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The ToolzDO team

It has been extraordinary, heart warming and hopeful to see the way the world united to rush to the rescue of the Haitian people after the devastating earthquake that shook the island on January 12, 2010.

Today, we also remember Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream- a dream of unity between whites and blacks.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

Every year the question is asked if the dream has been realized.

Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children - black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

One thing is clear; we have unity when it comes to supporting meaningful causes and in times of suffering.  It has been demonstrated over and over in past wars and most recently, the Haiti earthquake cause, election of the first African-American President of the United States, and Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

But what about the day to day unity that Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt about?  It is my opinion that we have made progress but still have a long way to go.  Unfortunately, the unification from the above examples lived only for the duration of the event or cause. Everything else remained the same.  The division between cultures in our communities remains the same.  The division built by our differences remains strong.

Many more opportunities will arise for us to pull together for a common cause, and with great faith I trust that we will.  That is a very good thing.  But unless we get to know one another and build deeper relationships with the people we live among, our differences will keep us divided.

Connect and get to know your neighbor today.  Say “hello”, invite him or her over and have a cup of coffee, tea or a meal together.  Let’s be good neighbors and set a good examples for the next generation.

Do you think we are living the dream?  How so or how can we reach it?

Credit: REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

We are committed to helping our neighbors in Haiti and neighbors in the U.S. who have loved ones in Haiti. Having gone through the turmoil of not having status of my loved ones in Haiti after the earthquake, I understand the anxiety of waiting to hear about the welfare of family and friends.

There are many sites for missing persons but the relatives are left to find, search and dig through all these sites hoping to find some information. Furthermore, many relatives do not have computer access or are not computer literate or internet savvy. This result in much needed information left undiscovered and undelivered.

I have created a special category to add missing and found victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Furthermore, we will contact relatives if contact information is provided. This is an extra step to help bring the news faster and give much needed peace and more hope to both victims and relatives.

If you are on the grounds in Haiti and have information about someone and their family, post it here. Messages from Haiti with contact information (phone, etc.) will be directly delivered to relatives in the US or other countries. If you are an organization with relief workers in Haiti, partner with us to help connect neighbors to their loved ones in Haiti.

Go now to HAITI SURVIVOR MESSAGES to see the posts and submit new posts.  Please share with everyone impacted by this earthquake.

This is just one way to help our neighbors in Haiti. Here are many others ways to help.

Credit: REUTERS/Jorge Silva

After a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010 devastated the capital and several towns in Haiti, people around the world opened theirs heart and wallets, albeit the tough economic times. As people around the world continue to show compassion and responsibility for their neighbors in Haiti, more than ever, it is important that the much needed funds and every penny given go towards the relief and restoration efforts.

Pray fervently. Give generously. Get involved passionately.

There are many ways to help the relief efforts in Haiti. Here are legitimate organizations committed to serve and respond to the needs of the people and the country of Haiti:

American Red Cross
Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross for assistance to Haiti. You can also give any amount on the website.

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

Doctors Without Borders

Partners in Health

Samaritan’s Purse

Food for the Poor

World Vision

Compassion International

These are only a few of many other legitimate organizations. But please be inquisitive and wise on where you give your money. Many scams are springing up daily.

Find missing persons

The earthquake has left thousands of people within Haiti and abroad with no way to contact their loved ones. People around the world have also pulled together to help connect survivors with loved ones outside of Haiti. Here are resources helping with that effort.

US State Department Hotline
The US State Department has designated the toll-free number for information about family members in Haiti is 1-888-407-4747. Due to the heavy volume, sending an email may be the best approach.  The email is on the website link.

On Call International Opens Haiti Earthquake Emergency Hotline
This number enables anyone attempting to connect with family members or friends traveling or living in the region. The On Call International hotline: 800-576-5172. Or, call On Call International collect at 603-328-1924. Callers should have as much information as possible readily available at the time of call, including tour operator name, itineraries, hotel information or cell phone numbers.

