GOOD GARBAGE HAS A HOME!!!! Grand Opening set for November 30!

First let me apologize... I am very sorry for the lack of information on this page! I know it's been a very long time since I have been able to write here! I am not a very good blogger so I sure hope you have been following me on Facebook and Twitter!  I had a blast over the summer working with all the kids, doing camps and reuse art programs. I also was on the Planning Committee for the Louisville Mini Maker Faire which was last Saturday, September 28! If you didn't get to attend, check out our Facebook page and this great article!

During my posting absence I was working very hard selling every chance I could and appreciate The Flea Off Market organizers, Courtenay and Nathan. With them offering non-profits free space, I was able to at least keep the storage space paid for each month and buy some glue to keep the kiddo's happy with their art projects.

I had also been actively pursuing a cool home for Good Garbage! I searched high and low and visited lots of people and places to find a good fit. It's not easy! Louisville is a big city and there are a lot of vacant buildings and sometimes I wonder if people ever really want to see life in them. I have a small budget, so a place that is pretty much move-in ready and well, cheap! I have learned one thing, if I have learned anything... You never know who is listening when you are talking. Through a conversation with one friend, a friend of theirs heard my needs and Voila! A building was found! And a new friendship was made.

We will be located in the Portland neighborhood and if you haven't heard about the Portland Initiative, then check that out! I looked at many places in Portland and knew that is where I wanted to be. This space is in an old neighborhood corner store, that more recently was a laundromat. And low and behold it is smack dab in the middle between the old retail district of Portland and the up and coming artist area! About four - five blocks from either.

Besides keeping perfectly good stuff from the landfills and providing inexpensive items for teachers and artists, I want to take free art to kids in disadvantaged areas. And driving through on a Sunday afternoon... There is no shortage of kids! There are many schools nearby and that means teachers can easily get cool items they need; kids can play with good garbage to create art and use creative thinking skills; and there will be new life in that pink building that was once the cornerstone for the area. I am looking forward to becoming a part of the neighborhood!

There is a lot of work ahead to get the place ready and move from my storage space to the new building. I am looking at an opening of November 30. We begin work this week!!!! Ambitious? Yes! But I know that with a little help from my Louisville Timebank friends and my cheerleaders within the community, we will have the building prepped and ready for the Grand Opening! Our first community clean-out of the building will be October 11. If interested in helping, email me at Lynn.GoodGarbage@gmail.com. There will be lots of chances if you can't make that date.

Be sure to subscribe to the blog, like our Facebook page and find us on Twitter for updates to follow us down the Green Brick Road to Good Garbage.(Fell way short on a take of my favorite Yellow Brick Road, but I tried.) If you would like to be added to our mailing list to get special offers, announcements and newsletters, please click HERE. There will be more details to follow soon. Please share with your friends. Thank you all for your support and I look forward to sharing my vision LIVE very soon!!!
~Lynn

Keep up with our Materials List & Wishing for a Scale

Be sure to check out the list of materials we accept HERE and start saving for us. I'm planning to get out in the community very soon with educational talks and make-and-take projects and I need inventory, especially items on the wish list. The list is updated often so keep checking back.

We are looking for businesses to partner with too. Things like corks, wine bottles, colored pop and beer bottles, bottle caps, scrap vinyl (signs), etc. If you have a business or know of a manufacturing business here in town that has something unique that is cast off as seconds or scrap, let me know. We would love to sit and see if we can join forces to keep as much as possible out of the landfills.

Also note the Terra Cycle Brigades we are collecting for. These will help raise much needed funds for our education and community programs.

And at the top of our Wish List is a scale! Something big enough for us to weigh bags/boxes of items as they come in. A postal scale that would go up as high as 50 pounds and have a clear view of the weight. We will use this to log the weight of all donations and be able to see the tonnage we are keeping out of the landfill. We have so much already in our storage facility, I'd really like to get that all weighed soon. Anybody have an old one they want to get rid of?

Email me with any questions or info.  

~Lynn (Lynn.GoodGarbage@gmail.com)

Our First Showing of Support!

We have our first showing of support!  Along with two more commitments of $50 each! I will keep updating as we continue to grow!  No amount is too small! - Thank you! Thank you!

Securing Our Spot in the Louisville Sustainability Movement - We Need the Community's Help!

