Today we had some yard work done here at the secret lair of the Trashmaster. We had some guys take out 88 feet of arbor vitae. They were all sorts of efficient, using pickup truck to pull out the trees, then digging the remaining roots out by hand, with occasional use of a chainsaw for who knows what all. I was impressed with how quickly they worked. I was even more impressed that as two guys were removing the arbor vitae, another guy was sweeping up behind them. I wasn’t too crazy about the leaf-blower they used to finish cleaning up the driveway and sidewalk, but okay. The yard looks all kinds of awesome with all the additional light. It may change what sorts of fruit & veg we can grow in the garden, and where the arbor vitae was, we’re eventually putting in a new fence to replace the 60-some year old chain link fence, with an eye towards growing grapes along it.
Tomorrow is garbage & recycling pick up. I cleaned up the kitchen a little bit and took out the last couple of cans to the recycling bin. Where the yard work guys had thrown all of their trash. Not just their pop cans and Gatorade bottles and cigarette butts and fast food lunch wrappers. That would have been understandable.
No, they picked up all the trash that had gotten caught or been thrown into the arbor vitae. Mind you, we’re on a busy street in a not-at-all-fancy part of town, next door to an intersection with no less than three mini-marts, two fast food spots and a taco cart. There was a lot of trash in there. I do appreciate that the guys picked it all up. I do appreciate that they went to throw it out. But into the big, bold blue recycling bin? The one up against the house that says “mixed recycling” all over it? When the garbage can was right up against the arbor vitae, where they’d have had to move it three times just to do their work? Really?
It frustrates me on a variety of levels: If they’d just thrown it all in the garbage, then a handful of recyclables wouldn’t have made it into the recycle/reuse stream. That would have been frustrating enough. And probably not terribly difficult for me to pick them out and put them in the right bin. Dirty, icky, but not terribly difficult. But because so much garbage is in the recycling bin, now a much larger volume of stuff won’t get into the recycle/reuse stream. Unless I dump the entire bin and pick through it by hand, which, yes, I like to pretend I’m the Trashmaster, but I’m really not inclined to go to this effort. So now I’m frustrated and mad, but I’m also lazy and a hypocrite.
-~deep breath~-
I have personal boundaries. I don’t mind separating a handful of recyclable objects from a mass of other recyclable objects. But I draw the line at digging through or dumping out a 60-gallon sticky, dusty, stinky bin for what will probably result in a whole bunch of small bits of garbage (and dust and dirt and branches of holly and cat poop…). Clearly, for the yard work guys, their boundaries included not looking too hard for the garbage can, much less separating recylables from the trash.
We all have boundaries, and our boundaries are in different places for each of us. I am annoyed at being confronted with my boundary and knowing how arbitrary it really is. Given how much we recycle in our household, and given how dirty I’m willing to get while gardening, how much more work is it really to dump out the bin and sort out the recyclables, and sweep up the rest for the garbage? Today, for me, apparently it’s insurmountable. Complaining is easier. Tomorrow morning I will let the recycling collectors take whatever is in the blue bin. Tomorrow afternoon, I will start again.
What is one of your reducing/reusing/recycling boundaries? What would it take to get you past it?
June 23, 2011
June 19, 2011
Easy summer projects for kids
I've been looking around online for ideas for making puppet theaters for my kids at work. I ran across this page by California Mandarins with some neat ideas for reusing the boxes as children's toys & crafts. If you're not into logos, you can always cover the boxes with paper or paint. Of course, you can use just about any kind of box to make these projects too, like for this puppet theater.
If I had a doorway I could use safely and easily, I'd just put up a tension rod with fabric draped over it, but I pretty much need a tabletop model. The puppet theaters I'm trying to decide between right now are this one from Pink and Green Mama and a version of this Shoebox theater. I also like that they are easy to pack up and store, which is a major plus for my classroom/office.
If I had a doorway I could use safely and easily, I'd just put up a tension rod with fabric draped over it, but I pretty much need a tabletop model. The puppet theaters I'm trying to decide between right now are this one from Pink and Green Mama and a version of this Shoebox theater. I also like that they are easy to pack up and store, which is a major plus for my classroom/office.
June 12, 2011
Diggerslist.com
Hey all ~
I thought I’d share a recent find. I just discovered Diggerslist. They’re like Craigslist, except for home and yard improvement only. They take posts on everything from lighting to doors to concrete pavers to old tubs to heavy equipment to hand tools. You can buy, sell, find stuff for free or donate items to Habitat for Humanity. You’ll need an account to make your transactions, but accounts are free. What a great way to rehome items from a remodeling job! Or find items for it! I suspect we’ll be looking here first before buying much for the yard. We’ll probably try posting things here before taking them to Goodwill too.
I have no connection to this organization. I just think it’s a spiffy idea
I thought I’d share a recent find. I just discovered Diggerslist. They’re like Craigslist, except for home and yard improvement only. They take posts on everything from lighting to doors to concrete pavers to old tubs to heavy equipment to hand tools. You can buy, sell, find stuff for free or donate items to Habitat for Humanity. You’ll need an account to make your transactions, but accounts are free. What a great way to rehome items from a remodeling job! Or find items for it! I suspect we’ll be looking here first before buying much for the yard. We’ll probably try posting things here before taking them to Goodwill too.
