26th April, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I came across this old NPR article today, and even though it’s about a year and a half old and some of the info may be slightly dated, I think overall it’s still very accurate and a great reminder of why we should try to dispose of our electronics properly. Electronic trash that goes to the landfill will largely stay in that landfill, leaking chemicals into the surrounding area, so you would think that taking it to any electronics recycling facility would be a step up. But actually, according to this article, there are a lot of non-reputable recyclers out there that will sell those materials to other countries, where people will sort through it in a non-safe way, for humans or for the environment:
“The dirty little secret is that when you take [your electronic waste] to a recycler, instead of throwing it in a trashcan, about 80 percent of that material, very quickly, finds itself on a container ship going to a country like China, Nigeria, India, Vietnam, Pakistan — where very dirty things happen to it,” says Jim Puckett, the executive director of the Basel Action Network, which works to keep toxic waste out of the environment.
Recyclers can make money from selling scavenged metal from electronic equipment, says Puckett, but the process to retrieve usable metals is typically extremely toxic. Workers who remove the metals often have no protective equipment and breathe in high levels of toxic chemicals, which are then released into the atmosphere. And most of the countries where the processing takes place — China, India, Ghana, Pakistan — do not have regulations in place to protect workers or prevent the primitive recycling operations.
Puckett describes a trip he took, to Guiya, China, in December 2001 as a “cyber-age nightmare.”
“It’s the only part of the world where you’ll go and see thousands of women on any given day that are sitting … basically cooking printed circuit boards,” he says. “As a result, they’re breathing all of the brominated flame retardants and the lead and tin that are being heated up. You smell it in the air. You get headaches as soon as you enter this area. It really is quite sad.”
So how can you tell if a recycler is reputable?
Check to see if your recycler is first looking to see if old equipment can be reused.
“Reuse is always more environmentally sound,” says Puckett. “If you can give that an extra life — an extra couple years — and so refurbishing is really what you want your recycler to do.”
If refurbishment is not an option, reputable recyclers will use mechanical shredding and a high-tech separation device to take out the usable metals, which can then be sent to a smelter.
Check out the whole article here. Goodwill’s recycling program with Dell seems to be reputable and a good place to take your electronics. You can find out more about them here. Cutting down on material things like the latest iPhone, iPad etc., also helps.
7th December, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Austin EcoNetwork had this very well written article about green ideas for holiday presents. The focus of the article is that rather than buying more “stuff” (which will most likely end up in a landfill someday), you can buy non-”stuff” presents like restaurant gift cards, show tickets, memberships (like a membership to a CSA) ,massages or spa days, and music or sports lessons. Only if a non-”stuff” present won’t work should you then look at buying “stuff” as a present, and at that point you can make your own gifts or look for eco-friendly products or products which will help the gift receiver be more green, like a reusable travel mug of cloth napkins. Check out the article! It certainly made me rethink my gift giving plans for the year!
21st October, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
It’s been awhile since I posted a new way to cut down on stuff, i.e., a way to cut down on buying new consumer goods to avoid creating more “stuff” in the world, but I thought I’d share my positive experience at the Austin Shoe Hospital with you and hopefully others will give them a try rather than trashing their old shoes.
Generally I wear black pumps to work every single day, although sometimes I’ll change into black flats if I’m going to walk to lunch or even just walk to my car. Still, even with mostly just indoor wear, the heels of my pumps generally don’t last too long and before I know it, the rubber tip on my heels start to wear away and the metal post that makes up the heel of a pair of high heels eventually starts to show through. At that point the metal post can get caught on carpets, dent hardwood floors, and just looks pretty bad in general.
This happened somewhat recently to a pair of black, chunky, Steve Madden pumps. Since I had worn these shoes comfortably for almost a year and a half (!) before they started to look really bad, I thought it would be worth trying to save them. I also had a pair of sandals whose soles were separating, so one day at lunch I stopped by the Austin Shoe Hospital on Congress to see what they could do with these two pairs.
