Fresh ideas for resourceful living
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JoEllen
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All year-round, swap events, repair cafes, neighborhood tool libraries and countless other free or low-cost resources help people find items they need and avoid unnecessarily buying something new at the store.
Check out our new video showcasing many of these resources around Portland!
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Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re looking for a gift that fits just right, especially for kids, check out these fresh ideas for something that’s one-of-a-kind and maybe even enjoy it together this holiday season!
Families with kids may like a membership to the zoo, OMSI, children’s museum, or tickets to a play, movie or a sports event. While experience gifts can be a tough sell to little kids, you can help make it fun in the moment too.
Try creating a countdown calendar and mark off the days until they get to go to the event or destination. Or print out photos from similar past experiences, and wrap them up, to help them imagine the experience and create excitement.
Inviting friends can make it even more fun, if that’s an option for the type of experience you’re giving. And helping kids choose experience gifts for others can also help them appreciate this kind of gift giving. Starting this tradition with them now can create memories that will last long beyond the holiday season.
Here are some more non-toy gift ideas for kids (borrowed from Nourishing Minimalism's Non-Toy Gift Guide):
Photo credit: Oregon Zoo
Find gift ideas for other hard-to-buy-for people in your life in our resourceful holiday series. #holiday
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Salvage wood wall in remodeled living room. Created by craftsman Greg Simons of Studio G.
Plan ahead for home improvement opportunities that tap into Portland’s extensive reuse community to make your projects unique.
The change of seasons is a great time to focus your efforts indoors. While summers are jam packed with outdoor projects and activities, the change in weather and the opportunity to transition indoors can bring project ideas to fruition. If you can’t seem to get inspiration on projects, head to your local salvage or reuse outlet and walk around. Creative ideas will start to flow and before you know it, you’ll have figured out your next project.
Local places abound in Portland to purchase used building supplies, salvage wood, materials for kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and every room in between. Portland offers interested homeowners and individuals plenty of options for home improvement DIY projects.
Salvaged materials are often high quality, provide unique character, are stronger and more durable - and may be less expensive than new materials.”
Habitat for Humanity ReStore, ReClaim It!, and The ReBuilding Center are just a few of the resources where you can find what you need, donate what you don’t and tap into Portland’s reuse community through building supplies and materials. Check out the map for more resources, including salvage yards and online material exchanges.
Using salvaged or reclaimed building materials in your projects can save you money and offers many other benefits:
Adds character to your project
Supports the local economy
Offers period-appropriate fixtures, fittings and cabinetry and high quality materials (both aged and contemporary)
Allows for builder overstock or "new salvage" materials
Keeps building material tonnage out of the landfill
Here are some ideas where reuse can play a role:
Install salvaged wood floors in a kitchen or other room. Tip: If removing old linoleum flooring, have it tested for asbestos first.
Give a wall some bling and warmth using salvaged wood. It is easy to install because it goes right over existing drywall or plaster.
Furniture, wall art or built-ins are another DIY project that can involve reusing materials. Want a great dining room table? Pick up some unique salvaged lumber or slabs and have it planed/sanded.
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Options is the name of the game as you shift back into the school routine. How you get to and from school, after-school activities, sporting events, and play dates – all of these are times to consider alternatives and, as a bonus, offer ways to spend more time with family and friends.
Carpool
Connect and collaborate with other parents on a carpool for the kids to reduce pollution and traffic congestion while saving time and money. Use this free online tool to find carpool companions. Or talk to friends and neighbors to share in the day-to-day schedule and make the most of your time.
Walk or bike
Promote exercise (and get some yourself) and quality time with your kids by walking or biking with your kids to school. Find maps to school, information and events through Safe Routes to School or sign up for their newsletter.
Bike shops all over Portland offer repair services and classes, and can help outfit you for the weather. Or come to a Repair Café to learn how to get minor things repaired for free.
In whatever ways your family chooses to get back to school, incorporating thoughtful actions that are good for you and the community help provide lasting effects as the seasons change and the new school year becomes routine again.
Visit our other recent posts to find more tips and ideas about kids in school.