I have no connection to this organization. I just think it’s a spiffy idea
June 11, 2011
Reusable Sandwich Bags
A while ago, I mentioned I’d bought myself a Snack Taxi.
I’ve really been liking it, but sometimes I don’t have a chance to clean it out before I need to pack the next lunch. The universe must have noticed my little dilemma, because just a week or so ago, I came across a Groupon for ReUsies. How could I pass this up? So I bought a couple.
Sure, if you’re at all crafty, the reusable sandwich bags aren’t hard to make. You can find all sorts of patterns on the internet. As my sewing machine is still packed away at the moment (and my sewing skills questionable at best anyhow), I went ahead and bought the bags.
This one is one of my favorites – I have an apron I made in a “learn how to sew” class made out of the same sushi fabric, and another 3-4 yards of it waiting to become a skirt.
I love that the bags are all large enough to accomodate a wide range of sizes and shapes of bread. I also love that the bags can go straight into the washer (inside out, and on cold/gentle, please!).
I will admit: I do use plastics to transport some lunch items. I know some of you have switched to glass containers. This is a bad idea for me – I am a wee bit on the clumsy side, I throw everything in my backpack which ends up on the floor and bumped around on the bus, and I work in a small room with lots of little kids in and out all day. Having glass in this sort of situation is just asking for bad things to happen. Plus, I already own the plastic and it’s still in good shape, so there’s no reason to throw it out just yet. So, when I take messy stuff, such as the tuna & miracle whip mix that will become my sandwich, I put the tuna mix in a plastic and the bread in a reusable bag, and just make up the sandwich when it’s time to eat. Sandwiches that are less squishy, like PB&J, goes whole into the bag. I haven’t had any problems wiping the PB&J part off the bags yet, or any issues with them staining. The bags have also been great for crackers and chips. Throw in a cloth napkin, some durable tableware and a reusable water bottle, and you are set!
What do you use for packing your lunch?
What are your favorite lunches to pack?
Need some encouragement to take pack your lunch more often? Check out Lunch It, Punch It!
Tons more reusable snack & sandwich bags
I’ve really been liking it, but sometimes I don’t have a chance to clean it out before I need to pack the next lunch. The universe must have noticed my little dilemma, because just a week or so ago, I came across a Groupon for ReUsies. How could I pass this up? So I bought a couple.
Sure, if you’re at all crafty, the reusable sandwich bags aren’t hard to make. You can find all sorts of patterns on the internet. As my sewing machine is still packed away at the moment (and my sewing skills questionable at best anyhow), I went ahead and bought the bags.
This one is one of my favorites – I have an apron I made in a “learn how to sew” class made out of the same sushi fabric, and another 3-4 yards of it waiting to become a skirt.
I love that the bags are all large enough to accomodate a wide range of sizes and shapes of bread. I also love that the bags can go straight into the washer (inside out, and on cold/gentle, please!).
I will admit: I do use plastics to transport some lunch items. I know some of you have switched to glass containers. This is a bad idea for me – I am a wee bit on the clumsy side, I throw everything in my backpack which ends up on the floor and bumped around on the bus, and I work in a small room with lots of little kids in and out all day. Having glass in this sort of situation is just asking for bad things to happen. Plus, I already own the plastic and it’s still in good shape, so there’s no reason to throw it out just yet. So, when I take messy stuff, such as the tuna & miracle whip mix that will become my sandwich, I put the tuna mix in a plastic and the bread in a reusable bag, and just make up the sandwich when it’s time to eat. Sandwiches that are less squishy, like PB&J, goes whole into the bag. I haven’t had any problems wiping the PB&J part off the bags yet, or any issues with them staining. The bags have also been great for crackers and chips. Throw in a cloth napkin, some durable tableware and a reusable water bottle, and you are set!
What do you use for packing your lunch?
What are your favorite lunches to pack?
Need some encouragement to take pack your lunch more often? Check out Lunch It, Punch It!
Tons more reusable snack & sandwich bags
June 9, 2011
Why I garden
It’s come that time of year for the requisite garden posts. Which is fine with me - it means I can put off weeding for another day in order to write.
Why do you garden?
Our garden is an endless series of science demos. Watching the garden grow, trying to figure out what’s going on in it, trying to achieve certain outcomes, we have learned about biology, chemistry, the odd bit of physics, meteorology, climatology, geology, entomology and more than a little about human physiology.
Our garden is entertainment. We don’t just work in the garden then pick the produce. We also walk amongst the beds just to look. Sometimes I get down on the ground to watch the bugs or to get a closer look at the flowers. We sit outside to watch the birds, to watch the cats stretch on the grass, to see the butterflies dart and dip through the branches. In nicer weather we’ll sit outside to watch the sun set. We have important and heartfelt discussions, we have silly chats, sometimes we don’t say anything. We like showing off the garden. We like sharing it with people who garden and with people who’ve never seen an artichoke outside of a restaurant before. We have parties under the spring dogwood flowers and we have parties to harvest the horseradish.
