The Green Frugal

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Hello Everyone,

Our Sidewalk Sale is fast approaching. It will be next week June 23, 24 & 25 from 10am – 6pm at our warehouse located in beautiful Beaverton, Oregon.

We will have 4,000+ books for sale in all types of categories with inventory refreshed daily so we don’t have slim pickins’ come Friday afternoon. Also, this has been posted as an event on our McKenzie Books facebook page, so feel free to RSVP to it so your network can see it on your page.  We really want to spread the word and raise as much money as we can for DonorsChoose.org!  Also, we will be accepting credit cards.

Below is a copy of the flyer we are handing out. If everyone could forward this flyer on to everyone they know locally so they can forward it on to everyone they know locally and so on and so forth that would be awesome!  Also, it would be great if everyone posted an actual paper flier at at least ONE location around Beaverton in your nearest Starbuck’s, grocery store, gym, cafes, library, local/family/friend’s businesses, schools, local charities etc. Flyers are also available at the McKenzie Books customer service counter.

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Every year I struggle with what to buy my dad for Father’s Day. He never wants or needs anything! I usually end up getting a gift certificate or some useless tool he will stow away in the unused toolbox I bought him the year before…that or underwear.  This year, instead of golf balls, socks or a tie, I have decided to give my Dad the gift of creativity, and save my pocketbook at the same time!

Because I work at a bookstore, I am always on the lookout for great ways to reuse old books. As is turns out, there are several ways to convert your old tomes, or that great bargain bookstore find into a homemade gift for Dad. Here are a few innovative ways I found to recycle your used books into memorable Father’s Day gifts:

1. Father’s Day Frames -

Take your dad’s favorite title, author or even genre and turn it into a picture frame in just a few easy steps. Several blogs have outlined detailed instructions and tips to convert your used books into easy gifts:

fototiller.com Blog - DIY Book Frame

The Red Chair Blog- DIY Old Book Photo Frame

2. Father’s Day Journals –

Use your used books to create journals, and give your hardback another life at the same time. It’s easy; simply sandwich blank pages between interesting covers and rebind (sometimes it is even fun to leave in some of the original text.)

If your Dad is a big golfer, or a fishing fan, you could create a journal to keep track of those great shots or unbelievable catches! Likewise, you could create a themed journal to log those beers or wines he loves, or even to note his favorite movies or books. There are even sites to make planners!

Here are a few blogs which outline step-by-step journal creation:

HGTV.CA – Journal from old book covers

Just Something I Made – Vintage Book Planner Tutorial

Book Journals

Good luck with your projects and Happy Father’s Day!

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I’ve been using websites to find great free stuff for a while now, and it surprises me every time I talk with someone who doesn’t know about them. While some go out and spend $200 on a new dining set, I found mine for free – and it’s nicer looking!

Just a few things I’ve snagged:

• A toddler bed in great condition
• Clothing for my kids
• Clothing for me!
• Two BIG bean bag chairs in new condition
• Food
• Plants
• A really cool kid’s art desk

Generally you have to go pick it up, but sometimes they’ll be nice enough to deliver.  What’s a few cents lost on gas when you get a free TV!

These are the sites I visit most often:

www.freecycle.org

www.craigslist.org (the free section!)

www.freesharing.org (this one has another list of even more free-recycling websites!)

You can even specify what you want by posting “Wanted” ads! Of course, it’s all local to whatever town, county, state, etc. you live in, just specify!

When you’ve satisfied your “gimme gimme” craving, give back and free-recycle your unwanted but still in good condition (or not) stuff!

Happy sharing!

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If you haven’t heard by now, Stephenie Meyer has a new Twilight story out. It’s called The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella. As the title suggests it’s about Bree Tanner, a vampire in Eclipse. The novella can be read online for free until July 5th.  I’ve never read any of the Twilight Saga, so the news of a new story doesn’t excite me very much. But, books that are free to read do catch my eye. Unfortunately, the tale has to be read on the website. It can’t be downloaded or printed. However, other authors offer free stories that can be saved to a computer and read anytime.

Neil Gaiman has a few stories available at his website. I suggest reading “A Study in Emerald,” a fun little story that combines Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft’s Old Gods. There’s also author‘s like Cory Doctorow, who offers all of their novels for free under the Creative Commons license (just click on the book covers on the right side to get to the download links). But, I only mention those because I like reading Science Fiction. If your interests vary, you might want to look in other places.

Project Gutenberg is a digital library. Its creator, Michael Hart, created the first electronic text in 1971 when he realized that computers could be used to store information. The website has over 30,000 ebooks available for free download. Many of them are classics, but those are fun to read, too (or maybe not if you professor is making you do it).

All of this just goes to show that there are places to get free (legal) ebooks. I’m sure there are many other authors that have free stories on their websites. Just search around a bit until you find something you like.

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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.