Freecycling is something I've been doing for a while. Not as a total lifestyle or anything like that. Just on the side here and there. It's free - which is always good. It's a creative thing. And it also happens to be good for the environment.
So what is it? It's taking something old and turning it into something new. For example - using the bits of wood left over from construction for craft projects.
Here's a few examples of some Freecycling I've done:
-Turned an old water rain-water barrel into a composter
-Using the carper underlay (the thick grey foam kind) ripped out of a house as uphostering material for a variety of projects. Usually double it up to get more thickness.
-Collected wood from the junk wood pile at the dump for use in various projects - you wouldn't believe what people throw out!!!
-Used the arms from a broken treadmill as bars on a sheep feeder.
- Used cloth from old shirts, pants, jackets etc for various projects like making bags and things
-Used bicycle inner-tubes (available for free at any bike shp) can be cut into strips and used for a variety of projects such as tying things down, handle wraps on various tools, and I used them for the weighted ends of the rhythm sticks I used to make and sell. I also sewed them into little rubber change purses.
-Construction materials - wood salvaged from various projects cleaned up by removing nails etc and then re-used for other projects. I made a few dog kennels with this, some walls in my home, etc.
The possibilities are endless!
There are a couple of cable shows that feature Freecycling. The Junk Brothers - on Discovery (or was it TLC?) was good before their budget got too big. They would take items of furniture people had put out on the curb for trash pick-up, re-work them into something new, and return them to the original owners. At first it was really great what they would do. Just by taking it apart, putting it back together in a different way, maybe adding a couple things, and giving it new paint etc they would turn old items into new custom build furniture. But as the show became somewhat sucessful and their budget got bigger the projects became more new and expensive components with only a bit of the old item worked in and the freecycling spirit was left by the way-side.
A show currently running on TLC called Junk raiders pairs up a couple of professional freecyclers with a bunch of professional wasters (people in the regular construction industry used to throwing out a lot of stuff.) In an attempt to re-do an old Toronto loft into a trendy live-work space with a budget of just $5,000 and a strict deadline for a client who is a tight wad businessman. Personally, I'd rather see a show about how the freecyclers normally work - which involves stockpiling items over time. Instead this show is a recipe for conflict and is so full of arguing and stress that it's difficult to watch. Still, they've managed to accomplish some pretty cool things with freecycling despite everything.
So, next time you think of throwing something away. Try giving it away to a freecycler instead. Next time you want t make something, think of using freecycled materials. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Showing posts with label renovations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label renovations. Show all posts
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
So Little time
First, happy anniversary to my wife Niqi (pronounced Nikki - it's short for Monique). We've been together 11 years now.
It's a Sunday afternoon and writing this blog is a break from doing some overtime trying to catch up on my day job work. Over the last couple of years I've come to really resent my job. Mostly because it feels like a drain of time and energy, leaving me with nothing left to accomplish the things I actually want to do. There's a bit a vicious cycle to it. If I get a bit behind, I get discourage and become distracted, which puts me even more behind - compounding the problem. It wasn't always like this. I used to love my job and get a great deal of satisfaction from it. But in the past few years volume has increased substantially and we're still expected to get through it. It's like that Dilbert comic where the boss says - "Think of work as its own reward... Expect to be rewarded a lot more in the coming year."
I've got a long list of things to do: renovations, of course. But also my other projects I'm doing in an attempt to make money - on-line stores. I'm also setting up a Kung-Fu items shop in my Kung-Fu school. And of course, time with family, time to exercise, time for the pets, making meals, regular house-hold chores, etc. etc. etc.
I'm not a type A. Frankly I'm kind of lazy. I sleep in lots and hit the snooze button dozens of times. Thankfully I don't have a commute so I don't have the embarrassment of walking into the office late all the time. But if I sleep late, I have to work late. A good work ethic was something I developed in my 20s, but it's not a natural thing - I have to work at it. Then there's the energy issue. I may have a free evening, but if I've already worked a full day and overtime I'm often too exhausted to get up the energy to do anything significant.
I like living in a clean and neat place, but I'm messy and don't like to clean much (and it's low on the priority scale)
My kids (8 and 10 years old) are very talented mess makers, but are as stubborn as mules when it comes to doing chores. (I promise to wrie nice things about them in my blog at some point instead of just complainng - they really are great kids).
My wife has Fibromyalgia which puts her in constant pain (see side bar for a link to her blog). It's the worst type of disability I can think of other than brain injuries and brain diseases. First, there is constant pain that makes doing anything difficult and excruciatingly painful. If you have a somewhat good day and overdo it (and by overdo I mean do a fraction of what others would consider light work) - then you pay for it with a week of pain. Doctors don't know what causes it or how to effectively treat it, and there are no concrete tests for it. Which means many Dr.'s will tell you stupid things like it's all in your head etc. and basically treat you like a whiner. Reaction from family is generally no better - you see, with fibro, you don't look sick. So there's a big stigma to t. Many will consider you lazy and useless. Trust me - my wife would rather have both legs amputated than have to spend the rest of life with Fibro. It sucks more than you can imagine for her.