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It’s easy and fun to pack waste-free lunches with colorful reusable containers, utensils and cloth napkins!
Tips for waste-free lunches
1. Pack lunch in reusable containers or a lunch box. Wash and reuse containers for sandwiches and snacks.
2. Choose durable bottles for drinks.
3. Bring your own metal forks, spoons and cloth napkins.
Reuseit presents a number of tips and ideas about reusable items and waste-free lunch options in their video.
By planning ahead 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.
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School days are coming! Channel your creativity and resourcefulness to get kids off to a great start. Swap and share items you already have, but no longer need, to keep kids outfitted for activities inside and outside the classroom.
Host a clothing swap
Hosting a clothing swap with friends and neighbors is a fun and easy way to share kids’ clothes, toys, books and sports equipment, and donate anything that’s left.
A clothing swap involves getting a bunch of people together to exchange clothes and other items you no longer wear, and offering them free of charge to others by swapping them instead. Swap events are a great excuse to get together with friends or meet new people, all while giving your stuff another life and helping everyone save money and avoid buying new.
Swap Positive is a local resource that provides all you need to know about attending, hosting and getting involved with swaps in Portland. There are options for family swaps and those specific to household stuff or clothes of every size.
Center for a New American Dream put together this video about hosting or participating in a clothing swap that can help you plan your own swap!
Find used sports equipment
Don’t forget about sports gear and equipment – items for school and recreation leagues can add to your budget. From cleats to uniforms, there are ways to find used items through swapping, borrowing and purchasing gently used goods through your friends, neighbors or Craigslist.
Join a swap and play space
Join one of the swap and play spaces around Portland to connect with other families with children. Swap and plays offer an opportunity to swap outgrown clothing, toys and gear, share community play space and also connect with other parents and kids in your neighborhood.
Portland swap and play spaces are membership organizations and vary in hours, activities, events and ways to get involved. They are Southside Swap & Play, St Johns Swapnplay and Woodlawn Swap n Play.
Check out other back to school resources in our previous kids in school posts.
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Compiled by Eco-School Network Leaders at the Center for Earth Leadership
The time of year between July 4 and September 15 represents a season (other than summer!): Back-to-School. When retailers are emphasizing a shopping season, resourceful people take notice and consider their actions to avoid impulse purchases.
On average, a family with school-aged kids will spend $673.57 for clothes, accessories, electronics, shoes and school supplies. The National Retail Federation surveyed more than 6,800 consumers about their annual back-to-school plans, finding that families with children in grades K-12 are expected to spend 9.6 percent more this year than last year. (Source: Time)
The average spending per family in each category breaks down as follows:
Here are some strategies to help you save money, buy less stuff and get the most from this back-to-school season.
Avoid using shopping lists unless supplied directly by the school
Online and store-supplied shopping lists are often written by the companies who manufacture school supplies. Obtain the school’s supply list to ensure you get what the teacher needs.
Set your school up with Schoolhouse Supplies
Schoolhouse Supplies is a local organization that collects corporate donated supplies, buys supplies in bulk and delivers the school supplies directly to the school. These supplies are less expensive because they are purchased or donated in large quantities. They save parents the hassle of running all over town in the family car to purchase supplies and ensure that the right supplies are bought for the class. Schoolhouse Supplies offers teachers low- or no-cost classroom supplies. Learn more at the how to donate page online.
Buy supplies after winter break
Instead of purchasing supplies at the beginning of the calendar year, work with your teacher and volunteer to purchase supplies after winter break. At some schools, the supplies often run out at mid-year. By replenishing just the most-used supplies, you’ll help ensure that those supplies that have run out will be replaced and the classroom won’t have excess supplies they don’t need.
Volunteer to conduct a supply audit for your students’ classroom
Auditing how many supplies are used versus what supplies are purchased is a valuable activity for teachers. Often, supply lists are generated at the beginning of a teacher’s career and as technology and teaching needs change, the supply doesn’t receive the fine tuning necessary to keep it relevant.
Create a Party Pack for your teacher
Most classrooms have several parties or celebrations annually, in addition to student birthday treats. Creating a Party Pack that contains durable items can significantly reduce the amount of garbage produced by classroom parties. While parties differ, the average event produces 30 gallons of garbage (per Portland Eco-School Network research). That fills approximately one large black garbage bag.
