New Design for 2012 - Comments Welcome

I have redesigned my blog for 2012 using the options available through blogspot.  I'd like the blog to be more clearly laid out and easy to see/read.  Any comments would be welcome!

I hope everyone has a healthy and prosperous 2012!

Gerrie

Go Green in 2012 - Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping Ideas

This might be a little late for this gift-giving series but great food for thought never-the-less.  I found this article today and it reflected some of my current gift-wrapping practices as well as others I plan to incorporate.  The full article can be found at this link green your decor link.  The article provides five recommendations:

1.  Use boxes and bags from last year

I have been doing this for years.  As we do Christmas unwrapping, I place a laundry basket or similar "collection" device near the activities.  It conveniently captures boxes, bows and ribbons to be reused.  I have not been saving the wrapping paper itself as the author suggests but it is something worth considering.

2.  Use what you already have

Reused Paper with Fabric Ribbons

Embellished Plain Paper with Sponged Circles

There are other ways to reuse that brown paper, though. I used it to wrap another gift, then used a couple of craft sponges to paint circles on it in our chosen Christmas color scheme (turquoise, gold and lime green).

3.  Wrap a gift in a gift

The author has some wonderful examples of gifts in gifts.  I have done this myself although not to this extent.  

Layers of Gifts

Layers of Gifts

4.  Use paper just for the kids

I am guilty of using a lot of not-eco friendly papers and may follow this good bit of advice.

So if you’re going to use paper for wrapping, use it just for the kids — and make sure that paper is either made of recycled materials or at least recyclable. Even Walmart, Target and Dollar Tree offer recycled wrapping paper if you take the time to look. And please stay away from shiny foil, velvet flocked, or glitter-covered paper, because it is generally not recyclable. Simple printed paper is best.

5.  Print Your Own Gift Tags!

There appear to be many, many sources of free gift tags that can be easily printed and she provides some excellent examples.  I have often recycled gift tags myself by using last year's holiday cards.  We send and receive over a 100 cards annually and many can be shaped into great gift tags.   

Example of DIY Gift Tags

Christmas Eve Photos - Some Pinterest Ideas

Dinner Table with Candy Cane Name Plate Holders and My Mother's Old Czechoslovakia China

Closeup of Cranberry and Mums Centerpieces

My daughter hosted a family Christmas eve dinner at her lovely home in the Atlanta area (near Murphy Candler Park).  She had found a number of very cute ideas on pinterest and some stand-byes from prior year's celebrations.  Here's a quick posting.  I also got my sister started with pinterest - we are all getting addicted to this interesting way to find and save/file interesting images, ideas, recipes, etc. etc.  

Reindeer Cookies and Pomegranate and Proseco Holiday Drink

Pinterest - a New Addiction

I found Pinterest not too long ago (it takes me a while to figure these things out) and joined up several days ago.  They have an interesting process for joining.  You have to "apply" and be accepted.  Once accepted, they give you a cheery welcome from "Ben and the team" and instructions on how to actually use the site.  After that, you can spend ALL of your time doing nothing but finding images, ideas, etc. etc. and "pinning them", organizing your boards (old fashioned term here would be your files or file structure) and reacting to others who are "repinning" your "pins" - gee, maybe they have found something you didn't know about.  This goes on and on and on ....  I tried to do a "screen capture" but was unsuccessful - here are a few things I found just this morning and "pinned" in several categories.  I must admit, this is fun!

Some Images Found This Morning

A Holiday Tribute to Goodwill of North Georgia

Recent Purchases at Goodwill of North Georgia (Before Refurbishing)!

Today was senior citizen Tuesday (a whopping 25% off) at our local Goodwill Industries stores and I visited the Dunwoody and Norcross locations.  I have been a strong advocate in our neighborhood for shopping at these great stores and often run into people I know.  The Norcross store is closest to my house and there is a wonderful woman by the name of Jacquie who runs the cash register near the jewelry and fine bags area - a MUST stop for me.  When she is there, she welcomes everyone coming into the store with a big "hello, hello - welcome to our Goodwill store" and always serves with a friendly smile.  My friend, Nora, recently said that receiving her genial greeting is the reason she loves to visit this location.  Jacquie and others at the store make it feel like a nice neighborhood place to meet.  

I am well aware that not all Goodwill stores are equal but these locations are wonderful and serve such a worthwhile purpose.  Here is a link to the North Georgia website link  which describes their history and their mission - one that is worth repeating:

Goodwill of North Georgia provides job training and employment services to people who are having trouble finding work, want to change careers, or start their own business. With the agency’s support, Goodwill participants overcome employment hurdles caused by physical, emotional and developmental disabilities, limited job skills, poverty and other challenges. We sell donated clothing, books, furniture and household goods in stores across North Georgia and the proceeds help fund our mission of putting people to work!

In addition to jewelry and great bags/purses, I always check out furniture, fabrics, books and down/feather pillow inserts.  Today's haul included a well-constructed and shapely wingback chair (in horrible condition - my favorite for refurbishing because prices are so low), eight paperback books, and two pillow inserts.  I have bought wonderful quality furniture at the local stores which refurbish beautifully.

