Vintage Cast-Iron Sink From the Dump

You never know what treasures you'll find at the dump. In Maine, when we lived there, there was a dump store, a shed where people could display their trash that still had life left in it, where people could shop. Here in Henderson, NV, there is no store, but I still like to shop. A few months ago I found this awesome vintage, cast iron, utility sink. I spied it about 1/3 of the way up the huge trash pile. (I'll spare you the long story of how Dave tore his bicep "rescuing" it for me. Let's just say it is VERY heavy and tripping with it in your arms is not a good idea, and leave it at that.) It spent the past few months down in my garden where it would have made a fine potting sink, but I longed for it in the house. So, I decided to move forward and have it installed in our new laundry room, once I clean it up a bit and preserve its awesome vintage patina. It's the perfect combination of industrial meets farmhouse, and is just what my laundry room needs.

My restoration plan is to patch the chipped enamel, scour the bowl and polish it, and scrape down some of the rust on the base and seal it. Whether or not i'll re-paint the outside of the bowl has yet to be determined, but I like the idea of dark green. This vintage model looks very much like the American Standard reproduction utility sink that is sold today, but I love this one more because it has been well loved and withstood the test of time. Imagine all the projects that were cleaned up in this sink over the decades!

I ordered a mounting bracket today, and a porcelain knobbed industrial faucet. Once Carlos patches the walls in the laundry room, they'll be ready for tile, and then, I can install the sink. I plan to get working on it this week. I'll post updated pictures.

Pay It Forward

Dave and I watched the movie Pay It Forward. The message in the movie really got me thinking. The general concept is that if everyone does three positive things for random people, lives would get better and doing good would be contagious. I am so grateful for the people who have payed it forward to me and my family this week.

• I ordered a Diet Coke from the McDonald's drive thru. I pulled up to the first window to pay and was told by the cashier that the person in the vehicle in front of me paid for my order. It made my day.
• A woman posted on Freecycle that she needed a pack-n-play for a home daycare. I remembered that Davey's was in the basement and that we never use it. She picked up the next day. Then Landon's cell phone broke. I asked Dave to post a wanted ad on Freecycle. It read,"Wanted: Phone with Texting Pad". Landon was not too hopeful and said, "Mom, why would anyone give away a cell phone that they could sell?" Within an hour we heard from someone in our community who had a cell phone for Landon, a like-new Android with a texting pad. I was immediately reminded that there are still good people out there.
• The person who gave us the phone visited my blog through the URL attached to my email signature. He emailed me for more information about soliciting donations for charity. As it turns out he is the director of  Deeper Missions, a non-profit dedicated to improving African communities by instituting clean energy and water projects, and providing education about sanitation and hygiene. Mission number 4 on the Deeper Missions website...Pay It Forward. 

Recycling E-Waste as a School Fundraiser

Do you collect box tops for education throughout the summer and send your kids into school with a zip-lock baggie full on the first day of school? I do. I guess it's my way of giving the program a jump start. I am happy to contribute box tops instead of buying candy or wrapping paper from an overpriced fundraiser. Too often fundraisers pay the school a pittance and generate enormous profits for themselves.
Did you know that collecting electronic waste, called e-waste, can be a lucrative fundraiser that costs the parents nothing? I have been paying attention lately to green living initiatives and how to keep waste, especially e-waste, from our landfills through repurposing and recycling. Because electronics like cell phones, handheld game systems and computers and TV's are frequently replaced with newer, faster models, electronic waste is the fastest growing stream of waste to our landfills.
I opened the junk drawer, and with no effort at all found a collection of 4 old cell phones and 3 empty ink cartridges. I did some online research and found that IF there were recycling programs in our schools this trash could generate about $10. This pile doesn't even include the broken laptops (3), old iPods (4) and other e-waste hanging around.

E-waste we gathered from around the house.

I have to do some more research before committing to a program to bring to my kids' schools. I want to make sure the company buying the e-waste from the school is reputable, is committed to supporting the environment and education, and will give us the most for our donations. I'll post the findings. But I am convinced already. Recycling old phones and used ink cartridges saves the environment but curbing the flow of e-waste to our landfills and makes money for schools. If your school has an e-waste recycling program tell me about it in the comments.