Awesome Goodwill weekend! Plus laundry tips!

So, this weekend was successful as far as Goodwill was concerned. I was able to get several business-casual-ish clothing items, as well as some cuter things for school and going out. All of them were $2.50 or less.

I love Goodwill's color tag sales. For less than $20 you can walk out of there with bags of useful items if you look hard enough and time it well - Sunday morning is a good time to go because new colors have just gone on sale, and that item you've been eyeing for weeks can be snapped up in a heartbeat. Luckily, today that ended up being in Bess's favor because she was finally able to buy a pair of stained-glass turtle lamps that had been in Goodwill for weeks at $15 each. She got them for $15 total today.

Apparently, according to a cashier at the campus-area Goodwill, there is indeed a pattern to the colors. Brian has made it his goal to figure it out. I'm guessing, though, that it might have something to do with when certain items get put out. Today, the tag colors were blue for clothing and pink for housewares, and Brian had mentioned that just a few weeks ago they had just put a bunch of new pink-tagged items out on the floor. Today they were putting out a lot of green, so I'll look in a couple weeks and see if that is indeed the sale color.

I'll finish by saying yet again that Goodwill is one of my favorite stores ever. You can find nearly anything you could possibly need, including a few brand-new items. If you're willing to put in the small bit of effort to clean things up (which, if you have a dishwasher and access to a washer and dryer, isn't a lot at all), even clothing and dishes can be found cheaply.

In addition, it's one of the greenest forms of shopping you can do - no new products have to be made to stock Goodwill's shelves, and every item you or another person purchases is one more item that's not in a landfill.
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Now, I'm going to radically change topics here, but only because of random inspiration. Yay chores!

I've been doing my own laundry for years, which may have put me at an advantage over the many others my age who may have had to have their parents give them a crash course over the summer before college.

Over my years of experience, I've gleaned a lot of tips: some from personal experience, some from family and friends, some from household hints books (I'm a huge fan of Good Housekeeping columnist Heloise) and still more from the internet. I will dispense some of my favorite hints now.

- Before starting a load of laundry, separate your dirty clothes by color. I used to do four groups (whites, lights, darks and reds), but since starting college and discovering how expensive on-site laundry can be when you don't have your own machines, I've whittled this method down to two piles: lights/whites and darks/bright colors. When you use color-safe bleach, mixing colors shouldn't be a problem AS LONG AS YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT THE CLOTHES ARE COLORFAST. Usually if something is machine washable and has been washed before, you're fine.

- For most loads, cold water is fine. It helps preserve the life of your clothing and helps you save on your electric bill. I personally prefer to use hot water only on things like sheets and towels.

- Contrary to what you may think, wrinkles do not form in the dryer. They actually form during the wash cycle. You can save yourself a lot of ironing if you remove the clothes from the machines immediately after the wash cycle, shake each item individually before placing the clothes loosely in the dryer (much more effective drying than if you take the whole pile and stuff it all in the dryer at once) and then remove and fold the laundry immediately after the dryer cycle ends.

- If an article of clothing says "dry-clean only," you may still be able to machine wash it on a delicate cycle. The reason a lot of items say "dry-clean only" on the tags is because by law, manufacturers are required to list the safest form of cleaning for the garment, which is usually dry cleaning. If it's cotton or linen, you're probably fine. I would not suggest trying this with wool (and never, ever wash wool in hot water or put it in the dryer unless you want your toy poodle to have a new winter wardrobe), formal dresses made from satin or silk, or any item with a lot of delicate ornamentation or that is particularly valuable or irreplaceable.

Well, that's all for now! :)

Have it all...for nothing at all!

Or at the very least, the spare change under the couch cushions.

Over the past century or two, Americans have adapted to a consumerist society. They always have to have more of the new, the latest, the cutting edge. And when they discard the old, all of those items end up in Goodwill, or simply in a landfill where they may sit and rot for up to a thousand years or more.

This is where the truly thrifty can benefit.

Being college students, my friends and I have discovered a myriad of ways to benefit from the wastefulness of others. I share some of these tips below.

1) Freeganism aka dumpster diving. Much of what people throw away ends up in dumpsters in alleys or behind buildings, waiting to be hauled off to the dump. If you're not afraid to get messy (and come on, people and clothing are washable) you can score some pretty sweet stuff. Some people go to the extreme of only eating food that has been collected from dumpsters. Many others are satisfied with acquiring still-operational electronics, clothing, toys, books, appliances and more.

