I wouldn’t ordinarily tell someone to go out and buy a book, but this one is definitely one I think should be added to every household.  It’s a great book for newlyweds or college kids or folks who are starting out on their own.  Why?  The book is full of useful, practical, environmentally friendly tricks and tips for day-to-day house keeping.
It’s a compilation from Reader’s Digest–I know, I know–Yes, that book your gramma has on the little shelf in the bathroom.  But think about all the stuff your gramma knows how to fix and organize and DO.  Think of how we have changed our mentality of thrift to going out and buying convenience or buying all kinds of single purpose tools.  Yet, we already have tons of stuff in our pantries and cupboards and junk drawers that could do a lot more if we only thought differently about their uses.
If you try to read it cover to cover in one setting, you’ll be overwhelmed–there’s over 2300 tips!  Instead, read it a little each night or thumb through it and read whatever bits strike your fancy.  There’s tons of photos, drawings, and sidebars which break up all the concentrated information.  You will be a greener Know-it-All in no time.  It has everything from cleaning to cooking, storage to organizing and repairing– making play-dough and more.  You will save money, buy fewer tools, you will use (and flush) fewer harmful chemicals down the drain, you will be more useful to others and you’ll be richer in experience!  Unfortunately, the library won’t let you keep it forever, so get it used from a used book store instead.

is available for you to view and download.
We met over 160 people at the Elmwood Arts Fest and we hope that many of them will become ReSourceful Urbanites!  Maybe we’ll see you at some of the volunteer workdays, DIY workshops or the Talent & Treasure Auction!

If you became a member in 2008 or 2009–your annual $5 dues are due again.  You can renew your membership via paypal or in the store at the register.  Become a member this week (thru Sep4th) and get your chance to win a free car wash from BARB (our Big Arse Rain Barrel)

Can you tell me what kind of vegetable this is?  E-mail me at Brad {at} BuffaloReUse(.)org

Reward:  A seed sample from this little guy

On Saturday, September 4, we will be having a workshop at the ReSource that will show you how to refinish wood.

Come by if you have ever been intrigued by that old piece of furniture but intimidated by the condition of the woods stain.

During the workshop you will be able to learn how to refinish wood items in regards to the tools that are needed for the project, the type of sand paper to use and the last part that is just as important, which is what finish to use on your piece.

The workshop will be held at the ReSource.  For those of you that don’t know, it  is located at 298 Northampton.  The workshop will be held outside weather permitting.  It will start at 10 am. No worries, if it is a rain out we will just take the workshop indoors at the store.

After you learn how to refinish wood, you can purchase one of our many old wood furnishings and give yourself a new diy project for the fall!

Come by this weekend and see whats new at the ReSource.  We are going to be featuring many great items that are new to the store.

Summer may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop enjoying the weather outside.  Its the perfect time to fix up your patio or add those couple things it may be missing.  We have 10,000 square feet of  green soap stone that was formerly famous for being at the M&T plaza downtown.  We have many other different types of stone that just came in as well that would complement your yard.  Fresh off the streets of Buffalo we just got in pallets of Medina Sandstone as well.

As for the interior of your property, we have some really nice real deal tin ceiling that just came in that is very much affordable.  We could even show you how to refinish it and make it look phenomenal.  We also just got in a bunch of really cool retro lighting fixtures that would really spruce up your place.

Also this weekend we will be having a bathroom special going on.  You can get a built in tub, toilet and wall sink all for $90. You can’t beat it!  These are just some of the deals going on within the ReSource this weekend.

It also should be noted that we wil be having a massive sidewalk sale on saturday as well, in celebration of Southampton, Northampton and Eaton st being rewarded new sidewalks in the coming weeks.

Out on the sidewalk you’ll find…

• 100’s of new doors $25/each.
• 100’s of solid core doors from buffalo schools…very unique $50
• 100’s of square feet of vinyl flooring $20-$30/roll.
• select tin ceiling…only $1.50/square foot.
• file cabinets $15 each….WOWZERS!
• and much much more.

Come by…check us out!  All day 10 am until 6 p.m.  Just follow the signs.

When we aren’t dunking Sam Hoyt, stuffing our faces with pickles, showing movies in our garden, or playing super silly softball, we are a normal, functioning workplace just like any other company!

