Tool Libraries: Borrow and Save

At Portland’s community-run libraries, you can borrow tools for your home, yard, and garden – from drills and saws to lawnmowers and weed whackers. Whether it’s a minor repair or a major project, they’ve got tools for carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and more.  

How it works  

1. Find your nearest tool library 

• East Portland 

• North Portland  

• Northeast Portland 

• Southeast Portland  

• Green Lents 

• Southwest Portland  (Opens late May 2024)

2. Sign up to become a member 

Go to your nearest tool library’s website and look for a “become a member” section. Many tool libraries ask you to fill out a membership form on their website and then bring an ID and some proof of address (like a bill) to the tool library to confirm you live in the neighborhood to finalize your membership.  

Everyone is welcome to join, whether you live in a house or apartment, rent or own. 

3. Find out when they’re open 

Most tool libraries are open on Saturdays from morning through early afternoon. Some are also open during an evening or two during the week.  

Tip: Check tool availability before you go 

Check your tool library’s website to see if they have the tools you need and if they’re in stock when you need them. If the tools are checked out, you can see when they’re due back.

Save money and space 

You can save money by borrowing tools for free instead of buying them. Just make sure to return them on time to avoid late fees. Some tool libraries ask for a suggested donation when you join, but no one will be turned away for a lack of funds.  

Plus, borrowing tools will avoid cluttering your closet, basement, or garage with tools you only use once a year.   

“Everyone who comes in here says it’s amazing. People can’t believe we have everything they need.” - Thomas C., NE Portland Tool Library volunteer 

Meet your neighbors and get advice 

Tool libraries are a great place to get advice from neighbors on which tools will work best, how to avoid common mistakes, and which local shops offer the project supplies you need. Plus, some tool libraries offer workshops on repair and remodeling.  

Save energy and natural resources 

For every tool that doesn’t have to be purchased new, you’ve saved the energy and natural resources needed to manufacture it, as well as the carbon emissions from extracting raw materials, turning them into new products, and transporting them to the stores where you buy them. 

A 2015 study showed that one year’s worth of North Portland Tool Library’s tool loans was the carbon emissions equivalent of taking thirty-five cars off the road for a full year. 

Keep tool libraries thriving: Volunteer and donate 

Portland’s tool libraries are completely volunteer-run and they’re always looking for more volunteers.  

You don’t need to be a tool expert to volunteer. The most important job at the tool library is welcoming neighbors and checking tools in and out.  

Other ways to volunteer include fundraising, repairing damaged tools, taking photos of tools, managing the tool library’s newsletters or social media, or serving on volunteer boards. 

“I love volunteering here, and so do the other volunteers.” - Thomas C., NE Portland Tool Library volunteer 

Monetary donations go a long way for tool libraries. They allow them to purchase and maintain tools, promote the library to the community, find and train volunteers, and more. Jason Naumann of the Green Lents Tool Library board says that funding is critical for “pushing forward our shared objective of waste reduction.”  

Back-to-School 2020: Keep your routines while being resourceful

School days will look different this year. Portland-area schools announced that the fall semester will be online at least until November. While details are being sorted, kids may still need or want items to help get them started on the right path. It is also a time to rethink how materials come into your home. Many community resources are available to assist parents in these online, no contact, distance learning times. 

Routine is important 

Read about 12 ideas to keep back-to-school traditions going, even during a time of uncertainty and learning from home.  

If you still need supplies, shop online or in-person at SCRAP Creative Reuse for paper, markers, pens and colored pencils, and online at Free Geek for refurbished technology.  

Donate supplies 

Have surplus items to donate? Schoolhouse Supplies is seeking donations. You can make an appointment to donate; and as always, teachers can shop for supplies.  

Stay informed 

PDX Parent has information for parents about the upcoming school year and ways to connect. Portland Public Schools continue to offer information about the new distance learning model. 

Check out other back-to-school resources in our previous kids in school posts. 

Reuse pop-up fills zero waste needs

The term ‘zero waste’ is being used more and more these days. It could be because of what we see and hear in the news: several environmental crisis on an international scale, such as recycling disruptions and issues with single-use plastics. This has led to new efforts, or a new sense of urgency, to minimize waste, reduce consumption, and promote product reuse and repair.

This zero-waste movement is alive and well in Portland - from community-based efforts to businesses promoting a lifestyle of less.

One of these businesses is Utility.

Utility promotes refill and reuse by selling personal and home care products from bulk and encouraging shoppers to bring their own containers. Each ingredient in every product is researched, so customers can be assured they are using products that are safe for their health and the environment. The store also sells plastic free versions of commonly used items, such as toothbrushes, kitchen sponges, etc. The majority of products are produced locally and made to last.

