RecycleBank

I'm pretty skeptical about some of the points sites.  If I join, I want to know that I have a hope of earning enough points to get something... even a little something, but preferably a decent reward.

I just joined Recyclebank.  It's a site that lets you earn points by taking green actions in your home or by just learning about ways to be green on their site.  Watch a video, get some points.  Take a quiz or click on pictures in EcoSchool, earn some points.  It's pretty freakin' simple.  The first day I joined, I ended up with over 1,000 points in about an hour!  That many points is plenty to get me a reward.  It's good enough to pick up 2 or 3 decent rewards. 

Rewards include magazine subscriptions (Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and a bunch of others), restaurant coupons, and even gift cards.  Obviously gift cards are more points, but having only been on the site a few days, I'm half way to a $10 gift card.

Join through a link on this blog and start earning rewards fast!

New ink for Aunt Angel

New ink for me, courtesy of my favorite tattoo artist. 

Freegan values (also known as anti-waste opportunism)

We're not fully freegan, meaning that we don't operate under all the stated principals of the freegan community.  We do find that some of the freegan principles mesh well with our philosophy of village living.

Today, we scored well over $300 in free groceries (based on retail value).  We had some groceries in our pantry and freezer because we keep long term food storage (and had scored some other free goods recently).

To be clear, we are pretty indiscriminate about the type of products we'll receive for free.  The big rule is safety.  We're received free electronics, toys, clothes, food, entertainment, and household items, as well as some miscellaneous blessings.

Below are some illustrative pictures.  This haul was thanks to a family who is moving and didn't want to take their many groceries with them.  We got meat, toddler food, boxed meals, breakfast food, frozen veggies, canned goods, sweets, condiments, and more.  Free, for us, happens because we are open to people who do not wish to waste things, so they give them away.  We are members of freecycle, swap groups, and we check the Craigslist free section about 10 times a day on average.

We've had people tell us that they would be ashamed to take something being offered, and we've run into people that turn up their nose at receiving free things.  As for us, we feed ourselves AND are able to give bags and baskets of food to our neighbors regularly.  When you get in a big haul where you don't get to choose each thing, there is a small percentage of items that do not fit the family due to allergy, handicap, or strong aversion to taste or texture.  For example, one person in our family can't eat spaghetti due to her handicap.  Another member of the family has acid reflux and bell peppers aggravate it.  The same family member hates the texture and taste of whole wheat pasta.  So if we get bell peppers, we may keep a few for salads, but we bag them up and give them to the neighbors.  Spaghetti, whole wheat rice and pasta, and a few other things will go too.  Our neighbors are always happy to take the overflow.

The same goes when we go handpick fresh fruit or veggies because someone's fruit trees produce more than they can handle or they get a big harvest they cannot eat or store.  We take as much as we can eat, can, and freeze, plus a little extra for our neighbors.  Even the crankiest neighbor becomes extra friendly when presented with random baskets of fresh produce and staple groceries!

Not all of the pictures are our free haul, though everything on the table is!  The freezer pics are just a result of several combined free hauls and a little actual grocery shopping (for a few of the meat pieces in the freezer).  Meat is the hardest thing to get free, though we scored an easy $70 of free meat in this haul.

Freeganism

Before I start, let me say that I'm writing this from a certain level and would prefer not to do the definition roundup. If you don't know what freeganism is, then hit up freegan.info to learn a bit, then come back and read. Please then note that I do not espouse every single idea of the freegan standard. I mean, my family owns an SUV, and an SUV is required to get us all around. Carpooling would be economical if our vehicle had any excess space. I am also a proponent of capitalism and entrepreneurship. This is not limited to the acceptable market, but also the sub (or black) market economy that keeps smaller countries and larger families alive.

The Denver/Boulder area does not seem to have a cohesive group of freegans, through it obviously has plenty of them. The site Meetup wants me to pay to start a group, but I wonder if they'd get me for spam if I started a yahoo group then emailed everyone on the Meetup waiting list to advertise it? I might find out. I looked up a dumpster diving yahoo group for the area, but its 75% sex ads easily and had no discernible moderation system. Look people, even hippie freegans need rules and free stuff shouldn't come at the cost of wading through bots looking for money.

As a part-time freegan, I tend to look for housewares, kids stuff, anything I can sell, anything I can use, and in the right cases... food. Freegans aren't just dumpster divers though. The movement espouses charity, friendship, and sensible amounts of eco-responsibility.

So I have some goals, assuming I start feeling better medically. My goals are pretty achievable, seeing as the bulk of their work relies on my ability to use the internet, speak coherently to people, and give/receive free items. Not too hard, huh?


1. Start a cohesive online freegan group for the Denver/Boulder area
2. Start a monthly dumpster dive club and foster others to do the same in their areas
3. Begin a mobile free market or swap meet (probably at the park, but the location varies).
4. Compile a dumpster map of my area to include both locations and best foraging times.
5. Eventually purchase land where my family might live relatively sustainably

Aunt Angel Is...

