ModernGear Books: Change The World For Ten Bucks

Just when you think you're overwhelmed with all the negative news and scary headlines coming at you, something comes along that plants a seed of hope.

For me, that tiny seed was a new book, called Change The World For Ten Bucks.

I often get bogged down with worry about the state of the environment, the country, the city, my neighbourhood, my bank account. This book arrived at a time when I was questioning what I could do to improve things, and how one person could make a difference (even though I do know one can).

A community-based organization called We Are What We Do started up in London in 2004 (read all about them here), and this wonderful book of theirs has been inspiring efforts large and small, ever since.

Think about some of the suggestions they make for how small actions x lots of people = big change. Some I am aware of, and practice, like Action 31, "Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth", and Action 34, "Buy fair-trade products".

But others were things I was not doing, but will. Action 12, for instance, is "Unplug appliances when not in use." Why is this important? They tell you why:
"A TV that's plugged in is still using half the electricity of a TV that's turned on.
Most appliances - VCRs, DVD players, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances - use power even when they are switched off."

Action 42 is "Recycle your specs". That is something I have always meant to do but yet here I am packing to move into another house, and what have I found but an extra 4 pairs of glasses I haven't worn in a long, long time. Why have I hung on to those?

When we move into the new house, I am going to use Action 45, which is: "Give your phone number to five people on your street". They have handy-dandy pull-out tabs on which you can write your name and number, with the message, "Please call if I can help." How amazing would it be if people reached out to each other like that?

Change The World For Ten Bucks sells for $10, natch, at Chronicle Books. It's also $8 at Amazon through this link: Change the World for Ten Bucks: small actions x lots of people = big change
- is it weird to save $2 on a product from a nonprofit organization?

Whatever you pay, I have a feeling that this book will be as inspirational and warm-fuzzy-giving to you as it has been to me. Happy reading, and doing.
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ModernGear Home: Domino topples

I am so sad about the announcement last week that Domino magazine is closing its doors.


It strikes me, of course, that closures like these could well portend the demise of the title atop whose masthead I sit, but it's also more than that. What was initially painted as a dip in the market that we would recover from quickly, turned into (seemingly overnight) tough economic times that affect us all, each and every one of us.

It says that it's the end of an innocence - the good times, at least for now, are over. It says that when money is this tight, frivolous things go first.

Now, I was never one to spend inordinate amounts of money on my home, but I don't think it's all that frivolous to invest a little in things that give so much back. I was (and am) always striving to make my home my castle - my refuge, my escape, my oasis. I am saddened by Domino's demise because this magazine offered great inspiration in support of that quest.

Now don't get me wrong - clearly I love the internet. I've been loving sites like Remodelista, Apartment Therapy, and Design*Sponge since I laid eyes upon them, but a magazine is just perfect for pouring over with a cappuccino at a cafe, snuggling up on the couch with, toting around in my handbag for a week until I get a chance to thumb through it. It's also inordinately easier to save pictures from, to insert to a book or onto an inspiration board.

It's time to grow up, I guess. In this economy, something's got to give.

I'll miss Domino's style and panache, and I'm going to make sure to get my hands on a copy of their book before it's too late. Frivolous or not, their title says it all...and to me, making a happy home is more important now than ever before.

Get Domino: The Book of Decorating: A room-by-room guide to creating a home that makes you happy on Amazon starting at $21.12.

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