[Earth Day Edition] Buying Recycled Paint

The paint.

On the last painting project The Brown’s undertook we decided not to buy paint the conventional way, at a big box store. That combined with wanting to buy sustainable paint--we chose to go to the Habitat for Humanity Omaha ReStore.

There are 825 Habitat ReStores in the U.S. and Canada. These Habitat ReStores provide a socially and environmentally responsible way to keep good, reusable materials out of landfills.

Brian and I were very aware of what this store Humanity Omaha Restore had to offer; since, we’d been there before and helped with a life-long friend bring this very store to fruition. Read about our volunteering effort here.

At Habitat’s ReStore, our first choice is Amazon Paint, which is repurposed paint. This is rescued paint from government, stores, construction and consumers. Amazon’s goal since 1992 has been to repurpose and reprocess paint. It's good paint. In fact, the paint is inspected through a processing and filtering system.

A Burnt Corral wall at The Browns.

On our visit to the West Maple Habitat ReStore, we didn’t see any Amazon paint in our color choice. So, we investigated further and there it was--a five-gallon bucket that spoke to me. It was Sophir Morris paint, which we’d later call “Burnt Corral.” Why? Because it reminded me of the very first corral Brian & I ever saw while scuba diving in Jamaica.

We paid $35 for a five-gallon bucket (shown above). I thank whomever donated this paint to the ReStore! Because each and every day we see our walls we are reminded of our scuba adventures in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Have a painting project in mind? If so, consider buying paint from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Indeed, in the end when I look at my burnt corral walls these words echo in my head, “home improvement never felt so good...because it's repurposed paint!”


In celebration of the 44th anniversary of Earth Day population-we™ staffers will celebrate our love for planet earth with green posts the entire month of April! Thanks for reading our first Earth Day post. 

- population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown 

© 2014 population-we, LLC

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How to Protect Your Curb from Snowplows This Winter

ReStore Reflectors.

This time of year everybody in the Midwest is bracing themselves for a four letter word, s-n-o-w! So, when the temperature drops in these parts, yes snow is inevitable. With snow, homeowners are required by law to maintain our walkways and driveways by shoveling. If you live in the city limits, it's up to your city works department to however plow the streets in your neighborhood. That is where this post comes into play. Year-after-year since moving into our new Elkhorn neighborhood we've been plagued with a problem. Vehicles clearing our roads of snow; unfortunately, during the process of pushing the snow aside--peel back the grass along our curb too.

This post is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) household project, which is based around a repurposed (recycled) item. We want to share with our population-we™ readers that Earth Day should be commemorated every day of the year! For The Brown's: a recycled home project evokes something you already had around the house; were given specifically for repurposing; picked up thrifting or bought at a ReStore. To be classified as population-we™ repurposed project: one- or all- components should be recycled in the project. In this case, this blogger husband and wife team live in an area that receives lots of snow--here's a buy we found to combat our snowplow woes at a local ReStore.

Our neighbor's prepare for snowfall too.

If you're not familiar with this type of store, the concept is to give products a second life. Habitat for Humanity ReStores provide a socially and environmentally responsible way to keep good, reusable materials out of landfills. To learn more about the ReStore we visited, read my post at: Be Green, Shop at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. To alleviate our snowplow problem, we've borrowed a tip from area businesses snow removal playbook. To save their businesses' high-priced manicured lawns, they place reflectors in the parking lots and sidewalks for snow removal. While at the ReStore, we happened upon some reflectors (see picture above), and immediately bought a dozen. And, strategically before the ground froze we placed them along our curb to warn the snowplows too steer clear.

If you live in a neighborhood that has a Homeowners Association (HOA) covenants; you may want to check to see if reflectors are permitted. Our neighborhood has one but no one abides by it. This year, The Brown's are not alone, corner lots around the neighborhood are littered (see picture at left above) with their own reflectors awaiting Nebraska's first snowfall. The only difference between our reflectors, we saved ours from a landfill, by purchasing them off season at a ReStore. Keep repurposing!

-population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown

© 2013 population-we, LLC 
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