Let the new Chinook Book entertain you

By Carrie Treadwell from Resourceful PDX partner Chinook Book

The 18th annual edition of Chinook Book has arrived! As usual, it highlights local, sustainable businesses that thrive in the community by giving back. This year, there are over 600 offers in eight categories. The Chinook Book team spends time thinking about businesses and their industries and the approach and criteria with which they appear in the book.

This book is designed to be lived.

Ready for a night out on the town? Use the many Dining and Entertainment offers available. A meal at neighborhood restaurants, like Pollo Norte, OP Wurst or Ex Novo Brewing. Dancing at 80’s Video Dance Attack or karaoke at Voicebox. A play at Artists Repertory Theatre or Portland Center Stage. A movie at Northwest Film Center or The Academy Theater.

Resourceful PDX shares community resources with the newly updated map (page 14 in the print edition). There are many places to go for used art supplies, building materials and clothing. Look for coupons and tips for bike shops, consignment and thrift stores, hardware stores, and bike and car sharing opportunities. Visit the new DIY Bar as well!

Check out all the community coupons online. The print edition includes information and resources on how to connect with local businesses that are in line with resourceful living. The app continues to improve to offer even more personalized navigation and provides savings at your fingertips.

Find savings by using both the print book and mobile app, available at local retailers and through school and nonprofit fundraisers.

Find local alternatives to back to school shopping and spending

The back to school shopping season accounts for about 50 percent of annual school-related spending and impacts approximately one-quarter of U.S. households.

While clothing and school supplies dominate back to school lists, the highest average spending is for computers and hardware. Here’s a breakdown of spending per family in each category:

·         Computers & hardware $307

·         Clothing & accessories $284

·         Electronic gadgets $254

·         School supplies $104

Getting kids ready to go back to school may include more stuff, more hassle and more stress. But there are plenty of things you can do to save time and money. Local resources abound for getting what you need to go back to school.

SCRAP offers supplies to create DIY one-of-a-kind items for school, like pencil bags from fabric, zippers and found objects, or to customize last year’s backpacks by adding sew-on patches or letters. They have paper of all colors and sizes, binders, markers, pens, colored pencils, plus so much more.

Free Geek has repurposed electronics of all kinds at the new-and-improved Free Geek Store. It makes its computer systems the focal point of the space and you can also donate old computers and electronic equipment.

Title Wave Used Book Store includes a wide selection of books and other materials at deep discounts. Share your used books with friends, relatives, or younger schoolchildren. The Children’s Book Bank needs gently used books to pass onto children in Portland who might not otherwise have books of their own at home.

Interested in diving into more about back to school spending? There’s a survey about insights on spending and shopping trends.

Check out past posts about kids in school - and use the Resourceful PDX map to locate more resources near you.

DIY Bar: Where people come to get their craft on

By Alicia Polacok, Resourceful PDX partner Bureau of Planning and Sustainability

Brothers Adam and Jason Gorske opened DIY Bar in April 2017 as a long-held dream come true. It is a gathering place to work on individual crafts from their project menu while enjoying beer, cider or wine.

I visited on a Friday evening with three friends to get the story of this business from the brothers – and try my hand at a craft.

Coming from a close family, Adam and Jason always thought they would work together in some capacity. When they both found themselves in Portland in 2015, the dream started to take shape into a business. One where their respective skills and interests came into play - reusing, tinkering and mastering a sense of accomplishment.

For DIY Bar, it involved reusing old materials to repurpose into something new and building things based on their home improvement project experiences. Adam explained that salvage materials from the ReBuilding Center and Salvage Works were used to create the facade of the host stand, shelving for project supplies and the inside of the bar.

A place for crafty (and not so crafty) people

The idea for DIY Bar was inspired by paint and sip places, where you can enjoy a beverage while painting with step-by-step instructions and take home something unique.

Adam and Jason have done the work for you to find the projects, gather the tools and materials needed to make beautiful and functional crafts. To maintain consistency, the project materials are new, while the tools are reused by guests.

Adam said, “The future may include collaboration with other organizations and an interest in featuring local artists to do more intensive and in-depth projects.”

