Make Your Own Chalkboard Paint II

...e Root Simple compound was making our own chalkboard paint and using it to label all of the cabinets in our garage workshop. In the past month, inspired by a visit from über-maker Federico Tobon, I’ve taken up the task of pimping out the workshop with a proper workbench and table saw. I’ll blog about Workshop 2.0 when I’m finished with the renovation, but the chalkboard paint hack is worth a repeat mention. Thanks to the chalkboard paint, when I w...

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Saturday Tweets: Happy Feet and Sad Feet

...triot @GeorgeMonbiot tells it like it is: Driving a gas guzzler is killing urban life and the least cool thing you can do!https://t.co/hZcF20OBxd — MonkeyWrenchGang (@M_WrenchGang) June 23, 2019 “At a certain point, if you’re playing Dr. Pangloss to people who administer a monstrous social order, then at some point you’re going to rub shoulders with and do favors for actual monsters,” https://t.co/JiGukRJXfi — Root Simple (@rootsimple) July 17, 20...

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Rain Barrels

...don’t want to discourage anyone from making an attempt at it, but for most urban homesteaders it won’t be economical or practical given the space requirements and weight of thousands of gallons of stored water. Thankfully, there are simpler strategies for harvesting rainwater. Rainwater used for irrigating plants does not need filtering or purification, and since outdoor watering accounts for the number one household water use, you’ll be using tha...

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Kickstart the North Memphis Farmers Collective

...stories, there’s a happy ending. What began in one yard has grown into an urban farming movement transforming vacant lots into sources of food and jobs. There’s a Kickstarter: The City of Memphis faces many challenges. Among them are blighted vacant lots, food deserts, health challenges, and unemployment. North Memphis Farmer’s Collective seeks to take these challenges and turn them into solutions by using what others see as waste as the fertiliz...

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Grist & Toll: An Urban Flour Mill

...is open for special hours this holiday season: Friday December 13th 12-6pm Saturday December 14th 12-5pm Friday December 20th 12-6pm Saturday December 21st 12-6pm Grist & Toll is located at 990 S. Arroyo Parkway #1 in Pasadena, California. Stop on by and get the bakers in your life some hard to find flours. Make those holiday cookies with tasty Sonora wheat! If you’re not in the Southern California area leave a comment with some tips on where to f...

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