I was told that it would cost $20 to fix my sandals, and advised it probably wasn’t worth it. Even repaired, the sandals would have still been very flimsy and impractical for long walks, so I decided to take their advice and not fix them. I appreciated that, rather than try to make $20, they were upfront about the value of fixing them. Instead, I agreed to just have my pumps fixed, which they said they could fix for $10 – since those shoes had always been so comfortable (or as comfortable as high heels can be), it seemed worth it to have them fixed.
My shoes were ready in 3 days, and they look good! You can still tell by looking at the inside of the shoe that they’re old, but from the outside they almost look like brand new shoes. Not only did they fix the heels, the people at Austin Shoe Hospital shined my shoes as well. Good as new, and if they last for another 1.5 years it will certainly be money well spent!
16th June, 2011 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
The Statesman had this article yesterday, which states:
A group of Austinites is hoping to open a zero-waste grocery store in East Austin this fall that, unlike traditional stores, doesn’t sell food in disposable packaging.
Customers at In.gredients will be asked to bring in their own containers or use the store’s reusable ones to buy items shipped in bulk instead of pre-packaged in boxes, bags or plastic.
In.gredients has started getting the word out about the project through its website, Twitter account and Facebook page.
Marketing director Brian Nunnery says that in order to open store as planned in October, they need to meet several fundraising goals before then. They have started taking contributions through Indie GoGo, but will be hosting other fundraising events later in the year.
Sounds like a very innovative idea, and in.gredients’ website says that if successful, it will be the first zero waste, package free grocery store in the US!
Their store model would work like this, according to the website:
- Bring clean, re-usable containers from home.
- Weigh your containers.
- Fill them with the stuff you need.
- Weigh your filled container at the counter.
- Select a charity you want a part of your purchase to benefit.
- Pay (weight of filled container – original [tare] weight).
- Take your goodies home.
- Come back to in.gredients when you need more! Don’t forget your containers…
Check out their website here. It is REALLY well done and informative!
1st November, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
This weekend is the annual Settlement Home for Children annual garage sale at the Palmer Events Center. Friday admission is $5, but on Saturday and Sunday it’s free. It’s a nice way to support a local charity that does a lot of good work in the community, and also cut down on buying new items. 100% of the proceeds go to charity. There should be a ton of good stuff to buy. Check out this link for more information.
21st October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
A couple of weeks ago I got this sewing machine off of craigslist for $25. 
I’m pretty excited about using it. In buying this machine, I took the recommendation of Leslie, the owner of Stitch Lab (where I’ve taken a sewing class). She has some tips online for picking out a good machine, including the following: ”WARNING!!! At all costs, or temptation of low costs–please AVOID the new low-end Singers, Shark, Brothers and White machines. These are the ones offered by WalMart, Target, and the fabric store chains. These machines are very poorly and cheaply made and you do not want a bratty machine that causes constant problems. The Bernette is also a terrible machine and WAY expensive–not a good Bernina alternative. Trust me–an older used machine that has been dusted off and tuned up is quite often a far better machine than a brand new one.”
So based on that advice, I figured that for a budget of $100, I would be better off buying a used machine from the 70′s or 80′s rather than a brand new one from Walmart. I took it to Northwest Sewing Center on Burent for a tune up, and it works really well now! I was able to get a good machine for a low price, and it was greener than buying a new plastic $100 machine, which probably wouldn’t last long anyway.
In other Craigslist news, I recently found out about Mustang Sallies, a business that takes old furniture and reupholsters and refinishes the pieces into very cool, one-of-a-kind pieces. The prices are very reasonable too. Here is a picture of a vintage chair they repainted and reupholstered from this craigslist post. If you follow them on facebook you can see more of their great work, or you can just serch on Craigslist for more of their stuff.
And finally, if I were a size 7 I would really want to get this shoe collection on Craigslist. 17 pairs of gently used shoes for $150! So the next time you need something, try looking around on Craigslist for a good deal on used stuff – you can find some good deals and it’s greener than buying all new!
