Reflection: Weeks 5-8

Overview:
Over the past couple weeks we have discussed the effects of plastic bottles on the environment, water mining has on communities, and industrial plants have on communities.  We have also checked out what cool websites you can find such as JunkMarketStyle.com or costmeticdatabase.com.

Film:
The documentary 'Tapped' showed the effects that water mining has on communities.  It showed how corporations like Nestle can enter in to communities with cheap permits to pump water before the citizens realize it.  They pump the water and then sell it for many times its value, without the communities being compensated for their resources.  The documentary also showed the negative effects of the overuse of plastic bottles.  Consider this map and Wikipedia page.  It is pretty disgusting to think this is something real.

Websites:
JunkMarketStyle.com is a very cool website that shows creative ideas that people have had with their old, otherwise unusable, stuff. 
The other website that we used in the Eye Opener post is called cosmeticdatabase.com.  At this website you can search for the things you use for personal hygiene to learn about how hazardous it is for you. 

Conclusion:
Overall, I have found the stuff listed above as the most interesting stuff covered up to this point in the semester.  I love films and found Tapped to be very well done, I think I can speak for a lot of viewers in saying it kept you engaged the entire 75 minutes and raised concerns that will not be forgotten anytime soon.  I loved the websites too.  I am always looking for ways to make my house feel more 'homey' and I think this is going to help me open my eyes to find different ways of doing that for the future.  And the next time I am going to buy cosmetics for myself, I will be comparing them in cosmetic database before I purchase new ones, partly to see how hazardous mine are, and partly to see if I can discover something new!

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

This post is an introduction to junking.  I will let you know what it is and why it is done.  First of all, some helpful terms:

• antiques/antiquing: "an object belonging to, made in, or typical of an earlier time period."
• junk/junking: "the retrieval of ordinarily discarded things and materials (junk)"
• flea market: "a market, usually held outdoors, where antiques, used household goods, and curios are sold"
• thrift shop: "a shop that sells used articles, especially clothing, as to benifit a charitable organization"
• upcycling: "the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value"
• resale shop: "the selling of something purchased. Example: a secondhand store."

The reason I have listed these terms is because of their significance when discussing the health of environment.  These are all different ways of getting additional use out of items that were no longer needed for their original choice.  Anyone can do any of these things, and often times you can find way more value in doing some of the shopping listed above than you can by going to a store and buying something new.  For example, I am a college student and I need to find furniture for my house.  I have enough expenses so I do not wanna spend any more than I have to when I buy something.  When I moved in to my house I spent a lot of time checking resale shops, thrift shops, and even a flea market when I was searching for things to make my home feel more like 'home'.  We don't have any antiques, unless you count our 120 year old home.  We have done a little junking, although we did not realize it at the time (we used silverware holders from the things we use to dry our dishes as cup holders).

Below are some resources that you can use to find some of the places that go with the terms above:

Antiques: Father Time Antiques, 395 S Lake Ave #1, Duluth, MN 55802.  218-625-2379.  And they don't have their own website or blog, but here is their contact info and a map of the area where the store is located.

Junking: Look below for some great finds from JunkMarketStyle! Their website provides a great resource for anyone interested in getting involved with junking.  Here is the blog.

Flea market: Hinkley Flea Market, 701 Fire Monument Rd. Hinkley, MN 55037. Website here.

Thrift shop: Goodwill, 700 Garfield Ave. #1, Duluth, MN 55802. 218-722-6351. Here is their organization's local website.  

Upcycling:  I couldn't find a good local example for the local Duluth area.  I would say a good example of this is something someone could use in their home.  Rather than discarding something, think of a creative way to utilize your waste.  My roommates and I are saving bottle caps of all different colors to make a cool design for a table we are going to construct.  When you consider things like this, you know that you can find a purpose in just about anything.

Resale shop: Savers, 1740 Mall Drive, Duluth, MN 55811.  A great place to search and find discarded clothes and furniture for much cheaper than you can find in a department store.

Here is some cool things I found at JunkMarketStyle.com:

Table cover - I think the reason I like this is that it reminds me of home.  Living on my own now I have noticed how much more cozy my parents' house feels.  This isn't a reflection of the furniture, mine has plenty.  But I think it is because of all of the little, slightly decorative things.

Candle holder - I like candles and this seems like it would be something cool.  It hangs down from the ceiling and the candle sits in the middle.  I wonder how the light looks after it comes through the crystals?

Broken plate table top - You may have to flip through the different pictures of this one, but it is pretty cool when you see it.  They used broken pieces of dishes and some tiles to create different designs and textures for table tops. 

I have always liked to find things that I can get some positive use out of.  I never thought I would find so much about this kind of thing.  I can see that a lot of people find a lot of value in what others may discard as trash.  Sometimes I worry about hoard too many things, but I think a good explanation is that I just wanna make sure I can get all the value that I can out of the things I own.