Swap That DVD

My husband and I own a whopping 12 DVDs. 8 of which are workout DVDs and 4 of those, I don't really use anymore. Rather than leaving them to collect dust, and because I'd love to get some new ones without paying much for them I looked in to swapping them.

My first stop was Swaptree, a place where you can swap DVDs, books, CDs, and video games. I played with the demo, but was disappointed that I couldn't actually search through the current listings. But because I could swap various items, not just DVDs, I signed up. Once I signed up, I searched through the listings and saw that Swaptree had hardly any workout DVDs, and none that I wanted.

Also, after investigating, I realized I don't have excess books or games to swap, so I moved over to SwapADVD.



Here, you can actually search the listings first and I found many more exercise DVDs, so I signed up.

Upon entering my DVDs, I was notified that two of them were already on some one's list, and was asked if could send them in the next two days. So I printed out the shipping "envelopes" and will mail them today. Because I only had 4 DVDs (if you enter 10 you get an automatic credit) I will have to wait for my sent DVDs to be received before I am eligible to get any myself, but I'm O.K. with that.

All in all, I think that swapping DVDs is a great idea, and I pick SwapADVD as my favorite swapping service.

Cap It Off

In August, I started collecting caps for my "Great Aveda Experiment". They claimed on their website they they would happily take rigid plastic caps from soda bottles, water bottles, etc. (Full description: here.)

So I started collecting them. And collecting them. And collecting them. Last week, I finally had the gallon bag filled to the top. (It weighed 768g. The gum package is for scale.)



So I headed off to our local Aveda, Vata Salon, at the Vancouver Mall, in Vancouver, WA. I had to go there anyway. Two birds with one stone and all that.

I really wasn't sure what would happen. I had tried to call ahead to see if they participated in the program, but all I got was an answering machine. I was prepared to be laughed out of the store.

When I asked the man (with the perfectly spiked hair) if they participated in the Aveda Recycle Caps program. He said, "Oh yes, of course! People drop things off all the time." So I handed over my gallon bag of caps and exited the store. I checked over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't just dumping my bag in to the trash, but he was working away at the computer.

So, will I continue to collect tops? Hell yeah. That was easy!

Note to Aveda: if I had earned some sort of coupon or % off for bringing in tops, I would have lingered a bit in the store, instead of booking out of there. Just saying.

If You Can't See It You Won't Wear It

A few months ago, I decided to tackle my closest. While it was certainly organized, it wasn't yet super-organized. So I did a little experiment to see how truly anal I am. First, I started with my shoes. I went through all the pairs. Decided which should stay, which should go, and then snapped a pic, printed it out, and slapped it on the box. The result:




Then I went through my clothes, weeded out things I never wear, and thought it would be a kick to hang everything by color! I'd only done this once before, when I was killing time waiting for my boyfriend to arrive from the airport.

So, I figured, I'd give it another go.



I know it seems crazy, but it's actually been a great way to have my clothes organized. I can see them better, and I'm more likely to wear some color, and not just black, black, black.

No, I won't come over and do your closet. I'm still worn out from doing mine.

Go, but Go Loco

The commute. Something I have been able to avoid for years, but with my new job search going on, something I will probably be facing very soon. While I'd love to be able to walk or bus to work, it probably just isn't gonna happen. Enter Goloco.

The brainchild of Robin Chase, founder of ZipCar, Goloco is like carpooling on steroids. You can use it for daily office commutes, finding out what your friends are up to, and hopping a ride to the nearest big city. It's free and it's adorable and I plan on using it once I know exactly where I will be heading each morning.

The Play's The Thing

For the last few years, Martin and I have been enjoying free Shakespeare performances put on by the Portland (Oregon) Actors Ensemble. They perform outdoors, in various parks around the city.

A few weeks ago, we watched a truly creepy (in a good way!) performance of King Lear. It was performed in Cathedral Park, under the St. John's Bridge.




They have more performances coming up, and we highly suggest you grab a picnic, some chairs, and a blanket and join us for one of Portland's most wonderful summer traditions!

Don't live near Portland, Oregon? Go to Play Shakespeare and look through the links for your country and town. You are sure to find something close by! Enjoy!

Speak Up For What You Want: Part 2

I recently contacted various magazine companies asking them to consider using recycled paper and these are the responses I got:



I'm not surprised with their responses, and I truly appreciate that they responded. What I'd really love to see, is a price quote for using virgin paper vs. recycled paper. Not that the magazines have to prove anything to me, I'm just truly fascinated and perplexed.

Body + Soul, Fast Company, Shape, Ready Made, Ms. Magazine, and others can swing it, why not Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine?

I consider Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine vital resources for learning about cutting edge businesses, and strategies for tackling business issues, how can it be that they can't tackle this one?

Speak Up For What You Want: Part 1

I was watching PBS recently (we don't have cable, so I tend to watch PBS a lot!) and saw a documentary about faith and environmentalism. One of the snippets involved an activist group that was trying to get major magazines (National Geographic, The New Yorker, etc.) to switch from using virgin trees, to using recycled paper. This idea intrigued me, and I've been checking every magazine I see now for either the FSC Recycled logo



Or a note on the title page inside stating that the magazine is printed on recycled paper (any % will do).


Of the 4 I subscribe to, only 1, Fast Company, uses 100% recycled paper. If any magazine thinks that using recycled paper will take away the quality and luster of their magazine, all they need to do is pick up a copy of Fast Company. It has a great look, and a lovely feel. (Plus, great articles!)

So, I decided to get vocal. Rather than just sending an email that will only be viewed by one or two people, I decided to also ask the magazine companies, via Twitter, if they would consider switching to recycled paper.

So, I tweeted to:

USAA (It's the magazine sent out by the banking/insurance company) @usaa_news
Entrepreneur Magazine, @EntMagazineAmy, entmag@entrepreneur.com
Inc., @IncMagazine, mail@inc.com

My next post will show the results.

Feel Good About Ditching Your Old Phone

The new iPhone 3GS release date was announced today, and Twitter is ablaze with people lusting after it. While I don't understand the need to have the newest shiny object out there, I'm not here to judge (well, not today anyway).

I'm here to inspire you to recycle your old phone, rather than just letting it gather dust.

5 Ways To Sell/Recycle Your Old Phone:

Send any brand of phone to Apple for free recycling (they also take iPods).

Sell your old/broken phone (plus other electronics) to BuyMyTronics.com.

Donate/recycle it with ExPhone.

Sell your phone to GreenPhone and they will also plant a tree.

Or, pop your Zip Code and "Cell phone" into the handy search function at Earth911.com and find a place nearby where you can drop off your phone.

Don't forget to recycle the original packaging that came with the old phone.

Enjoy the new one until the next model comes along, then repeat.

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Image courtesy of William Hook and used under the Creative Commons License