Tag Archives: Recycling

Saving Christmas

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Whenever I go to my Mom’s house, she is compelled to show me all the things she’s working on. For years I’ve suggested she get a blog because it gratifies the “I MUST SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE” feelings and may actually inspire others to do the same whatever it is she’s working on. In a perfect world, anyway. This blog definitely satisfies my hereditary urge to share everything I’m working on with humanity. The added bonus is that I’m not constantly pulling my husband away from what he’s doing with a “Lookie! Come see what I did!” And yes, I also realize this must stem from my childhood where I was in constant search of approval from my parents – mostly my father, I suppose.

In my previous post I mentioned how much I hate commercial wrapping paper. Every year it really gets to me what a waste it is. Laziness, however, trumps ingenuity and I end up throwing it away like everyone else. Not this year. This year I’ve salvaged a good portion of otherwise useless Christmas accoutrements.

Pictured above I have bows, ribbon, twine, wrapping paper, boxes, and tissue paper. OK, so what am I going to do with all this? Were I about 150 years old and into scrapbooking, I’d have dozens of options, but I’m not. Therefore, the plan is simple. We’re moving in about a month so the wrapping paper will be used for packing material. The tissue paper that’s in good shape will be used again next year as will the boxes and bows. The bows, even if they’re not fluffy anymore, can be taken apart, ironed and made into new bows. I seem to always need ribbon and twine for various projects so I’ll keep that around for uses as needed. ta da!

Everything that was in too bad of shape to save I put in the recycling bin – that is, whatever the city accepts. They can’t take everything and unfortunately, wrapping and tissue paper must have all traces of scotch tape removed before it’s put in the bin. What a pain. I actually didn’t bother and put it in anyway.

All in all, the sorting project took about an hour. If you’re OCD like me, it’s actually kind of fun and it satisfies my hunter/gatherer instincts. We still have quite a bit of new wrapping paper left over, so I’m pretty sure we won’t have to buy wrapping paper for a few years. A minor cost bonus is that we’re saving an estimated $20-$30 on wrapping paper and bows for next year. This means someone could get an extra present next year.

AJB and I aren’t on the skids or anything like that. We do fine. Some years better than fine. The reason I do this is because I feel a sense of accomplishment in diverting trash from the landfills and making use of things we’d otherwise throw away. The monetary savings are minimal for us, but I’m sure others might not think so and for some people $30 is a big deal. And let’s face it, wherever we can save money, the better. Am I right?

My mother in law, who is a wealth of wonderful old timey information, asked me if I was going to iron out the paper for next year – I imagine this is what people used to do in lean years. I suppose I might do that. I’m also on the hunt for a vintage Pixie Bow Maker so I can remake the squished bows that will ultimately get squishier during the next 12 months of storage.

Look at me saving planet!


*Pixie Bow Maker photo stolen from WellWudJaLookAtThat

Baby It’s Cold Outside

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I don’t know if I was dreaming, but just before I woke up – and I’m not sure if I was half asleep or not – my brain was shuffling through data and coming up with a great deal of gibberish. Almost as if it were the sound an old VCR fast forwarding through a movie. I remember thinking that I hadn’t landed on a song for this morning and was kind of bummed out. Except, for some reason I’ve got “Baby It’s Cold Outside” in my head. I think I sang it to AJB just before we got up – or vice versa. Either way, it’s morning, it’s in my head.

I went to the house yesterday to peek on the progress and so far lots is happening. Two guys were out in the rain disassembling the murder shed. The murder shed is part of the original house, I think perhaps it was intended for quick storage as it’s right off the kitchen. The house’s large-for-California basement might have been where they kept most of the stored goods and the murder shed was where they kept things they’d need right away. The worker guy, Alex, told me that the wood was so rotten that all they had to do was start pushing and the thing started coming down on it’s own. Good riddance.

It’s really hard to be eco-friendly when you’re fixing up a house. It’s not that it’s hard, it’s just expensive and time consuming. I’m working on coming up solutions and have been carrying on-going discussions with the contractor about how to recycle as much as possible. Anything that looks salvageable I’m putting on Craigslist and looking for recyclers. We have a few pieces going on Craiglist next week.

