know those canned or packaged goods just taking up space in your cupboard, that you\u2019re never going to use? If they\u2019re still in good shape, donate them to food banks. With perfect timing, the annual food drive at your home by mail carriers is Saturday, May 14. See www.helpstampouthunger.com<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Corral your containers. <\/strong>Does it seem like your Tupperware-type containers are breeding? Weed them out! Turn them into containers for your kids\u2019 crayons or other supplies.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Let\u2019s end with a few quick tips for the rest of the house:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Donate, donate, donate! <\/strong>Thrift stores can really use your stuff, and your donations often benefit non-profits.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Let recycling multiply. <\/strong>To capture all your paper and other recyclables, make sure you have recycling bins in the home office, kids\u2019 rooms, bathroom, even the garage and basement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n