Our garden allows us, asks us to learn new skills. I picked up a power drill for the first time to make my first raised garden beds. I’m learning to can, freeze, dehydrate and pickle some of what we grow in the garden so that it will last past the season. I’m learning about composting by doing, and about worm bins and raising chickens in anticipation of doing.
Our garden is great therapy. I’ve got a family history of cyclic depression. Getting outside in the sunshine, moving around, watching things grow helps me be a happier, healthier, functional me. It helps get me off my butt, out of the house, away from the TV. The garden has become one of my Happy Places. It’s exercise too. Digging around in the dirt, clipping tree branches, walking the compost from the bin to each of the plants, hauling around new plants and moving older plants. The garden gives us reasons to look forward – planning the new seed list, the first green sprouts and buds of the year, picking all the fabulous fruits & veggies, waiting for the mason bees to hatch from their eggs, looking in spring for all the birds who’d left us for the winter. The garden also gives us reasons to look back – the blueberries we ate as soon as they were ripe, discovering not just the pea pods and mustard leaves were tasty but so were the pea shoots and mustard flowers, how maybe we can make changes to how we grow the pumpkins so we can get a few more of them.
Our garden teaches us patience. Even if we wanted to do it all at once, we can’t afford to replace the rusted busted fence and arbor vitae with the nice new pretty fence and grape vines at the same time as we’re laying down the hazelnut shells for garden paths along with paying someone to dig out the blackberry infestation in the backyard (as well as next door and in the property behind us…). Nor can we do all the weeding and pruning and mowing and planting at once as it’s just not physically possible for either of us. Our wallets and bodies have limitations that require us to prioritize our projects. What do we need done right now? What do we want done right now? What do we need to drop everything for because the weather is only going to be good for two more days before the rain sets back in?
Our garden is full of satisfaction. There’s nothing quite like digging up potatoes with your own hands. Making carrot pickles that come out just right. Cooking up pasta sauce with your own tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs. Watching the flowers open just a little bit more each day of the week until they’re a riot of bloom. Knowing we’ve kept the garden organic – no pesticides, no artificial fertilizers. Knowing it’s okay for the little kids to roll around face-first in the grass and for friends to try a huckleberry straight off the bush.
Our garden is a pretty good place to be.
Why do you garden?
Why do you garden?
Our garden is an endless series of science demos. Watching the garden grow, trying to figure out what’s going on in it, trying to achieve certain outcomes, we have learned about biology, chemistry, the odd bit of physics, meteorology, climatology, geology, entomology and more than a little about human physiology.
Our garden is entertainment. We don’t just work in the garden then pick the produce. We also walk amongst the beds just to look. Sometimes I get down on the ground to watch the bugs or to get a closer look at the flowers. We sit outside to watch the birds, to watch the cats stretch on the grass, to see the butterflies dart and dip through the branches. In nicer weather we’ll sit outside to watch the sun set. We have important and heartfelt discussions, we have silly chats, sometimes we don’t say anything. We like showing off the garden. We like sharing it with people who garden and with people who’ve never seen an artichoke outside of a restaurant before. We have parties under the spring dogwood flowers and we have parties to harvest the horseradish.
Our garden allows us, asks us to learn new skills. I picked up a power drill for the first time to make my first raised garden beds. I’m learning to can, freeze, dehydrate and pickle some of what we grow in the garden so that it will last past the season. I’m learning about composting by doing, and about worm bins and raising chickens in anticipation of doing.
Our garden is great therapy. I’ve got a family history of cyclic depression. Getting outside in the sunshine, moving around, watching things grow helps me be a happier, healthier, functional me. It helps get me off my butt, out of the house, away from the TV. The garden has become one of my Happy Places. It’s exercise too. Digging around in the dirt, clipping tree branches, walking the compost from the bin to each of the plants, hauling around new plants and moving older plants. The garden gives us reasons to look forward – planning the new seed list, the first green sprouts and buds of the year, picking all the fabulous fruits & veggies, waiting for the mason bees to hatch from their eggs, looking in spring for all the birds who’d left us for the winter. The garden also gives us reasons to look back – the blueberries we ate as soon as they were ripe, discovering not just the pea pods and mustard leaves were tasty but so were the pea shoots and mustard flowers, how maybe we can make changes to how we grow the pumpkins so we can get a few more of them.
Our garden teaches us patience. Even if we wanted to do it all at once, we can’t afford to replace the rusted busted fence and arbor vitae with the nice new pretty fence and grape vines at the same time as we’re laying down the hazelnut shells for garden paths along with paying someone to dig out the blackberry infestation in the backyard (as well as next door and in the property behind us…). Nor can we do all the weeding and pruning and mowing and planting at once as it’s just not physically possible for either of us. Our wallets and bodies have limitations that require us to prioritize our projects. What do we need done right now? What do we want done right now? What do we need to drop everything for because the weather is only going to be good for two more days before the rain sets back in?