Today we had our monthly company meeting. This month’s discussion was about preventing hostile work environments and harassment. Our Community Programs Director, Caesandra Seawell, gave a great talk about a tough topic. Using cue cards to keep the conversation rolling, Caesandra gave us great examples of how to prevent, deal with, and discuss uncomfortable situations with coworkers, customers, and even our friends. It was a great reminder that we should always respect one another and take each other’s feelings into consideration.

And now back to salvage, compost, recycling, and more!

This Saturday, August 21 Blue Sky Design Supply will be hosting an art show at its store from 4 to 7pm

Join them for fine art, eco design and light refreshments.  The featured artists will include Katie Fremgen, Justin Leavitt and Christopher Pierce.  You can come and enjoy their paintings, ceramics, photos and sculputures.

If you haven’t been down to the cobblestone district yet to check out Blue Sky Design I highly recomend that you head downtown to see what the this new eco friendly business is all about. There are a lot of good things going on around the area.  Not to mention they are a huge supporter of Buffalo ReUse and several of their furnishings were put together with materials from our very own ReSource at Buffalo ReUse.

You can visit their showroom, located at 95 Perry St. and one block east of the HSBC center.  Their showroom hours are as follows;

Wednesday: By Appointment
Thursday: noon – 7:30 PM
Friday: noon – 6:00 PM
Saturday: noon – 6:00 PM
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday: Closed

ReUse is looking for the following donations:

donate your car…bonus points if it’s a small pickup or a diesel powered motor. with all the running around we do on a daily basis…we really could use a fuel efficient vehicle to assist with errands, estimating, and acquisitions…your donation is of course tax deductible.

no car?
donate excess or used tools to support our lending library? mowers, ladders,  power and hand tools accepted.

no car or tools?
how bout a GPS…we could use one to assist with the pickup route, getting to salvage projects, and green demolition estimating

no cars, tools, or GPS???
how bout a kitchen set, or a toilet, or a pile of hardware. Donations accepted at our store Tues-Sunday…or give us a call REUSE PICKS UP!…716-882-2800.

none of that?  how about piles of shredded tree, mulch, bales of straw–even old cow or horse poop for our ReDoo Compost!

ReUse Picks Up: Call 882-2800

REMEMBER:  Buffalo ReUse is a fully licensed, insured and equiped GREEN DEMOLITION contractor. We can take down your garage, barn, or house and everything we save is a tax write off for you! give us a call for a free estimate today…716-885-4131.

We enjoy any excuse to celebrate with good food, good music and soaking our friends. In honor of Elvis Week, we are constructing a DUNK TANK and we’ll give you the opportunity to come and dunk Elvis and some assorted friends! We’ll also enjoy some Elvis tunes and one of Elvis’s favorite meals—grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches! Come out for a chance to soak one of us or some of the local favorites listed below. Why Free Henry when you could Dunk Henry!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

12:00pm – 4:00pm

The ReSource, 298 Northampton Street, Buffalo, NY

Here is our ROSTER of dunkees so far:

• Free Henry!
• Joe Moran as Elvis (he’s Prish’s son)
• Ross Cellino—of …Cellino & Barnes—for realz!
• Comedienne, Kristen Becker
• Josh Potter from 103.3 The Edge
• Newell Nussbaumer of Buffalo Rising
• Comedian & Poet, Josh Smith
• NY Assembly Member, Sam Hoyt
• Danielle OBrien of Queen City Roller Girls
• Michael Gainer
• Peter Grine
• Tim Allen
• Brad Kujawski
• Sherry Burns—of the Do Good Duo & WGRZ Producer!
• Sally Panepento—of WGRZ
• Caesandra
• Chris Smith—of WNYMedia
• Whitney Crispell
• Cheryl Bird (she said “maybe”–let’s get her to say YES)

This just like every other event, all proceeds benefit our Community Programs which includes the Tool Library, free DIY home repair and gardening workshops, the veggie gardens, and neighborhood beautification projects.

I just thought i’d share with all of you this ReSourceful Project that one of our loyal supporters came up with.

In it the Kancar family used a mantle that was purchased from our ReSource and built a spectacular wall around it as you can see from the pictures below.  They are in order of the steps that happened.  The first one is just a picture of the mantel while it was in the ReSource.  The last picture is the final piece.

I would like to be able to consistently share projects like this that were tackled with materials that have come from the ReSource.  Anytime you make something out of materials from our store I would like to hear all about it! You can email me at scott {at} buffaloreuse(.)org.  I will then post these neat and creative projects on our blog for all to see regularly.

I also encourage you to check out the families website, Czar of the Woods Farm to find out more about this project.