For this post, I'm making you a list because they work well in my head. Why you ask? Maybe you're a stranger reading this blog and wondering who I am. Maybe you want to know where I get my perspective. Maybe you're just some nozy-ass that likes personal details.

Aunt Angel is...

• well... an aunt, of course, to two little girls
• a slave
• a masochist
• a plus sized adult model
• a phone sex actress
• an entrepreneur
• one of the many who suffer from PCOS
• a writer
• fat
• cuddly
• someone who likes to be alone sometimes
• someone who hates being alone sometimes
• a huge fan of music
• a part-time freegan
• a full-time bargain hunter
• a shutterbug and coordinator of family events
• someone with more hair color choices than pairs of underwear
• an exhibitionist
• kinkier than a cheap garden hose
• surprisingly reserved and shy
• a little nutty
• a graphics geek
• a little gothic, a little pinup, a little classic, a little dirty rocker, a little colorful, a little romantic, a little hippie, and a little strange
• more comfortable in an unmade bed than a made one

The toddler leash debate

We recently hit up and arts and sciences thing held by the SCA. I came to terms that day with traveling with a toddler in period clothing. Keroywn wore an orange tunic, green pants, and little leather shoes. She went to classes with me, and I went to most of the children's classes so her noisy-ness wouldn't interrupt serious discussion.

The thing is, a toddler wants to run. A toddler who is missing their nap for a day of classes is especially fun to handle. I took a 6 foot piece of tablet weaving with me just in case I needed to leash her, but we had never done a leash before, so I didn't want to start that way. While I was, in theory, pro-child leash, I was worried about how it would effect her. At 2 years old, she goes from super shy to super social in the blink of and eye. She also doesn't understand why she shouldn't go anywhere she likes. Above all, she's incredibly independent and intelligent. I suppose that though I don't like to admit it, I've been slightly poisoned by the idea that a child on a leash is a dog who is not allowed to express themselves.

A few hours in, I realized that she just wasn't going to be safe in a big crowd if she could run off, but not letting her run at all wasn't an option either. I broke down and tied a basic x-harness around her, which left about 3-4 feet of "leash" for me to hold. The harness was so that if she pulled, it wouldn't stress her body. I got a few shameful looks, but all in all, the parents thought I was a genius.

She was able to walk through the food line at lunch without incident and I had my hands free to make us a plate. She was able to play with the other kids and meet adults without getting lost in the crowd.

The biggest myth about child leashes was dispelled. It doesn't turn your kid into a dog or take away their independence. She was as free, active, and social as any other time. In fact, having the leash made her popular with the older kids (10 and 11 year olds) who wanted to play with her.

At the end of the day, when we counted successes and setbacks, the leash was more of a help than anything else. The only perceivable negative effect the colorful homemade leash had is the looks and perceptions of OTHER people. She was able to safely participate in more activities than she would have without being tethered.

Points and Rewards Programs

We had some friends over recently, one of whom drinks Dr. Pepper like it's going out of style. I mentioned my Coke points and told him that Dr. Pepper had a program too. It doesn't seem to be right for him.

I will always fail to see how, if you pay for a product that offers a reward program, how you don't take that reward. The arguments seem to be based on time spent on the program or the low rewards.

Sure, it may take a year to save up enough points to do something, but after a year it's nice to have something to show for my caffeine habit!

I used my Coke points this year for holiday gift shopping. Little things like small amount gift cards and magazine subscriptions are easy enough to earn. I have people helping me with this. My mother saves the reward codes off of her CocaCola 12 packs, my friends save their caps for me when they hit the gas station, etc. If I know a Coke drinker who doesn't use their points, you can bet I farm them to my own account.

Now, I don't think you should all have an obsession with money-saving like I do, but fail to see the point in the waste of tossing out the little rewards we get while you complain about the prices of the same goods. To me, it's like having a Sunday paper and not clipping coupons or shopping at a grocery store every week and never getting their discount card. Money may not grow on trees, but you can keep more in your pocket with some gentle vigilance.

What to do if you want to start these things? Check out your rewards programs and get accounts. Decide how you want to use it. With grocery stores, you'll save money, but with things like drug store rewards or soda rewards, you get freebies, discounts, and prizes. I use mine as a "Christmas Club" type thing. It's one way I save for the holidays. For you, it might be a once a year treat for yourself, school supplies for the kids, or something else. Which rewards you use will help you decide how to stretch those points the most.

Here's a list of brands/stores/products that offer some kind of reward.

Godiva - one free piece of chocolate a month at their stores. Sign up online at their website

Grocery stores - almost every grocery store has a discount card!

Wallgreens and CVS both have programs. CVS Rewards is great.

Coke and Dr. Pepper both have programs

Huggies and Pampers both have points programs

Department stores - check with your local clothing stores to see if they have a frequent shopper reward

Restaurants - just like department stores, ask if they have a discount card

Finally, get on EVERYONE'S email list. You'll get some annoying announcement emails, but you'll get coupons and birthday freebies too!