ToolzDO Haiti Survivor Messages

Our goal is to bring news of the welfare of loved ones faster and give much needed peace and more hope to both victims in Haiti and relatives abroad.  Messages from Haiti survivors with U.S. contact information (phone, etc.) will be directly delivered to relatives in the US or other countries.

Google Crisis Response - Person Finder

Red Cross Locate Your Relatives

CNN Missing Haiti

What if there was one single rule that could avoid all conflicts between neighbors? A rule once applied would make your neighborhood, community, or workplace a better place all around. A rule that would:

• Create harmony between people.
• Spread kindness and compassion.
• Terminate racism.
• Eliminate all crimes.
• Eliminate abuse and injustice.
• Reduce the need of government and keep government very small.
• Eliminate vengeance and retaliation.
• Eliminate a lot of hurting in our neighborhoods, communities and the world.

Well there is, and it has been in existence for about two thousand years! The rule is: “Just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”  It is commonly known as the Golden Rule.

What does it mean? Treat your neighbor the way you would like them to treat you. Say “hello neighbor“; pick up your dog’s poop from your neighbor’s lawn; keep the noise level down when your neighbor is home; don’t dump trash on your neighbor’s property; connect with neighbors and share resources; don’t speed down the street where children are playing; care for a neighbor when she’s sick; return the stuff you borrowed from neighbors and the list goes on. When you treat your neighbor the way you’d like to be treated, they will treat you the same. And if they don’t treat you the same, still treat them the way you’d like to be treated. They may change and do as you do just because they might think you like them and start liking you back.  So to have good neighbors, you first have to be a good neighbor, persistently.

Simple enough it seems, yet why is it so difficult to put to practice? Generations have past since first taught, neighborhoods continue to decline, fraud continues to increase, war between nations is on the rise, relationally we are getting poorer each day, laws are needed to keep us in check, professions like lawyer and mediators are striving, prisons are overflowing and on and on.

If you wanted a gift that falls under the description of “stuff” and you did not receive it, you can still get it, without spending a dime. What are the chances you received some stuff that you do not want? What are the chances that your neighbor has received unwanted gifts? Very high. Statistics show that most gifts we receive are unwanted. Swap stuff you have for that perfect gift by connecting with neighbors.

Now more than ever it is easy to swap unwanted stuff for what you want with the internet. But most of the swap sites are unsafe and have high risk of fraud. At ToolzDO.com swapping is easy and safe because is all local and exchanges are done with neighbors in your community. Additionally, you can set other privacy settings so that only certain groups see your items.

Simply add each item you want to offer as a swap item. Then add the gift you wanted as a wanted item.  Getting your perfect gift does not have to be exchanged for another unwanted gift. It could be any stuff around the house that you no longer want or just don’t need.

Now there are a couple of questions that come up:
How will the giver feel bout swapping that gift? Well if you were the giver, would you like your gift purchased with your hard earned money to be tossed in the deepest corner of a closet, drawer or garage unused and maybe never to be used. Would that not be a waste of your money. Consider it like a department store exchange. Most people do not mind that. That is what a gift receipt is all about. Instead of a store, it is an exchange with the neighbor for something you really want or need.

Why not just not return or exchange it? First you may not have the receipt. Additionally, you may get something of higher value with a swap than the actual value of your item. With swaps, value is very subjective. It all dependents on the worth the owners place on the stuff.

Swapping is also good for the environment for reducing waste starting from production to disposal. The less we buy and keep reusing products, the less waste produced from packaging and the less usable stuff that end up in landfills.
Happy swapping! The real gift may be getting to know a neighbor a little more.

The ToolzDO company blog and community blog have been merged. After some careful considerations, having one blog makes it easier to manage the posts, reduces overlapping and make is easier for you to find posts.

Rather than reposting the Community posts here, I’ve provided the titles and the links to them below:

Will a Hurricane Force Us into Community Life Once Again?

Help us Reconnect Neighbors

Texas lawmaker asked Asians to change their names to make them “easier for Americans to deal with.”

ToolzDO was recently covered in PC World Consumer Advice as a new money-saving site  ”to keep an eye on.”  On behalf of the ToolzDO team, we say “hello and welcome” to the PC World readers. The usefulness of ToolzDO is limitless.  Read some of the ways ToolzDO can help simplify your daily life by connecting with neighbors.

We also would like to thank Ginny Mies of PC World for the detailed write up.  Read the full article.

ToolzDO.com was recently covered in a featured article in The Palm Beach Post newspaper and Tech Tonic Blog.  A warm welcome to the readers of The Palm Beach Post, Tech Tonic and the residents Palm Beach County. Start posting your old, new, barely used gadgets today!  Many thanks to Melissa Patterson. Read the full article.

Do you still have more gifts to buy, it’s December 25th and the 7-11 convenience store won’t do?

Well, there are still great gifts you can get right now without going to the mall or even wrapping, that will make the recipient and you feel great.

A recent survey by the American Cancer Society found that almost half of Americans would prefer a donation over gifts this holiday. Another finding, according to New American Dream national survey, is that Americans want more of what matters and not more stuff. This is good to hear since most gifts given are unwanted and remain in a drawer or closet unused. Some people find creative ways to get rid of them or declutter.

Many charitable organizations have made it really easy to give and even make a direct positive difference in someone’s life in your town or around the world. Your gift may even result in saving a child or an entire family’s life. Try matching the recipient with a cause they already support. Here are a few ideas that may bring back the real joy of giving and receiving.

Give a gift of hope to a child

Each year, 4KIDS of South Florida is dedicated to meeting the needs of thousands of children in foster care - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This year make a child’s Christmas dream come true by giving a gift of hope from their catalog.  Give now.

Compassion International helps release children from poverty around the world. Give now.

Give a gift that will change a life

Food For The Poor gift catalog allows you to donate towards feeding, housing, educating, funding of micro-enterprises, and providing clean water for the poorest of the poor in the Caribbean and Latin America. Gifts start as low as $10. Give now.

Give a gift that saves lives and ease suffering

Samaritan’s Purse online catalog shows dozens of ways you can support their work to save lives and ease suffering nationally and around the world. They will be glad to send a printed card or an e-card announcing your gift to the friend or family member with your donation. Give now.

Give a the gift of hope and support health related causes

Fight against cancer. Make a donation to the American Cancer Society to help people stay well, help people get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer.

Fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Make a donation to The National MS Society to help meet the needs of people living with MS through a variety of programs.

There are many other great causes that need help and facilitate giving. Razoo list 1.6 million US non-profits and makes it really easy to find causes by location or category.  100% of the money you donated through the site is deliver to the non-profit.  This method of gift giving can also apply to birthdays and other occasions.

Merry Christmas. A gift to you.

The South Florida Living Green Fair Dinner on Us contest was won by Irene Rubin of Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Irene won $50 Visa gift card.

Congratulations Irene!

Many more contests coming in 2010, so stay tuned.

ToolzDo was put on display at the South Florida Living Green Fair last month. We had great response, received lots of praises and the locals were excited about being able to see all reusable goods (rentals, swaps, free stuff) and people near you by distance from one site. The neighborly and community building features brought even more excitement. Some attendees even got more engaged and made some great suggestions for use of ToolzDo as a great tool to connect neighbors. Stay tuned for our Living Green Fair video coming soon on You Tube.

I met many interesting vendors and discovered many new, cool, green products and services. I met local inventors, moms, father and son, even grandpas, all there educating, sharing new ideas and products to help us reduce waste, conserve energy, conserve water, reduce toxins entering our bodies and live healthier and greener. It was truly a privilege to have been part of this event and to be part of the green movement. Here are some of the products and services I found most interesting:

Ewrapz - New eco-chic reusable gift wrapping alternative.

E-Z-Dolley - New invention lets you do all jobs effortlessly.

