Buffalo ReUse Blog

Add this to your Bedside

Caesandra Seawell — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:48:38 +0000

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.

Our Sept Community Calendar

Caesandra Seawell — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:13:41 +0000

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)

Name that Vegetable!

Brad Kujawski — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:34:31 +0000

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

Tomato Canning Workshop!

Brad Kujawski — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:49:18 +0000

Join us on our porch @ 158 Eaton on Wednesday, September 1st from 3pm – 6pm, where we will be demonstrating two different recipes for canning tomatoes. Our workshop will overview blanching, a common preserving and cooking technique, as well as sterilizing, packing, and sealing your jars. A $5 donation is appreciated to help cover the costs for the workshop, and attendees go home with their own jar of ReUse Tomatoes!

Sponsor our HYDRO Buffalo prototype?

Caesandra Seawell — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:01:36 +0000

For two years now, I’ve been sharing a little kooky idea to create a fleet of trikes that have the capability to water the newly planted trees, flower beds and planters throughout our neighborhood–using rain water! (see kooky napkin sketch at left).
The necessity of this hit home yesterday as I was driving up Dodge and noticed too many of the new trees look dry and knowing I don’t have an easy way to fix the problem.
We haven’t had much luck getting the Hydro Buffalo idea funded. I thought maybe “if I could just get it started” with a prototype–at least ONE trike, then riding that suped-up trike around could prove to everyone that it’s not just a kooky idea–it’s a GREAT kooky idea! and eventually we’d be able to expand the fleet.

Before you ask–YES, Blue Bike and Riverkeeper are aware of this idea, and we hope our collective audience is excited to help–we’re all in the same boat though. We need one adult trike to get us started! If anyone out there can donate a solid adult trike we can then weld a cart and get this thing rolling. If you think you can help–please get in touch with Caesandra at volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org or call 716-885-4131

Here’s the other part of the proposal if you are “People who know People”

HYDRO BUFFALOs
The HYDRO BUFFALOs are a fleet of bicycles equipped with 55gallon Rain Barrel Tanks. The team of bicyclists will ride out each week and water our newly planted urban trees and greenspaces throughout Buffalo. We envision trikes, tandems, and carts affixed with rain barrels and powered by leg-power. This effort is a collaboration between several local non-profits: Buffalo ReUse, Re-Tree WNY, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and Buffalo Blue Bicycle, as well as many engineering students from the University of Buffalo–everyone contributes in varied and valuable ways.
The HYDRO BUFFALOs address important environmental and social issues such as storm-water diversion, neighborhood beautification, cleaner urban air, and reducing our carbon footprint. All the water for the HYDRO BUFFALOs is harvested in our 1,600 gallon water storage tank; the rain water collects from the roof of our building, The ReSource, and prevents it from entering our City’s sewer system and Lake Erie.

In our Masten/Cold Springs neighborhood alone, Buffalo ReUse has planted over 1,000 curbside trees. Re-Tree WNY has planted over 13,000 trees since its inception in 2006. It is crucial to supply these trees, as well as, the surrounding community gardens on Buffalo’s east side, with adequate water. Our network of volunteers will ride the HYDRO BUFFALOs around town watering and demonstrating how easy and plentiful rainwater is to use.
Naturally, we plan on outfitting the water tanks, trikes and bike helmets with horns and fur and, maybe hooves. We believe this will also stimulate interest and encourage discussion about the greater issues effecting our community while demonstrating a viable solution many cities can replicate.

