

They are establishing a website called where people who want to get rid of what they consider trash (old keys, for example) can connect with people (artists, for example) who see those same items as treasures. They’re making plans for a “crazy weekend” when they’ll gather volunteers to repair broken lamps, chairs, and other objects.
#Julie kerns junkit for free
Kearns’ and DeZiel’s March project: collecting gently used bras for Free the Girls, an organization that helps a business venture run by escaped former sex slaves in Mozambique. They recently formed a partnership and have gathered volunteers to work on projects that help people get rid of unneeded things responsibly, and often creatively.Īt a Recycle Drive held in February at Junket, they collected nearly 100 pounds of partly-used bottles of shampoo for the Listening House, which divides and distributes the hair products in small, easy-to-carry containers for homeless clients.

Kearns and DeZiel met through a local businesswomen’s group and discovering their shared interest in keeping used items out of landfills. She specializes in finding places that reuse the discards constructively, whether it’s a dry cleaner that takes plastic and wire hangers or an organization that transforms old worn jeans into building insulation.
#Julie kerns junkit professional
Paul-based personal and professional organizing service.ĭeZiel helps clients weed clutter from their basements and closets, then goes out of her way - literally, driving loads around the metro area in her truck - to sell, donate, repurpose or recycle their unwanted stuff. “I was born to organize, ” said DeZiel, who now operate Lasso LLC (a St. To this day, she loves the sight of a nice, tidy room. Meanwhile, Beth DeZiel can recall “begging” her grade-school teachers to let her stay inside during recess to straighten up the desks and clean the chalkboard in the classroom. Because the more we can save from the downstream, the more I want to do.” “Given the opportunity, I want to do more of it. “I’m very deliberate about letting people know where my stuff is coming from - I’m grabbing stuff from the trash,” she said.

Though functional, possibly, in a whole new way - for example, Kearns took an 75-year-old atlas, pulled apart the pages, laminated the maps and now sells them individually as wall hangings. Rescued and presented in Junket, the merchandise becomes often lovely, surprisingly useful, and fully functional. headed toward the end of the product life-cycle,” which is a fancy way of saying it’s garbage. Kearns continues the family Dumpster-diving tradition as owner of Junket: Tossed and Found (4047 Minnehaha Av., Minneapolis, Open two weekends a month, Junket sells “cool old stuff. “She probably still uses it when she’s making waffles, ” Kearns said. She took it home, tried it out, and found it worked just fine. It’s on us.Julie Kearns remembers being 4 years old and watching her mother reach into a Dumpster and pull out a waffle iron. Julie discusses her visionary work to open our minds to the beautiful and honest possibilities of truly changing our collective habits to preserve humanity and honor the future generations. How will you take responsibility for your consumption footprint? We sat down with Julie Kearns, the founder and finder of Junket: Tossed and Found, the revolutionary reusable goods store in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