It's no picnic for me either. She can't clean much, she can't work, and she needs nursing.
I HATE nursing. I really dislike taking care of sick people - so having a wife who is constantly in pain is very frustrating for me. Her inability to contribute financially is frustrating in the extreme. And her limited ability to contribute much in the way of house work or renovations (at least without great painful sacrifices on her part) means that the great majority of work falls on my shoulders.
You know those women who complain that they have to work, take care of the kids, their husband etc and all he does is watch sports - it's kinda like that, but at least my spouse has a valid reason. Granted, Niqi does most of the child-care, but everything else is pretty much left to me. I have to prioritize, which means the house can go months without cleaning while I pursue other projects. The lawn is infrequently mowed. Projects can sit half-finished for weeks. My eldest daughters bedroom has sat vacant for the past month waiting for me to finish scraping the mold out of the ceiling which I could only tolerate doing for about 10 minutes at a time.
Some days I get a burst of energy and can plow through something at a quick pace without tiring for hours. But they are few and far between and I have no idea what triggers them. If I did, I'd be triggering them all the time.
Most of the time I can sit and stare at the to do list or project in front of me for long minutes trying to get the energy to dive in, like standing on the high diving board repeatedly counting to try trying to gather up get the courage to jump in.
One thing I really appreciate about my projects that is lacking from my work is the "once it's done, it's done" factor. Like cleaning, my work just keeps piling up. It's never done, there's always more and more and more. There's no sense of accomplishment where you can sit back and say it's done and admire your handiwork. There used to be. When volume was limited so that I could clean off my desk and take a deep breath, I felt great. On those days I went home smiling. But now there's often more on my desk at the end of the day than when I start. That's why I like working on the weekends - there's no email or new cases coming in. I can see the pile going down. During the week, the pile doesn't go down.
With renovation and other projects, there's a sense of accomplishment. A day later, a week later, a month later - I can look at what I've done and feel satisfied. It's there, it still looks great.
I look forward to the day when I can complete projects that generate money. Where something I build or got going months or years ago is still paying dividends. That must be a good feeling. I just have not ye been able to achieve that, yet. I will someday - if I can ever find the time!
It's a Sunday afternoon and writing this blog is a break from doing some overtime trying to catch up on my day job work. Over the last couple of years I've come to really resent my job. Mostly because it feels like a drain of time and energy, leaving me with nothing left to accomplish the things I actually want to do. There's a bit a vicious cycle to it. If I get a bit behind, I get discourage and become distracted, which puts me even more behind - compounding the problem. It wasn't always like this. I used to love my job and get a great deal of satisfaction from it. But in the past few years volume has increased substantially and we're still expected to get through it. It's like that Dilbert comic where the boss says - "Think of work as its own reward... Expect to be rewarded a lot more in the coming year."
I've got a long list of things to do: renovations, of course. But also my other projects I'm doing in an attempt to make money - on-line stores. I'm also setting up a Kung-Fu items shop in my Kung-Fu school. And of course, time with family, time to exercise, time for the pets, making meals, regular house-hold chores, etc. etc. etc.
I'm not a type A. Frankly I'm kind of lazy. I sleep in lots and hit the snooze button dozens of times. Thankfully I don't have a commute so I don't have the embarrassment of walking into the office late all the time. But if I sleep late, I have to work late. A good work ethic was something I developed in my 20s, but it's not a natural thing - I have to work at it. Then there's the energy issue. I may have a free evening, but if I've already worked a full day and overtime I'm often too exhausted to get up the energy to do anything significant.
I like living in a clean and neat place, but I'm messy and don't like to clean much (and it's low on the priority scale)
My kids (8 and 10 years old) are very talented mess makers, but are as stubborn as mules when it comes to doing chores. (I promise to wrie nice things about them in my blog at some point instead of just complainng - they really are great kids).
My wife has Fibromyalgia which puts her in constant pain (see side bar for a link to her blog). It's the worst type of disability I can think of other than brain injuries and brain diseases. First, there is constant pain that makes doing anything difficult and excruciatingly painful. If you have a somewhat good day and overdo it (and by overdo I mean do a fraction of what others would consider light work) - then you pay for it with a week of pain. Doctors don't know what causes it or how to effectively treat it, and there are no concrete tests for it. Which means many Dr.'s will tell you stupid things like it's all in your head etc. and basically treat you like a whiner. Reaction from family is generally no better - you see, with fibro, you don't look sick. So there's a big stigma to t. Many will consider you lazy and useless. Trust me - my wife would rather have both legs amputated than have to spend the rest of life with Fibro. It sucks more than you can imagine for her.
