The Simplicity of Being Green

So you bought a piece of used office furniture. You probably bought it because it was a need and was more cost effective than purchasing new. If we are honest with ourselves, being environmentally conscious didn’t enter our mind…but perhaps it should.

The job I head to about four days a week is a small children’s consignment store. We sell pre-owned kids clothes in excellent condition. It is a one location store and considered the nicest consignment store in our area. When I started it was fun to buy better clothes for my kids than I would regularly be able to afford, the owner and other couple employees were nice, and the customers were regular and great to get to know. Flash forward seven years and all of that still exists (except my son has outgrown the sizes!), but I’ve grown to appreciate the “green” of purchasing used items in good condition.

Many people in our world dedicate themselves to recycling, re-using, repurposing and more. For the common person though we might find it hard to go fully green. But little steps you already do are simple and matter. The big word in being environmentally conscious is SUSTAINIBILITY. The jist is to leave as little behind to junk up the planet as you can. Use what there is. Purchasing an old desk or file cabinet is easy on your bank account and easy on the Earth. You have, “Reused,” something and therefore are not leaving it to be tossed away right now. You’ve also, “Reduced,” the amount of raw materials needed in your businesses. If no new materials are needed for your new file cabinet (or your water bottle, coffee cup, desks, chairs, etc) then you are not contributing to the, “more stuff,” movement.

You can also donate office equipment including file cabinets to The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, local schools, churches, libraries, non-profit organizations. If you are ready to pass something along, take a few minutes to call around and serve your community with a donation.

And finally, “Recycle.” Taking care to dispose of items that can be turned into something else. Metal filing cabinets are make mostly of aluminum and can be easily melted down into something else. A scrap metal yard will usually take care of your file cabinet if there is just no way to use it again. Of course if there is and you simply don’t need it, pass it on to another business so they can benefit and keep raw materials in circulation.

The bottom line is that we small business owners sometimes ONLY think of the money we are saving (and saving money is a GREAT THING!) but let’s give ourselves some additional credit and count ourselves among the people who care about sustainability. It’s EASY to be GREEN!

Here are some links to REUSE, REPURPOSE, or RECYCLE file cabinets and other items you may think of tossing –

How to find used office furniture:

A quick Google will give you some links, but look to craigslist and Facebook marketplace first to find the best deals. Google will also help you find local companies specializing in re-usable office cabinets and more. Here in West Michigan we have great companies like:

https://wmoi.com/pre-owned/pre-owned-file-cabinet/

 And

https://www.kentwoodoffice.com/

Otherwise a national presence like these links may help:

https://www.cortfurnitureoutlet.com/used-furniture/office/files

Pretty ideas for re-purposing old file cabinets -

https://www.bhg.com/decorating/makeovers/furniture-makeovers/how-to-repurpose-filing-cabinets/

If you cannot haul away your old office equipment yourself to a scrapyard and need an environmentally safe company to do it –

https://goloadup.com/what-we-take/office-junk/office-desk-removal/