Couple Vows: Waste-Free for a Year

Source: Flickr user D'Arcy Norman

Amy and Adam in Dallas, Oregon decided to go completely waste-free for a year. This summer they began a pledge to produce zero garbage for a year as an example of how small changes in our behavior can create large scale change if many of us act. They estimate they’ll keep one and a half tons out of the landfill this year. Multiply that by whole communities and the numbers add up quickly.

Here are a few of the things they’re doing to eliminate their garbage:

• Avoid non-recyclable items
• Recycle everything possible
• Reusable bags for shopping
• Start compost bin in backyard
• Use only recyclable batteries
• Grow their own produce
• Make items such as bread, cheese, butter, granola and soap
• Shop locally at the butcher, dairy and direct from farmers
• Donate reusable items to thrift stores

A few things are trickier to recycle such as medical waste, cat litter and toothpaste tubes which they address. Originally spotted the couple’s story on TerraPass.com and you can check out Amy and Adam’s blog Green Garbage Project and watch their progress. They also have a valuable Tips and Tricks section.

15 Everyday Items to Recycle for Cash

Source: EcoSalon.com

Recycling is good, but getting a bit of cash makes it even better. From the usual cans and bottles to computers, cell phones and printer cartridges there’s money lying around your house for items you’re not using.

Here’s a list of items you can turn in for cash along with places to recycle your electronic gadgets from EcoSalon.com.

The Art of Repurposing

Re-purposing items can create something special while saving both money and space in the landfill. Suitcases become end tables, light fixtures out of canisters – let your imagination run wild with your drill and hot glue gun.

This piece on the Simply Stated blog has a few photos to start you thinking about new uses for old items in a fabulous way. Link

Tool Lending Library

Photo: Flickr

How often do you need a tile cutter, a ladder or hedge clippers? If your answer is ‘not very often’ then you could use a tool lending library, and so could a lot of your neighbors.

This is a community project that the Phinney Neighborhood Association in North Seattle has operated for years. Low cost rentals for tools by the week ($10/wk. for a tile cutter) means I don’t have to buy one (and store it and maintain it) and the money stays in the neighborhood rather than in the pocket of a big box store.

I think every neighborhood needs a tool lending library. I’m filing this under community projects.

Slow Cooker Magic

I’ll just put it right out there – I don’t cook very often. Once in a while the mood moves me, but usually not so much. The slow cooker I got at a neighborhood yard sale is my new best friend. Soup, stew stroganoff, chili, BBQ and even bread can be cooked in a slow cooker. It’s like magic!

Almost every thrift store has slow cookers regularly, but even buying new they’re a great deal. You can load them up with ingredients in the morning, turn it on, and by dinner time you’ve got a great home-cooked meal saving both money and time.

SlowandSimple.com is one of many sites that have hundreds of slow cooker recipes. Yum! Link

5 Ways to Live Rent Free

Housing is almost everyone’s biggest monthly expense. What if you could eliminate that? Erin Burt has an article on Kiplinger.com that outlines five ways to live without rent, from house-sitting to being a roomate that barters chores for rent. You may find a way to save a big chunk of change on your monthly expenses – and you could even end up living in a much nicer place than you could regularly afford. What’s not to like about that kind of upgrade?

The article has a resource list and suggestions for finding that perfect gig.  Link

Pay It Forward

I’ve been on the road the last few weeks and found myself sitting in the cozy Willamette Coffee House in West Linn, Oregon (great coffee+ pastries+happy high energy baristas+wi-fi=perfect.) There I witnessed pay it forward in action.

A regular customer had filled up her coffee punch card to earn a free beverage. Rather than take the free drink, she requested they give it away to someone else. The guy behind her in line already had his money out when they asked him if he wanted a free coffee drink. He said “Yeah, sure!” and them promptly put the money he had in his hand in the tip jar. A happy moment for all in the cafe.

Your Money or Your Life

Source: YourMoneyOrYourLife.org

This book changed how I looked at money forever. The recently revised 3rd edition is a step-by-step guide on how to simplify your life and get on the road to financial independence.

Vikki Robin and Joe Dominguez created a proven guide to help you thoroughly examine your relationship to money, how you earn it and how you spend it. Then it helps you get on track to where you want to go.

If you’re ready for the shift to simplify your life, this is the place to start.

Link

The Telluride Free Box

Visiting friends in Telluride, Colorado this week, I have to go by one of my favorite places in town – the Free Box. You never know what you’ll find – shoes, clothing, sports gear, even a flat screen TV from someone moving out of town and swooped up immediately.

It’s a great way to recycle what you no longer use, or to find something useful. I think every town and neighborhood needs their own version of a Free Box.

DIY Wind Generator for under $200

Photo: Mike Davis

Here’s a step-by-step guide to building your own wind generator made out of basic materials like PVC pipe and sheet metal. Author Mike Davis explains how he started on this project:

I started by Googling for information on home-built wind turbines. There are a lot of them out there in an amazing variety of designs and complexities. All of them had five things in common though:

1. A generator
2. Blades
3. A mounting that keeps it turned into the wind
4. A tower to get it up into the wind
5. Batteries and an electronic control system

I reduced the project to just five little systems. If attacked one at a time, the project didn’t seem too terribly difficult. I decided to start with the generator. My online research showed that a lot of people were building their own generators. That seemed a bit too complicated, at least for a first effort. Others were using surplus permanent magnet DC motors as generators in their projects. This looked like a simpler way to go. So I began looking into what motors were best for the job.

This easy to follow guide is available on Mike’s website. Link.