2nd August 2011

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Loved these moving tips from Justine Garrett of The Hairpin. She says when you decide to move and are evaluating which items you should keep, donate or sell, you should agonize over each object for any or all of the following reasons: The amount of money you spent on it and its genuine worthlessness now. How little you actually used it despite your promises to yourself when you bought it. The loving moments that you and your current or former husband or boyfriend had within a 10-foot radius of it. How much your landlord will charge you if you leave it. How much weight you’ve gained or lost in such a short period of time (and weight gain, weight loss, or a change in eating habits are also life stressors!). Whether the people at Out of the Closet will make snide remarks when you donate it. How much your friends will judge you when they’re moving it. My advice is sell it all.

Loved these moving tips from Justine Garrett of The Hairpin. She says when you decide to move and are evaluating which items you should keep, donate or sell, you should agonize over each object for any or all of the following reasons:

  • The amount of money you spent on it and its genuine worthlessness now.
  • How little you actually used it despite your promises to yourself when you bought it.
  • The loving moments that you and your current or former husband or boyfriend had within a 10-foot radius of it.
  • How much your landlord will charge you if you leave it.
  • How much weight you’ve gained or lost in such a short period of time (and weight gain, weight loss, or a change in eating habits are also life stressors!).
  • Whether the people at Out of the Closet will make snide remarks when you donate it.
  • How much your friends will judge you when they’re moving it.

My advice is sell it all.

10th November 2010

VIDEO

AWESOME. Remember Kelly Sutton? The 23-yr-old software engineer living in Brooklyn who made a name for himself this summer by publicly ridding his life of almost everything he owns (apart from his digital / Internet technology)?

Well, NBC Nightly News caught wind of the Cult of Less blogger and featured him in a story last night about how more and more people are super-simplifying their lives.

The report itself is a super-simplified version of what’s really going on in our culture, but it’s a good overview nonetheless. Enjoy.

3 notes 

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Wired: Abandon Ownership! Join the Rentership Society! Everything, everywhere, all the time. That’s the dream of the Rentership Society. And we’re almost there. If you want to be able to possess some things, in some places, some of the time, well, keep on buying. But I vote for infinite abundance, on demand. Doesn’t that sound like the new century’s American dream?

Wired: Abandon Ownership! Join the Rentership Society!

Everything, everywhere, all the time. That’s the dream of the Rentership Society. And we’re almost there. If you want to be able to possess some things, in some places, some of the time, well, keep on buying. But I vote for infinite abundance, on demand. Doesn’t that sound like the new century’s American dream?

16th September 2010

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Yoink | Get Free Things From People Near You (And Give Away Stuff You Don’t Need) I just read about Yoink in the latest Netted by the Webby’s e-newsletter today and I’m intrigued. Not crazy about the free model, but it looks like a good concept. Throwing household items away means they’ll end up in a landfill somewhere, which, as Al Gore would tell you, is bad.  To help do the right thing with your stuff try Yoink, a site that allows you to donate (and accept) free items from people in your area.Start by clicking the interactive map to see what items are being given away in your locale. Everything from kitchenware to writing desks is up for grabs.If you find something that you want, click “Yoink” and set up a free account.  From there, Yoink will act as an intermediary and relay messages between you and the person donating the object so that you can arrange for a pickup.If you have items that you’d like to give away, just fill in a description that’s 140 characters or less (you can also attach photos) along with your location. Yoink will contact you whenever someone voices interest in your item.There’s also a free iPhone app that allows you to search for free things in your area, get directions to people who are giving you things and interact with community members.  It also features something called “generosity stats,” which rank the most generous cities on a worldwide scale.Finally, some truth that’s also convenient.

Yoink | Get Free Things From People Near You (And Give Away Stuff You Don’t Need)

I just read about Yoink in the latest Netted by the Webby’s e-newsletter today and I’m intrigued. Not crazy about the free model, but it looks like a good concept.

Throwing household items away means they’ll end up in a landfill somewhere, which, as Al Gore would tell you, is bad. 