Treefrogmail - No more junk mail in your home mailbox but still read them! Save the planet and make some money to do some good with.

Operation Green Leaves -  Educating and promoting environmental awareness in the South Florida under-served Community and island nation of Haiti.

The Electric Bicycle Store - Like bicycling in the fast lane but not the peddling? This is for you.

See all the exhibitors at the Living Green Fair site.

The Living Green Fair “Dinner on Us” Contest Update:

The contest is now closed. A winner will be announced on December 5th. Good luck to all.
Living green is not an event. It is a way of life. So everyday we have to choose to rethink and live greener.

Today we’re announcing our participation in the South Florida Living Green Fair. We are excited to be part of this great community event. For more details, here is the full press release.

ToolzDo will showcase its unique platform that combines community building features with renting, swapping and gifting of stuff and services, all in one place.

ToolzDo, a web platform that combines social features with an advanced localized search and the flexible choice of renting, swapping, and gifting to provide access to resources in your own backyard, today announces it will be an exhibitor at the South Florida Living Green Fair. The fair is taking place November 14th and 15th in Dania Beach.

The fair is the largest Green themed event in the South Florida Region, with over 10,000 attendees in two days expected. It brings educational resources to average families and business owners on how to live a greener, healthier and more environmentally sustainable lifestyle. The themes include how easy it is to purchase better products, create less waste, eat deliciously, and save money. ToolzDo’s service is well fitted amongst the many innovative solutions by the many well known companies attending and that are thought leaders in the green movement.

“Reduce and reuse makes life more simple, a simple life is less stressful and more fun,” stated Carline Lubin, founder of ToolzDo. “With more education like this fair brings and increased awareness of tools to facilitate a greener life like ToolzDo.com, more environmentally conscious decisions will be made at a community level. Our family took the Water Pledge and I encourage everyone to take the pledge in their city.”

About ToolzDo

ToolzDo is the online service that connects neighbors in practical ways using the stuff or services they possess, their common activities or projects, shared interests and ideas. Connect to get the most out of your stuff by renting, swapping, giving and getting free stuff in a trusted local environment. Connect to get tips and maybe a helping hand by sharing your projects with your local community. The service highlights project coincidences nearest to you, for example, showing you that two other people are doing it too and three others have done it as well as related discussions, stuff and services nearest to you that may be of help. ToolzDo is owned by EtoolBay, Inc., a Florida Corporation and headquartered in Coconut Creek, Florida. For more information, visit www.toolzdo.com.

Contact:

Carline Lubin

EtoolBay, Inc.

Phone: 954-247-1896

Email: carline@toolzdo.com

###

It is indeed that time of the year - autumn and Halloween or harvest season. Although walking into the stores, I am not sure if I should check out the costumes or Christmas ornaments.
If you are like me, you still have the old costumes in a dark corner of the closet collecting dust or in a box under the bed and have totally forgotten about them. Or maybe you are very much aware of your possessions but it’s a NO, NO to wear the same costume this year. If you are a mom with young children, your’re thinking new costumes are a must as the kids grow like weeds and you are still waiting for that money tree to grow in the backyard. The good news is, costumes do not go out of style.
Thanks to ToolzDo.com, you now have very wise options for what to do with the unused costumes that will help you make easy cash or save you lots of money while helping neighbors and the environment at the same time - all from one site. So here they are:

1. Rent them out to make easy cash

Rent out your unused costumes from over the years. If you are not using them but still want to hold on to them for some possible occasion in the future or just want to make some cash, offer them for rent to individual and professional members of your local community.  Your costumes may be exactly what the local production or theatrical companies are looking for.  Clean, adult and pricier costumes make the best rentals. Children costumes also makes sense if they are in good shape. Why buy and spend more on a costume that will only be used once?