Our garden is full of satisfaction. There’s nothing quite like digging up potatoes with your own hands. Making carrot pickles that come out just right. Cooking up pasta sauce with your own tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs. Watching the flowers open just a little bit more each day of the week until they’re a riot of bloom. Knowing we’ve kept the garden organic – no pesticides, no artificial fertilizers. Knowing it’s okay for the little kids to roll around face-first in the grass and for friends to try a huckleberry straight off the bush.
Our garden is a pretty good place to be.
Why do you garden?
June 4, 2011
Curbside: Paper
“Trashmaster”, you say, “I read your post about where my curbside recycling goes. I even read about putting my glass out on the curb.”
Awesome! I say. Thanks for reading!
“Trashmaster,” you say, “I’m ready for something more.”
Today’s feature: Paper
Paper is crazy-easy to recycle. You can use your junk mail, some water, some old screen door mesh and a blender to make new paper right now. Try this site or this one.
Using recycled paper to make new paper products uses only about 60% of the energy it takes using virgin materials. That means less air pollution, less water pollution, less energy used, and fewer trees cut down.
Right. First things first. What does your hauler say about recycling paper? Not your neighbor, not your co-worker, not your brother’s wife’s weird cousin Larry, but your hauler. (Don’t know who that is? Type “recycling in [your city]” into a search engine. Go ahead. It’s okay - I’ll wait.) Find out if your hauler requires you to separate types of paper products or accepts “mixed paper”. This is important.
Got your local recycling info? Fantastic! If your local hauler requires you to separate your paper products, PLEASE DO THAT. It makes life simpler for the hauler, it makes life simpler for the paper mill, and it means more of your waste products will get recycled.
Here’s what you need to know about recycling “mixed paper”:
-any color of paper can go in. Seriously. For reals. I know, there used to be restrictions like “no goldenrod”. Not anymore.
-you don’t need to remove labels or staples or the spirals from notebooks or paper clips (though paper clips are easy to remove – and reuse)
-you don’t need to remove the ‘windows’ from envelopes
YES: paper bags (no food stains!), cereal and cracker boxes, junk mail (remove free samples and sample credit cards first), cardboard, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, telephone books, catalogs, magazines, newspapers and their inserts, copier paper, greeting cards, wrapping paper (as long as it doesn’t have foil!), milk and juice cartons (even if they feel waxy - they're a weird exception).
CHECK FIRST: corrugated cardboard. Some haulers are fine with mixing it, others want it separate. Also, if you have a lot of shredded paper (like, from a home or small business) – check with your hauler about the size of the shreds and how much the hauler will accept curbside.
NO: Do not put these in your recycling cart. These materials often have chemicals in the paperboard, food residue or other icky chemicals that get in the way of making new paper products.
-paper plates & cups (food residue, and they are often waxed), wrapping paper with foil, carbon paper, tissues, takeout food containers, hardback books (adhesives in the covers and spine), pizza boxes (these usually have food residue)
Freezer food boxes – if the box is at all waxy, DO NOT PLACE IT IN THE RECYCLING BIN. Even if it says “recycle me” on it, just throw it out. There’s a very good chance it has chemicals in it to protect the food inside, and those chemicals are NO GOOD for the paper recycling process. Hopefully this will change soon.
Don’t shred all your paper! Some folks worry about sensitive documents being harvested by icky people. Fair enough. But just shred the stuff with actual personal information. You don’t need to shred the entire contents of the envelope to keep someone from gathering your account number.
The problem with shredding is that it cuts the reusable life of the paper down. Paper can be recycled 4-7 times before the fibers are too short to bind together and form new sheets. Shredding paper means the fibers are cut shorter that much sooner, making for more waste sloughed off in the paper-making process.
More fun facts about paper recycling:
About 1/3 of all papermaking materials in the US comes from recycled paper products.
Recycled paper fibers get made into new products such as new office and notebook paper, egg cartons, corrugated cardboard, paper money, coffee filters, fiber pots for seedlings, bandages, insulation, and much more.
According to the Paper Industry Association Council, “every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space”. That’s a lot! Want more paper recycling statistics? (and really, who doesn’t?) Read this.
*Consider reading:
Promoting office recycling
Materials for elementary school teachers (or parents)
Paper (and other) recycling facts
Lots of paper recycling info from the EPA
Consider reading the rest of the "curbside" series. Just click on the “curbside” tag just underneath this post
Awesome! I say. Thanks for reading!
“Trashmaster,” you say, “I’m ready for something more.”
Today’s feature: Paper
Paper is crazy-easy to recycle. You can use your junk mail, some water, some old screen door mesh and a blender to make new paper right now. Try this site or this one.
Using recycled paper to make new paper products uses only about 60% of the energy it takes using virgin materials. That means less air pollution, less water pollution, less energy used, and fewer trees cut down.
Right. First things first. What does your hauler say about recycling paper? Not your neighbor, not your co-worker, not your brother’s wife’s weird cousin Larry, but your hauler. (Don’t know who that is? Type “recycling in [your city]” into a search engine. Go ahead. It’s okay - I’ll wait.) Find out if your hauler requires you to separate types of paper products or accepts “mixed paper”. This is important.