Goodwill Industries deserves our support AND provides great values - you just can't beat that!  For some "after" pieces, you might check out my website link to site

Go GREEN in 2012 - MY Vintage and Used Furniture

I ran across this article which reminded me of how I got started buying "used" furniture - it's called Vintage and Used Furniture: Find Green Gold link to full article

Here's a short excerpt:

One of the most environmentally smart things you can do is reuse, reuse, reuse…and furniture is a great product that can be used by multiple generations. At our house, we are huge fans of used– or as the fashion media likes to call it “vintage”– home furnishings. We bought our dining room set used and always get compliments. We have two used chairs, many lamps, a bench, a desk and some side tables. Used/vintage furniture adds warmth, history and serious eco-savvy to any home. Who knew our grandmothers were eco-pioneers when they used to go antique-ing??

The article goes on to describe places to buy - highlighting the Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Chicago markets with a recommendation to check out Craigslist and eBay.

This is old ground for me.  I would estimate that 85+ percent of my house is furnished with used items including decorative as well as practical goods (e.g., dishes, lamps, waste baskets, etc. etc.).  I got started while in college (no money) and was greatly influenced by my fashion-forward mother-in-law who loved to shop auctions and generally loved finding good deals wherever and whenever she could.  She dragged me all over and we found some wonderful things together.  I came to realize that this was a practical approach to furnishing a home on a dime but also found that the treasure hunt approach to home furnishing was a wonderful pursuit.  To this day, I dislike furniture stores and buying new things and vastly prefer her methods which I have only added to over the years.  It is the reason I have my business link to website

This morning I wandered around the house taking photos of some of my many finds - I actually have memories of where and when I bought most of these things!

Bookcase - Milwaukee Estate Sale Purchase (mostly used books)

Victorian Bookcase/Desk (Sandy Springs Estate Sale) plus Refurbished Chair 

Whitefish Bay, WI Estate Sale Desk (I refinished this one) - Chair (one of a pair from Marietta GA), books and lamp also bought used 

Pie Table from Madison, WI estate sale, lamp (one of a pair) from Buckhead, GA sale and Chair (one of a pair) from Dunwoody, GA moving sale

Original Oil from Dunwoody Estate Sale

Chair (as is - not refurbished) from Buckhead Estate Sale 

Old Pine Breakfront from Sandy Springs Moving Sale - most of the blue  pieces also used

Original Oil from Buckhead Moving Sale, Table (one of a pair) from Dunwoody Moving Sale and Chairs (one of a pair) from Alpharetta Garage Sale - lamp and decorations also used

Baker Table from Milwaukee garage sale (I refinished this one originally yellow) 

French Style Cabinet from one of Annie's Estate Sales as well as original watercolor pictures (blue pieces all used)

Table from Buckhead Estate Sale - Rug from Roswell Moving Sale

Victorian Chair - Milwaukee Sale 

Baler Sideboard from Annie's Estate Sales - Sandy Springs

Kitchen Dining Area Chair - one of six - Cumming Moving Sale

Go GREEN in 2012 - Tips for Recycling Used Furniture

Refurbished Highland House Wingback Chairs - from Garage Sale

Refurbished Chaise Lounge - from Estate Sale

Refurbished Bench from Craigslist 

Sometimes I find an article that I could have written - in fact, have written in fits and starts.  This article from Earth911.com is just that type of article.  It mentions that chairs are the most thrown away item in landfill - I did not know that - and that is my most common refurbished product (see website).  It also lists my favorite sources of great used furniture that can be recycled:

• Craigslist
• Garage (and Estate Sales)

And it discusses some Do-it-Yourself ways to do the work - a nice discussion I am sharing.

We love our homes and we love making them by creating the feel of our space with furniture to reflect our style. As we grow out of what we have, though, or it gets worn out, most of us throw our old furniture into the landfill.

The U.S. EPA reported that furniture accounted for 8.8 million tons, or 3.6 percent, of our waste stream in 2005 (quadruple the tonnage in 1960).

By both recycling our old digs, sprucing up those we want to keep and buying used pieces when we crave new ones, we are opting out of the energy-intensive furniture supply chain.

If there’s any hope, revive your furniture with some updated upholstery or a snazzy new paint job (using eco-friendly paint, of course).

Chairs are the most common piece of furniture thrown away. To revamp them:

•                Seats are usually screwed on, so simply unscrew them. 

•                Remove the fabric (making sure the foam is still good).

•                Use a staple gun to cover it in the remnant or organic fabric of choice.

If you need to get rid of it, recycle it through reuse. To give or sell your own furniture to others, you can go to:

•                Craigslist: A site where you can scope out opportunities to buy new and free furniture in its “for sale” listings. Also try Ebay.

•                Freecycle: Creates localized lists where you can track what people in your neighborhood are giving away for free.

•                Donate: Your furniture will be a great addition to Goodwill or Salvation Army, and you can receive a tax deduction.

•                Garage Sale: This is a great thing to do when you feel the “spring cleaning” bug coming on. You can also tell your friends and neighbors that you have items to sell and give them first choice.

If reuse doesn’t work out, or the item is beyond repair, recycle it. Check with your local curbside program for bulk days or use Earth911 to find a recycling location.

If you’re looking for new furniture yourself, why not check out the sites above to see if anyone in your neighborhood is selling something great? You can check out Craigslist or scan your neighborhood during trash day, when most neighbors will leave their old stuff out on the sidewalk to make their journey to the landfill.