Built to Last

One of the challenges we must face in the current green building trend, is to build and design buildings meant to last generations. Our forefathers were much better at this than we are, as can be seen by the lifespan of many of the buildings they erected. There seemed to be more of a "long-term" approach to things.

Now, in a day riddled with tight schedules and tight budgets, etc., it becomes more difficult to build something that will last beyond a decade. How green is that? Here's the big challenge: style! It seems as though what is hot and trendy today, is totally out of touch tomorrow. So, how do you build buildings that attract tenants, today, tomorrow, and a decade from now, without having to redo them 20 times.

Which brings me to what I really wanted to write about: used furniture. I walk through some new furniture stores, and I see a lot of really cool, trendy furniture. It has that "new car" feel to it. I see a new chair, and think, "wow, I'd like to take that for a spin (no pun intended)." The question I have to ask, however, is: how long will it last? Sure it may be made from recycled baby bottles, but what good is that if I have to get a new one in two years?

My mom, bless her, always decorated our home with garage sale furniture. You would never have guessed. It was beautiful. The reason she did this was simple: quality. She found that older furniture was built to last. She was on a first name basis with the local upholstery shop, and our furniture came out looking dynamite. Sorry Herman Miller, Knoll, Haworth... that is more green than your eco-chair (but please keep making them, cause I am really hoping to get a used one someday!)

The Tragedy of the Convenient

I am hearing more and more stories of companies throwing things away, because they "just don't want to deal with them." I totally understand. It's time consuming and difficult to do the right thing sometimes. We are often motivated in our heart to make sure items are properly disposed of or reused, but our budget doesn't allow us to do so.

What's the solution? Creativity and patience.

Etreev was started with the intention to offer a solution to companies and individuals who wanted to do the right thing with the items they no longer needed. I call this Eco-Allocation. Our niche is office furniture and equipment, but we are capable of so much more. The creativity is in the fact that we use a Wishlist Matching System. It's pretty cool. You need stuff, you let us know. We get stuff you need, we let you know.

The creativity is cool, but like with any new initiative, it takes patience to see it through. I'd like to thank those clients that had the patience with us to see our process. We are constantly improving, and hope we can be a part of a movement that turns zero waste into a reality!

Why Etreev?

A lot of people have asked us where we came up with the name "Etreev." Truth be told, every other name we came up with was already taken. Frankly, however, I'm glad they were. I love our name.

Etreev is a play on the word "Retrieve." We like to think that we are "retrieving" items destined for the dump, and putting them back to good use. We removed the "r" and started our name with an "e," to signify the way we are doing this: much like e-commerce, e-mail, e-bay, we are using the power of modern technology to connect people with the items they need. Finally, we changed the "i" to an "e," so the word "tree" could be in the name. I love the image of sustainability the tree portrays. Trees are beautiful, strong, and a refuge for other species. We hope, in the spirit of Shel Silverstein, our tree can be a "Giving Tree."

Etreev was started because it is very difficult for non-profits to raise the funds they need to survive. Simple donations of office furniture, equipment, and supplies can make all the difference to many of them. Our goal is to provide the connection between those with the supply, and organizations with the need.

After a little more than a year of business, we have been able to do a lot of good. Here's to several more years, and a ton more good!

Are you gonna throw that away?

Too many of us are buried underneath a pile of belongings we neither need nor use. Yet we find ourselves overwhelmed by the process of ridding ourselves of this useless clutter. So, we store it. Whether in our attic, our garages, or at a storage facility, we put our stuff away until it has aged beyond its usefulness, and then we trash it. As the economy struggles, many people are beginning to realize that by selling or by donating their unused items, they can bring in extra cash. Furthermore, there are people around the world, not as fortunate as we, who would cherish the belongings we trip over.

Examine yourself. Are you really going to use that thing which is currently collecting dust, or are you withholding it from someone else? For instance, many of us store bicycles in our garages with good intentions of riding them, yet we haven't touched them in years. A bicycle for many people in the world means a changed life because it opens the door to increased mobility, and increased opportunity. Try making a promise to yourself that if you don’t use it in the next month (like you’ve been intending to for the last three years) you will donate it.

How much stuff do we really need? Do you own your stuff (you use it to its fullest potential, you appreciate it, and it adds value to your life)? Or does your stuff own you (you feel obligated to keep it, you don't know what else to do with it, and you are emotionally attached to something you neither use nor appreciate). When you decide to donate to somebody who will cherish and appreciate the belonging that has been gathering dust in your garage, you unlock that item’s potential to bring joy. We store things for ourselves, just in case, and miss the opportunity to store up timeless treasure by sharing what we have with those who have nothing.

Let's collaborate to help each other distribute items to where they are needed and appreciated. When we do this, our garages become garages again. Our storage rooms become extra space for items we use and appreciate, as opposed to a collection room for items going to the dump next year.