22nd July, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 3 Comments
Recently, I decided my living room wall needed a little makeover. After reading Re-Nest and browsing through Etsy, I was inspired to try to cover the wall in items from Goodwill or other vintage/handmade/not new pieces. I liked the idea because the finished product would hopefully be unique and different from all the Urban Outfitters and Ikea wall decorations I tend to buy and also because by buying used items, I’d be cutting down on stuff! Plus, I found it was pretty inexpensive. I will admit that it took a long time and wasn’t all that easy–I had to keep an open mind about what would work, and I made several trips to Goodwill and other stores. Even now, it’s still a work in progress and I’m going to keep an eye out for other pieces to add. I’m sure a designer who does this kind of thing a lot could probably provide a better list of stores with great vintage decorations, but I am not that knowledgeable. So here it is, my amateur “cutting down on stuff” wall art project:
The big photo in the middle (sorry about the flash) is from Goodwill and the tags on the back say it’s from Z Gallerie, a store with cute but expensive decorations. Its original price tag was $85, but Goodwill charged me $35. The mirror on the right is also from Goodwill and cost about $3. The little framed pressed flower was $1. The plate is a vintage plate from Etsy and was about $8 with shipping. I also had to make a trip to Home Depot for a specific wall hanger for plates that size–that was about $2. And finally, the feather. I am most proud of this because I am not at all crafty, but I made it happen! The frame that the feather is in is from another trip to Goodwill. It was originally a frame with a cheesy flower picture in it, but I turned the cardboard around, painted it with some leftover paint I found under my sink, and attached a feather from Hobby Lobby. Total, it was $6. The only new things I bought were the plate hanger and the feather, and I spent a total of $55. Not bad for a total makeover of my wall.
I would love to hear if any of you have some favorite vintage stores where you find items for home decor or otherwise. I am just starting this cutting down on stuff project, and I would love any suggestions!
12th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
A couple of weekends ago I decided to try and fix up some of our dinning room chairs. Several of the chairs had had beverages spilled on them over the years, and being covered in an off-white fabric, they were looking pretty dingy. Plus the paint on the chairs was chipped and old. So I took the seat covers off (they just unscrewed), repainted the chairs ( Krylon sells low VOC spray-paint), and recovered the chairs with some new fabric ($10 at JoAnns – enough to cover 3 chairs). It was pretty easy, especially with the staple gun, and much cheaper than buying new chairs.
some tea stains 
post stapling
before and after
“Cutting Down on Stuff” is part on an ongoing attempt by Carsi and I to try to cut down on buying new consumer goods to avoid creating more “stuff” in the world.
6th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Last weekend I painted my old dresser. I wanted to fix it up because it didn’t match any of the colors in our bedroom, it was a really dark stain that wasn’t very feminine at all, and it had some spots where the varnish was chipped through or the wood was scratched. Rather than donating it and buying a new one, I decided to try and improve it myself.
I think it matches better with everything else now, and it was pretty easy and fun to try out. I tried to be as green as possible in painting it by looking for low VOC paint. (VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are “emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.”) I settled on some Martha Stewart brand paint, which is advertised as low VOC, as well as KILZ brand primer, which is zero VOC.
You can find a lot of tips on painting old furniture online ( I looked here). Here’s the before and after:
With the new handles and paint, the total makeover was $27 – much cheaper than buying something new!
“Cutting Down on Stuff” is part on an ongoing attempt by Carsi and I to try to cut down on buying new consumer goods to avoid creating more “stuff” in the world.
30th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
A few weeks ago I got this cute summer dress from Buffalo Exchange for $13. It fits me perfectly and is from H&M, one of my favorite stores, of which there happen to be none in Texas. It was my first trip to Bufallo Exchange and I really liked the store and was pleasantly surprised by the selection. I thought the clothes were all in good condition, and I found a lot of dresses to try on.
My goal in going to Buffalo Exchange was to find a dress form my brother’s fall wedding. I was thinking of something like this JCrew dress in a fall color like plum or red:
photo credit
Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything that was quite right for the occasion that fit me. There were several dresses that could have worked for a fall wedding, but weren’t quite what I was looking for – that’s the downside of B.E. – if you need something specific you may have to sort through a lot of clothes, but when you do find it, it’s a great payoff because you can get something cute and in good condition at a fraction of the price. And even if I had gone to a regular store I probably wouldn’t have found what I was looking for at a price I was willing to pay, so I’m going to keep looking for something “vintage” for a couple more months before I break down and buy a new dress.