Got your local recycling info? Fantastic! If your local hauler requires you to separate your paper products, PLEASE DO THAT. It makes life simpler for the hauler, it makes life simpler for the paper mill, and it means more of your waste products will get recycled.
Here’s what you need to know about recycling “mixed paper”:
-any color of paper can go in. Seriously. For reals. I know, there used to be restrictions like “no goldenrod”. Not anymore.
-you don’t need to remove labels or staples or the spirals from notebooks or paper clips (though paper clips are easy to remove – and reuse)
-you don’t need to remove the ‘windows’ from envelopes
YES: paper bags (no food stains!), cereal and cracker boxes, junk mail (remove free samples and sample credit cards first), cardboard, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, telephone books, catalogs, magazines, newspapers and their inserts, copier paper, greeting cards, wrapping paper (as long as it doesn’t have foil!), milk and juice cartons (even if they feel waxy - they're a weird exception).
CHECK FIRST: corrugated cardboard. Some haulers are fine with mixing it, others want it separate. Also, if you have a lot of shredded paper (like, from a home or small business) – check with your hauler about the size of the shreds and how much the hauler will accept curbside.
NO: Do not put these in your recycling cart. These materials often have chemicals in the paperboard, food residue or other icky chemicals that get in the way of making new paper products.
-paper plates & cups (food residue, and they are often waxed), wrapping paper with foil, carbon paper, tissues, takeout food containers, hardback books (adhesives in the covers and spine), pizza boxes (these usually have food residue)
Freezer food boxes – if the box is at all waxy, DO NOT PLACE IT IN THE RECYCLING BIN. Even if it says “recycle me” on it, just throw it out. There’s a very good chance it has chemicals in it to protect the food inside, and those chemicals are NO GOOD for the paper recycling process. Hopefully this will change soon.
Don’t shred all your paper! Some folks worry about sensitive documents being harvested by icky people. Fair enough. But just shred the stuff with actual personal information. You don’t need to shred the entire contents of the envelope to keep someone from gathering your account number.
The problem with shredding is that it cuts the reusable life of the paper down. Paper can be recycled 4-7 times before the fibers are too short to bind together and form new sheets. Shredding paper means the fibers are cut shorter that much sooner, making for more waste sloughed off in the paper-making process.
More fun facts about paper recycling:
About 1/3 of all papermaking materials in the US comes from recycled paper products.
Recycled paper fibers get made into new products such as new office and notebook paper, egg cartons, corrugated cardboard, paper money, coffee filters, fiber pots for seedlings, bandages, insulation, and much more.
According to the Paper Industry Association Council, “every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space”. That’s a lot! Want more paper recycling statistics? (and really, who doesn’t?) Read this.
*Consider reading:
Promoting office recycling
Materials for elementary school teachers (or parents)
Paper (and other) recycling facts
Lots of paper recycling info from the EPA
Consider reading the rest of the "curbside" series. Just click on the “curbside” tag just underneath this post
May 28, 2011
Zipcar errands, block styrofoam and household hazardous waste
Yesterday was quite a day. It was one of the few days Mr. Trashmaster and I have off work together that doesn't involve one of us taking a sick day (he’s got a wacky work week that doesn’t much match up with my work week). We keep talking about how "there's so much we could get done if we just had a day off together once in a while!" Today was that day.
We both got to sleep in. An awesome start right there. We also *didn't* get distracted by having a long involved breakfast - we got right to doing errands. Go, us!
We rented a Zipcar truck for errands. We have only occasional need for a truck, and Mr. Trashmaster figured out that even if we found a $500 truck, we’d still likely have to put $1000 on it in maintenance before the year as out, plus we’d have to insure it and feed it gas. Going through Zipcar costs us about $85 to join and not quite $8/hour or $71 per day. Not bad when we really only need a truck a handful of times a year and for about 3-4 hours each time.
While he picked up the truck, I finished putting bunches of cardboard down on the garden paths – I posted about this just recently. I started some laundry too.
We took household hazardous waste out to the Metro South material transfer station (as it was closer to everything we were doing than Metro Central). That was mostly old paint, old cleaning fluids we don't use anymore, old lawn fertilizer, and some bottles missing labels - stuff you don't want going down the drain into the water table!
We took a bunch of block styrofoam to the Recology facility on Foster Road. We also took bunch of stuff to Goodwill including stuff for e-cycling. We were going to take the computer parts to Free Geek, but it was all sitting uncovered in the back of the pickup, and the rain was moving in fast. Goodwill can sell the usable computer parts and e-cycle the rest.
Holy smokes, we took care of our errands all in one go! Last, off to dim sum, followed by hard-earned naps with a side order of cats!
We both got to sleep in. An awesome start right there. We also *didn't* get distracted by having a long involved breakfast - we got right to doing errands. Go, us!
We rented a Zipcar truck for errands. We have only occasional need for a truck, and Mr. Trashmaster figured out that even if we found a $500 truck, we’d still likely have to put $1000 on it in maintenance before the year as out, plus we’d have to insure it and feed it gas. Going through Zipcar costs us about $85 to join and not quite $8/hour or $71 per day. Not bad when we really only need a truck a handful of times a year and for about 3-4 hours each time.