The most popular item on the 16-project menu is the rustic nail and string art. There are templates to choose from, or staff will help you create something one-of-a kind. During my visit – my three friends all chose string art projects. Because I put myself in the not-so-crafty category, I was daunted, so chose a leather beer koozie project instead. I love koozies (and beer) so why not try to make my own?!

With detailed step-by-step instructions in hand, and my questions answered by staff, I completed my koozie. There was still time for a drink and to mingle with others in the space. The friendly atmosphere encouraged people to see what others were making and celebrate their finished works of art.

The evening my friends and I were there, the place was full, and it turned out about one-third of the customers were from out of town. Tourists. Coming to experience a bit of Portland while visiting the city.

Feeling inspired? Check out the DIY Bar frequently asked questions to learn more before booking a space.

Top 10 waste-free gift ideas create more memories

The holidays provide moments for meaningful gift ideas that show love and appreciation for those in your life - and ways to create more memories instead of more stuff.

Alicia Polacok from Resourceful PDX partner, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, shared examples from this Top 10 Waste-Free Gifts on the KATU Afternoon Live TV show. She also told viewers about the Portland Winter Curbsider, in mailboxes now and full of more good ideas and holiday related information. 

TOP 10 WASTE-FREE GIFTS

FOR KIDS

1. Classes or lessons

2. Activities or adventures together

3. Virtual downloads (music, movies, games)

FOR PARENTS AND FAMILIES

4. Memberships or tickets

5. Get-away experiences (babysitter, restaurant, hotel)

FOR ANYONE

6. Service-oriented businesses (house cleaning, organizer)

7.  Gift cards for pampering (massage, nails)

8. Your time! (helping with home project or teaching a skill)

9. Local handmade gifts (crafts, food, drinks)

10. Vintage or secondhand finds

Find more ideas to create memories in your life in our resourceful #holiday series. 

Need even more ideas? The Center for a New American Dream has you covered. Check out the many ways to Simplify the Holidays with the More Fun Less Stuff Catalog and this year’s calendar to get six weeks of daily inspirations and practical tips for simplifying your holiday season.

Alternative gift ideas for kids bring more joy (and less stuff!)

Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re looking for a gift that fits just right, especially for kids, check out these fresh ideas for something that’s one-of-a-kind and maybe even enjoy it together this holiday season!

Families with kids may like a membership to the zoo, OMSI, children’s museum, or tickets to a play, movie or a sports event. While experience gifts can be a tough sell to little kids, you can help make it fun in the moment too.

Try creating a countdown calendar and mark off the days until they get to go to the event or destination. Or print out photos from similar past experiences, and wrap them up, to help them imagine the experience and create excitement.

Inviting friends can make it even more fun, if that’s an option for the type of experience you’re giving. And helping kids choose experience gifts for others can also help them appreciate this kind of gift giving. Starting this tradition with them now can create memories that will last long beyond the holiday season.

Here are some more non-toy gift ideas for kids (borrowed from Nourishing Minimalism's Non-Toy Gift Guide):

• Classes: Music, dance, riding, drawing – classes are a great way to encourage children in their interests and let them know that you pay attention to them and what they enjoy.
• Activities: Mini golf, bowling, skating rink. These are so much fun! And a big part of the fun is going together. Children love spending time with the adults in their lives; they want to see you enjoying your time as well as enjoying them.
• Recipe and ingredients: Cooking brings people together. Baking something special or cooking dinner is an ideal time to spend together and learn life skills. Print out a recipe, purchase all the ingredients and set a date for cooking together. Bonus: PDX Parent has a profile of Portland chefs cooking with their kids – recipes included!
• Arts and crafts supplies: If your craft box is running low, stock up a little on things you need. Add in something fun the kids haven't used before. A gift of arts and crafts supplies often brings on the imagination, and kids can't wait to get to work. Bonus: Set up a crafting date, take time out of your own schedule and make crafts together! Keep a basket of craft supplies and get out a book for inspiration.
• Coupons: An envelope of coupons that they can "spend" at any time: I'll do one chore -- no questions asked; movie and popcorn night, you pick the movie!; 1:1 game of cards or basketball (whatever the child's interest is in); sit and read a book with me; stay up 1/2 hour past bedtime.
• Restaurant gift card: Dinner, ice cream, coffee, cupcake – whatever suits their fancy! Give them the freedom of inviting whomever they wish: it may be mom or dad; it may be a grandparent, aunt or even teacher they would like to spend more time with.
• Dress-up clothes: Gently used clothing offers hours of play.
• Books: Get books from the library or pick up a used copy at one of Portland’s many bookstores. Be sure to pass the books on when you are done, so they don't clutter up your home.