Contact the Center for Earth Leadership for more information about the Eco-School Network.
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The new map feature on the Resourceful PDX website, and some of the community partners listed on the map, have made news this week.
The Portland Tribune article "Want to borrow a tool, get some fix-it help, or share your stuff?" features several resources listed on our new map.
“In Portland, dozens of these free or low-cost resources — kitchen shares, toy swaps, tool libraries, bike fix-it-yourself shops and more — are just around the corner, for the taking. To some, they may seem like a secret society, not necessarily easy to find unless you already know someone who participates.
But now, the city has issued an easy-to-use map of 30 to 40 of these resources — a one-stop hub for sustainable living at the neighborhood level — on its Resourceful PDX program site.”
KGW Channel 8 also featured Resourceful PDX and some of our community partners on their evening news.
The Resourceful PDX map includes community-based, not-for-profit or grassroots organizations that help residents reuse, swap, repair and share such items as tools, building or art supplies, household goods or other materials.
The resources featured in the news pieces this week are PDX Time Bank, Repair PDX, Kitchen Share, Woodlawn Swap n Play and Know Thy Food Cooperative.
Do you have a community resource to add to the map? Share more resources with us!
To nominate a community-based, not-for-profit or grassroots organization for inclusion in this map, send us a message with relevant details about the organization, such as: name, location, website and contact information, plus a brief description of why it would make a good addition to the Resourceful PDX Map.
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The map works on mobile, too!
The new Resourceful PDX map includes community-based, not-for-profit or grassroots organizations that help residents reuse, swap, repair and share such items as tools, building or art supplies, household goods or other materials.
To nominate a community-based, not-for-profit or grassroots organization for inclusion in this map, send us a message with relevant details about the organization, such as: name, location, website and contact information, plus a brief description of why it would make a good addition to the Resourceful PDX Map.
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“It touches my heart when people bring in sentimental items handed down in their families,” said Marie Coreil. “Like the woman who recently brought in a quilt made by her mother. While I sewed a new rip, she shared stories that brought back fond memories of my own mother.”
Marie loves sewing and is delighted to be a volunteer sewer with Repair PDX, where she helps people continue using items they cherish, like a favorite purse or pair of jeans.
As a Master Recycler volunteer and retiree, Marie uses her free time to give back to the community and support causes that she cares about. “I can use my time to support initiatives that depend on volunteerism to succeed.”
“Through my time as a Master Recycler, I learned about Repair PDX and began volunteering at the repair café events as a mender because I have always loved sewing. Later I learned about the Southeast Portland Tool Library and began volunteering there as well. Most recently, I joined the PDX Time Bank, which is a great resource for Portlanders to help each other that could be more widely used.”
Repair PDX provides free repair services to community members who bring in items they might otherwise throw away. From small appliances, to bike maintenance and mending services, Repair PDX not only offers participants a chance to fix things, it creates a space for connection and community.
“Many people would like to keep using their material possessions, but lack the skills or resources to maintain them or fix them when they break. Repair PDX addresses this need by holding repair events in different neighborhoods where people can take their things to be fixed – free of charge. It enables people to continue using things that might otherwise end up being thrown away.”
Repair PDX offers an excellent model for community involvement that is already being duplicated in other parts of the Portland metro region and across the country. Many people have skills they enjoy sharing and all it takes is a little of their time and some coordination to put it all together.
Marie encourages retirees to get involved in some kind of volunteer activity – something they enjoy doing anyway so they can experience the intangible rewards of giving back to the community.
“Another benefit for me personally is I have made new friends through Repair PDX. Two of the regular menders also live in the Sellwood neighborhood and we have become friends. I have also gotten to know people through overlapping circles of Portland’s sustainability activities.”
Do you consider yourself a tinkerer? Are you interested in repair? Join Marie and other volunteer fixers to help spread repair culture through the repair movement! Check out our events calendar for upcoming repair or related events.
Find more stories about repairing in Portland. #sharingcommunity
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