Rebecca Rottman and Nadine Appenbrink started Utility in April 2019 as a way to help mitigate local plastic pollution and provide Portlanders an opportunity to buy products that are safe for their health and the environment. “We were both tired of having to go to multiple places just to buy shampoo and laundry soap that didn’t have petrochemicals and other harmful ingredients, were safe for the environment and had refill options. Inspired by the many “zero waste” shops popping up in cities around the U.S. and internationally, we decided to start Utility in Portland”.

Although Utility follows some tenets of the zero waste philosophy, Rebecca and Nadine refer to themselves as a “low” waste business rather than “zero”.

Nonetheless, here are some of the ways Utility aligns with zero waste:

●     Sells products from bulk instead of individual plastic bottles.

●     Encourages and promotes the reuse of containers.

●     Carries products that contain only natural ingredients and safe for humans, animals and the earth.

●     Sources from local producers as much as possible.

Utility currently operates as a pop-up shop and online store with local delivery only, no brick and mortar...yet. Pop-ups have been held at retail stores like J. Crew and Nike, bringing these tenets to employees and consumers around Portland.

Bring your own containers

There are pop-up events happening around Portland. Look for upcoming dates online and/or follow them on Instagram. 

Utility will be partnering with eco-conscious and reuse promoting businesses such as GO Box, Gather Resale and Patagonia this fall.

Read about other zero waste initiatives in Portland and get more tips to reduce waste at Resourceful PDX.

It’s almost back to school! Tips for a no-waste lunch

School days are right around the corner! One area that parents have some control over for back-to-school savings is lunch related. Packing a lunch for students saves money, resources and helps prevent waste.

No-waste lunch tips

Pack your lunch in a reusable bag or a lunch box

Wash and reuse

• plastic containers for sandwiches, soup and snacks

• plastic water or juice bottles

• locking plastic bags for crackers, carrots, cookies

Bring your own

• reusable forks and spoons

• cloth napkins

Save packaging – buy large, pack small

• Choose large bags of snacks like pretzels, chips and raisins over individually packaged ones

• Pack single servings in reusable containers to save resources

By planning and creating weekly meal plans, you can reduce waste while shopping, too. Stock the fridge in one trip, and you’ll save time and resources too.

Check out other back to school resources in our previous kids in school posts.

The Proof is in the Repair

Rain Delisle from Indigo Proof gets her hands dirty with denim repair.

Rain sees herself as a repair crafts-person. She wants to help people wear their loved things longer. Her specialty: denim. If you thought your favorite jeans that got holes in the seat are goners, she’s here to prove you wrong and get them back on your legs.

After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Boston, she moved to San Francisco and worked as a contractor for three years in the fashion industry repairing denim. With much trial and error, she developed her unique style and technique of repairing jeans - and it quickly became in high demand.

She began posting her work on a blog called Indigo Proof, a name she used to describe the blue hands she gets working with indigo and denim - the “proof” on her hands at the end of the day.

In December 2015, Rain moved to Portland to launch her own denim repair company, Indigo Proof Denim Repair. Portland was a natural fit for her business, knowing Portland residents are into a lot of unique things, especially repair as a philosophy.

“I love to sew and get my hands dirty. I was interested in creating a niche for repair work I hadn’t seen in the market - a quality repair that lasts and gets better over time. Each pair of ripped jeans is a different problem to be solved and it can be difficult at times to find the answer, but that’s the fun of it!”

Not just about Levi’s

Indigo Proof is in East Creative, an artist and creative space in Portland’s Central Eastside. There she has a steady stream of clients who have discovered her mostly through social media, who arrive with their torn jeans and a glimmer of hope that their long gone favorite pair can be able to be worn again. Her Instagram features a hashtag where clients can post and tag her in their wear photos - “jeans that have been repaired are a part of someone’s life, not just another pair of pants.” Depending on the severity of the damage, repairs can take anywhere from one hour to multiple full days of work.

“Raw denim starts as a blank canvas; each wearer creates their own unique fades depending on what they do in their jeans- like a fingerprint. No two pairs of the exact same jean will look the same on two different people- someone could keep a knife or phone in their front pocket creating faded outlines of their daily carry, the other could be a photographer and kneel on their right knee a little more causing accelerated fading in the knees. These little things determine how your jeans look over time.”

People “work on” their denim, meaning they wear in their jeans. Some of those people ship her their jeans from all over the world; New Zealand, Bahrain, Norway and the UK. These denim fanatics are lovingly referred to as “denim heads” and they even compete in global contests for fading a pair of jeans!

“Once they get to this worn-in and broken-in state, all that use can create thinning areas and rips- this is not the time to toss them after you’ve put in all that wear, they’re just starting to get good! I want to help people wear their jeans longer, so they can enjoy their old jeans as if they were new again.”

Get your jeans fixed

Contact Rain for repair rates, which are based on a full evaluation of what the jeans need to be restored. This year, she expanded her business to include denim alterations like tapering and tailoring, so Indigo Proof can be your destination for all denim services. She plans on growing even more this next year!

Back-to-school shopping: Think local, buy used

Get kids ready to go back-to-school with local resources. There are many places to buy smart to help save time and money.

The back-to-school shopping season accounts for about 50 percent of annual school-related spending and impacts approximately one-quarter of U.S. households. The average spending per household is $510!

While clothing and school supplies dominate back to school lists, the highest average spending is for computers and hardware. Here’s a breakdown of the average spending per family in each category:

• Computers & hardware $299
• Clothing & accessories $286
• Electronic gadgets $271
• School supplies $112

Look for local options first

Free Geek makes buying repurposed electronics of all kinds an option for any student with their focus on digital inclusion. Computer systems are the focal point of their thrift store space and you can also donate old computers and electronic equipment.

PDX Parent offers a list of the many consignment, resale and used clothing shops in the Portland region.

SCRAP PDX has supplies to create DIY one-of-a-kind items for school, like pencil bags from fabric, zippers and found objects, or to customize last year’s backpacks by adding sew-on patches or letters. They have paper of all colors and sizes, markers, pens, colored pencils, plus so much more.

If you are you interested in diving into more about back to school spending, there’s a survey about insights on spending and shopping trends. In the current survey, 98 percent of people said they plan to buy clothing and accessories and school supplies.

Check out past posts about kids in school - and use the Resourceful PDX map to locate resources near you.

10 things to do today to reduce your waste

Jenica Barrett from Zero Waste Wisdom shares her insights for creating less waste.

Jenica Barrett started a new, personal journey that began with a six-month challenge. That was three years ago and it is now part of her everyday life. The challenge she set out to complete was a waste audit - where you gather your trash to tally, weigh and itemize for a week or a month.

She was a college student back then and now as a graduate student, she leads workshops and presentations about her zero-waste lifestyle.

“I see myself as someone fortunate enough to educate others on the environmental impacts of our actions collectively and to provide resources for them to adjust their lifestyles for the better. I do this by dedicating a vast amount of time to keeping my blog up-to-date and offering local workshops. I provide information that anyone can apply to their own life, or they can adapt my suggestions to meet their current needs. Face-to-face interaction is also highly impactful which is why I focus a lot of time promoting the idea of waste reduction and environmental stewardship in my local community.”

Rethinking how to create less waste is the goal. This can be purchasing a durable coffee mug from a resale or thrift store to buying dried cranberries from the bulk section at your local grocery store.

Ask yourself questions before a purchase, such as:

• Do I already have something that can do the job?
• Can I buy this second hand?
• Is there a more durable option?
• Can I borrow it from someone?

We all have habits – some good, some not so good – that we choose to do. What we do with our waste – recycle, compost or landfill it - is part of our habits too.

The average person produces 2.89 pounds of garbage a day per year.  That’s 1,054 pounds a year. Jenica chronicles her continued journey by showing the waste she produces each year. In 2017, she created 1.67 pounds, and it fits in a jar!

Jenica gets many questions about her lifestyle from workshop participants and online. This gives her opportunities to offer tips to reduce, reuse – and refuse. She said some people get stuck on bringing things themselves (bags, mugs, cutlery). She offers another direction if this is an obstacle – like purchasing an item in a different package. This type of shift is what opens the door to reducing and creating less waste. Keep in mind - the best choice is to avoid any product that is designed to be disposed of after one use.

“The biggest thing people can do to avoid contributing to the plastic program our oceans are facing is to stop using it. Plain and simple. This can take the form of buying things in bulk, bringing your own container, and giving feedback to companies who still use excessive packaging. It is important that we start demanding change by being conscious of where our dollars are spent and make sure we are putting our money towards products that are good for the environment. We can’t kick our plastic habit overnight and I still use plastic products now and then. But unless we dramatically cut back on our reliance on disposables, these items will keep ending up in the ocean. It doesn’t matter how well we sort our recycling or whether we develop incinerators for our trash. If we are using so many disposable products, litter and pollution will continue to occur.”

Here is Jenica’s list of 10 things to do today to reduce your waste:

1. Invest in a reusable water bottle
2. Bring your own grocery bags
3. Bring containers for leftovers at restaurants
4. Buy in bulk
5. Make your own cosmetics
6. Compost your food scraps
7. Refuse plastic straws
8. Purchase second hand items
9. Switch out paper towels for cotton towels
10. Conduct a waste audit

Jenica offers tips, advice, recipes and more on her website and through social media. Learn more at Zero Waste Wisdom.