While he picked up the truck, I finished putting bunches of cardboard down on the garden paths – I posted about this just recently. I started some laundry too.
We took household hazardous waste out to the Metro South material transfer station (as it was closer to everything we were doing than Metro Central). That was mostly old paint, old cleaning fluids we don't use anymore, old lawn fertilizer, and some bottles missing labels - stuff you don't want going down the drain into the water table!
We took a bunch of block styrofoam to the Recology facility on Foster Road. We also took bunch of stuff to Goodwill including stuff for e-cycling. We were going to take the computer parts to Free Geek, but it was all sitting uncovered in the back of the pickup, and the rain was moving in fast. Goodwill can sell the usable computer parts and e-cycle the rest.
Holy smokes, we took care of our errands all in one go! Last, off to dim sum, followed by hard-earned naps with a side order of cats!
May 24, 2011
What to do with Cardboard Boxes?
So I’m all moved in and mostly unpacked. What to do with all those cardboard boxes?
If you really just want them gone, flatten them and put them out curbside on your regular pickup day (check with your local hauler for any size restrictions)
But that's no fun!
*Let your kids at them! Boxes make great rocket ships, trains, race cars, buses, and forts. Make a puppet theater! Make a lemonade stand!
*Use them to haul all your extra stuff to your favorite charity resale shop!
*Make furniture
*Use the boxes to haul your non-curbside recyclables and household hazardous waste to an appropriate facility, such as Metro’s garbage and recycling transfer stations.
*U-Haul has a “Customer Connect” program to help connect people looking to sell, buy or giveaway cardboard boxes. Some locations have a “leave a box, take a box” area. I haven’t had much luck with this in the past, but it’s worth checking into. U-Haul will also buy back any unused boxes purchased from their stores. Just take them back along with your receipt. I had to do this because I bought a pack of the wrong size boxes. The guys at the store were fabulous.
*Make a cardboard box oven
* Make a cardboard guitar!
I used almost all of mine in the garden. We’ve been working on building raised beds in the front yard, reducing the grassy area and increasing the fruit & vegetable garden. One way to kill the grass under the raised beds is to put layers of newspaper or cardboard down before piling the dirt inside. If we’d been working on the raised beds in fall or winter, I’d put the cardboard down, dump the dirt on top, and just leave it be. But we’re working on this in late spring/early summer and we want to plant soon, and because we can only work on the garden about one or two days a week, we put cardboard under the boxes only until we can get the truckloads of dirt transported to the house and we know we’re going to fill all the boxes. At that point, we’ve been taking the cardboard back out and lining the boxes with newspaper instead. Yes, it sounds like a lot of double-work, but even two or three weeks has been helping to smother the grass until we can get the dirt into the boxes. We’re also laying down hazelnut shells for pathways between the boxes. Again, we’re putting down cardboard first, only we’re leaving that underneath the shells, as we’re not planting anything there. The cardboard will eventually decompose, and hopefully by then the grass will mostly have been killed off. Yes, it will come back, but more slowly, and we’ll have a chance to keep up with pulling it out.
If you really just want them gone, flatten them and put them out curbside on your regular pickup day (check with your local hauler for any size restrictions)
But that's no fun!
*Let your kids at them! Boxes make great rocket ships, trains, race cars, buses, and forts. Make a puppet theater! Make a lemonade stand!
*Use them to haul all your extra stuff to your favorite charity resale shop!
*Make furniture
*Use the boxes to haul your non-curbside recyclables and household hazardous waste to an appropriate facility, such as Metro’s garbage and recycling transfer stations.
*U-Haul has a “Customer Connect” program to help connect people looking to sell, buy or giveaway cardboard boxes. Some locations have a “leave a box, take a box” area. I haven’t had much luck with this in the past, but it’s worth checking into. U-Haul will also buy back any unused boxes purchased from their stores. Just take them back along with your receipt. I had to do this because I bought a pack of the wrong size boxes. The guys at the store were fabulous.
*Make a cardboard box oven
* Make a cardboard guitar!
I used almost all of mine in the garden. We’ve been working on building raised beds in the front yard, reducing the grassy area and increasing the fruit & vegetable garden. One way to kill the grass under the raised beds is to put layers of newspaper or cardboard down before piling the dirt inside. If we’d been working on the raised beds in fall or winter, I’d put the cardboard down, dump the dirt on top, and just leave it be. But we’re working on this in late spring/early summer and we want to plant soon, and because we can only work on the garden about one or two days a week, we put cardboard under the boxes only until we can get the truckloads of dirt transported to the house and we know we’re going to fill all the boxes. At that point, we’ve been taking the cardboard back out and lining the boxes with newspaper instead. Yes, it sounds like a lot of double-work, but even two or three weeks has been helping to smother the grass until we can get the dirt into the boxes. We’re also laying down hazelnut shells for pathways between the boxes. Again, we’re putting down cardboard first, only we’re leaving that underneath the shells, as we’re not planting anything there. The cardboard will eventually decompose, and hopefully by then the grass will mostly have been killed off. Yes, it will come back, but more slowly, and we’ll have a chance to keep up with pulling it out.
