Portlander Jon Jacob recently introduced me to his website thriftmapper.com. The site is designed to help people find and map garage sales in and around Portland.
Jon, a self-proclaimed garage sale maniac, created thriftmapper to address his own frustrations about finding sales: “I used to read through 100 or more garage sale listings to find the ones that were not too far away and sounded at all interesting. It was time-consuming and frankly frustrating….I just wanted to know where the big groups of sales were. I found myself wanting an organizing tool.”
On thriftmapper, garage sale seekers can search for sales by area (SE Portland, Vancouver, Tigard, etc.), type of sale (estate sale, multi-family, neighborhood sale, etc.) and date. Thriftmapper then lists all of the sales that meet the criteria and maps their location using Google Maps. Anyone can advertise their sale for free.
Additional features are available for registered users. Registration is free and Jon assures that personal information will never be shared. While anyone can post an ad, only registered users can go back in and edit their ad. Registered users can sign up to receive listings of sales via email and can customize their email updates by location and frequency of delivery. With the “Favorites” feature, users can select sales that interest them. The site stores the listings and displays them on one map.
Thriftmapper also has a blog and forum, where bargain hunters can connect with each other, as well as comment on the site.
I’ve signed up and have taken a look around. Anyone hosting a sale should definitely add thriftmapper to their ad campaign. It’s free and does not require sign-up. While the more advanced search features are rough around the edges, I think thriftmapper is most useful for finding a critical mass of sales quickly. There’s definitely potential for a great resource here, and I’ll be keeping my eye on it.
For those in Portland, I’d like to point out two cool programs—one for kids, one for adults—sponsored by the Multnomah County Library system:
Young Adult Writers Workshop
Saturday, June 16th, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Join editors Ali McCart and Kristin Thiel from Indigo Editing and the Ink-Filled Page quarterly literary journal for a two-hour writers workshop. Come prepared with a story you’ve written or just an idea and we’ll examine writing strategies that make successful stories and exercises to build your writing voice. At the end of the workshop, you can submit your story for publication in the Ink-Filled Page! Read the journal at www.indigoediting.com/Ink-Filled_Page.html.
This workshop is free and open to all young adults between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Arrive at the U.S. Bank Room (off the main foyer) of the Central Library, 801 SW 10th Ave., Portland, at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 16. The workshop will last two hours; we will provide supplies and light snacks as well as plenty of advice for improving your writing.
Super Crafty Love-In
Love crafting? Join the authors of the book Super Crafty: Over 75 Amazing How-To Projects for an adult craft-in. Supplies to complete a craft will be provided and crafty questions answered.
Kanzashi: The Art of Japanese Fabric Flowers
Learn how to make kanzashi with Diane Gilleland from the Church of Craft. The flowers are traditionally used on the elaborate headresses worn by geisha. They involve a little bit of fabric origami, a little sewing, and a little gluing. They make wonderful jewelry, embellishments for handbags or refrigerator magnets. And they aren’t so hard to make!
Bead and Wire Crochet
Using fine-gauge wire and assorted beads, Diane Gilleland from the Church of Craft will show you how to create delicate beaded chains and make them into necklaces, bracelets and earrings. No crochet experience is necessary—and if you are a crocheter, you can also learn some more advanced techniques.
On the topic of inspiring blogs, I’ve also been reading No Impact Man. No Impact Man, aka writer Colin Beavan, and his family have embarked on a one-year experiment in reducing their impact on the environment.
Today’s blog explains how going green has saved him money. Here’s an excerpt:
“When the project began, we were without a dime in savings and, though not in credit card debt (I’ve been there, done that), we were both way too comfortable being in overdraft. Now, the money idles provocatively in our bank accounts. We’re living on one salary and stashing the other.”
Fix chronicles artist Megan Metcalf’s one-year experiment in non-consumption.
As she explains:
Disgusted and alarmed by the proximity of unlimited shopping and unlimited garbage in Manhattan, as well as the disposable mentality I live and work in – “just throw it out and get a new one” – I’ve decided to make a little experiment in non-consumption. Now, I already live a pretty marginal existence as far as materiality is concerned: I’d like to see what happens if I make the commitment to reducing my participation in the buying cycle to zero this year.
I find this experiment inspiring. (And the blog’s minimalist design is soothing and easy to read.) I too aspire to live a less consumptive lifestyle, not only for my pocketbook but for environmental reasons as well. But can I make such a sweeping commitment? Do I need to? I see the power in putting a plan in writing and documenting one’s progress (privately or publicly). Is it enough to try to do the best I can day to day? For now, it’s enough. But I can’t say enough about how much it helps to be able to draw motivation and ideas from blogs like Megan’s.
Are you having a hard time finding a landlord to approve your application for housing?
Have you had trouble getting your landlord to make repairs?
Didn’t get your deposit back?
Come learn about your rights as a renter!
There will be a free workshop for tenants at the Beaverton City Library’s conference room on Saturday, April 28, from 1:30-2:30.
Contact Ari at 503.460.9702 or ari@oregoncat.org with questions or for more info.
The Community Alliance of Tenants is Oregon’s only grassroots, tenant-controlled renters’ rights organzation. If you’re a tenant who cares about your rights, get involved!
Are you thinking about refinancing? Do you want to use your equity?
Have you ever missed a mortgage payment?
Please join us to learn how to avoid refinancing scams, recognize
predatory lenders and to prevent foreclosure
Wednesday, April 25th, 6pm-8pm
New Columbia Community Education Center
4610 N Trenton St.
Presented by Fernando Velez, Oregon Dept. of Consumer & Business Services, and Kevin Gillette from the Home Ownership Center (Vancouver, WA)
To register, contact Jen Matheson at 503-265-6507 or jen@211info.org
Workshop offered through partnership of Portland Community College
COPC/HUD, HousingConnections.org, Housing Authority of Portland, Oregon
State Consumer & Business Services and the Home Ownership Center
Here are some typical questions that arise when my husband and I are out on the road:
What’s the cross-street?
When do they close?
Do we need reservations?
When’s the next showing?
Have they already stopped serving dim sum?
To solve mysteries like these, we call 1-800-FREE411 to get the number of the establishment we want to reach.
1-800-FREE411 provides nationwide directory assistance for free from any phone. Compare that to what some of the largest wireless providers charge for dialing 411:
