Resale Retail

Recycling . . . . Real Estate?

2008-01-13T20:40:00.000-05:00

. . . And now my other great love is about to be revealed, besides buying stuff used for my house: it's buying used houses. To me this is one of the ultimate recycling adventures - taking housing that has been used (or abused) and making it your own.
I have purchased three houses and 1 empty lot in the last 25 years. I have given a lot of thought to tearing down my current house and building a new one on our lot but the main reason I have decided not to is because I don't want all that rubble and trash going to a landfill. (That, plus the additional expense of building from scratch when you can re-hab for less.)
A companion fascination for me is the whole industry of auctioning residential real estate. In other countries such as Australia, auctions have been a mainstay of selling for years. Auctioning has not caught on in a big way in the United States residential markets . . . . yet. With the sub-prime mortgage fiasco I expect that will change in the near future.
There are a couple of residential auction companies in existence now and you can look for more to come up as more and more pre-foreclosure and foreclosure homes need to be moved quickly.
Just try a quick web search using your favorite search engine on "residential real estate auctions (your state or city here)" and see what you find.

Happy Holidays, Resale Retail Style

2007-12-22T22:01:00.000-05:00

It's been several weeks since my last update, and I've been very busy with my paying job. But I wanted to share my favorite Resale Retail way to help others shop for you for holidays, birthdays, weddings, or any other gift-giving occasion while saving resources including out-of-pocket cash.

Create a new e-mail account for yourself at the e-mail provider of your choice (Yahoo, Google, etc.) for example "gifts4me@gmail.com." Make sure you set a non-embarrassing, easy to remember password.
Go to eBay and register as a new user with that account (gifts4me@gmail.com in our example).
Put everything you want from eBay on the My eBay watch list under that account.
Give all your friends and loved ones the e-mail and password you defined in step 1 and let them log in to check out the watch list and bit on what they want to give you!

The only snag is that you can't check that e-mail account or watch list until after the event is over unless you want major spoilers to your surprise. I used this approach for Christmas last year and got a number of things from my watch list under an e-mail I created especially for that purpose. Happy green, inexpensive, eco-friendly shopping!

Who'd Have Thought - Target?!

2007-12-01T09:08:00.001-05:00

Two news articles in the past week highlight that Target is jumping into the game with both reused and recycled goods, and with their market reach that's a wonderful thing!

First off, Target has decided to refurbish and re-sell used, returned electronics at reduced prices. This is such a highly sensible idea and it's amazing that other large retailers haven't done it already (except Apple, that leader in all trends). A recent trip to their site showed used iPods and flat screen TVs!
So this holiday season you can both do good by buying used, and also indulge in some goodies for yourself or others that perhaps you wouldn't have bought otherwise.

The other news from Target is that they are now featuring their own line of holiday greeting cards made from recycled materials. While this isn't quite as big a stretch as selling refurbished electronics, it's still good and gives us something else to buy when we're there shopping for a used mp3 player.

Sustainability, Thanksgiving, and Cast Iron Skillets

2007-11-25T16:02:00.000-05:00

Last night some friends were at our house for Thanksgiving dinner leftovers and talk turned to cookware. I had tried to make a dish in a non-stick pan where I should have used a cast iron skillet, with a poor result. My friend commented that production should stop around the world for cast iron skillets immediately because they never wear out, and surely there are enough of them in existence today to meet any demand for a very long time. I had to agree with her, since I stoutly believe in the idea that cast iron cookware is lifetime cookware and a perfect example of ideal reusability.

So the question is, where do all the cast-iron skillets go? If you are looking for answers on how to take care of the cookware you have, or how to rehab a piece you found at a local flea market or yard sale, check out the forums at the International Dutch Oven Society to get any questions answered.

Happy Thanksgiving from Resale Retail!

2007-11-22T14:44:00.000-05:00

Like many of you, I have spent most of the day cooking a yummy dinner for our family and friends. I find cooking alone in the kitchen is very relaxing if I'm not in a hurry to get on to something else, so I set dinner for late in the afternoon. Some of the top items in my kitchen are things I took over from my mother when she down-sized. My favorite is the flame-colored Le Creuset Dutch oven that I use heavily and I'm convinced there is no better pot in the world.

On to topics of resale retail. I recently found the home page for the National Association of Resale and Thrift shops. It has a link to member shops around the country as well as a bookstore and other resources for those who want to start their own bricks-and-mortar thrift or resale shop. I've added it to the links list also for reference. And for a brief update on the hunt for a used trash can made of recyclable and/or recycled metal - no luck so far. I will need to set up a search on eBay for such an item since even the mighty 'Bay doesn't have one in the size we need.

Saturday House Observations

2007-11-18T00:38:00.000-05:00

"Life is just one long dish."