2. Swap, barter, trade them for new costume and spend nothing

Do you know others in your community who have costumes? Get together and swap, barter or trade costumes and get a new (to you) costume without spending a penny.  Post them on ToolzDo or have a neighborhood costume swap party or both. This is an extremely wise way to save money, especially for kids’ costumes. You can even swap your costumes for something else you may want.

3. Donate them - the quickest and “Good” way to declutter

Give your unwanted costumes to family members, friends, charity or others in your community. It is a great way to declutter. As more community members post free stuff on ToolzDo for the grabs, you may just get another costume or something else new to you, free.   This is what you call paying forward. The law of the universe is that giving is usually reciprocated by receiving in time of need.  But remember the absolute truth: More blessings come from giving than receiving.

All these options are great ways to help neighbors keep more cash and go green with reduce and reuse. This Halloween or harvest season is yet another opportunity to save and be environmentally conscious of our acquisition choices.

So post your unused costumes on ToolzDo today and invite your friends and neighbors to check them out using our simple invite tool.  Only 21 days until Halloween so there isn’t much time left! The best way to describe your costume is with a picture of someone wearing it. If you are having a swap party, still bring the picture. So pull out the pix from last year and add your costumes for rent, swap or just donate them now - all from one site.

Garage full of unused stuff

The first word my daughter spoke publicly was a strong “MINE!” But she had no objections to freely use other kid’s stuff. My husband once said that children are geniuses because they have so much to learn from the time they are born - hoarding of stuff was not one of them. This is an innate behavior we each inherit out of our mother’s womb and passed on from generation to generation since the beginning of time.

So from birth we learned to hold on to our “stuff” and to get more “stuff.” Sadly, we all hold on so tightly to stuff that you would think we are taking them to our graves. Have you seen all the stuff washed away, flown away or buried by floods, tornados, hurricanes or earthquakes lately? If you own a TV set, I’m sure you have.

The truth these unfortunate situations always raise to the surface is that all the “stuff” are not what really matter – they are only tools to serve a purpose and only fulfill short term needs. That is why we keep getting more stuff – we are short-term focused individuals. Once we are stripped out of the stuff, usually by force, what is really important shines through and that is the people in our lives, around us and the relationships we share.

Indeed there is something far more valuable than the “stuff”. The stuff can’t speak, don’t have feelings, can’t give a hug. Get a little closer to your neighbor, celebrate the differences and mend the broken fences. It may be a risky proposition but the rewards far outweigh the risks. You’ll be reminded of this when the next natural disaster comes. But we do not have to wait until then.

So what do you do with the stuff? Rent them out for easy cash, swap what you have for other stuff you want instead of buying and accumulating more stuff, share them with neighbors and save on resources, donate them to charities and help those in greater need in your community. It is good for your wallet, health, the environment and for the community. The more of the stuff you let go and post on ToolzDo.com, the less stressed you become and the more opportunities to connect with neighbors. As the connections increase so does the potential for changing your community. “Never under estimate the power of human connection.’ Unknown.

Here is the absolute truth about the stuff from the wisest man ever lived – King Solomon: “There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.”

Do you feel consumed about your current financial woes? Worried about the uncertainties of what is to come? Are you out of a job and don’t know for how long? Are your problems starting to make you sick (dizzy spells, shortness of breath, overly tired)? Did you know that stress has such a great physiological impact on your body that it can kill you?

Like most of us, you are hearing of good news about the economy turning around but you are not feeling it at home. Well, unfortunately it will be a slow economic recovery and there is still a long ways to get back to prosperity.

In the meanwhile you have the power to make things better independent of the economic condition. Here are some things guaranteed to have lasting positive effects in your life if applied regularly.

1. Get out of your soapbox and start thinking of someone else. You are thinking so much about your own problems that you get paralyzed both physically and mentally. Wait! Don’t suck your teeth and stop reading now. Trust me, this works and has been proven over and over through out the centuries.

