One Woman's Trash...

...is MY treasure!

A co-worker friend of mine is moving into a new place and has started packing up her stuff and cleaning out her closet. While sitting in her living room she drags in a bulging trash bag full of clothes she doesn't want. Rather than toss them out, she let us have first dibs on her cast-offs (the rest would go to charity) and boy did I find some goodies! I made out like a bandit and left with an armful of "new" clothes.


If you're clearing out your closet, call your friends over and let them have the pick of the litter! You'll save still-functional clothes from landfills and you'll be responsible for your friends updated wardrobe and fashion statement! More closet space for you and you're friends save some green!

Frock Swap

Got a closet full of clothes that you want to get rid of? I sure do. I would show you my actual clothes piles in my bedroom but I am too embarrassed! Rather than chucking your threads into the trash think about the pounds and pounds of clothing that is already in landfills! I read somewhere that clothing/textile waste makes up 4.5% of residential waste created. Each American is responsible for approximately 35 pounds, totaling 8.75 billion pounds per year. Crazy! Plus, many of our clothes are made of synthetic fibers derived from oil. Don't want that leaching into our ground now do we?

My natural impulse is to donate clothes to charities and 90% of my wardrobe was bought used. But why not mix it up a little and make a little event out of your former fashion?

On one of my flights to/from San Francisco I was lucky enough to watch a segment on Current TV about Swap-O-Rama, an event where you pay about $5 at the door, bring in your bag of old clothing, and swap with strangers. There are also sewing machines at these events brought in by volunteers so that you can create new clothes along the way. Cool idea right?

You can check out the site for any upcoming events near you or why not create your own little frock swap? Invite a few of your friends over, serve lovely organic refreshments, and have them bring a few items from their closet that they want to do away with. Set them out and rummage away! Accessories like bags, hats, belts and scarves are also perfect one-size-fits-all items! You're bound to leave with something new and you'll be giving garments a new lease on life!

It should be fun. Who can say no to a theme party! I am planning one in the near future so I will keep you posted for those friends in the area who are interested in stopping by.

Got leftovers from the party? You can donate the orphaned clothing to a charity of your choice!

Check out a video of some gals who partook in a frock swap of their own

Green Search Engine

Check it out! I've seen many specialized search engines in my time. Some were skinned for music artists (I saw one for Maroon 5) and there are others that allow you to donate to a charity. This one that I found is more niche and caters to green charities and organizations. It's called ClimateGift

You get to choose from 3 charities to donate to (The World Resources Institute, Reef Check, and The Earth Island Institute). You have to click around on the ads to funnel money into the organization's pockets and you can't miss the ads themselves! That homepage is pretty much packed. It is pretty cool, though, because along with ads, the homepage (like Google) has a little widget area for that organization, and links to other green sites. They even have a carbon calculator! You can also customize that landing page (like Google), add your own tabs and content.

It's worth checking out. I am so used to Google but I'll give this a try.

I feel 'used'

I think I'm going to join a book club. I've been meaning to do it and now that I've found out a co-worker is part of one I may just hop on board. This month's book? Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I've got until April 27th to read the book so I better get on it! But before I can, I need to get a
copy!

I do my best to steer clear of big bookstores like Barnes & Noble and the like and make an effort to support local bookstores. Even better, they earn extra gold stars if they sell used books. If more people purchased used versions of books that have been around for many moons then it means less trees are turned into new books. Plus, I get to give my new-used book a new lease on its inanimate life. One can even find great deals on used reads (I find amazing books at thrift stores for a quarter!) Or I turn to BookMooch.com and swap out my old books (that I don't feel like keeping around) and get other used books in return for free (minus the cost of shipping). And then there is always the trusty library. It is definitely the best option except for the fact that I'm a bibliophile that loves building the ol' collection.

The next time you're fixin' to get a book, get it used. It will make me and the pound-puppy-esque book happy. Don't want them anymore? Donate them to the Goodwill, library, your local book program, give them as a gift, and even trade/Bookmooch them.