The Green Frugal

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Hi everyone! Here is our latest Cash4Books.net promo in case you know anyone with textbooks. Pass it on!

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It has been nearly a year since the Cash4Books Sustainability Committee was formed, and our first year has been a great success. The committee is composed of five employees coming from several different departments throughout the company. While we have a wide range of perspectives and areas of focus on the committee, our main mission is to is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable practices at work.

There were several highlights for us in 2010. As a company, we logged over 110 hours of volunteer community outreach! We volunteered with the Children’s Book Bank, Tualatin Riverkeepers and the Oregon Food Bank. We were also happy to provide year-end donations to these organizations as a way of saying thanks for their hard work and dedication to their causes.

In July, we participated as a company in the Carefree Commuter Challenge. The CCC is a friendly competition between companies and organizations in the Portland, Oregon, metro region to see who has the most sustainable commuting habits. Over the course of the month we logged over 1,600 miles using sustainable transportation (defined as public transportation, carpooling, walking and biking). This saved over 65 gallons of gasoline, and prevented the release of 1,300 lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Enhancing our recycling program and reducing waste was another area of emphasis for us. We improved the recycling area in our employee break room, and installed a peg board to eliminate the use of disposable cups. We expanded our recycling list to include items like CDs and batteries.  Additionally, we continued to reuse and recycle the boxes and packing materials that we receive from our customers who send us their books. Over the course of the year, we recycled 40 tons of material that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill.

To finish off the year, we installed lighting occupancy sensors in the employee break room and shipping area of our warehouse. These sensors are anticipated to result in a 5% reduction of our annual electricity consumption. Plus, its really cool to have the lights turn on automatically when you walk by the sensors.

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So, you’ve screwed up Valentine’s Day. You just completely forgot about it. It does seem land on a different February 14 each year, and all the holiday signs and advertisements are easy to overlook. Whatever the reason, it’s important to admit that you fail at life and strive to overcome that failure next year. The best way to accomplish this is an Emergency Gift Stash.

The Emergency Gift Stash is a box filled with emergency gifts and cards for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. When Valentine’s Day is over and done, rush to all available stores and buy lots of Valentine’s goodies at a discount price. Keep in mind that all the best gifts will be gone, so it’s important to spend a lot of time looking for good cards and gifts (plush animals are good; jewelry is good) Also, don’t buy candy; it won’t be as yummy if you wait a year to eat it. Don’t buy flowers either; they’ll be dead in a year.

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Every year I find it more and more difficult to know what to do for my hunny on Valentine’s day.  Last year, I thought seeing a movie and dinner would be a safe play. I should have done more research before picking a flick off the marquee. Thinking I had scored by choosing an action film, after 2 ½ grueling hours watching two hikers die a slow death on the side of Eiger, dinner just wasn’t the romantic event I had imagined.

For your convenience, and mine , I have compiled some of my male co-workers’ favorite Valentine’s gestures below. Have fun spoiling your Valentine this year!

Free
Spend time together!
Take a hike. Go window shopping. Check out some live music. Make a Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt.

Cook him dinner …we all know food is the fastest way to your hunny’s heart
Buy a cookbook & let him pick the recipes YOU cook (maybe even for the next week)! or serve him breakfast in bed (mimosas anyone?)
With dinner, open a bottle of wine and explain why the name reminds you of him.

Make him a homemade card or present.
Include the story of how you met, your feelings then and now!
Write a top 10 list of what you adore about him, 10 things you remember about your first year together, 10 most memorable moments of your relationship, etc.  Serve together in your local community

Make a reverse BINGO blackout game.
Cover all the squares and draw  letter (row) – number (column) combinations until he guesses the message you’ve written underneath.

Pick him up at his office for lunch and surprise him with a picnic lunch in the park.

Under $30
Frame a Picture of you or one of your adventures.
Try making a collage or Memory book.  Snapfish has some great resources!

Food again…
Send him some Omaha steaks, new seasonings or specialty sausages.

Make a donation to his favorite non-profit in his name

Get him a subscription to his favorite magazine

Electronics!
Check out this remote control indoor helicopter for less than $30! Really, you can’t go wrong with remote control anything for guys!

Under $75
Pep up his personal computer, organizer or smart phone with fun accessories

Get his car detailed

Buy him a round of golf

Engrave his initials on a new money clip

Outerwear, Outerwear, Outerwear
We all know that boys are going to, and like to, get dirty!

Feed his habit with coffee accessories
Think mugs, grinders, and his favorite grounds

Over $75

Sports/Concert tickets
Buy him tix to go to an event with his FRIENDS (he might think it’s the best surprise…a free night out)!  Adventure gift certificates

Adrenaline is always a safe bet.
Hot air balloon or air glider rides make great gifts!

Rather than just a bottle or flask of their favorite alcohol, give the gift that keeps on giving…wine club memberships or home brew kits

Schedule a couple’s massage….because let’s be honest, he isn’t going without you to some frilly salon

Plan a weekend away to his favorite retreat
These are men. Think cabins/camping/yurts/the ground

I hope these suggestions are helpful! Let us know how you chose to celebrate this year!

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–By guest author Rod Johnson

Are you looking for the perfect way to say I love you at Valentine’s Day?  The “Box of Love” is something I have been doing for my wife for the past 10 years or so.

What is the “Box of Love” you ask.

The “Box of Love” is a small box or tin that contains 12 small envelopes.  There is one for each month.  Each envelope contains a date to go on or something to do for that month.  The idea is to open one each month on the first of the month, and find out what is on the agenda for that month.

As I said my wife and I have been doing this for the past 10 years or so and we have really enjoyed it.  We have created many memories.  The nice thing is that the box makes a great place to store ticket stubs and other mementos so that we can go back later and reminisce.

What we do is to sit down after the date, usually over a cup of coffee, and write on the back of the card. We describe what we did, what we ate if we had dinner, that sort of thing.  We call it signing off the card.  Then we put the card along with any ticket stubs etc. into the box for later.  Many times we will buy a coffee cup or other souvenir to commemorate the occasion.

It is not always the most expensive things that are the best.  Sometimes just a walk together or a picnic means more than a night out on the town or a trip.  The important thing is to spend time together.  When I think up the activities, I look for things that we wouldn’t otherwise do.  For example, visit a local tourist attraction.   Have you ever noticed how you never do any of the touristy things until someone visits from out-of-town?   Well this is your chance to do some of them together.

How can I create a “Box of Love”?

First get yourself a nice box or something to put the cards in.  Then get some business card stock at an office supply store.  Get the kind that has perforations so you can break it apart.  Then put your “dates” on the cards print them out and break them into the individual cards.  I like to make it into a little rhyme like:

“The leaves are turning different colors, they won’t be here long.
Let’s take a drive down to the coast, to miss it would be wrong.”

Once you have your cards, make or buy some business card sized envelopes (sometimes referred to as professional, mini, or florist envelopes).  These can be a little hard to find, and of course you can’t really print on them, so I have always made them.  Just print out pieces of paper with the month names on them, and cut them roughly into the shape of an envelope.  Fold the paper around the business card and seal it with a piece of tape.

Finally, put the cards in the box and when you give it to your sweetheart, get ready for the love.

What if I don’t have time to put it all together?

If you are local (in the Portland Oregon area) you can pick up a Box of Love Kit in the form of a heart shaped tin for $19.95 at the McKenzie Books store on Millikan Way.  If you are not in the area, you can order one online at boxOfLoveStore.com.