You can send “Haiti Relief” donations to any disaster relief organization and feel good about what you’re doing. Or you can give money and get something in return.
Laura at Shore Chic came up with an amazing idea to donate a handmade item and I copied that. But those are just two efforts in a sea of crafty and bloggy folks who don’t know what to do with their excess creativity and lack of funds.
They donate items and services. And you can partake while still helping those in need. Here are just a few places to “Shop for Haiti”. Some are donating percentages and some are giving 100%.
Indie Fixx is holding a Haiti Relief Fundraiser silent auction. There will be 3 unique items listed each day and you can bid on them via the comments.
Jenny of Simply Delightful Designs started a site called “Hope for Haiti“. She is raffling off donated items and 100% will go to Red Cross or Compassion.
You can donate money by shopping on eBay! Browse by item, percentage given or non-profit organization. Just follow this link to get you to the charity page.
In a effort to get donations for Haiti, Laura from Shore Chic is auctioning off a lovely handmade tote over on her blog. I thought it was an awesome idea, so I just stole it. Below, I copied and pasted Laura’s rules and I’ll substitute the necklace shown above.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you paid it forward and donated your own piece too? I’m just sayin’….
The necklace is a single antique washer that hangs from a new 16.5″ chain. That would be a choker for a large person. New glass blue bead makes this a piece of jewelry instead of uh…just a washer on a chain.
And now to the cut and paste……
In the comments section on this post, leave the amount you’d like to bid. Remember the cause and please bid generously.
Bidding will remain open until Monday, January 18 (Martin Luther King Day here in the U.S.) at midnight, Eastern Time.
At that time, I will ask the highest bidder to make a donation to the Haitian relief charity of his or her choice in the amount of their bid, and ask them to forward me a copy of the receipt as proof the donation was made.
I will gladly ship (at my cost) anywhere in the world.
Separately, if you are looking to make a donation on your own here are some organizations:
- Doctors without Borders lost three hospitals in the quake, and could really use our help to bring vital medical support to the victims
- Haiti native Wyclef Jean’s non-profit Yele
- Mercy Corps
- UNICEF
- And, you can text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross relief efforts. Or text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5.
Let’s give a big warm fuzzy welcome to our newest advertiser, Part Select. They deal with appliance parts, so instead of discarding your stove or refrigerator because it’s not working to your liking, try to fix it first!
Even if you’re not so handy, keep in mind that this is the place to find things like stove burner knobs and dishwasher leveling legs. The site has a user friendly search system so even if you don’t know the name of the part, it’s easy to find.
The Part Select text link will be sitting there on the right hand sidebar for at least a year should you forget to bookmark them right now.
So, what does this have to do with cats? When I visited their site, I noticed a link to “Karma Cats“. If you submit a photo of your cat, for each entry PartSelect will make a $5.00 donation to Alley Cat Rescue on your behalf! I didn’t want to put them out of business and send in all 6 of my cats, so I only uploaded two. Jake and Huey.
Guest Post: Horizon Window Treatments, NYC
It’s all about energy efficiency these days. Whether it’s because they genuinely care about the environment or just want to lower their energy bills and get the tax credits, many people are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. Window treatments are usually not the first thing that peoples think of when assessing the energy efficiency of their homes. But, the fact of the matter is that some carefully selected window treatments can be one of the most effective ways of saving energy as they can reduce heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer.
Window shades can be one of the simplest and most effective window treatments for saving energy if they are correctly installed. In order to create a sealed air space, shades should be mounted as close to the glass as possible with the sides of the shade held close to the wall. In the winter, shades should be raised on the south side of the house during the day and then lowered at night. They should be lowered on sunlit windows in the summer. Dual shades can be even more useful as they are highly reflective (white) on one side and heat absorbent (black) on the other. The reflective side should always face the warmest side and they need to be drawn all day to be effective.
If you live in a region where heat gain is a bigger concern than heat loss, window blinds might be a better option than shades. Blinds are more effective at reducing heat gain in the summer than heat loss in the winter because the numerous openings between the slats make it difficult to control how much heat you lose. However, in the case of reducing heat gain, the advantage blinds have over shades is that these slats can be adjusted to control light and ventilation. When completely closed and lowered on a sunny window, highly reflective blinds can reduce heat gain by around 45%.
Draperies come in a wide variety of fabrics and colors, so it is difficult to generalize about their energy performance. Medium-colored draperies with white-plastic backings have been found to reduce heat gains by 33%. Compared to other window treatments, draperies also stay cooler in the summer because their pleats and folds lose heat through convection. In the winter, most conventional draperies can reduce heat loss by up to 10% when drawn. That number can be pushed to 25% if they are hung as close to the window as possible, a cornice is installed at the top and the drapery is sealed at both sides and overlapped in the center.
Deciding on the most energy efficient window treatment is ultimately dependent on the specific insulation needs of your home. People who live in warmer temperatures most of the year would probably benefit more from blinds and drapes, whereas shades would be more useful to those who live in colder climates. Hopefully, with this information you’ll be able to make a better informed decision when it comes time to redecorate.
My antique oak floors aren’t in terrible shape (not my house above!) and they are not in high traffic areas, so they don’t need that hard shell of plastic covering them. I’m thinking of going with a poly alternative. Probably just a maintenance waxing will do the trick. But in researching waxes, I did come up with a few green heavier duty options.
These are better for the environment than polyurethane. Some of them do contain solvents and other nasty stuff, but they are more natural than poly.
Natural oils seep into the wood instead of sitting on top so the grain isn’t hidden. Have you ever seen an antique floor that has been refinished so it looks like laminate? Yuck!