Budget: (multiply x5)
Tricycles – $250-$400
Tandems – $265, $290
Bike Hitch – $35
Cargo Trailer – $100
Rain Barrels – $90
16K gallon tank- free
TOTAL: $4575

Preserving your harvest: Freezing

Brad Kujawski — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:52:45 +0000

Summer harvest is here — the tomatoes are ripening, squash is in endless supply, and you’re wondering what you’re going to do to keep up with the hoard of fresh vegetables that are growing in your garden. Preserve the bounty that you put so much time and effort into! That’s what you’re going to do. Rather than sending highly nutritional food (that you’ve worked so hard to produce) to the compost pile simply because you have too much to eat, you can devote a little bit more time to preserve your harvest, and enjoy what you’ve grown for months to come. Growing a surplus of food in the summer and preserving it creates food security for the winter months. Doing it yourself creates the feeling of accomplishment, and the assurance of safety and quality. Preserving food is a tradition that dates back centuries, but in the last half century has lost its appeal and necessity as modernized commerce and global food availability have made eating much easier (imagine trying to find a banana in January in Buffalo, 300 years ago…) Canning, freezing, and dehydrating are excellent ways to preserve food — as well as the nutrients and flavor it holds.

Freezing Vegetables

Freezing your harvest (or part of your harvest, unless you have a really big freezer) is a very easy and effective way to preserve food. A common preparation to freeze vegetables is blanching, but vegetables can be prepared to freeze in many ways (depends on the recipe). Blanching works well for most vegetables, and is a technique used for canning as well. Blanching removes bacteria and dirt, etc. from the surface of your veggies, and more importantly, stops the process of enzymes inside the vegetable that would cause it to toughen, lose flavor and nutrients, and change color. Blanching is done by putting fresh, prepared vegetables into boiling water for a short amount of time (amount of time varies from vegetable to vegetable), and then immediately moving the produce to ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. Typically, vegetables should be cooled in ice-water for the same amount of time that they were cooked in hot water, unless a recipe notes otherwise. Guidelines for freezing and blanching are easily accessible online, and can also be found in cookbooks and books on preserving food. Here are some guidelines for freezing beets, tomatoes, and zucchini:

Beets

Select young, tender beets, 2 – 3 inches across. Wash carefully. Cook in boiling water until tender, from 60 – 90 minutes. Cool in cold water, skins peel off easily. Slice. When cool, transfer to containers. Label. Freeze. Keeps for 6 months.

Zucchini

Slice into 1-inch pieces, do not peel. Saute in melted butter until barely tender. Cool, pack into plastic containers, leaving headspace at the top. Label. Freeze. Keeps for 3 months.

Tomatoes

Dip into boiling water 1 minute. Remove, and dip into cold water for 1 minute. Remove and peel. Place on a tray and freeze for 30 minutes. Place in plastic bags, remove air, seal and label. Keeps up to 6 months.

There are many resources and guides for freezing vegetables from A to Z, whether online, or in a book. Check out GardenGuides and PickYourOwn for online guides to preserving vegetables. Extend your season, and eat your home-grown foods until they start growing again next year. Please join us, as we are holding a Tomato Canning Workshop on September 1st @ 3pm in our gardens @ 320 Northampton. If it rains, we will hold the workshop indoors @ 158 Eaton St.

Wood Refinishing Workshop

Scott Kozak — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:24:12 +0000

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!

Bread Baking Workshop

Caesandra Seawell — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:17:01 +0000

Join Fancy & Delicious tomorrow, August 22nd, at 153 Eaton Street from 12-5 for our monthly bread workshop.

Arrive at noon if you want to knead and bake your own loaf of bread in our clay oven. There are still a few spots available. If you are not planning on baking, join us at any time in the afternoon to
enjoy some tea or coffee, and good company (the company is always good)!

There will be no special lesson or theme this month. All basic ingredients and supplies are provided, but if you want to experiment with any special flours or recipes, you should bring your own extras.
Instruction and guidance will be available for those who want it. The workshop is free, but we accept
donations to cover the cost of ingredients and to help keep the project alive!

Cheers,
Maura

–
Fancy and Delicious Baking Co.
153 Eaton St. Buffalo, NY 14208
fancyanddelicious.blogspot.com

HUGE sidewalk sale

Scott Kozak — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:03:29 +0000

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.

On the agenda this morning…..

Danielle — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:30:01 +0000

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!