It's no picnic for me either. She can't clean much, she can't work, and she needs nursing.
I HATE nursing. I really dislike taking care of sick people - so having a wife who is constantly in pain is very frustrating for me. Her inability to contribute financially is frustrating in the extreme. And her limited ability to contribute much in the way of house work or renovations (at least without great painful sacrifices on her part) means that the great majority of work falls on my shoulders.
You know those women who complain that they have to work, take care of the kids, their husband etc and all he does is watch sports - it's kinda like that, but at least my spouse has a valid reason. Granted, Niqi does most of the child-care, but everything else is pretty much left to me. I have to prioritize, which means the house can go months without cleaning while I pursue other projects. The lawn is infrequently mowed. Projects can sit half-finished for weeks. My eldest daughters bedroom has sat vacant for the past month waiting for me to finish scraping the mold out of the ceiling which I could only tolerate doing for about 10 minutes at a time.
Some days I get a burst of energy and can plow through something at a quick pace without tiring for hours. But they are few and far between and I have no idea what triggers them. If I did, I'd be triggering them all the time.
Most of the time I can sit and stare at the to do list or project in front of me for long minutes trying to get the energy to dive in, like standing on the high diving board repeatedly counting to try trying to gather up get the courage to jump in.
One thing I really appreciate about my projects that is lacking from my work is the "once it's done, it's done" factor. Like cleaning, my work just keeps piling up. It's never done, there's always more and more and more. There's no sense of accomplishment where you can sit back and say it's done and admire your handiwork. There used to be. When volume was limited so that I could clean off my desk and take a deep breath, I felt great. On those days I went home smiling. But now there's often more on my desk at the end of the day than when I start. That's why I like working on the weekends - there's no email or new cases coming in. I can see the pile going down. During the week, the pile doesn't go down.
With renovation and other projects, there's a sense of accomplishment. A day later, a week later, a month later - I can look at what I've done and feel satisfied. It's there, it still looks great.
I look forward to the day when I can complete projects that generate money. Where something I build or got going months or years ago is still paying dividends. That must be a good feeling. I just have not ye been able to achieve that, yet. I will someday - if I can ever find the time!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hello blogosphere
Hello Blogosphere,
so, this is my first foray into the world of blogging. I'm probably about the 4 billionth blog to be created, so I don't particularly expect to accomplish anything major with this. I'm not attempting to do much except share my thoughts with the world at large.
In case you might be interested to check back later on, here's some things you may find me commenting on:
-trials and tribulations of starting an on-line arts and crafts store at artfire.com
-trials and tribulations of trying to get published as a childrens book author.
-Trying to make extra money
-renovating our new house and doing most of the work myself
-Kung-Fu
-Fitness and weight loss
-news and politics
-anything that strikes my fancy
-family life
-living with lots of pets
-working from home
So basically, I am a 33 y.o. male, with a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters. I work full time from home as a remote life insurance underwriter (I evaluate insurance applications, medical history, etc.).
Though I make a good income, we've always struggled with money due to some poor financial decisions early in or marriage, and some bad spending habits, that we have never really recovered from. The past winter we finally bought a house in the small town of Creston BC. It's a beautiful lot and the house has "good bones". But needs some work. So, we got started and I've done a lot of work so far. Tearing down walls and putting up new ones, making closets, dry-walling, painting, flooring, etc. But it's costly and we're overstretched and debt-ridden. Well, we already were before, but it's worse now.
So, we're trying to make extra money. Ideally, we'd like to do like in the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" books and develop some streams of passive income. But so does everyone else in the world, so how do you weed through all the scams etc and get going, especially when you've got loads of debt and no capital.
For me, the most obvious and easily accessible source of extra money should be overtime at work. I already work lots of it because there's so much volume of work lately. I'm good at it, and I'm able to work flexible hours as I'm home-based. So what's the problem? First, there was the "promotion" where I became a "professional" and was no longer eligible for overtime pay. I still maintain this was illegal, but my employer won't admit that and it's not cost effective to take them to court over it. Anyway, it was partially resolved last year when they paid me a large portion of my back OT in one big chunk. Now the problem is that they have already blown the budget for OT this year. So I'm stuck for now.
So I've turned to some other things.
First, I write. I figured I would try my hand at books for children, but so far no luck finding any publishers. I haven't given up yet, though.
