Rebuilding Portland... with the same old stuff

At first we had Hippo Hardware, and then Rejuvenation... now the mothership of all rebuilding stores lives here in Portland... The Rebuilding Center.  Why is it so popular?  Well, unlike the first two (still incredibly addicting) rebuilding stores, The Rebuilding Center is ‘interactive' and so regular folks (not just builders, contractors and demolitionists) can bring in scrap wood, old windows, door knobs, fixtures, etc.  These same folks can park their cars after going through the convenient drop off area, walk through the front door and purchase other scrap wood, old windows, door knobs, fixtures, etc. that other normal folks have dropped off ... You see?  True recycling!

And say you don't have a Rebuilding Center in your area .... Have you ever checked out craigslist.org (another addiction) under their ‘for sale' or ‘free' sections? (Note: choose your nearest city on the right hand side of the main page and go to your local 'for sale' link)  I have yet to leave any remnant (wood, drywall, insulation nails, etc) on the curb longer than 2 hours before it disappears once I write a ‘free' post for it.  I know that craigslist.org has not necessarily caught on everywhere, but it is available throughout the US (and the world) and short of your city having a rebuilding center, it can really catch on once word spreads. 

All the left over material I have had would have been sitting in a landfill somewhere (and I would have had to pay for them to take it!) if not for these resources -  So there ya have it... whether you're ‘green' or ‘cheap' (I like to think I'm a little of both), you're doing some good out there.