Helping someone else who is worse off than you has its rewards:

• all of a sudden your problems don’t look and feel so bad. The gorilla sized problem - reduced to a monkey size problem.
• you become more optimistic and hopeful
• you feel more energetic as body and soul feel all better

You actually protect your health from going on a downward spiral. Without your health you can’t do anything. Because, you are more emotionally optimistic, your mind remains creative in generating solutions to your current problems. Do you see it now? Isn’t getting out of your troubles a thousand times better than drowning in your sorrows? Remember another truth: – “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” Proverbs17:21-23

Another auxiliary benefit of helping someone less fortunate is building your network. Surely you’ve heard that it is not what you know but who you know. Well that has also been proven to be true. I am also sure you are aware that many of the best jobs are never advertised or are filled before they get a chance to be advertised. As you are helping someone else, you are actually networking. A non-profit organizations or that sick neighbor of yours may have some powerful connections to help you lend the next job or introduce you to new opportunities you otherwise would not have explored.

Here is the catch, if your first and primary reason for helping someone else is for your own selfish needs, you’ll miss the lasting rewards and benefits.

What about the other 4 ways: Now that you see the value of giving your time and since you now have some time on your hands, find 4 opportunities to help someone less fortunate than you. Many people need help in your own backyard. I believe that many charitable organizations would not be needed if we lived more cooperative lives in our neighborhoods? Here are some ideas:

• Many of your neighbors live in loneliness or in need of listening ears or helper.
• Tend to the needs of a sick neighbor or friend (cook a meal, clean home, run errands).
• If you are handy, do handy work for a single mom.
• Become a mentor to your local youth programs like Boys and Girls Club - Helping our youth generation today, makes a better tomorrow for everyone.
• Volunteer your time at a local charity such as abandoned, neglected or abused children, food pantries or homeless shelter. The list goes on. If you know what you are looking for or would like to do, VolunteerMatch helps you find volunteering opportunities matching your interest.
• Finally get involved in church ministries you’ve been convicted to serve but ignored for so long.
• Misery loves company. Rather than getting together and drink your sorrows away with other ex-colleagues or friends who shared the same faith as you at the last company, get a group going and volunteer for a group project with local charities instead.

These are just a few. Let your imagination and your heart lead you. You may not only make a positive change in someone’s life for ever or change your community but you may stumble upon a new job or add a few new lasting friendships to your life.

Smaller and independent rental companies have been at a disadvantage for years due to low advertising budget and dependence primarily on foot traffic. National rental stores have flexed their muscles with larger budgets and capital for advertisement and multiple point-of-sales to boost their presence.

Enters ToolzDo – the one-stop shop for community rentals and more. ToolzDo helps independent rental professionals take on the big boys by leveling the playing field. The internet has been known for narrowing the gap between large and small businesses by giving small business the tools to appear bigger at a very low cost.

The internet has also grown and became this vast and deep ocean of blue links. To be discovered or found is now the new challenge for small businesses as more people go online to find the products and services they need when they need it. This also provides a great opportunity for highly targeted marketing based on keywords (Google figured that out and maximized on it big) but it is increasingly getting more expensive and turning the game back in the big companies’ favor.

With the advances in search technology, niche targeting and social networks, independent rental professionals can boost their online presence in a cost- effective way with ToolzDo. Display your rentals on ToolzDo and get:

• More exposure of your rentals. Only ToolzDo displays your items multiple ways.
• More brand awareness in your local community
• More inquiries
• More profit

It’s the quickest and most cost-effective way to get internet presence and let your community know your have the tools and equipment, party rentals, electronics, traveling baby rentals or any other stuff they need.

• No web developer or web experience needed.
• No high cost for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Save thousands of dollars.

ToolzDo is unique in that it is truly first about community. So much so, we build purposeful social networking features to help neighbors connect, get to know one another and build community to better each other’s lives. We also believe in sustainability and local living economies. So when it comes to rental companies, we put a stake in the ground. We only accept professional rental companies who are independent or owner operated. We believe they have a genuine interest in the communities they live and serve. What does this all mean to you as an independent rental company? It means:

You can now easily get to know more of your neighbors, build brand awareness and build relationships with members of your community. This is every business owner’s dream: easy access to new customer base, returning clients and more referrals.