“Cutting Down on Stuff” is part on an ongoing attempt by Carsi and I to try to cut down on buying new consumer goods to avoid creating more “stuff” in the world.
25th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Earlier this week I went to the Goodwill that’s off of McNeil near 183 (12317 Technology Boulevard). I had wanted to see if I could find supplies for a few crafting projects I’ve been planning, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I did however, find some cool Christmas ornaments. I don’t have any (last year I borrowed a friends) and I had planned to buy some when they went on sale after Christmas but forgot. I really wanted red tacky ones, so these worked out perfect. I got this complete set, as well as a set that was missing several bulbs.
I also found some really nice yarn that I”m going to make into a scarf.
The most exciting part was that I got everything for $1.61!!!
I think the items for sale at this Goodwill are all things that didn’t sell at the regular Goodwill stores, so it’s all much cheaper. Nothing had any prices marked, you just pay $1.49 for each pound of stuff you pick out. The items are all in giant bins. It was surprisingly busy and there were some serious shoppers there. I would have liked to stay for longer and look through everything more thoroughly (although I’ve gotta admit, I can be pretty germ-a-phobic, so for more thorough shopping I would probably want to wear some latex gloves because it can be scary to fish around in those big bins), but I could only stay for 30 minutes. It was fun though and I recommend checking it out, although if you are looking for something specific, it may be hard to find.
“Cutting Down on Stuff” is part on an ongoing attempt by Carsi and I to try to cut down on buying new consumer goods to avoid creating more “stuff” in the world.
9th June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 3 Comments
Katherine and I have decided to try to cut down on buying new consumer goods to avoid creating more “stuff” in the world. If you’d like a little primer on why “stuff” is bad, check out the Story of Stuff–it’s a really informative and interesting video about where our stuff comes from and where it goes. The idea is that our consumer-crazed culture makes us want to buy and buy and buy and then eventually throw out a bunch of stuff, which is bad for the environment (and people!) at so many levels. An interesting bit from that video: 99% of consumer goods is trashed within six months. Six months! That is crazy.
So with all of that in mind, Katherine and I have decided to try to buy less stuff and buy used or vintage when we do need to buy something, and we’ll share some of those experiences here. As the Story of Stuff’s website says, “buying used items keeps them out of the trash and avoids the upstream waste created during extraction and production.” As I’ve discovered recently, Goodwill, Buffalo Exchange, and ebay all have perfectly good used stuff for sale that is in just as good of condition as something I could buy at the store, and it’s significantly cheaper. One recent example: shoes!
I walk to work most days, and in the interest of comfort, I wear flats all the time. Since this has caused me to wear down some of my shoes, I went on a search for a good pair of black flats to wear to work. After a few unsuccessful bids on ebay, I finally won these cute little Steve Madden shoes:
Perfect for tons of outfits and comfy for my walks to work. They were about $20 with shipping and arrived in great condition. I sprayed them with some antibacterial spray, just in case, and I wore them to work the next day.
Also, I have been on the hunt for some cute rain boots for the walk in to work on rainy days. I looked on ebay and after a couple particularly frustrating losses while bidding, I decided to try out Buffalo Exchange on Guadalupe. I was surprised at the variety of rain boots they had–who knew? I came across some Sperry rain boots in my size in a funky pattern and decided I wanted to get them. Here they are at work after walking through puddles this morning:
They are really comfy and definitely high quality. I took them with me to a festival in Houston last weekend, and they withstood all the stomping and climbing up hills in the mud after it had rained. They were $35, which is a decent price since new ones go for $68 on their website. Again, a little antibacterial spray, and they were ready to go!
So, by buying used, I got great deals on some fun shoes that I really needed, helped someone get rid of the shoes they didn’t want anymore, and avoided buying and supporting the production of more consumer goods. We’d love to hear about any info you have on where to get good used stuff and any great finds you’ve made!