GET RID OF IT part 2
“Trashmaster”, you say, “thank you for all the great ideas for helping me get rid of my extra stuff around the house.”
You’re welcome!
“But Trashmaster,” you say, “I have stuff to get rid of that doesn’t really go any of the places you wrote about.”
Not to worry. I’m not quite finished yet.
“Whew!”
When established households combine, as in the case of myself and Mr. Trashmaster, there is often furniture that needs re-homing. I sent my couch, coffee table, microwave oven, a small cabinet on wheels, and my TV to Community Warehouse. These fine folks collect and distribute furniture and other household items to low-income families. Community Warehouse works with the families’ caseworkers, so they know just what kind of items to give to each family. Because I had large items, and I was willing to work with their schedule, I was able to arrange to have my stuff picked up. They ask for a $10 donation to help pay for the truck. Totally worth it so Mr. Trashmaster and I didn’t have to figure out how to get all that stuff in the back of our car (and I didn’t have to carry the coffee table across town on the bus!).
Here in Portland, we sometimes get flyers in the mail or on the doorstep reminding us that Volunteers of America will be by on a certain date to pick up materials. If you choose to donate to them, just set out your items on the curb or let them know it’s on your doorstep. In the case of larger items you’d rather not leave on the curb or if the weather won’t let you put your stuff out safely, call to arrange a time so you can meet the driver at the door.
Do you have leftovers from a remodeling project or from building a shed or deck, maybe? Donate to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore or The ReBuilding Center. Got a spare tool box full of tools, or even some extra screwdrivers? Find your local tool library, like the Southeast Portland Tool Library. Don’t forget to recycle that leftover paint!
I’ve also posted about what to do with electronics here.
And as always, in the Portland/Metro region, if you’re not sure what to do with it but you just know it shouldn’t go in the garbage, call Metro’s Recycling Hotline at 503-234-3000.
You’re welcome!
“But Trashmaster,” you say, “I have stuff to get rid of that doesn’t really go any of the places you wrote about.”
Not to worry. I’m not quite finished yet.
“Whew!”
When established households combine, as in the case of myself and Mr. Trashmaster, there is often furniture that needs re-homing. I sent my couch, coffee table, microwave oven, a small cabinet on wheels, and my TV to Community Warehouse. These fine folks collect and distribute furniture and other household items to low-income families. Community Warehouse works with the families’ caseworkers, so they know just what kind of items to give to each family. Because I had large items, and I was willing to work with their schedule, I was able to arrange to have my stuff picked up. They ask for a $10 donation to help pay for the truck. Totally worth it so Mr. Trashmaster and I didn’t have to figure out how to get all that stuff in the back of our car (and I didn’t have to carry the coffee table across town on the bus!).
Here in Portland, we sometimes get flyers in the mail or on the doorstep reminding us that Volunteers of America will be by on a certain date to pick up materials. If you choose to donate to them, just set out your items on the curb or let them know it’s on your doorstep. In the case of larger items you’d rather not leave on the curb or if the weather won’t let you put your stuff out safely, call to arrange a time so you can meet the driver at the door.
Do you have leftovers from a remodeling project or from building a shed or deck, maybe? Donate to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore or The ReBuilding Center. Got a spare tool box full of tools, or even some extra screwdrivers? Find your local tool library, like the Southeast Portland Tool Library. Don’t forget to recycle that leftover paint!
I’ve also posted about what to do with electronics here.
And as always, in the Portland/Metro region, if you’re not sure what to do with it but you just know it shouldn’t go in the garbage, call Metro’s Recycling Hotline at 503-234-3000.
GET RID OF IT! Part 1
Not only was I sick for close to three weeks, but I’m also still unpacking from a recent move – Mr Trashmaster and I recently combined households.
First things first. The best way to move all your stuff is to have less stuff to move. Want to “live more simply”? Don’t take all that crap with you! Mind you, I’d been living in a 560 square foot house for the last few years, but I still found plenty of stuff to get rid of.
“This sounds good”, you say. “I’m interested in having less crap and more space in my home and my life. But I also don’t want to chuck it all in a landfill.”
Heavens no, I say. You should know me better than that by now. If your stuff is in good shape, it’s entirely possible to a bit of money through yard sales or Craigslist. I don’t usually have much luck with this, but that’s me. I know of people who are, essentially, professional yard-sale hosts and Craisglisters. Me, I’d rather throw it in the back of the car, take it somewhere I know it will do someone some good, drop it off and be done with it.
If you’re moving house, or if you’re just spring (er, summer cleaning), here are some places to take – or send – your stuff.
-Goodwill Tried and true, and probably the easiest for most of us, as there’s a Goodwill less than 10 miles away in almost every city of reasonable size. We all know Goodwill as the place we take all our crap when we spring clean and where we go when we need quick, cheap Halloween costumes. But do you know what Goodwill does with your stuff and your money? Goodwill “offers customized job training, employment placement and other services to people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges.” They help their clients (veterans, immigrants, seniors, people with disabilities, youth, etc) learn English, earn their GEDs, learn to manage their money, and much more. They also coordinate programs to mentor at-risk youth to help them stay in school, stay out of gangs, and generally make a positive difference with their lives.