Watch for posted signage and check local laws regarding this activity before you go; a number of cities have outlawed dumpster diving. Also, be kind, don't leave a mess.

A similar principle involves scoping out curbsides. Often, people will leave things they want to dispose of out by the curb, free to whoever wants to come haul it away. Again, be courteous if you do this. Only take items that have been specifically designated as free for the taking, or that have been announced; you don't want to be caught trying to steal something.

To find opportunities like this in your area, check the "free" section of your local craigslist or newspaper classifieds or ask around. Prime territory includes dorms and apartments on or near college campuses between May and June, when school ends and students move out or home for the summer.

2) Check your recycling bin to see if containers can be repurposed with a good cleaning or slight modification. Plastic yogurt, butter and sour cream/cottage cheese containers, as well as the plastic containers that Healthy Ones meat comes in, make excellent storage containers for leftovers. I've turned empty glass pop bottles and sparkling cider bottles into funky vases. Glass jars can enjoy a new life as storage containers or interesting drinkware. Learn to look at everyday castoffs in new ways and you'll find yourself saving money and discarding less.

3) Ask family or friends, especially those who are moving or downsizing and don't want to pack up and transport more than they need to. I've gotten dishes, games, camping gear, food, books, kitchen items and furniture. Moving sales are golden because a lot of times the "free" box will be more full than usual with useful items that the owner is in a hurry to get rid of.

That's all for today. Hopefully posts will become much more frequent (I realize it's been almost a year since this blog has seen any action.) With my stepdad getting ready to join my mom in Kodiak, Alaska, and me preparing for a move of my own and living in a new apartment on a very limited budget, I hope to be inspired more and more every day.

Also: I strongly recommend the book Chick Living by Kris Koederitz Melcher. It's an Amazon bestseller, although I picked up my copy at Smith Family Bookstore here in Eugene (I'm always a fan of buying used and local, especially when it's a lot cheaper than buying new from a big-box retailer.) The book and the accompanying website, which I linked to above, provides lots of great hints for living in style on a budget. It's great for singles and new college grads, although I think a lot of the tips could help anyone interested in a frugal lifestyle.

Free Donations!

...slash sorry this post has been so long in coming. I've been busy the past couple of weeks with moving, shopping, getting my apartment set up, cheering on the volleyball team at Mac Court and getting ready for marching band next week.

Anyway, this time I'd like to tell you about some free ways you can help the world. The following three sites use the giving power of large companies, the convenience of the Internet and the strength of the masses (that's you!) to maximize each person's giving power. It takes no money on your part, although it may take a little effort.

At The Hunger Site, you can click to support hunger relief, child health, literacy, free mammograms, animal rescue efforts and rainforest protection, all from different tabs on one site. With each click, site sponsors donate money to fund these causes. It takes very little time and effort (only twelve clicks and about 30 seconds on average) and the results add up.

Freekibble and Freekibblekat were the brainchild of 12-year-old Mimi Ausland from Bend, Oregon. Concerned about the plight of animals in shelters all over the country (including her local shelter) who lack regular, healthy food, she started a website where people all over the country can answer trivia questions about dogs and cats. Similar to The Hunger Site, site sponsors Castor & Pollux and Canidae Dog Food donate food with every answered trivia question (right or wrong).









Free Rice has a variety of multiple-choice questions in a variety of subjects including English vocabulary, math, languages and art. For each correct answer, the site donates 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to hungry people around the world. In addition, you may learn something new too!

All of these sites have "results" pages so you can see how big of an impact millions of people can have on the world. Thanks for clicking!

Cross-promotion: Give Me Paisley and Parasols!

As both a writer and lover of free stuff, I will from time to time offer free cross-promotion to blogs that I feel reflect the spirit of what I like to call "creative frugality." This time around, I'm giving a shout out to "Give Me Paisley and Parasols!", a fashion blog written by my friend Christine Stoddard, who I met while on a trip to Washington, D.C. for the 2007 Al Neuharth Free Spirit Awards. Christine is currently a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

A longtime creative writer and fashionista, Christine effectively blends these two passions in her blog. She regularly pursues projects that explore various areas of fashion, from how to emulate a particular style on a budget to reflections on French fashion, which she completed during a study abroad trip to La Rochelle, France.