Imagine if you will... A retail shop whose shelves are filled with a colorful array of left over, unused and recycled crafting material donated by artists, crafters and corporations from over-runs and collection drives. Glass - tiles - marbles - fabric - paper - buttons. On the far wall sits a grandiose display of artwork made from materials you see on the shelves—created by everyone from preschool kids to adults—being showcased for everyone to see; some even for sale. Then,  tucked away in a corner you can hear children and adults laughing while learning how to re-purpose a plastic bottle into a spider for a Halloween decoration or learning how to take wire from an electrical cord and make a pair of earrings. THIS IS OUR PASSION... 

Our mission...To provide a sustainable means for collecting scrap material before it enters the waste stream and making it available to the community for creative reuse.

You've been watching us over the last couple months here as we work on building shelves, sharing ideas and talking to just about everyone we come within 20 feet of. The behind the scenes meetings, hashing out ideas, brainstorming, researching and making educated decisions have been continuing beyond what we have been posting here.

After researching many options and existing reuse centers across the country and meeting with various people around town—from the Center for Non-Profit Excellence to civic leaders, to artists, teachers and environmentalists—we have decided to pursue a fiscal sponsorship with SCRAP USA (SCRAPpdx) in Portland, Oregon. Our mission and vision are closely aligned, and they have a sound business model, proven track record, and many projects all over the country. They will give us ongoing administrative help, access to grants, and the ability to begin functioning as a 501(c)3, tax-exempt charity, as soon as they approve our application, which could be as early as January 1, 2013.

In addition to our application, SCRAP has asked us to show proof that our Creative Reuse Center will have community support. A key part of that is to raise $1,000 in start-up money. This does not go to the sponsor, but serves as seed money to help us take our message to the streets through classroom demonstrations and workshops, environmental and arts & craft events all over Louisville, and to help us open our Creative Reuse Retail Store. Any money we receive in this campaign is not tax-deductible, nor does it give any ownership or provide any return on investment. It is an investment in OUR community to serve under-funded groups and support another part of Louisville’s sustainability initiatives.

We have started an email campaign and are now asking you, as our followers and those who would support the store either by donations or as patrons, please consider supporting us in this initial $1,000 campaign. Our goal is to send our application for fiscal sponsorship to SCRAP by December 1, 2012, so any amount you contribute before that would be greatly appreciated. We would like nothing more than to meet with you personally, discuss our vision further and to pick up your contribution. No amount is too little.

We are also always on the lookout for a building where we will be able to set up a retail shop, workrooms, etc. Have or know someone who has space that could be donated to us for a year? Or dirt (and I mean DIRT) cheap? Let us know.

Thanks for your time and thanks for your continued support by following us on here and on Facebook! Please be sure to share us with all your friends!

Anne Walker & Lynn Burgan

Anne.GoodGarbage@gmail.com

Lynn.GoodGarbage@gmail.com

We accept checks or you can contribute using PayPal (anne.goodgarbage@gmail.com).

We can begin by doing small things at the local level, like planting community gardens or looking out for our neighbors. That is how change takes place in living systems, not from above but from within, from many local actions occurring simultaneously. 

Grace Lee Boggs

Good Garbage Gab November 12, 2012

Everyone has a lot of old t-shirts. Some are favorite teams you just can't get rid of; Some are your old cleaning, painting, crafting shirts that no one else would want; Some are just plain ugly ones that someone got you as a gift and you can't get rid of them because Aunt Mae might just ask you to show off that t-shirt she brought you back from Looneyville, Texas (it's real, look it up). Well I have a couple great ideas to share with you for ALL those t-shirts.

I'm sure first thing that comes to mind is a rag... good use, but there are lots more. I mean, if the shirt is so badly gooped up then not even sure it would work for a rag. And then there's the t-shirt quilt which is a great thing and I am planning out one now, is pretty labor intensive. Good Garbage Gab is all about getting you thinking and giving you easy ways you can start reusing things around your house. So, no t-shirt quilt instructions here today.

The first thing I ever did with an old t-shirt was make a grocery bag. This is so simple. All you need is a sharp pair of scissors and the simplest of sewing machines. You can sew them by hand, it just takes a bit longer.

Turn the t-shirt inside out and lay it flat. Pin the bottom. Sew with a good tight stitch all the way across to close the bottom of the t-shirt. I generally line up and sew just at the seam for the original hem. 

Then cut the sleeves off at the seam. Then you can just eye the next part, or you can use a round plate or bowl to mark the rounded cut you will make at the neck. The part of the shoulder that is left are your handles.

marthastewart.com

Turn it right side out and there you have it. A reusable bag. I take these to the grocery, carry my lunch in them, and have even used one as a purse (vintage, way too small, I'm A Pepper t-shirt). I even took the sleeves and made little drawstring bags to store them in. 