To help do the right thing with your stuff try Yoink, a site that allows you to donate (and accept) free items from people in your area.

Start by clicking the interactive map to see what items are being given away in your locale. Everything from kitchenware to writing desks is up for grabs.

If you find something that you want, click “Yoink” and set up a free account.  From there, Yoink will act as an intermediary and relay messages between you and the person donating the object so that you can arrange for a pickup.

If you have items that you’d like to give away, just fill in a description that’s 140 characters or less (you can also attach photos) along with your location. Yoink will contact you whenever someone voices interest in your item.

There’s also a free iPhone app that allows you to search for free things in your area, get directions to people who are giving you things and interact with community members.  It also features something called “generosity stats,” which rank the most generous cities on a worldwide scale.

Finally, some truth that’s also convenient.

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I like you already, SnapGoods. Any website that helps you own less and do more is all right by me. Own Less. Do More. SnapGoods is the online place for sharing and renting stuff with your friends and sampling products from local businesses. Need to build a bookshelf? Rent a drill for the day. Want to go mountain biking with your friends this weekend? We’ve got bikes. Closet crammed with camping gear? Earn some extra cash. Safely. Because we’ve got your back. Welcome to the Access Economy.

I like you already, SnapGoods. Any website that helps you own less and do more is all right by me.

Own Less. Do More.

SnapGoods is the online place for sharing and renting stuff with your friends and sampling products from local businesses.

Need to build a bookshelf? Rent a drill for the day. Want to go mountain biking with your friends this weekend? We’ve got bikes. Closet crammed with camping gear? Earn some extra cash. Safely. Because we’ve got your back.

Welcome to the Access Economy.

10th August 2010

2 notes 

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There has been a major shift in our nation’s consumption patterns and Stephanie Rosenbloom of The New York Times tries to tell us why. Read the entire article here: The New York TimesBut Will It Make You Happy?By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOMAugust 7, 2010 … And it looks like she’s still on the hunt for more people who are downsizing, de-cluttering, living simply and loving it.

There has been a major shift in our nation’s consumption patterns and Stephanie Rosenbloom of The New York Times tries to tell us why. Read the entire article here:

The New York Times
But Will It Make You Happy?
By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
August 7, 2010

… And it looks like she’s still on the hunt for more people who are downsizing, de-cluttering, living simply and loving it.

VIDEO

Sam Lessin, founder of drop.io, lays out the true costs of owning things and rallies for liquidity. Awesome.

“‘Ownership’ is becoming an inferior good. If you can afford it, you should pay someone else to own things for you.”

27th March 2010

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Artist Justin Gignac has sold 1,200 $50 boxes of New York City garbage. Genius.

Artist Justin Gignac has sold 1,200 $50 boxes of New York City garbage.

Genius.

23rd March 2010

LINK

eRecyclingCorps to announce phone buyback program through Sprint

Niice.

“Start-up eRecyclingCorps on Tuesday is scheduled to announce that its customer Sprint is offering a phone buyback program in which consumers can get money for older phones when they upgrade to a newer model.
eRecycling Corp has developed an in-store application and a Web service, offered from Sprint’s site. The application lets a person see how much an older phone is worth and get a credit for its residual value when buying a new one. A consumer can also use a Web site from home, mail a phone in, and get a credit for the returned product.”

Originally posted at cnet.com.

9th March 2010

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There are way too many couch casualties on the streets of New York. People just use and abuse them for a few years and then throw them to the curb. This tattered old guy was thrown right outside my apartment this morning. Just a few weeks ago, a friend of a friend offered to let me sell his old sofa set for him online. I called a day too late. “It was taking up too much room,” he says. “Threw it out yesterday.” What a sad concept.

There are way too many couch casualties on the streets of New York.

People just use and abuse them for a few years and then throw them to the curb. This tattered old guy was thrown right outside my apartment this morning.

Just a few weeks ago, a friend of a friend offered to let me sell his old sofa set for him online.

I called a day too late.

“It was taking up too much room,” he says. “Threw it out yesterday.”

What a sad concept.

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