RePlace: Material with Immaterial and Double Duty

We all know that things = clutter, even those that are useful

Dematerialization includes two key concepts
1. Replacing the material with the immaterial AND
2. Making items do double duty where possible

REPLACE

• Replace bulky Compact Discs (CDs) WITH Mp3 files
• Replace a bulky DVD movie library WITH Streaming movies via CinemaNow or OnDemand, or even Netflix (where the movies are reused and not just stored individually by one family)
• Replace a TV WITH a Projector system (DIY kit version :: Super Cheap DIY version) or (Expensive version) where the projector hangs from the ceiling and the wall stays bare BONUS no one will steal it like an LCD tv
• Replace an Alarm clock WITH a software version for your computer (Recommended only for nerds who sleep with the computer on)
• Replace a bulky game system WITH an emulator just ad controller (Super Nintendo :: Sega, Xbox, PSP, other Nintendo, Arcade Games)

DOUBLE DUTY

• If you already have a computer in your room, an LCD monitor with TV tuner can do DOUBLE DUTY as monitor and TV

Double duty and Replace: 2
Waste waste waste: 0

ReThink: Air Purifiers

Ok, I know it's been a while, better late than never right? I have no excuse except for maybe I just didn't have anything new to bring to the table for over a month. (It's been over a month!)
I'm in the process of moving to NYC and I have been dematerializing like it's going out of style. I guess the new challenge now is rematerializing but remembering the dematerialize key concepts.

Enough rambling, onto today's topic.

I live with pets, I live in the city, I live in an apartment. Sometimes I come home and it smells, the air is stale.

Obviously commercial air freshners are out of the question. Chemicals, chemicals, chemicals.

Alternatives?

• Salt crystal lamps are chunks of rock mined from the base of the Himalayan mountains. If you've ever swam in the ocean or breathed in the air after a thunderstorm, that's what you get.
  For more info check out IonicSalts.com or Saltlamps4U.com or Google "Salt lamps". Ebay tends to have the best prices.
  
  
• We all know that Plants give us oxygen but buy them for environmentally friendly air purifiers as well
  This is a list of plants gleaned from various web sites that have air purifying properties: Bamboo palm, Spider plant; flowering Mums; Peace lily plant and Mother-in-laws-tongue, aloe vera, dracaena plants, philodendrons, golden pothos, scheffleras (there are more)
  
  
• Some sites that give more details on the benefits of purifying plants: humeseeds.com
  worldwise.com (guidelines on how many plants for a room size)
  vegetarian times (what plants remove what chemicals/odors)
  Or pick up the 'bible' How To Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants that Purify Your Home or Office by B.C. Wolverton, Ph.d., (Penguin Books, 1996)