The FullCircles Blog

Multi-contributor blog on the topic of reusing, freecycling… garbology in general

Frugal Parenting: Some great advice for new parents / parents to be

Picture

Picture (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I recently learned that I’m going to be a great uncle once again.  I was thinking that my nephew could probably use some advice and assistance on frugal parenting.  An addition to his household is going to add a financial burden for sure.  To reduce the financial burden, at the same time as increasing the family’s capacity to support the new family member, it seems to me that he needs to learn about freecycling and about living “The Compact” life style.

I found some great advice from a new Mother on “The Compact“, a Yahoo!group community of people committed to a 12 month flight from the consumer grid.  Shopping on FullCircles and Freecycle groups for baby stuff can save a family tons of money… money that can be used for other things.

The advice has been extracted and forms the content for a FullCircles newsletter entitled, “Having a Compacty Baby”.  The new Mom provides advice on breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth diapers, buying used, “wearing” your baby, telling others about your compacty preferences.

Here’s the newsletter: “Having a Compacty Baby“.

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posted by Gub in Foodstuffs for Thought,Freecycling,Simple wisdom,Simplicity and have No Comments

Grasscycling – It’s simple, easy… Let’s all do it.

(19) Eric Snyder – Google+ – It’s simple, easy… Let’s all do it...

Grasscycling :: City of Edmonton »

Grasscycling. Tired of dragging your grass? Start grasscycling. It works. You don’t. Use any mower; Mow often (every 4 – 5 days during peak growing season); Mow high (blades should be 2.5 – 3 inch…
posted by Gub in Composting and have No Comments

‘Repair Cafes’ An effort to bury our throwaway culture

Amsterdam Tries to Change Culture With ‘Repair Cafes’ – NYTimes.com

An Effort to Bury a Throwaway Culture One Repair at a Time

Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times

Gathered around tables in what appeared to be delicate operations, participants tried to fix items that had been set for the trash.

AMSTERDAM — An unemployed man, a retired pharmacist and an upholsterer took their stations, behind tables covered in red gingham.Screwdrivers and sewing machines stood at the ready. Coffee, tea and cookies circulated. Hilij Held, a neighbor, wheeled in a zebra-striped suitcase and extracted a well-used iron. “It doesn’t work anymore,” she said. “No steam.”

Ms. Held had come to the right place.At Amsterdam’s first Repair Cafe, an event originally held in a theater’s foyer, then in a rented room in a former hotel and now in a community center a couple of times a month, people can bring in whatever they want to have repaired, at no cost, by volunteers who just like to fix things.

Conceived of as a way to help people reduce waste, the Repair Cafe concept has taken off since its debut two and a half years ago.

posted by Gub in Sustainability and have No Comments

Too Much Stuff! The Earth is full | Video on TED.com

 

Paul Gilding at TED 2012

Paul Gilding at TED 2012 (Photo credit: redmaxwell)

Paul Gilding: The Earth is full | Video on TED.com

Have we used up all our resources? Have we filled up all the livable space on Earth? Paul Gilding suggests we have, and the possibility of devastating consequences, in a talk that’s equal parts terrifying and, oddly, hopeful.

Paul Gilding is an independent writer, activist and adviser on a sustainable economy. Click through to watch the onstage debate that followed this talk. Full bio »

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posted by Gub in Freecycling and have No Comments

Books/Library: Why Buy When You Can Borrow?

 

Why Buy When You Can Borrow?

There are a ton of books in my local library. They even have newly released books, too. So why, instead of borrowing, do we buy books? By waiting just a little while, we can read that bestseller from our favorite author. Our first tipster has a great way to stay current and save money, too.  

  

via Debt-Proof Living > Articles > Everyday Cheapskate Home View.

posted by Gub in Foodstuffs for Thought,Free Stuff and have No Comments

Ever heard of “poticrete”?

Old Toilets Put City on Greenroads Path « Environmental News Bits

What do you do with 5 tons of old toilets? The city of Bellingham, Wash., found a creative (and sustainable) answer: Make sidewalk.

A section of a sidewalk installed as part of a road improvement project replaces conventional concrete with so-called “poticrete,” which contains crushed porcelain instead of gravel.

posted by Gub in Foodstuffs for Thought,Reusing Things You Already Have and have No Comments