Here are three poly alternatives to start:
1. Waterlox. This is a tung oil and resin mix. Pure tung oil wouldn’t hold up too well on a floor. On the plus side, there’s no need to sand the floor between coats and it’s possible to “patch” a worn area to blend in with the rest of the floor. This can also be tinted. Down side, for me anyway, is that even the satin finish is pretty glossy. Personally, I HATE gloss!
2. Bioshield Hard Oil. This is a low VOC product made up of linseed, tung and castor stand oils mixed with resin and some other funky stuff. It’s said to enhance the grain of the wood while being durable and water resistant.
3. Eco House Hardwood Floor Oil. Linseed, Chinese wood oil, citrus thinner and resin are the ingredients in this Canadian product. It has a honey tone and it is tintable.
Now that we have resale of our home in mind, all bets are off as far as crazy renovation ideas. We have to cut back on costs, number one, but also we must keep in mind that the home should appeal to the masses, not just us.
Any room can be repainted by a new owner. Many of our smaller rooms are already painted in shades of pink and purple and the next person easily change that if they wish.
But the hallway? We never got to it because it’s a major job that means building a scaffold. In our minds, the hallway was always going to be red. Now we’re concerned that it may be too dark. A dark hue would be historically correct (source here) and we do want to retain as much historic accuracy as possible.
But we also want to sell it. What’s your opinion? Red? Maybe one of the colors in the stained glass window? Please post your opinion here. We leave it your hands!
I can’t take credit for these upcycled clocks, but I’m proud to say that the artist is a reader of this blog.
Paula is a self taught artist living in Texas. (Refrain from Texas bashing) All of her clocks and mixed media assemblages are made from found objects. Prices are around the $175-$250 range.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll let the photos (linked to Etsy) take it from here. Yes, because I’m too lazy to actually write sentences at the moment.
To this day, my favorite cartoon is The Flintstones. Yeah, I’m even more fond of them than The Simpsons or South Park or Ren and Stimpy. It’s been a dream of mine to live in a stone house in a town like Bedrock and have a husband like Fred. (Actually, I had a crush on Barney as a kid.)
Anyhoo, there’s a house in Portugal that was built in 1974 (AD) that very much resembles our beloved house of flint stone. In recent years it’s become a tourist attraction and magnet for burglars. (not Kissing Burglars) So much so that the house now has bullet proof windows and a steel door.
And yes, the house does have log and stone interiors!
Via Treehugger. Check out the video if you can speak Portuguese.
I caught this on Web Urbanist. Rupert Blanchard is my new hero. He’s been creating furniture out of reclaimed materials for some time now, but these upcycled crate cabinets are really to die for!
Now, before you get overly excited, the guy is in London. Lucky you if you’re a British reader. For those of us on this side of the pond, well, we’ll just have to copy and go DIY (sorry, Rupert).
Make 2010 the year to get ‘er done! All of those little jobs you’ve been putting off around the house. Stop whining and just do it!
1. BEWARE THE FROZEN PIPES! Don’t let it happen to you. Have you turned off the main water supply to your garden hose? Are there any exterior pipes that need looking into? Are your interior pipes in a warm room or well insulated? Ya know, they do sell foam pipe insulation. Get friendly with that. You can also buy electric heating cord to wrap around pipes just in case the situation calls for it.
2. INSULATE! INSULATE! INSULATE! This is a frigid winter. What the hell are you waiting for? Your rooms may be well insulated (or not) but don’t forget crawl spaces in your attic and basement. If you can’t get to it, rent a machine and blow in insulation.
3. MIND THE GAP! Caulk is your friend. And that Great Stuff….ooh, that’s a keeper! Fill spaces around your windows, doors and molding. If you can’t feel the draft, you know the candle trick, right?
4. OUTLET INSULATION. Believe it or not, cold air can come through electrical outlets. You can buy outlet insulation pads at any hardware store. On a difficulty scale of 1-10, this is a zero.
5. PLASTER TOUCH UP. Ok, it’s not all about cold weather. You’ve been looking at those cracks in the ceiling all year? Get off your arse, chase them out and patch them up. The plaster fairy god mother ain’t coming to help out any time soon.
6. PAINT! Do as I say and not as I do. Once those plaster spots are finished, don’t leave them sit for another year. They are meant to be covered with paint.
7. YUCKY GROUT. They sell these things. They’re called grout brushes and some genius invented them. You can screw them onto a paint pole or mop handle. Use elbow grease and/or bleach and your grout should shine again. IMPORTANT! You’re not done yet! Seal the grout before use so it doesn’t soak up moisture and dirt by the next day.
8. DID I MENTION THAT CAULK IS YOUR FRIEND? How’s that caulk looking around your sink, bath and countertop? Yeah, I thought so. FYI, you can remove nasty old caulk with a heat gun.
9. GUTTERS. Oh screw it, it’s too cold to go up there now. You should’ve thought of that in the fall. Hopefully you did so when the snow and ice start to melt, your gutters aren’t clogged.
10. PESKY PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL. Leaky faucet? A light fixture with one non-working bulb? Clogged drain? Loose outlet? Bet you have it in your power to do any of these. No more procrastination. 2010 is the year!
* The WTF photo above IS NOT of my house. It’s in a work place. Let’s see if the manager comes forth.
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You rawk. Will link-up in my next post.
Comment by laura @ the shorehouse — January 17, 2010 @ 10:36 pm
No, YOU rawk! (even though you had crazy high hair in the 80′s)
Comment by RH — January 18, 2010 @ 9:06 am
[...] of all the talk about Haiti donations yet? Well, stop your bitching. You’re alive and well and you have a home and family. Or at [...]
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