The first item is a 1950′s Swedish stove (we call it the Dutch Oven) and second is a mid-century style front door screen. Both are in great condition, but have got to go. The stove is a hazard and totally illegal in it’s current location. Someone would have to install it properly and frankly, that’s where our jumbo-tron is going. The screen door is in pretty great shape, but the front door is so pretty we thought we’d like to show it off a bit better. Anyway, if anyone wants to make us an offer on these pieces before they hit Craigslist, let me know. I wouldn’t even begin to know how to price the stove. I’m betting that if you managed to find one in this good of shape, it would cost anywhere from $500-$1000 maybe more. After all, it’s rare and it’s vintage. I love Mid-Century design, we just have no use for it. We’re also not really into the 50′s ski lodge thing.

It’s Cookie Fest with Mom today. I just might have some pics for tomorrow.

Conquering Eco-Guilt and Saving Money

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Several years ago I signed up with a company called Green Dimes; they’re a company that does all the hard work of removing you from marketing and catalog mailing lists. It was around $36 a year and I figured it was worth saving me the aggravation.

Sometime at some point, our subscription expired and we started getting a new influx of catalogs and marketing mailers. This time, I figured I’d bite the bullet and make the calls myself. I started this morning and made 23 calls. I was surprised at how easy it was. Most companies have easy to use options via phone for removing your name and address. Often, you don’t even need to talk to a person. The majority of companies were pleasant and never once did anyone try to dissuade me. Each call, except one or two, only took a minute or less.

Some are harder than others. Target, Kenneth Cole, West Ways, and Trader Joe’s don’t make it easy. Target makes you visit their site, log into your account, and update your settings. The lady I talked to wasn’t able to help over the phone. I’m still not sure if we’re off their list. The catalog comes to AJB so I have no idea what his account info is. That one will have to wait. Kenneth Cole makes you dig through their website and fill out a form. West Ways requires a written request (see address at bottom). Trader Joe’s apparently, does not have a phone number. I couldn’t find one in the Fearless Flyer nor on their website. I ended up submitting a general inquiry form on their site asking to be removed. We’ll see if it works.

All in all, it wasn’t an unpleasant experience. It was a lot easier than I thought and I’ve done two very valuable things: I’m saving trees and reducing clutter in our home. Truth is, AJB and I are both catalog junkies, even though I know better. When they come, we both ooh and ahh over furniture and gadgets, but we hardly ever buy anything from them. I figure, if we want to actually buy something, we can visit the store or buy online. Besides, out of sight, out of mind. It helps us conquer our American-bred addiction to consumption.

Since I was 11 years old, I’m always trying new things to reduce my impact on the planet. It’s just what I do. I don’t do it because it’s trendy. I mean, please…since when do I follow trends? Not often, I can tell you. Green Dimes (now called Precycle) is a great idea if you just don’t have the time, but it really didn’t take that long and I just saved us $36 dollars. I’m keeping a spreadsheet of the companies I called and will watch the mail. This will be an ongoing process, but it beats eco-guilt over all the useless catalogs that pile up in our home that just end up in the recycling bin anyway. I figure, it’s something I can do as the piles accumulate and over time. It makes me feel better and it helps the planet. Hooray!

How To Tips:

1. Grab all your catalogs and make a pile
2. Locate their phone number (usually 800 or 888); most times it’s on the back or somewhere inside the catalog. I found that the inside numbers were usually on every page at the bottom or top or near the front.
3. Look at your address and find your customer number. Most companies will use this to identify you. 9 times out of 10, it’s in a blue box near your address.
4. Call and ask to be removed. Simple.

Because mailing labels are pre-printed, you will continue to receive up to two more mailings before you’re permanently free from their list.

Some companies want written requests, like West Ways Magazine. I’m going to send a postcard which saves on a full price stamp. Ain’t I thrifty?

Attn: Jim Dooley-Green
Westways and Journey Publications
3333 Fairview Rd., A327
Costa Mesa, CA 92626