One of my favorite parts of Christine's fashion philosophy is her $10-or-less rule, meaning that no one item in a particular outfit should set you back more than $10. This is easily done, she says; it just takes a little work and creativity. She's a huge fan of thrift stores and flea markets, and has even reported acquiring some items for free! :)

Christine's latest project is entitled "Roaming the Halls in Style," which deals with back-to-school fashion past and present. Check it out!

Working out the kinks...

Hey! As I've been thinking in preparation for getting my latest blog project off the ground, I thought making a schedule and setting deadlines might help keep updates frequent, timely and relevant.

The plan is to update this blog weekly, so I don't exhaust my resources too quickly, and so that I can keep myself on some sort of schedule. Right now, I have Thursday as the update day, but that could very well change as time goes on and this blog becomes more established. Also, the day of the week isn't set in stone; my schedule may force the update to be early or late. Regardless, the plan is one update a week, unless circumstances require additional entries.

Thanks for your support!

Free Music!

I'm a fairly non-discriminatory music lover. I will listen to almost anything at least once (exceptions: anything spawned from and excessively marketed by Disney) and I'm always on the lookout for new tunes to add to my collection. My iTunes library is nearing the 10,000-song mark.

However, being a poor college student, I lack the dispensable income to go out and buy new CDs whenever the mood strikes. Even the iTunes store can become expensive really fast. So, what's a music lover like me to do? Here are some ways to expand your music collection without having to sell body parts.

Green Label: It's no secret that I'm a huge Mountain Dew lover - my Lenten sacrifice was exactly that. But little did I know that when I went onto Mountain Dew's official website in search of free stuff/contests to win (more on that in a later post) that I would come up with more than I had bargained for. Apparently Mountain Dew sponsors an indie rock label called Green Label Sound, and its artists are offering their songs (and several remixes for each) as free mp3 downloads. Now, free music can be hit and miss; in some cases, the reason for the song being free is apparent the second you hit play (case in point: Chris Cornell's new album, which isn't even free.) But upon being redirected to the site, I was instantly greeted with a peppy opening piano hook for a song called "Daylight" by Brooklyn-N.Y. indie pop duo Matt and Kim (which you may have heard in this commercial.) Immediately, I downloaded all of the site's available music and eagerly await the possibility of new artists!

iTunes Free Music Tuesdays: This suggestion, and the following one, do require an iTunes account, but still require no purchase. Every Tuesday the iTunes store offers two-three free music selections, as well as a music video and sometimes an audiobook, TV episode or something else. Remember to read the reviews - as mentioned before, some free music just isn't worth the space on your hard drive - but in the end it's all about individual musical preference; some of the songs that have gotten particularly negative reviews by others have been the same songs that I replay over and over. And it's free, so you can always download it to give it a listen, then delete it if you don't want to keep it.

Free on iTunes: This suggestion requires both an iTunes account and a Facebook account, but the payoff is worth it. Free on iTunes is a Facebook application which, in addition to giving updates on the iTunes store, will from time to time offer codes that the user can redeem to download sampler playlists. In the past two months I've received about 40 songs (two playlists) of newly released indie rock songs, as well as a sampling of songs from artists performing at the 2009 Warped Tour.

Your local library: This suggestion requires a library card, but is great for people who need special theme music for an occasion that they normally wouldn't buy, as well as anyone who doesn't have an internet connection. Most libraries have a collection of CDs, and can also request specific items from other libraries. They have everything from older pop and rock albums to world music and relaxing nature sounds.

Introduction

The idea for this blog came to me yesterday, as my mom, sister and I were walking in the Tualatin River Wildlife Refuge.

I was telling my family about one of the latest free things I had found - free music downloads on Mountain Dew's website (more on that later.) My mom suggested I start a blog about all the free stuff I've found.

After thinking about it, I realized what a great idea this was. I can seek out new free stuff, share it with everyone and have an archive of my "collection."

My plan for this blog is to feature in each post at least one or two (maybe more) discoveries I've found. All are free, and include links to free samples, ways to help the world with just a click, free fun and more.

Hope you enjoy!