Scrap!

My new favorite place to scrounge for supplies is Scrap!

The School & Community Reuse Action Project, located in NE Portland OR, is overflowing with paper, fabric, paint, plastics and pretty much anything that could possibly be upcycled into something else. You'll be hard-pressed to find anything over a buck, with most items going for pennies. Plain paper and cardstock is sold by the stack, around .25 per inch. Fabric, both newer and vintage, no more than $2.00/yd.

Scrap! isn't just selling scrap, either. They run Camp Scrap for kids, host tons of workshops and events throughout the year, offer field trips, badge earning opportunities for scouts and even a gallery!

Don't live in or near Portland? Check out this list I borrowed from Scrap! for a Creative Reuse center near you.

Art From Scrap – Santa Barbara, CA

Arts & Scraps – Detroit, MI

ArtStart – St. Paul, MN

Bring – Eugene, OR

East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse – Oakland, CA

FabMo – Mountain View, CA

Hudson Valley Materials Exchange – New Windsor, NY

Material Exchange for Community Arts (MECCA) – Eugene, OR

Materials for the Arts – New York. Not open to the public, but inspirational

Materials Resource Center – Holbrook, NY

Recology SF Artist-in-Residence Program – San Francisco, CA

Resource Depot – Riveria Beach, FL

RMC at the Children’s Museum of Kansas City – Shawnee, KS

The Recycle Shop – The Boston Children’s Museum, MA

The Scrap Box – Ann Arbor, MI

The Scrap Exchange – Durham, NC

SCRAP (Scroungers Center for Reusable Art Parts) – San Francisco, CA

SCRAP Bin (Source for Community Recycled Artistic Products) – Carrollton, GA

SCRAP Gallery (Student Creative Recycle Art Program) – Indio, CA

St. Louis Teachers’ Recycle Center – St. Louis, MO

Terracycle Inc. – Trenton, NJ

Trash to Treasure Creative Reuse Center – Fort Lauderdale, FL

Urban Source – Vancouver, BC

What can you make from scrap? 5th Season made this great pouch using some materials found at Scrap!

You can like Scrap! on Facebook or follow on Twitter for all the reuse news.

As for me, I'm going to make another pot of coffee and spend the day playing with my scraps!

Renew. Reuse. Revamp.

After some idle time, nearly two years, we've got a project.

No more Made-in-China crap. Every purchase will be made with the planet in mind, and what this planet needs more now than ever, is thoughtful purchases. Such as the very, very cool gum and mints my daughter just brought home.

Project7 promises to plant ten fruit trees for every tray of their Fresh Mint gum purchased. And for every tray of Peppermint mints sold, the company will provide 7 meals in American communities.

A tray consists of 12 (reusable!) tubes of mints or boxes of gum, in your choice of peppermint, fresh mint or cinnamon. Gum and mints not for you? Bottled spring water is available in biodegradable bottles that break down in 1-5 years in your choice of:

• Feed the Hungry


• Save the Earth


• House the Homeless


• Heal the Sick


• Hope for Peace


• Quench the Thirsty


• Teach Them Well

If you're going to drink bottled water, you may as well do some good with your purchase. Project7 also has organic, Fair Trade coffee in a variety of roasts, as well as a Coffee of the Month club and brewing equipment.

But where to store that delicious coffee when you get it? Sure, you could run down to Walmart or Target and buy some cheap Made-in-China plastic crap container. Or, you could store your coffee in these beautiful canisters from UneBelleVie.

Then grind it up using this fantastic vintage coffee grinder that Oppning has on Etsy.

Brew it to perfection and serve it in a great mug from Barbara Donovan

We're going to spend money. We're going to buy stuff. But the money we spend could give new life to an old item, help teach a child, or help someone be their own boss. We just need to pay closer attention.