So how do you start ripping all these benefits? Sign up and start posting your rentals today. Your community searches for stuff everyday. The more items on ToolzDo, the faster your community will join you.

Get the details and the many more ways ToolzDo helps you grow your rental business. Only ToolzDo is designed to better serve the local independent rental companies.

What recession?

The current economic condition has provided even more opportunities for smaller businesses and narrowed the gap between large companies down even more. Small can actually be a good thing.

Greater flexibility to respond to the needs of your niche market

What good are big tight muscles if you are not agile? As a smaller rental store you have the flexibility to respond faster to the needs of the communities you serve. With ToolzDo you can easily see the needs of your local community through the posted wanted items or the discussions in Talk it Up. This enables you to quickly respond with no red tape and bureaucracy compared to the larger national stores. This great opportunity can only be found on ToolzDo because of the community features such as swap/bartering, get free stuff and forum.

Be the best value in town

Customers want best value for their money more than ever. Smaller rental stores have more leverage in negotiating and can provide personal touch. There is truth to the lyrics “I want to go where everybody knows your name.” Small stores are more capable of building relationships and make the customer feel that they are personally welcomed and that they have a friend in the community.

Large or small, businesses are heading toward more hard times in the upcoming months. ToolzDo gives smaller rental companies the ability to now flex their muscles with greater power to grow.  So let’s grow together.

There are quite a few new and exciting things to share with you that we’ve implemented from your comments and from our feature roadmap that will make ToolzDo more efficient and, of course, more fun to use. So we’ll get right to it.

New ToolzDo home page

We’ll start here as this is the most obvious. From the home page as well as from any page you can now access the most common features such as add item, manage your stuff, your profile and account & settings from the My ToolzDo pull down menu in the new green bar at top. Above the menu bar, you can now explore items on ToolzDo with ease with the new Have Stuff and Want Stuff menus. You can also access all the community features from any page making it easier and faster to navigate to where you want to be.

Say Hello – on the Wall

The Hello Wall is here. When you find your neighbor, say “Hello neighbor”. No more nervousness, no more procrastination that turns to years and no more reasons not to meet your neighbor. It is simple to use, just click on the member name or photo anywhere found to get to the member’s profile, scroll down to the Hello Wall and let your heart lead your fingers to type a friendly note.

Add item form streamlined

We streamlined the Add Item form to make it easier and faster to add your stuff. Professional users still have more options under the new Advanced Options to describe their items with more details.

Smarter picture upload

Now you can upload larger size pictures with a more intuitive interface as well as edit your pictures.

Spread the Word made easier

Given ToolzDo is a tool that meets the need of its users in various ways, one general message probably would not serve everyone. So in addition to the general invite message, now you can also send a message to friends to show off your listings or a neighborly message to your neighbor inviting them to join your city or neighborhood on ToolzDo to build a greater sense of community. Of course, you can still modify all of the messages before sending. Otherwise, all you have to do is select a message, put your email addresses and send.

The rest are technical stuff which we won’t bore you with. Check them out and send us your suggestions.

Carline & the ToolzDo team

This is a ToolzDo Press Release

It’s time to take control of spending and live cooperatively to save resources and money. With the newly launched ToolzDo.com, users can now easily earn extra spending money and get the stuff they need, for little or free, all in one place. ToolzDo’s advanced localized search and “community- building” features make it easy for users to find low-cost or even free goods and services close to them and to connect with neighbors. Best of all, it’s fun, safe, and friendly.

Coconut Creek, FL August 26, 2009 — In this tough economy, nobody can afford to spend more than necessary for the things they need. Toolzdo.com, which launched its public beta today, allows users to get the most out of what they have rather than buying new things by connecting local people who have “stuff” with people who want “stuff”. Goods, tools and equipment, skills or anything useful can be rented, swapped, shared or simply given away as neighbors join together to better each other’s lives.

www.ToolzDo.com is the first and only web platform that combines the old spirit of cooperative living with an advanced localized search and a flexible choice of renting, swapping, sharing and gifting to provide access to resources next door, around the corner, or in your own backyard.

