The Green Frugal

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Although I moved to Portland over a year ago, I am still overwhelmed by all of the distinct neighborhoods that dot the city. Because Portland is a patchwork of nestled hot spots, tucked between the trees and hills, it can be difficult to know what is down the street, let alone across town.   

Thankfully, however, a recent Cash4Books customer informed us that they had located our company through the website WalkScore.com. Walk Score both rates the walkability of neighborhoods, as well as provides a wealth of information about pedestrian-friendly destinations in an area. You simply put in an address, and Walk Score generates a map and list of nearby cafes, movie theaters, libraries, bookstores, grocers, even public transportation. In addition, Walk Score provides contact information and reviews for each attraction within walking distance. As it turns out there is a café a quarter mile from my front door. Because it’s down the hill from my home, behind quite a few trees (including a cool monkey puzzle tree), I honestly would never have found this little gem without Walk Score.

But why walk? Isn’t driving faster and easier? Walk Score lists the environment, health, our pocketbooks and the community as benefactors of high walkability neighborhoods. Not to mention, by walking you get to take in that sweet sunshine, and inevitably discover far more than is possible peering from the window of your car!

With summer weather on the horizon, I am antsy to get out and explore. Although my own address scored a mere 52 out of 100 – rated as “somewhat walkable” – I am ready to check out what my new neighborhood has to offer. What’s your Walk Score?

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Finding fun, interesting children’s books isn’t hard.

Finding fun, interesting children’s books that are also organic can be a bit trickier. When I say “organic” books, I mean made from recycled materials, using Earth-friendly inks and dyes – even cloth books!

Paper cannot be recycled over and over, the fibers break down and lose connectivity. Some publishers are now mixing paper from trees grown in sustainable forests with already recycled paper, strengthening the fibers and prolonging paper-life. Using soy ink, instead of petroleum based ink, also aids us in our quest for organic books.

Cloth books are great for very young children; easy to teethe on, impossible to tear apart, usually very colorful and some have noisemakers or “feely” objects. The best part about a cloth book: they don’t require any paper!

In my own search for great, sustainable books for my kids, I came across a few wonderful publishers. Priddy books has started it’s own line of natural books called “Natural Baby“.

And here are a few sites offering a selection of cloth books, including how to make your own!

Oompa Cloth Books

Make a Cloth Book

Make Your Own Cloth Book

And, of course, your local used book seller should have some children’s books – buying used is a great way to be green!

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I grew up in the south where summers were filled with lazy afternoons of relaxing under the shade trees.  At least for me.  Grownups had to continue with their grownup responsibilities on those long sunny days.  My grandma would take the opportunity to dry the wash on the clothesline in her backyard.  She’s get up before dawn and start washing clothes.  By the time I’d get to her house in the afternoon, the clothes were hanging on the line already dried by the sun and the wind.  Grandma grew up before electric dryers were commonplace; putting laundry on a clothesline was the only reasonable way to dry it.  The habit was so much a part of her that she chose to do it even though she had a perfectly good dryer.  But, Grandma had a good idea.

She saved a good bit of money each year using the clothesline.  The US Department of Energy has a formula to find out how much money is spent to run appliances.  Drying six loads of laundry a week for a year in a dryer cost her close to $100.  She didn’t use dryer sheets either which continued to save her money.  And, clothes last longer when they’re dried on a clothesline because lint is created when the clothes brush against each other in the dryer which slowly wears them out.  Clotheslines are even good for the environment; a dryer creates over four pounds of carbon with each load.

Grandma was saving money and saving the world.  But none of that meant anything me to me when I was young.  Instead I would play with the clothesline.  I would pull the wire down and watch it spring back up with a mighty twang.  Launching clothespins into the air was very fun, but rocketing G.I. Joes into the atmosphere was even better.  Eventually, all the stress of the twanging stretched the wire causing it to sag.  Grandma had to use a wooden beam to hold the line in position.  I’d like to say I felt guilty, but I had already blamed it on my brother.

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Hello Everyone,

This is the kickoff post for the new Cash4Books blog! We wanted to give back to the blog community and to our awesome customers who have supported our growth and development throughout the last few years. Employees from around the company will be writing about the things they have a passion for. That is, you’ll be reading about fun DIY projects, great tips to live sustainably, ideas that can save a buck or two as you live your busy lives, and books of course! And we will write about Cash4Books so that you can get an idea of who we are and what we do around here.

Have a look around, read some posts, and tell us what you think.

Thanks for reading,

The Cash4Books Team