Of course, there are many other charities you can donate household items to. If you have a favorite cause, and your stuff matches their requests, go for it. I mention Goodwill because it’s super-easy to find one near you, they take a wide variety of items, and because while everybody I know has heard of them, almost no one I know is familiar with the work Goodwill does outside of running the shops.
-Donate to a local school or children’s program Schools love children’s clothing of almost all sizes, especially for children 6th grade and younger. You would be amazed at how fast the office goes through spare clothing for lunch-time mishaps, “accidents”, paint spills, all sorts of things. T-shirts and button-up shirts are great for art smocks. After school programs can also use clothing. Have a bunch of office supplies? Especially in these lean economic times, teachers will often spend their own money to make sure their students have enough pencils, crayons, notebooks, rulers and glue for the year. Got an extra backpack or two? Students need a way to cart all their stuff to and from school, and not every family can afford to replace them as they wear out. Got sports equipment you aren’t using anymore? See if an after-school program can use it – maybe the Boys & Girls Club or YMCA.
-As long as we’re on the subject of sports equipment Have you heard of Play It Again Sports? They are a national retail chain that buys and resells used sports stuff along with new stuff. (Remember them when you’re looking to start up that New Year’s Resolution too). Or Sports Gift? They are a nonprofit that redistributes gear to more than 40,000 underprivileged children worldwide each year.
-Craft materials If you’ve got yarn or paint or paper or wood or bubble wrap or door knobs or just about anything that could POSSIBLY be used in an art project, or resources on how to do various kinds of crafts, try donating it to a school or a program like SCRAP. This organization “inspires creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing educational programs and affordable materials to the community”.
-Freecycle If you’ve got it, there’s probably someone out there looking for it.
First things first. The best way to move all your stuff is to have less stuff to move. Want to “live more simply”? Don’t take all that crap with you! Mind you, I’d been living in a 560 square foot house for the last few years, but I still found plenty of stuff to get rid of.
“This sounds good”, you say. “I’m interested in having less crap and more space in my home and my life. But I also don’t want to chuck it all in a landfill.”
Heavens no, I say. You should know me better than that by now. If your stuff is in good shape, it’s entirely possible to a bit of money through yard sales or Craigslist. I don’t usually have much luck with this, but that’s me. I know of people who are, essentially, professional yard-sale hosts and Craisglisters. Me, I’d rather throw it in the back of the car, take it somewhere I know it will do someone some good, drop it off and be done with it.
If you’re moving house, or if you’re just spring (er, summer cleaning), here are some places to take – or send – your stuff.
-Goodwill Tried and true, and probably the easiest for most of us, as there’s a Goodwill less than 10 miles away in almost every city of reasonable size. We all know Goodwill as the place we take all our crap when we spring clean and where we go when we need quick, cheap Halloween costumes. But do you know what Goodwill does with your stuff and your money? Goodwill “offers customized job training, employment placement and other services to people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges.” They help their clients (veterans, immigrants, seniors, people with disabilities, youth, etc) learn English, earn their GEDs, learn to manage their money, and much more. They also coordinate programs to mentor at-risk youth to help them stay in school, stay out of gangs, and generally make a positive difference with their lives.
Of course, there are many other charities you can donate household items to. If you have a favorite cause, and your stuff matches their requests, go for it. I mention Goodwill because it’s super-easy to find one near you, they take a wide variety of items, and because while everybody I know has heard of them, almost no one I know is familiar with the work Goodwill does outside of running the shops.
-Donate to a local school or children’s program Schools love children’s clothing of almost all sizes, especially for children 6th grade and younger. You would be amazed at how fast the office goes through spare clothing for lunch-time mishaps, “accidents”, paint spills, all sorts of things. T-shirts and button-up shirts are great for art smocks. After school programs can also use clothing. Have a bunch of office supplies? Especially in these lean economic times, teachers will often spend their own money to make sure their students have enough pencils, crayons, notebooks, rulers and glue for the year. Got an extra backpack or two? Students need a way to cart all their stuff to and from school, and not every family can afford to replace them as they wear out. Got sports equipment you aren’t using anymore? See if an after-school program can use it – maybe the Boys & Girls Club or YMCA.
-As long as we’re on the subject of sports equipment Have you heard of Play It Again Sports? They are a national retail chain that buys and resells used sports stuff along with new stuff. (Remember them when you’re looking to start up that New Year’s Resolution too). Or Sports Gift? They are a nonprofit that redistributes gear to more than 40,000 underprivileged children worldwide each year.
-Craft materials If you’ve got yarn or paint or paper or wood or bubble wrap or door knobs or just about anything that could POSSIBLY be used in an art project, or resources on how to do various kinds of crafts, try donating it to a school or a program like SCRAP. This organization “inspires creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing educational programs and affordable materials to the community”.
-Freecycle If you’ve got it, there’s probably someone out there looking for it.
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