Photo credit: Oregon Zoo

Find gift ideas for other hard-to-buy-for people in your life in our resourceful holiday series. #holiday

Warm the holidays with these community gift ideas

December is the season of creative giving and good times spent with friends and family. Remember, Portland is full of community resources —and resourceful ways — to give and make meaningful moments.

Make memories

Give a fun outing to ZooLights for kiddos who already have a full toy box.

Families with kids may like a membership to the zoo, OMSI, children’s museum, or tickets to a play, movie or a sports event. While gifts of experience can be a tough sell to little kids, you can help make it fun in the moment too.

Borrow

Help dad clean the gutters with an extension ladder borrowed from a tool library.

Tool libraries are available to residents of East Portland, Green Lents, North Portland, Northeast Portland, Southwest Portland, and Southeast Portland. Become a member of a tool library near you! Gift a family member or neighbor time — yours! — to help with a house project.

Fix it and Make It

Repair a favorite old lamp for mom at a repair café.

Repair PDX hosts monthly free repair events that bring volunteers who like to fix things together with people who have broken items that need fixing. Help spread repair culture through the repair movement!

Portland offers many ways to make it yourself. Try a woodworking class at the ReBuilding Center, or make something special at one of the many do-it-yourself workshops around Portland.

Try resale

Find a gently used party dress!

Portland has a thriving reuse and thrift shop market for not only clothing, but also household goods, electronics, furniture, art supplies and building materials.

Check out the Resourceful PDX map for lending libraries, donation centers, resale, repair and swap shops.

Enjoy dessert first with Chinook Book’s sweet offerings

By Carrie Treadwell from Resourceful PDX partner, Chinook Book

The 17th annual edition of Chinook Book highlights local, sustainable businesses with a belief that they can give back and also thrive in the community. This includes new options in food-focused Portland!

The website has a new feature that shows all of the community coupons. You can see the 112 merchants and 126 coupons under Dining. This feature includes many standard Portland spots for eating local, plus some new dessert options like:

• Wiz Bang Bar
• Lovejoy Bakers
• Dairy Hill Ice Cream
• Maple Parlor

The Chinook Book team spends time thinking about businesses and their industries and the approach and criteria with which they appear in the book.

The print edition includes information and resources on how to connect with local food and Portland’s many farmer’s markets, as well as the plethora of local businesses that are in line with resourceful living. The app continues to improve to offer even more personalized navigation and provides savings at your fingertips.

Resourceful PDX shares community resources with the newly updated map (page 14 in the print edition). There are many places to go for used art supplies, building materials and clothing. Look for coupons and tips for bike shops, consignment and thrift stores, hardware stores, and even car sharing opportunities.

Find savings by using both the print book and mobile app, available at local retailers and through school and nonprofit fundraisers.

Grab a friend and take advantage of a two-for-one dessert special!

St Johns Food Share offers more options for residents

By Alicia Polacok from Resourceful PDX partner, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability

Founded in 1988, St Johns Food Share is a member-owned, volunteer-powered food sharing community. Formerly known as Golden Harvesters, St Johns Food Share has a mission to empower Portland residents by providing food options, preserving dignity and promoting self-sufficiency. Each year, the food share distributes over 300,000 pounds of food to local families.

New name draws new members

When Golden Harvesters became St Johns Food Share, the name change and rebranding prompted a big increase in members – they more than doubled membership just through word of mouth!