After starting my dishwasher for the 3rd time in 3 days, I realized that most of these loads were made up of glasses from family members picking up a new glass each time they wanted a drink of whatever. Tomorrow I will suggest picking a single glass for the day, then maybe we can get back to our every-other-day dishwasher cycle habit and save additional water. (Water which may end up back in Costa Rica to generate electicity.)

Countries Compete to Become Carbon-Neutral

2007-11-18T00:14:00.002-05:00

What a fantastic idea - The Worldwatch Institute announced last week that New Zealand and Costa Rica were now competing to become the first carbon-neutral country on the planet.

As stated in the article, Costa Rica "aims to reduce emissions from transport, farming, and industry, and to clean up its fossil fuel power plants, which account for 4 percent of the country’s electricity (of the rest, 78 percent comes from hydropower and 18 percent from wind and geothermal power)." New Zealand plans to increase its renewable electricity to 90%, up from today's 70%, by 2025. It's very impressive that both these countries already generate the large majority of their electricity using something other than fossil fuel, quite unlike the United States.

Going to the Dogs

2007-11-14T07:25:00.000-05:00

We have a large curious extrovert of a dog, appropriately named Puck. At 5 years old, he has developed many, um, attention-getting habits over the years. Most recently Puck has started dumping over our kitchen trash can.

My new resale retail assignment, therefore, is to find a trash can that is Puck-Proof. My first query on the Internet led to an interesting site that I would not have expected - an outfit called United Receptacle. Their web site claims that all steel products contain over 30% recycled steel, and all aluminum products contain up to 70% recycled aluminum.

My next step is to see if I can find one of these trash cans on eBay. I'll keep you posted on my progress!

"

Late Evening News - Reuse That Apple

2007-11-12T20:19:00.000-05:00

No, I don't mean the mushy red one sitting on your kitchen counter. I'm referring to any computer or MP3 device made by Apple Computer.

I was at the Apple Store today and saw a sign posted by the cash register - if you buy a new computer you can bring in your old computer and peripherals and Apple will recycle them for you. You can also bring in any old Apple MP3 player and buy a new one at 10% off. Finally, they will take any cell phone and recycle it!

I just checked out their web site but didn't see any reference to this. I may be an in-store deal. Good luck!

ReStores: Recycling with Habitat for Humanity

2007-11-12T11:03:00.002-05:00

I want to help spread the word that Habitat for Humanity has a (relatively) new recycling and reuse sideline going on now - the ReStores. The concept is that individuals, building supply businesses, demolition crews, and contractors donate materials they can't use, and Habitat sells them to the general public at a fraction of retail prices. The money they raise is used to fund (what else?) more Habitat for Humanity homes! Check out their web site for locations and specifics about what can be donated.

The net recycling and reuse value is high - donors recycle and get rid of old building materials, buyers reuse, and Habitat reduces the cost of buying another house.

And there's more - they will send their truck to pick up, and your donation is tax deductable! It doesn't get much easier or better than that!

Loving E-Bay!

2007-11-11T11:12:00.000-05:00

What's not to like? Where else can you do all the things E-Bay offers - shop 24/7 with the absolute best selection on the planet, get the best market-driven price on your item, and have it delivered to your door within days? Because of E-Bay I have significantly upgraded my wardrobe at a fraction of what it would cost to buy new (which I couldn't afford anyway). A few examples:

--Full-sized, high quality leather couch, less than 6 months old, $300. Bought from a seller 10 miles away. My husband and I rented a truck, took cash, and didn't pay until we'd seen it. Money saved: about $1500.00 over new.

--Ferragamo pumps, black, perfect work shoe, $74.00. I already know what size I wear in Ferragamo (a key piece of info you should have before bidding) so no risk there. Money saved: about $200 over new.

--Ferragamo pumps, navy, identical to the black ones, $13.50 (that's correct, $13.50). These came up for auction about 6 months after the black ones.

--Geiger coat, purple. knee-length, $75.00. My mother had paid about $1000 for a similar coat a few years ago.

Set up your watch lists, know your sizes in the brand you're bidding on, and have a blast!

Jump In - The Cell Phone Bungee Dilemma

2007-11-10T23:14:00.001-05:00

What to do when you buy a new cell phone?

New phones generate all sorts of churn for environmentally conscious consumers. There's the old phone, and questions about what to do with it. But it doesn't stop there. When I bought a new cell phone recently I had the following: 2 power cords, 1 car charger, and the old phone itself, none of which was reusable with my new phone.

After a little research I have compiled these suggestions:

Donate them at a Whole Foods store (check site for locations)
Donate them to a local homeless shelter or domestic abuse agency
Check out Cell Phones for Soldiers, started by a brother and sister who wanted to help soldiers in Iraq call home through the use of donated cell phones and prepaid calling cards
Give an extra phone to an elderly relative or 'tween and add them to your family plan
Sell them on eBay!

Be sure to include any chargers you have for your phones.