When we first heard about Free Geek, we wondered if it was some kind of super nerdy dating service, as in, “yes, I’m free tonight, right after my Dungeons and Dragons convention.”

Lucky for us, Free Geek turned out to be a computer recycling and rebuilding centre that is happy to take your out-of-date technology.

Unload that dot matrix printer, that cell-o-saurus that’s been long since replaced with an iPhone, or even a massive office server, knowing it will be rebuilt, disassembled for its useful components, or recycled safely.

Now if they would only take out-of-date boyfriends.

http://freegeekvancouver.org

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a gal healthy, wealthy and…wishing she had some new bed linens.

Breathable, antibacterial, soft and sustainable, bamboo bedding is selling like lattés on a cold Sunday morning, and Vancouver’s new Mulberry Sky’s offers a unique blend of bamboo and organic cotton to ensure linens keep their structure and shape, too.

Mix and match colours like Chocolate Chip pillowcases and a Magnolia White duvet, or dream about warm climes by clothing your Queen-size in Santorini blue.

Wrapped in a pretty tweed ribbon (not packaged in plastic) everything is in-stock now at the on-line store.

Now you can call yourself wise, too.

www.mulberryskys.com

So what if Frank Lloyd Wright invented the carport? We still love Modernist architecture in all its forms.

Vancouver is lucky to have built out during the height of the movement, with stunning examples of post-and-beam homes from the British Properties to Southlands to Burnaby Heights.

So if Douglas Coupland hasn’t invited you over to check out his Ron Thom-designed spread, you can get an intimate glimpse of the style during Heritage Vancouver’s annual Mid-Century Modern bus tour that takes you inside five private residences. This year’s lineup is reported to be the best yet, with the highly-guarded addresses including an Erickson, a Thom, and three gardens designed by the legendary Cornelia Oberlander.

The last residence will host a wine tasting for guests (hopefully in a sunken living room with floor-to-ceiling windows).

After all, the open-plan living room is another of Wright’s legacies.

Saturday, October 4, 1 p.m.-6 p.m., $100 per person ($50 tax receipt). Seventy seats only. www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org

We’d hate to be labeled a lush. But a lush pad? We’ll own up to that.

A swank office or apartment is clicks away with the brand new Vancouver-based on-line vintage furniture store www.lushpad.com.

Be quick and snag a pair of white Barcelona chairs by Mies van der Rohe ($2,200) or indulge in kitchy Italian-Canadiana like the yellow plastic Solair chair ($125) sold through the Eatons catalogue circa 1960.

Can’t find your dream chaise? Add it to your wanted items. Or find a good home for that Herman Miller Noguchi table kicking around your parents basement (yeah, right).

www.lushpad.com

Ever wish you had just one more room in your house?

Before you start weeping over MLS, if you’ve got property, you’ve got potential—for a prefab studio by North Vancouver’s inHabit Dwellings.

Starting at $12,500, the freestanding, modern structures can be used to store gear (like stinky hockey bags and unwieldy bikes), as a music room, studio space for your new greeting card company, or, might we suggest, as the perfect walk-in for your winter wardrobe.

http://inhabitdwellings.com

Desiring more than cookie-cutter vases and dime-a-dozen decor, we headed to Wanted, a new lifestyle boutique on the edge of Chinatown (look for the sign—it’s the only storefront on the entire block).

Owner Susan Schroeder fills the quaint shop with pretty little things, like indoor plants (think creeping figs, lemon button ferns and peace lilies sourced from local nurseries) and a succulent garden arranged by hand—don't miss the unique selection of bonsai trees.

Add to that clutches and coin purses made from recycled wool blankets, beautifully decorated vases that start from tin pails, charming stationery, locally-crafted soaps, teas and jewellery, and vintage flash cards, quilted blankets and quirky stuffed animals for tots.

What more could a girl want?

Wanted, 436 Columbia St., Vancouver, 604-633-0178, www.wantedshop.ca

Now that summer’s here (on paper at least) it's time to fluff your pillows and dial up your décor.

We suggest you start at Vancouver’s Dream Designs (with a new location in Lynn Valley) for summer-weight bamboo duvets that are naturally breathable and sustainable.

And when you’re not fighting over the organic bed sheets, you can get tangled up in these his-n-hers organic cotton pajamas.

Is that just global warming or is it getting hot in here?

Shop on-line and find store locations at www.dreamdesigns.ca

In 1956, Princess Grace Kelly appeared on the cover of Life stylishly concealing her baby bump with a structured, crocodile Hermès bag. The iconic photograph prompted Hermès to name the bag after her. We don’t imagine she ever had to pay for a Kelly bag again.

And neither do you. In a manner of speaking.

Exploring the Hermès website (as we do), we discovered a do-it-yourself paper version of the legendary bag. With a click of the mouse and a few cuts and folds, you can have your very own Kelly, patterned or plain, so you can fashion your own colourful masterpiece.

While a paper purse may not replace the real thing, printed on a heavier cardstock it would be perfect for putting a small gift in for your favourite fashionista or for using as place cards for an all-girl dinner party (aren’t you crafty).

After the intro, click on the "I want it, I'll have it!” icon.

www.lesailes.hermes.com

Is your house’s high-gloss trim chipping like a week-old manicure?

Spruce up your home front in a flash with the help of this painting service recommended by a reader, who reports that the guys are not just eco-chic (their powerwasher is air-powered!) but they listen to CBC Radio on the job and play in a cover band of The Doors.

We’d love to see them up on the ladder singing “Girl we couldn’t get much higher…”

Contact: Peter Polivka or Sophia Studio (sophiastudio@shaw.ca).

They say everyone is either a folder or a hucker.

Folders, your jeans are neatly stacked from dark to light and your bed has crisp hospital corners.

Huckers, it takes you 15 minutes to find your keys and you have 21 single socks in your drawer.

Huckers, meet your folders.

Purpose in Place is a new organizing service that evaluates your needs, takes photos, shops for storage solutions, then puts it all together (and clears out the refuse) with the efficiency of a team of hausfraus.

Armed with a handheld labeler and a knack for finding a bargain, they’ll de-clutter your workspace (and your headspace) before you can say, “Anyone seen the stapler?”

See before and after photos of the Great Vitamin V Closet Cleaning on our Editors’ Diary.

Read more about services for moving, garages, homes, office and more at www.purposeinplace.com