I also made some scarves, even a no-sew one. But I have to find those pictures lost on another computer that is currently down. I will try to find the right thumb drive I have them backed up on and will post another time. Maybe as we get closer to Christmas and you are looking for a last minute gift for someone! 

What we did this weekend...

Anne worked this weekend on finding ways to reuse these plastic red discs that we received from the Printing House for the Blind, looking for a fun and creative craft project for our up coming booths at local arts and craft fairs. Aren't they just AWESOME?!?!?!?!

I went picking Friday near Waddy, Kentucky. A wonderful lady let me go through a vast collection of office, Christmas and crafting supplies that were her Mother's. After I chatted with her more about what it is we are doing exactly, she showed me some place mats and a gorgeous bowl her Mom made out of Christmas cards. She ended up giving me the bowl, which we will have on display at our booths.

As we secure spots for our booths, we will be sure to update everyone so you can mark it on your calendar! 

Be sure to like us on Facebook and watch us grow!!!

-Lynn

Good Garbage Gab, October 19, 2012

Welcome to the first edition of Good Garbage Gab, where we offer useful tips and crafts for re-purposing items that you may normally just throw away (or hopefully recycle), or save not knowing what you can do with them. We may  also showcase local reuse artists and give you links to articles we think you might find interesting. We are doing this to get your motor running and thinking about the various ways you can reuse everyday items to keep them out of our waste streams.

     In order to keep from scaring off those new to repurposing, I thought it would be nice to start slow and easy. So I'm offering up a simple tip and a simple craft.

 2-Liter Bottle Canisters

You can use these for tons of items: Coffee, tea bags, sugar, crayons, markers, cotton balls, q-tips, change, and a host of other things. I like them because you can see what is in them so easily and when something is on the top shelf, with me being so short, that comes in quite handy. No guessing...

    What you need: Two 2-liter Bottles, washed, dried and any labels removed, Sharp knife such as an X-acto knife and a sharp pair of scissors.  

    Using the knife, cut the two bottles to look like the pictures here. Using the scissors, trim the bottles neatly.

Place the shorter one on top of the taller one and there you have it... a lidded, clear canister.

Another option is to paint them like these and use them as piggy banks, or whatever you can dream up! Both designs were painted with Rust-Oleum 2X satin spray paint and then details added with acrylic craft paint. 

Be sure to recycle the left over plastic!

And if you thought that was easy... Here's something even easier. No craft skills involved.......Button Earring Holder

You know all those extra buttons you get on a new shirt? Or the ones you take off a shirt before you reuse it as a rag or for other re-purposed items? Use them to keep your matched earrings together in your jewelry box or when taking  a trip in your jewelry bag. 

Did you go DUH?!?! Why didn't I think of that? Yeah, me too. 

Hope you enjoyed this new feature of our blog and can put to use the ideas we share. If you have something you've done and would like to share, please let us know by emailing or commenting here. Share our blog and Facebook page with all your friends and let's all work towards a better Community! 

Yarn, Yarn, Yarn...and Ideas

Yarn, Yarn and more Yarn!!! Oh my goodness the yarn! Received two, well stuffed black garbage bags full of all types of....yep, you guessed it YARN! We are quickly filling the shelves we built last week. We have to build more ASAP!!!! We are in need of scrap plywood, 2x4's and anything else that can be used as shelving, or stackable bins, plastic shelves, bookcases, etc.

Besides collecting stuff, we have been busy working on our plan and talking with everyone we possibly can about the creative reuse center. Passing out cards to anyone who will give us a minute. We have received a very warm response to our idea and hope we are building a great team of future volunteers as well!

We are starting a new feature this week simply called Good Garbage Gab. At least once a week (possibly more) we will be featuring ideas on repurposing items in your house, showcasing reuse artists and sharing thought provoking articles and such. We hope this inspires you to find ways to repurpose other things you might throw away and to keep as much out of the waste streams as possible.  Please feel free to post or email us with your own ideas. You are welcome to send us pictures of your finish products too. If you know a reuse artist, we'd also love to hear all about them. Be on the look out for the first post coming soon!

Thank you for following along, supporting and sharing our adventure in building Louisville's Creative Reuse Center. Keep watch for some exciting news over the next few weeks!

-Lynn & Anne

Hard at work...

We had a fairly productive week... Got some shelving built, had some great meetings, made some great decisions. We are moving forward!!! Each day Good Garbage is coming closer to reality!

Here are some pictures of the storage unit and one volunteer, who also donated the lumber, building shelves.

