The N.Y.Times recently ran a story about a couple who bought a house in Upstate New York for $95,000 and fixed it up, beautifully, for $10,000, using pure elbow grease and a eye for scavenged and second-hand stuff. The best nugget of info, to me, was about how to score serious finds on Craigslist: “Using Craigslist…
Read MoreMira Keras’ Rule of ReInvention
Improvised Life Editorial Assistant Mira Keras also happens to be a tattoo artist recently featured in Buzzfeed. She developed a survivalist’s approach to right-livlelihood that works for both Millenials and Boomers navigating rough economic seas.
Read MoreFreeform Architecture LEGO Kit in Monochrome White (+ D-I-Y Alternative)
Having long been enamored of building blocks both miniature and life-sized for their cool modularity and open invitation to improvise, I find this jumbo building kit from LEGO is the perfect thing for adults to play/plan/build with. Whether to envision a real-life project in small scale or simply get out of your own head for a minute, these…
Read MoreEasy Holiday Hack: All-in-One Greeting Card + Envelope
We excerpted the one perfect trick for the holidays from Grant Thompson’s 10 Life Hacks You Need To Know For Christmas!: a way of folding paper so you can send it without an envelope. Voila! Instant holiday greetings.
Read Morechair frame transformed with ribbon, bungees, string
We posted an ad in Craigslist looking for an assistant and found the most amazing people doing very cool things —blogs, tumblrs, writing, artworks — just…because… At Vanessa’s A City That Endures tumblr, we stumbled on the work of photographer Michael Wolf. He documents the random detritus of the man-made world and the beauty and order that underlie the…
Read Morewhy the fermob tertio table is worth every penny
A few weeks ago, we wrote about our bistro table hunt, and our dilemma whether to go with the name brand Fermob or a cheap knock-off. While we weighed the pros and cons of each as well as our reader’s thoughtful comments, we periodically surfed the net to see what other possibilities or info we…
Read Moregarden in the shower + a moss bathmat
At Unconsumption, we came across this picture with commentary from a couple of different sites: the first via A Harsh Light: craigslist houseshare ad: “i have a garden growing in my shower so you have to use eco-friendly hair products. you will see worms and other insects, and you will occasionally see a spider too but they all…
Read Morereno 101: how to find an affordable architectural plan-maker
After our disastrous experience with a bogus architectural plan drawer we found on Craigslist, the dilemma remained: how to get excellent architectural plans made for the Laboratory’s renovation without paying a fortune. Our new strategy was to put the word out for a talented graduate from a great architecture program like Columbia University and closely…
Read Morerenovation lesson: going cheap can cost time + money
Once we had a rough plan and sketches for the Laboratory renovation, we needed to take them to the next level: real, accurately measured, to-scale architect’s plans. How do you afford an architect on a very tight budget, we wondered. This is where we made the first of MANY mistakes during the renovation. We hired…
Read Moreprotect what you value!!! (say ‘no’ to sopa + pipa)
Today, many of the blogs we visit went dark in protest of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) proposed legislation that could potentially destroy the stunning innovation that has defined the internet. BoingBoing described it best: “…the US Senate is considering legislation that would certainly kill us forever. The legislation is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA),…
Read Mored-i-y modern/rustic table
We always admire people who fearlessly take things apart on the way to REconfiguring them in a new way. So we love the antique table Faye from You are the River hacked, to give it a rustic/modern look; she salvaged rough-hewn top and added moderne legs. “I picked up a super funky table on Craigslist for…
Read Moreradical shift: economist into farmer/forager
Dennison Lee is one of several people I know who have shifted their life radically recently, some in response to the recession and their work drying up, and some hoping to find a more satisfying way of living. Dennison, who had plenty of work as a transportation economist, is one of the latter. He spent…
Read Morebuy, sell or trade produce at veggie trader
The newly-launched website Veggie Trader is like Craigslist for homegrown produce. Sign up to post a listing describing the excess produce you have and what you’d like in return. Or just enter your zip code to see what your neighbors have available for sell or to give away.
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