“Users can quickly post their stuff and find what they want more efficiently and economically using cutting edge web technology–whether it’s moms swapping sports gear, toys or giving baby clothes or dads renting out their power tools or an accountant bartering his services for auto repairs or fashionistas swapping clothes, accessories, and jewelry or students swapping or even renting textbooks, cell phones, DVDs, video games. The potential for keeping more cash is enormous with ToolzDo,” said Carline Lubin, founder of ToolzDo.

In addition to helping users keep more cash, ToolzDo is on a mission to bring physical connection back in our communities and to rekindle cooperative living in neighborhoods. “In the 21st century, cooperative living is primarily seen during times of crisis, disaster or illness. But more can be done day to day to make life easier, more fun and satisfying by connecting with people we live among,” stated Lubin. ToolzDo supplements commerce with community awareness and purposeful social features to help bring locals together into a more connected community. “Additionally, ToolzDo’s platform serves as a mega reuse tool taming the buy-throwaway cycle to help reduce waste and conserve the environment. Keeping more cash and going green is a community affair on ToolzDo. We are excited to have ToolzDo available to communities around the world,” Lubin added.

For more information about ToolzDo.com, or to start earning and getting free stuff or connecting with neighbors, visit www.toolzdo.com.

About ToolzDo:

ToolzDo is a web platform that combines the old spirit of cooperative living with an advanced localized search and a flexible choice of renting, swapping, sharing and gifting to provide access to resources next door, around the corner, or in your own backyard. The site offers anything and everything useful, including tools and equipment and a myriad of other goods and services commonly used in daily lives. ToolzDo is owned by EtoolBay, Inc., a Florida Corporation and headquartered in Coconut Creek, Florida. For more information, visit www.toolzdo.com.

Contact:

Carline Lubin
EtoolBay, Inc.
954-247-1896

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ToolzDo is a Swiss Army™ knife for building community

In most societies around the world, the traditional and common view of a tool is something that resides in a garage, shed, dock, warehouse, etc. They are things that require special skills to use or operate them for their intended purpose.

Enters ToolzDo. At ToolzDo, Tools Do more than fix, tune or build things.

A tool on ToolzDo is “anything” that can be of use especially in aiding.

This definition makes a tool “anything” in your home or office. At ToolzDo, we believe everything you own (“the stuff”) are tools. Tools are supposed to help us live better… but only if put to good use and smartly managed. That is why we’ve created the simplest, most efficient and effective tool to help you get the most out of your stuff so you can get the most out of life. Check the ToolzDo categories’ list to get an even broader idea of tools the ToolzDo way.

Also at ToolzDo, we define a project as anything we do that has a beginning and end time. This includes smaller projects that make up bigger projects. So all we do, no matter how short it may be, is a project. Every project we do requires some sort of tool. Your next ski trip, family vacation, birthday party, cook out, picnic, fishing trip, exercising, photo shoot, black tie affair, room remodeling, organic veggie planting, guests visitation, room painting, floor cleaning, faucet repair, baby nursery, event, all life happening or activity are projects requiring tools.

So everything that we do (task or project) require some sort of tool. Many times we do not need man-made tools or we choose to only use the basic tools we had been given at birth to do a task – hands, legs, arms, eyes, ears, natural ability. Then there are the tools we pickup along the way – knowledge. Yep, these are tools too and we also have them on ToolzDo – the members of your community.

So now, what can you do on ToolzDo with all these tools that you own? Rent them, swap or bater them, share them, give them. Use them to improve your life.

ToolzDo provides a community driven way to get the tools and materials you need for your projects, even new friendships or a hand, maybe two. It’s a Swiss Army™ knife for building community.