Second, we're a crafty family and as a teen I made a tidy little profit making and selling FIMO necklaces and Rhythm sticks and stuff at festivals and things. So far haven't been too successful at local markets since the traffic is mostly seniors (I love seniors, they just tend to have different taste than what I sell). So I started a store on artfire.com (no sales yet), but I like the idea of having a store open 24/7. (Start at my facebook fan page : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Sticks-Stones-and-Bones/112342633608?ref=ts ) It's Sticks, Stones and Bones. I'm getting my URL changed at artfire, so I'll post it when that's done.
Artfire is great. It's a lot like Etsy, but cheaper and more user friendly (IMO, but I haven't used Etsy myself, so...). Unfortunately not as much traffic yet.
I also signed up for an affiliate program and advertising campaign. Somewhere out there thousands of people are seeing ads for Satellite TV service and if the sign up I get a commission. Trouble is, so far out of nearly 3000 views, conversion rate is still zero. Not one sale yet. I've also got affiliate agreements for ADT alarms and Amazon. com but haven't started any advertising for those.
Next step is a big yard sale this weekend. So far it's the only thing I'm trying that I'm 100% sure will make us some money.
It's just the beginning of this journey and I have lots of ideas to try. All the advise I've seen says to be persistent and stay positive. I'm very cautiously optimistic that some day, eventually, our efforts will bear fruit. At least we are now in our own space and comfortable.
so, this is my first foray into the world of blogging. I'm probably about the 4 billionth blog to be created, so I don't particularly expect to accomplish anything major with this. I'm not attempting to do much except share my thoughts with the world at large.
In case you might be interested to check back later on, here's some things you may find me commenting on:
-trials and tribulations of starting an on-line arts and crafts store at artfire.com
-trials and tribulations of trying to get published as a childrens book author.
-Trying to make extra money
-renovating our new house and doing most of the work myself
-Kung-Fu
-Fitness and weight loss
-news and politics
-anything that strikes my fancy
-family life
-living with lots of pets
-working from home
So basically, I am a 33 y.o. male, with a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters. I work full time from home as a remote life insurance underwriter (I evaluate insurance applications, medical history, etc.).
Though I make a good income, we've always struggled with money due to some poor financial decisions early in or marriage, and some bad spending habits, that we have never really recovered from. The past winter we finally bought a house in the small town of Creston BC. It's a beautiful lot and the house has "good bones". But needs some work. So, we got started and I've done a lot of work so far. Tearing down walls and putting up new ones, making closets, dry-walling, painting, flooring, etc. But it's costly and we're overstretched and debt-ridden. Well, we already were before, but it's worse now.
So, we're trying to make extra money. Ideally, we'd like to do like in the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" books and develop some streams of passive income. But so does everyone else in the world, so how do you weed through all the scams etc and get going, especially when you've got loads of debt and no capital.
For me, the most obvious and easily accessible source of extra money should be overtime at work. I already work lots of it because there's so much volume of work lately. I'm good at it, and I'm able to work flexible hours as I'm home-based. So what's the problem? First, there was the "promotion" where I became a "professional" and was no longer eligible for overtime pay. I still maintain this was illegal, but my employer won't admit that and it's not cost effective to take them to court over it. Anyway, it was partially resolved last year when they paid me a large portion of my back OT in one big chunk. Now the problem is that they have already blown the budget for OT this year. So I'm stuck for now.
So I've turned to some other things.
First, I write. I figured I would try my hand at books for children, but so far no luck finding any publishers. I haven't given up yet, though.
Second, we're a crafty family and as a teen I made a tidy little profit making and selling FIMO necklaces and Rhythm sticks and stuff at festivals and things. So far haven't been too successful at local markets since the traffic is mostly seniors (I love seniors, they just tend to have different taste than what I sell). So I started a store on artfire.com (no sales yet), but I like the idea of having a store open 24/7. (Start at my facebook fan page : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Sticks-Stones-and-Bones/112342633608?ref=ts ) It's Sticks, Stones and Bones. I'm getting my URL changed at artfire, so I'll post it when that's done.
Artfire is great. It's a lot like Etsy, but cheaper and more user friendly (IMO, but I haven't used Etsy myself, so...). Unfortunately not as much traffic yet.
I also signed up for an affiliate program and advertising campaign. Somewhere out there thousands of people are seeing ads for Satellite TV service and if the sign up I get a commission. Trouble is, so far out of nearly 3000 views, conversion rate is still zero. Not one sale yet. I've also got affiliate agreements for ADT alarms and Amazon. com but haven't started any advertising for those.
Next step is a big yard sale this weekend. So far it's the only thing I'm trying that I'm 100% sure will make us some money.
It's just the beginning of this journey and I have lots of ideas to try. All the advise I've seen says to be persistent and stay positive. I'm very cautiously optimistic that some day, eventually, our efforts will bear fruit. At least we are now in our own space and comfortable.
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