Re-FashioNYC

I love when things just make sense, especially when it's for a good cause.  I received a brochure in the mail for re-fashioNYC, a partnership between the city of New York and Housing Works.  The program provides donation bins to apartment buildings with over 10 units.  There is no cost to the apartment building and all proceeds are donated to fund lifesaving services for low-income and homeless New Yorkers living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.  What a brilliant idea! 

Apparently, New Yorkers throw away over 200,000 tons of clothes, towels, blankets, curtains, shoes, handbags, belts, and other textiles and apparel.  Imagine if all of that went towards a good cause instead of a landfill. 

I must admit that I LOVE cleaning out my closet, it's such a good feeling, but it's much harder to drag bags of used clothes through the streets of Manhattan than it was to put it all in my beat up Buick and drive it to the Goodwill in Minnesota.  Now, I can simply bring it to the re-fasioNYC bin downstairs!

So, if you're making room in your closet for classic essentials, take some time to fill out this online inquiry form and request a bin for your building.

Mission Accomplished

 

I don't know what it is about Apple products that makes them so darn addictive, but that addiction has spread around the world like wildfire.  Case and point: my mother called me last week to ask me to bring her an iPad 2 which was apparently selling for RMB $20,000 on the black market.  That's nearly US $3000!  So, I did what any good Chinese daughter would do, I called every single Apple store in New York, every single day to see if they had any in stock.  At one point, I encountered a clerk who answered with phone with, "Thanks for calling the W. 14th Street Apple Store where we are all sold out of the iPad 2."  I'm not sure how this was any more efficient because even after this greeting I (and I'm sure everyone else) repeated, "So...that means you don't have the iPad 2?"  He reiterated that indeed, they were all sold out, but informed me that I could come in early in the morning and wait in line when their morning stock arrived.  Frustrated, I asked a friend how he had managed to get his iPad 2 so quickly.  "Easy," he said, "I simply waited in line for 5 hours...rather...I paid someone else to wait in line for 5 hours...."  And this is how I discovered Agent Anything.  Through Agent Anything, I posted a "mission" for someone to wait in line at the Apple store at 6am in exchange for $30.  Yup, you heard right, a mere $30.  "Agents" aka college students (you must have a valid .edu email address to be an agent to make it easier for the website to keep its agents accountable) can "accept" your mission.  Within 10 minutes, a CUNY student accepted my iPad 2 mission.  I was provided with his email address and phone number.  The next morning, he went to the Apple store at 6am to wait in line for my mother's iPad 2.  Unfortunately, the store received very little stock so I was not able to actually get an iPad 2, but the overall Agent Anything experience was quite good.  Clients can propose any kind of mission they want (within the bounds of legality I presume).  I've seen people post missions to return a medical device to a hospital, paint their living room or help them set up an e-commerce site.  Agent Anything has even partnered with Ben and Jerry's ice cream.  The client pays for the price of the ice cream and the website pays $10 to the agent who delivers it.  That sounds like a win win for everyone.  So, check out Agent Anything the next time you need...well...anything I guess.

Brilliant Idea: Paperless Post

We're all used to Evites and Facebook invites, but Paperless Post provides a classier way to send invitations for your upcoming event. The new website offers customizable invitations that are delivered to your guests in an electronic "envelope" like the one below:

Users can customize the paper, font, and motif of their invitation as well as the "envelope" that it comes in. Guests can reply with an RSVP (also on pretty electronic stationary). Unlike Evites and Facebook invites, the service is not free, but it is definitely affordable. Users must buy "stamps." For $5 you can purchase 60 stamps. This service may not be cost effective for a casual weekend barbecue, but may be an inexpensive alternative to sending out pricey paper invitations for your graduation, wedding, or baby shower. Besides, since it's paper-free, it's also green! Below are a couple of examples from a recent New York Times article:

Thanks to Phyllis for this great find!

Brilliant Idea: Travel Trench

Last week I posted my favorite rainy weather gear, but I wish I would have known about this before posting:

Elie Tahari Double Breasted Travel Trench (263.90)
A clever travel trench that folds into a small pouch.