At the Ottawa Food Bank, these containers are constantly used and required on an ongoing basis!

 

Now we’ve had positive confirmation from the Ottawa Food Bank that they can always use these items.  

 

           Ottawa Food Bank Red Bin

And the really good news is that you can donate them at Ottawa Food Bank Red Bin Locations at the front of most supermarkets in Ottawa although they would prefer, if it is convenient, that you bring your donations to the main warehouse - 1317B Michael St., Ottawa, ON K1B 3M9

 

Of course, since the containers will be used to repackage bulk foods, be sure they are nice and clean!  And please leave a little note inside telling them you were referred by FullCircles Ottawa.  We’d love the good will!  You might even want to throw in a food item or two while you’re at it.

 

Here’s my March 2012 conversation with the Ottawa Food Bank on their Facebook Page:

Eric Snyder - March 12, 2012
In the past, I’ve dropped off clean white 1 kg yogurt containers with lids at the Food Bank Centre on Bronson. Is this type of donation still of interest to the Ottawa Food Bank?
If so, could they be bagged and dropped off at a supermarket food bank bin?

Yesterday at 9:23am · Like

• Ottawa Food Bank Hello Eric! Thank you for thinking of us. Yes we do accept these types of containers! You can either bring them right to our warehouse (1317B Michael St) or you can drop them off in the red bin at your local grocery store.
  Thank you!

  Yesterday at 10:17am · Like

• Eric Snyder Thanks for your note! This is good news for me. I haven’t had to recycle any of these containers for the past 8+ years, since we started Ottawa Freecycle. Now… how about red Folgers plastic coffee canisters? Are these something the Food Bank can use too?

  Yesterday at 11:40am · Like

• Ottawa Food Bank I would imagine so! Feel free to donate them the same way you do the yogurt tubs. If we receive them and I hear that they don’t want them, I’ll let you know.

 

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Saying Goodbye to all the Clutter
by Kate on JUNE 18, 2012 in GO GREEN, HOUSEKEEPING, MONEY

Does anyone else feel uneasy or anxious when there’s just “too much” stuff around you?  I do.

I’ve spent the last month or so, slowly cleaning out our house of all the excess stuff we have accumulated (and I still have a long way to go).  It’s unbelievable how many things have moved with me from apartment to apartment to house that never get touched.  WHY DO I EVEN HAVE SOME OF THIS STUFF???

Here’s the little game that I’m playing with myself:

1.  Have I used/worn it in the last year?

If yes, clean it, organize and put it back away.

If no, go to question 2.

2.  Does someone I love need it?

If yes, offer it to them first.

If no, move to question 3.

3.  Could I upcycle it to something I will actually use (or sell)?

If yes (and I think I’ll actually find time to do it), put it into my work room.

If no, move on to question 4.

4.  Could I get money for it?

If yes, offer it on Craigslist (and move to question 5).  (FYI, I offer it on craigslist before eBay because it potentially won’t have to travel as far, thus uses less energy….Plus, I hate going to the post office.)

If no, offer it on Freecycle (and move to question 6).

5.  Did someone take it?

If yes, YAY!

If no, try eBay if I’m willing to ship or Freecycle if I’m not.

6.  Did anyone take it from eBay or Freecycle?

If yes, YAY!

If no, donate to Goodwill or similar organization.  Avoid sending stuff to landfill at all costs!

And, the very last step… QUIT BUYING MORE!

Now I’m off to put up a few more posts to Craigslist.  Happy Spring Cleaning!

via Saying Goodbye to all the Clutter | zMOMbie.

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“.

Image via Wikipedia

Time Out in the Naughty Corner
By Mary Hunt – Everyday Cheapskate
09/05/2011

Americans are up to their eyeballs in credit-card debt, much to the delight of lenders everywhere.

Despite student loan debt surpassing credit-card debt, the average credit-card debt per household with credit cards is $14,788, at 16.82 interest. The majority of card-carrying Americans cannot seem to say “no.” Temptation is everywhere, as is the pressure to keep up.

The problem is that we are shortsighted. We make spending decisions based on emotion, not calculated reason. Why else would any sane person walk into Costco needing only milk, eggs and cheese and walk out with a lovely piece of Waterford crystal, too? It’s that sense of urgency plus the ability to have it now and pay for it later that’s given us the label: Overspent Americans.

We must take responsibility for our behaviors and personal discipline. Of course, some of us have temperaments that are more conducive to a mind-blowing spending spree, but so what. That does not mean we shouldn’t do all we can to control that kind of behavior. Supernanny would not approve.

If you’ve seen an episode of the hit television show “Supernanny,” you know a little something about the “naughty corner.” It’s a place where a firm yet loving adult places a misbehaving child who failed to heed the one obligatory warning, and who must remain to reflect on the offense—one minute for every year of age.

The naughty corner requires the offender to be physically removed from the conflict to think about his behavior. Of course, on the show, “reflection” is more like wailing and gnashing of teeth, but that makes for good TV.

Remarkably, the naughty corner always wins, and just in time for Supernanny to speed away to help another family in crisis.

If you are prone to behaving badly, it’s time to find yourself a naughty corner—a place to take a time-out when you’re tempted to spend compulsively and your behavior is out-of-control.

The rules are simple. At the moment you sense things are spinning out of control, give yourself a single warning as Supernanny would advise—a firm and clear command to “stop!” If this does not immediately reverse the behavior, march yourself straight to the naughty corner for a much-needed time-out.

Once you have removed yourself from the site of the temptation, ask these questions:

Just those few minutes in the naughty corner will put the brakes on out-of-control spending. Nine times out of 10, once you contemplate your behavior you’ll end up walking away from the temptation empty-handed—and you’ll be happy about it.

And if you adhere to the age rule, you might get a nap out of the deal.

Related articles

• How to effectively manage Credit Card Debt in India! (trak.in)
• Notes on U.S. College Debt (alexblom.com)
• Living the College Life: Should I Accept that Great-Sounding Credit-Card Offer? (education.com)

This is a jolting wake up call.  Thanks for bringing this to our attention on your Facebook Page, Manuel Costa.

Eric
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Every little bit doesn’t really help

By Marq De Villiers, Ottawa Citizen May 25, 2011

Every little bit helps, no?”

Well, no.

The notion that “every little bit helps” is just a comforting illusion.

One of the main dissonances in the climate change debate, on the increasingly rare occasions we are now having a debate at all, is that between the cheerfully mundane remedies pressed on us all, and the sheer scale of the problem to hand: if we all did a little, such as cutting back on standby power, using a clothesline instead of a dryer and so forth, the cumulative effect will add up to a lot, won’t it? But this is, to use a cheerful quote from Cambridge physicist David MacKay, “crazy innumerate codswallop.”\

Read more: Every little bit doesn’t really help.