Founder / Executive Director
Theodore Whiteside
When a property is coming down so much of it is usable and so many people from donors to recipients can benefit from finding new projects to reuse these resources. With the stresses we all put on the environment, adopting new strategies to reuse our resources can make a great difference to our world. I believe in progression and development and I also believe these materials can continue being part of that. I have seen firsthand how this framework enriches the community, awakens a drive in the motivated individual, and provides a pathway for everyone to realize their dream property. This is why i created Property Save inc. in March 2017.
My story
I live and breathe rescue and reuse of items. I'm writing this on the computer that I found at the dump and rebuilt, on a couch that I found on the side of the road, and in the background I hear sound from a TV that I found next to a dumpster and fixed. I am sitting in a 200 sq ft house that I built out of the beams of a house that was being torn down, with an oak floor that was somebody's kitchen and an oak ceiling that was somebody's floor. In fact I have trouble finding anything that I OWN that didn't come from a dump, the side of the road, a house that was being torn down, items which were given to me, or which I built or created myself. I guess I always had some of this trait in my personality but I definitely have embraced this way of being since being struck with a intuitive sense. There are moments in life when you may get a intuitive sense. Following this sense can sometimes lead you on a new exciting path. This happened to me in 2014 when I answered an online ad for "free flooring you remove". I had recently bought a house in Belfast, MAINE for the foreclosure price of of $6000. The price was RIDICULOUSLY low but at the same time it could have been used in the movie The Blair Witch Project. Growing up in American culture surrounded by the drive to throw out he old and buy new, my initial thoughts were I want new flooring, and new building materials, but honestly I just didn't have the money for that. I almost didn't respond to that ad because of this kind of influence but I thought, "What's wrong with me! Oak is oak right?" The next morning I drove to meet a women named Amy Bauman at a house outside of BOSTON. On my drive I was struck with that strange sense I mentioned earlier. I said to myself out loud in the car that I thought I was about to meet someone important, though I had no reason to think so. I stopped to buy her a cup of coffee for a positive greeting. I came to realize that Amy had started a charity named Greengoat that saved building materials for reuse. With the organization that she started I was able to get everything I needed to rebuild my house. I really had very little money but through this path I could afford the things I needed, I just had to be willing to work hard to get them. For the next two weeks after work I came to this house and removed the oak flooring and then the kitchen and then the windows, skylights, lighting and by the time I was done I had purchased everything in the house, de-installed everything I had bought, and was driving all of it in a trailer up to Maine. Over the years I reconnected with Amy and Greengoat many times and every time felt inspired by what she had created. I know first hand how important a charity such as this one can be. If you can save these resources there is no doubt to be someone who desperately needs them just as I was. Inspired by Amy'S work I created Property Save Inc. I want to open people's eyes to the idea that they don't need brand new everything, and that sometimes used is better. I believe that GOOD old fashion hard work and effort should still payoff for people AND i know it MAKES you appreciate these resources even more when you have done that. Using this path to do over your property can create A home filled with stories, both your story AND the HISTORY these resources contain. It's a way of thinking and a building movement which we need to adopt in our throwaway society to ensure a healthier future.
My story
I live and breathe rescue and reuse of items. I'm writing this on the computer that I found at the dump and rebuilt, on a couch that I found on the side of the road, and in the background I hear sound from a TV that I found next to a dumpster and fixed. I am sitting in a 200 sq ft house that I built out of the beams of a house that was being torn down, with an oak floor that was somebody's kitchen and an oak ceiling that was somebody's floor. In fact I have trouble finding anything that I OWN that didn't come from a dump, the side of the road, a house that was being torn down, items which were given to me, or which I built or created myself. I guess I always had some of this trait in my personality but I definitely have embraced this way of being since being struck with a intuitive sense. There are moments in life when you may get a intuitive sense. Following this sense can sometimes lead you on a new exciting path. This happened to me in 2014 when I answered an online ad for "free flooring you remove". I had recently bought a house in Belfast, MAINE for the foreclosure price of of $6000. The price was RIDICULOUSLY low but at the same time it could have been used in the movie The Blair Witch Project. Growing up in American culture surrounded by the drive to throw out he old and buy new, my initial thoughts were I want new flooring, and new building materials, but honestly I just didn't have the money for that. I almost didn't respond to that ad because of this kind of influence but I thought, "What's wrong with me! Oak is oak right?" The next morning I drove to meet a women named Amy Bauman at a house outside of BOSTON. On my drive I was struck with that strange sense I mentioned earlier. I said to myself out loud in the car that I thought I was about to meet someone important, though I had no reason to think so. I stopped to buy her a cup of coffee for a positive greeting. I came to realize that Amy had started a charity named Greengoat that saved building materials for reuse. With the organization that she started I was able to get everything I needed to rebuild my house. I really had very little money but through this path I could afford the things I needed, I just had to be willing to work hard to get them. For the next two weeks after work I came to this house and removed the oak flooring and then the kitchen and then the windows, skylights, lighting and by the time I was done I had purchased everything in the house, de-installed everything I had bought, and was driving all of it in a trailer up to Maine. Over the years I reconnected with Amy and Greengoat many times and every time felt inspired by what she had created. I know first hand how important a charity such as this one can be. If you can save these resources there is no doubt to be someone who desperately needs them just as I was. Inspired by Amy'S work I created Property Save Inc. I want to open people's eyes to the idea that they don't need brand new everything, and that sometimes used is better. I believe that GOOD old fashion hard work and effort should still payoff for people AND i know it MAKES you appreciate these resources even more when you have done that. Using this path to do over your property can create A home filled with stories, both your story AND the HISTORY these resources contain. It's a way of thinking and a building movement which we need to adopt in our throwaway society to ensure a healthier future.