Members are volunteers

Food Share membership is open to all residents. In exchange for a minimum of eight donated volunteer hours and $30 monthly dues per household, you can shop twice a week in the store at no additional charge. The monthly fee helps pay for the store space, electricity and utilities.

Volunteers are crucial to the operation of the Food Share. It was a volunteer who brought the organization into the 21st century too – with software and computerization that hadn’t existed before. Paying membership fees are coming online soon too.

View fullsize

Lynda, a St Johns Food Share member and volunteer, shows off available options at the store. 

One new member, Lynda, drives from St Helens to visit the store and volunteer on Fridays as a store lead. This volunteer position includes making displays look organized, greeting and assisting first-time shoppers with using the computer and weighing items for check-out.

“Having this option really makes a difference,” said Lynda. She explained that the Food Share “offers a way to stretch my monthly money because social security only goes so far.” She can keep her kitchen stocked with a variety of items – fresh produce, dairy products, protein and staples – while keeping good food out of the waste stream.

Food is donated

You’ll find a well-stocked store offering a variety of foods donated from partner agencies. These include Pacific Coast Fruit, St Johns Community Garden, Fred Meyer, New Seasons, Grocery Outlet and more. St Johns Food Share also works with social service agencies to pass along viable food through their food banks. Some of these programs include Grace Christian Fellowship, Hereford House and Linnton Community Center in North and Northwest Portland.

One Food Share volunteer, Judie, said the organization also works with various farmers who take back the food that isn’t viable for human consumption and use the food scraps to make compost or as pig feed.

Learn more

Curious about Food Share? If you aren’t sure you want to be a member, you can shop free the first time. Or you can sign up as member right away.

St Johns Food Share is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

Find St Johns Food Share under Donation Center on the Resourceful PDX map.

Resourceful PDX discovered this “new” community resource when a resident used the Add to the Map button on the Resourceful PDX map. Let us know if you have a resource to add!

Get moving on the way to school

Options is the name of the game as you shift back into the school routine. How you get to and from school, after-school activities, sporting events, and play dates – all of these are times to consider alternatives and, as a bonus, offer ways to spend more time with family and friends.

Carpool

Connect and collaborate with other parents on a carpool for the kids to reduce pollution and traffic congestion while saving time and money. Use this free online tool to find carpool companions. Or talk to friends and neighbors to share in the day-to-day schedule and make the most of your time.

Walk or bike

Promote exercise (and get some yourself) and quality time with your kids by walking or biking with your kids to school. Find maps to school, information and events through Safe Routes to School or sign up for their newsletter.

Bike shops all over Portland offer repair services and classes, and can help outfit you for the weather. Or come to a Repair Café to learn how to get minor things repaired for free.

In whatever ways your family chooses to get back to school, incorporating thoughtful actions that are good for you and the community help provide lasting effects as the seasons change and the new school year becomes routine again.

Visit our other recent posts to find more tips and ideas about kids in school.

Save money by packing waste-free lunches for school

It’s easy and fun to pack waste-free lunches with colorful reusable containers, utensils and cloth napkins!

Tips for waste-free lunches

1. Pack lunch in reusable containers or a lunch box. Wash and reuse containers for sandwiches and snacks. 

• Many grocery stores offer food containers and lunch boxes – be sure to check that they are free of BPA, lead, PVC, phthalates, and vinyl. 
• Lunch Sense and PlanetBox also offers safe, toxin-free products online. 
• Reuseit lunch kits help with planning your kids’ lunches and offers alternatives to disposable items.
• ReUsies Snack and Sandwich Bags has a coupon in the Chinook Book and offers an alternative to disposable bags.

2. Choose durable bottles for drinks.

• Fill them with tap water, which is just as good as bottled water and at less than a penny per gallon, it's a great bargain.

3. Bring your own metal forks, spoons and cloth napkins.

Reuseit presents a number of tips and ideas about reusable items and waste-free lunch options in their video.

By planning ahead and creating weekly meal plans, you can reduce waste while shopping, too. Stock the fridge in one trip, and you’ll save time and resources too.

Check out other back to school resources in our previous kids in school posts.