Three tips to be a thoughtful consumer in the new year

There are many benefits to becoming a more thoughtful consumer: buying less, cutting clutter and reducing waste, to name a few. As we begin a new year, consider making a small change that can help you live more resourcefully. Make it easier to adopt the change by choosing one new habit per month, or make a change to an established habit. Who knows, maybe something small will turn into even bigger changes (and benefits!) for you.

Watch Alicia on KATU Afternoon Live, where she shares these tips with host Tra’Renee.

1.       Borrow rather than buy to cut clutter

Take advantage of the resources that Portland offers! The online map connects residents to free or low-cost options for living more resourcefully.

The map categories are repair/resale/swap shops, donation centers and lending libraries.

Portland has:

·         4 tool libraries

·         3 kitchen shares

·         3 swap and play spaces

·         1 toy library

Borrow these types of items and more  

·         Home and yard tools, power tools, table saws

·         Juicers, mixers, bread makers, canning equipment

·         Toys, games, clothes, books

These community organizations also need support! You can become a member based on the area of the city where you live and volunteer your time or donate your unused items.

The Library of Things (which lends baking equipment, board games and even karaoke machines to members) is available in Hillsboro and is coming soon to Beaverton too, through the county library system.

2.       Remember to reuse (and reduce disposables)

Make a reusables kit for your car or day bag, bike bag or purse. Include reusable bags, a coffee or travel mug, produce bags, cutlery or small containers for quick stops or on-the-go items.

After you use something from your kit, replace it as soon as you get home so your kit is always with you, ready for anything. Having an on-the-go kit is especially good if you eat out a lot, make frequent stops at the store, or tend to forget your reusables (we all do!).

3.       Resolve to redeem in 2018

As of  January 1, 2018, many more kinds of containers now carry a 10-cent deposit. These include bottles and cans for tea, coffee, fruit juice, coconut water, hard cider and kombucha. Beer, soft drinks and water containers continue to require a deposit.

By recycling these containers at a bottle redemption center, the materials are separated and turned into a clean, reliable supply of high-grade recyclable material. The materials are all processed in in the U.S., and for plastic containers, 100 percent of them are recycled in Oregon.

Of course, you can still recycle at the curb – aluminum and plastic go in the recycling cart, and glass goes separately in your other bin. But by redeeming your own containers, you get more money back in your pocket.

Find a BottleDrop Oregon Redemption Center near you!

Find local alternatives to back to school shopping and spending

The back to school shopping season accounts for about 50 percent of annual school-related spending and impacts approximately one-quarter of U.S. households.

While clothing and school supplies dominate back to school lists, the highest average spending is for computers and hardware. Here’s a breakdown of spending per family in each category:

·         Computers & hardware $307

·         Clothing & accessories $284

·         Electronic gadgets $254

·         School supplies $104

Getting kids ready to go back to school may include more stuff, more hassle and more stress. But there are plenty of things you can do to save time and money. Local resources abound for getting what you need to go back to school.

SCRAP offers supplies to create DIY one-of-a-kind items for school, like pencil bags from fabric, zippers and found objects, or to customize last year’s backpacks by adding sew-on patches or letters. They have paper of all colors and sizes, binders, markers, pens, colored pencils, plus so much more.

Free Geek has repurposed electronics of all kinds at the new-and-improved Free Geek Store. It makes its computer systems the focal point of the space and you can also donate old computers and electronic equipment.

Title Wave Used Book Store includes a wide selection of books and other materials at deep discounts. Share your used books with friends, relatives, or younger schoolchildren. The Children’s Book Bank needs gently used books to pass onto children in Portland who might not otherwise have books of their own at home.

Interested in diving into more about back to school spending? There’s a survey about insights on spending and shopping trends.

Check out past posts about kids in school - and use the Resourceful PDX map to locate more resources near you.

Caring for what’s under your roof

Summer is the perfect time to give your home some additional TLC.

Safety First

Before you start a home remodeling, demolition or construction project, learn how to avoid toxic materials and handle potential dangers you might encounter, such as asbestos or lead paint.

Before a home project, test for asbestos. Metro transfer stations require documentation for all loads of construction, remodeling and demolition debris that might contain asbestos.

Seasonal Maintenance

Taking good care of your home can prevent big problems and save a lot of money in the long run. Tasks like cleaning out your gutters and repairing exposed wood quickly help your home last as long as possible.

When you need to replace materials, consider reclaimed or salvaged. They provide unique character, and often are stronger, more durable and higher quality — and may be less expensive than new materials.

Local Resources

Find these local resources and more on the Resourceful PDX map to help you improve and maintain your home:

• Habitat for Humanity ReStore
• MetroPaint
• The ReBuilding Center
• Green Lents Community Tool Library
• North Portland Tool Library
• Northeast Portland Tool Library
• Southeast Portland Tool Library

Resourceful PDX is your go-to for community resources.