Opening Doors

A quickie today. It seemed an obvious one, but we often see people who don't perform this simple act of kindness.

The project:
Hold a door open for someone else. While rushing into a local shop to pick up one detail for our otherwise homemade lunch, I spotted an elderly woman with a walker working her way toward the door. It was going to take her another minute to get there. I was in a hurry. Clearly, however, she was going to need help managing the door AND the walker.

Time:
Maybe two extra minutes.

Why bother?
Common courtesy.

Worth it?
Absolutely. She was very thankful and recognized that I'd taken my time to help her.

Spreading the Love

I've been struggling to share the word about our project. I understand publicity and marketing in the real world, but in the virtual world I'm a mere sophomore. I hope adding these cute little linked badges at the end of each post will be a start.

Are you already a member of any of these services? Like the blog? If so, then click on any of the tags at the bottom of this post and spread the love. :)

Thank you for your support.

Grocery Cart Collection

Note: We're taking our Charitable Deeds project on the road next week. Probably won't have internet access, but I promise to keep track and catch up when we return to civilization.

Doing one deed a day seems like a piece of cake when I'm out and about. I see I do more than one; easily more than one. I guess that's why I've sought out Project Linus and other projects which will rear their heads here when we get rolling on them.

I was out and about a lot today. Still, a simple deed:

The project:
Bring in grocery carts while heading into and out of the store - it just so happened there were older ladies unloading their carts into their trunks in the blue parking spots. I offered to take one on my way in. Another was unloading as I came out of the store, so I returned hers with mine.

Time:Negligible

Why bother?
A super simple task that didn't even take me out of my way, but probably saved these ladies a couple of minutes and added footsteps their movement and placards indicated may have been an added challenge.

Worth it?
Yep.

Project Linus #4: Panhandling for a Cause

So, eventually we'll probably end up just shelling out for batting so we can finish our quilts and get them in the right hands. But today, I spent some time spreading the word about Project Linus.

The project:
Posted "wanted" ads in various forums in an effort to secure batting for our quilting projects for the project.

Time:
30 minutes
I posted on Craigslist and Freecycle. We also hit up the local craft stores, but they weren't interested in donating "in this economy."

Why bother?
Batting's not cheap. OK...it's cheap, but not if you want to buy much of it. And the idea of Charitable Deeds is to help our fellow human beings, not necessarily at the expense of the grocery budget. We're donating material and time. Eventually, we'll probably have to shell for batting, too, but if someone has it in their closet or attic or Grandma's garage, why let it go to waste?

Worth it?
We'll see! :)

Trash "prank" in reverse

Last week, I performed the Garbage "Prank." Today we had a PJ day, and we were busy pretending to live in the Middle Ages, catching up with some math, playing our various instruments and enjoying each other's company. So, I decided to go with an easy deed just outside my door.

The project:
Fetch in all my neighbors' bins (three per house - trash, green waste and recycling) from the curb before they could get home from work.

Time:
10 minutes - we live on a culdesac, and one of the five neighbors beat me to the punch.

Why bother?
It was an easy deed that didn't require us leaving our property (by much). Otherwise, see the previous post.

Worth it?
Sure! Plus it was a beautiful day and nice to enjoy the blue sky, cool weather and stiff breeze that FINALLY indicate some change in season around here!

Project Linus #3 - a setback

If you've been reading about our little project, you may recall that the girls and I have been working on some quilts for Project Linus. Well, I didn't think very far ahead when we started this. Sure, we have LOADS of scraps, but what about batting? And with no LARGE scraps suitable for a small blanket, that means piecing both sides - seems kinda odd, but OK. So, if any of you readers have extra blanket batting lying around in the garage or Grandma's old sewing room and you don't know what to do with it, send it our way. We'll use it for the project - I promise!

The project:
In spite of this shortcoming, I decided to move ahead with my quilt. While E worked on her math, I sat at the table with her, busying my hands with the trimming of 81 four-inch squares from matching scraps of varying, random sizes.

Time:
90 minutes - some of these scraps date back to BEFORE the girls FINALLY learned to cut their pieces from the EDGES rather than right from the center, so I had some creative problem solving to do in order to get enough squares for this blanket.

Why bother?
It's fun and creative and gives me something to do at the table while the girls work their way through their schoolwork.

Worth it?
I think it will be. Today's effort made for really quite a relaxing morning, and I look forward to the finished product. It helped that I set a timer so I wouldn't obsess too much on it, but move on with my day when my time was up.

Donate old glasses - prescription and NON-prescription alike

It seems we're in cleaning mode around here. I found a pair of my old glasses in my desk, and I knew I had some others around the house. Recently a friend asked me to donate hers as she rushed out of the country with her family to serve on a mission. I figured I'd add ours to the cause.

The project:
Hunt down unused glasses hiding in various drawers and boxes throughout the house. Donate them to the Lions Club Sight Program where they will be assessed, cleaned, repaired then redistributed to people in developing nations.

Time:
10 minutes to search - we'll make the drop tomorrow morning during our errand run

Why bother?
I can't see very well without my glasses. It's tough to imagine getting along without them. I'd certainly be limited in my activities! So if the glasses my eyes have (sadly) adjusted away from can help someone else, WONDERFUL!

Worth it?
Yes, without a doubt.

Lions Club has a long history of providing sight services. I remember when our local Lions Club brought their vision wagon to our school to provide all children with a checkup. They distribute eyeglasses to people in developing nations where vision care isn't high on list of services available. Many doctors, eyeglass centers and other retailers provide drop boxes, as do local Lion's Clubs and their partners. Learn more about the Lions Club program and find your local drop box here.

Used Greeting Cards to St. Jude's

I don't know about you, but over the years we've collected a TON of holiday greetings from friends and family. We love getting them, but what to do with them after the season passes? Some find their way into albums. Others become part of craft items. Now we've found somewhere we can send them to help a cause outside our own sphere.

The project:
Gather the unused, unwanted greeting cards from various stashes throughout the house and garage, and send them to St. Jude's Ranch for Children Card Recycling Program. (Check the site for deadlines as they change each year.) St. Jude's has run this program for more than three decades, serving both their donors and the children served by the program.

St. Jude's Ranch provides residential therapy for abused children, among other service. Check their site for more details.

Time:
30 minutes by the time I searched high and low and got it all packaged up

Why bother?
Our house is really full of stuff we don't actually need. We've saved the memorable cards, but we had plenty to share.

Worth it?
Absolutely.