We have a home...

... at least for storage. This past Sunday we made it feel like home. Sort of anyway. We worked our butts clearing and cleaning up (as best you can a dusty, old buildings basement) our storage area.

Fortunate to get a jump start, we also couldn't do as much as we hoped because the old tenant hasn't moved out of it completely yet. Though we were very lucky to get a great start on collecting "junk" left behind by old tenants in the Hope Worsted Mills building. Lots of wood for shelves, the old plexiglass from the original windows that are being replaced, various types of paper, old computer keyboards, windows and lots of other stuff. With it being such an old building, we also felt very lucky we didn't run into any other furry 'tenants.' We left dirty but truly energized.

Today and over the next couple weeks we will build shelves, and continue looking for bins, storage containers, tables, and of course donated items we will be able to sell in the reuse center. The behind the scenes work for the center is keeping us extremely busy as well. We hope in the next few weeks to be sharing some very exciting news. Be sure to keep checking back on our progress...

The Frantic, Idea Flying, Farcical, First Few Weeks...

Wow! What a wild and crazy first few weeks for Good Garbage!

Since we met, we have been haphazardly exchanging ideas and thoughts about what we want to do, our vision, mission, setting goals, and taking deep looks into ourselves to assure this is what we want, and how we want to go about it.

There is so much excitement as we begin this journey, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Though in the end, to be able to teach about reuse, make items available to artists, crafters and teachers and keep the "junk" out of the waste stream will be the most fulfilling experience we have ever had. We hope you too will begin to think about what you are throwing away and see there could be a new use for it instead. If not, ask us...we may have an idea or you can donate to us to help further our cause! 

We have talked with many movers and shakers around Louisville and Kentucky getting some great advice and gaining supporters for the Good Garbage concept.

We are slowly getting a little more organized and making sense of the thoughts and ideas we've had. We are becoming a little more concrete in our efforts as well, we signed a six month lease starting October 1 in the Hope Worsted Mill's building basement for storage. This will allow us to start gathering things we will need such as bins, shelving, and racks as well as actual products you will be able to buy once the store opens. We have looked at possible store sites and as soon as we find one that is just perfect, we will be sure to share.

While we begin the brick and mortar part of the reuse center, we are busy also with all the behind the scenes things. Deciding if we will go this alone or find a fiscal sponsor, getting all the legal paperwork filed, and creating an advisory committee to help us along. We will be looking for a few volunteers soon as well to help with gathering and sorting in our storage space.

What IS Creative ReUse?

Have you ever thought about the many things that can be done with that jar you are throwing away? That chipped tea cup? Plexiglass from an old building's windows? 

Anne and I seem to think about that with everything. The jar? It becomes a vacation time capsule, holding small memories of places visited. The chipped tea cup becomes a faux fireplace mosaic, complete with a mantle. And the plexiglass becomes a cute magnetic dry erase board or a cloth & ribbon memo board.

We get excited about stylish, functional, and innovative creative reuse ideas. From a grocery bag made from an old stained, ripped t-shirt to a gallery installation, from home-made costume to classroom educational materials, creative reuse includes all projects that incorporate materials that would otherwise be thrown away. Teachers, artists, crafters, and designers who transform what could have been thrown in the landfill into something with new value will find materials at Good Garbage.

As much arts-related as it is environmental, creative reuse demonstrates that artistic creativity and learning can take place anywhere and everywhere - and with all manner of materials - and that "junk" has value for those who can see meaning beyond the discarding of things.

Two Women... One Vision... Chance Meeting... Dreams Coming True

Welcome to our Good Garbage journey... The vision of two women, meeting by chance, turning their dreams to reality!

What is Good Garbage you ask? Though we are still in the beginning stages, our mission is to divert usable materials from landfills to underfunded teachers and artists while promoting creative reuse through educational programs and workshops for children and adults in order to continue to protect the environment within our community.

Our vision is to have a brick and mortar creative reuse retail store, workshop space and eventually a gallery full of artwork created by the many talented artists in the Louisville area.

The purpose of this blog so early on in our journey has multiple purposes, but mainly is to familiarization the Louisville community with the concept of creative reuse and the Good Garbage name, introduce the gals who are spearheading this vision, Anne & Lynn, and to share our successes and failures and hold us accountable, as we pour our blood, sweat and tears into making our dreams come true.

So you are welcome and encouraged to sit down, enjoy your favorite beverage, and join us in our humorous, sweaty, frustrating journey of two women... one vision... a chance meeting... determined to make our dreams a reality!