"If there’s a world here in a hundred years, it’s going to be saved by tens of millions of little things. The powers-that-be can break up any big thing they want. They can corrupt it or co-opt it from the inside, or they can attack it from the outside. But what are they going to do about 10 million little things? They break up two of them, and three more like them spring up!"
- Pete Seeger, in YES! Magazine

Saturday, September 12, 2009

The Bathroom Sink

Yep - still on the road! Here's today's deed - in Utah.

The project:
Clean the bathroom sink - and other related items.

Time:
A few minutes.

Why bother?
OK, so we're guests here, and maybe it's uncool to clean the sink while you're visiting. Afterall, maybe they'll take it as an insult that you're cleaning their house. On the other hand, someone has to do it, and they're busy hosting us. So why not take a few minutes to clean the sink area? The supplies were readily available, so this was easy to do on the sly.

Worth it?
Absolutely. With so many hands and mouths using the area, it was needed. And an easy, quick well to help improve the room AND keep us ALL healthy.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Clean for a Busy Mom

We're still on the road... Here's a little something we found to do today.
The project:
Clean house for a super busy mom friend.

Time:
90 minutes

Why bother?
One of my girlfriends is amazingly busy. I don't know how she does it: full-time profession, two children, keeping herself fit, and coaching. Her birthday is coming up and her mom and I were trying to figure out what we could do for her for the occasion. It's not sexy or even exciting, maybe, but today we got together for a cleaning session, dealing with the details that are tough for such a busy household.

Worth it?
Yes.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Labors of Love

This entry was posted by Wendy, who's filling in while Jen's on the road. You can read more about my project at Spread Change.


The project:
Doing a chore to give someone a break.

Time:
30 minutes to 3 hours

Why bother?
This post is inspired by Labor Day! Recently my mother had surgery and was unable to do any bending for a while. She had many friends who wanted to come visit her, but she was worried the house wasn't tidy enough for company. (Oh, Mom, believe me... at your worst you're still tidy enough for visitors!) I spent part of one morning getting the place back to her comfort level -- doing 2-3 dishes, shaking all the rugs, sweeping, wiping down any dusty surfaces.

Worth it?
Definitely! It was gratifying to take care of a woman who devoted so many years of her life to raising me and caring for me. It was also wonderful to see how relieved and comfortable she was and to know she was going to be able to relax and enjoy the visits from her friends.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Teach How to Save

This entry was posted by Wendy, who's filling in while Jen's on the road. You can read more about my project at Spread Change.

The project:

Teach people about couponing and frugal living

Time:
30-60 minutes

Why bother?
Many people are having hard times during this recession. It's not always easy to get MORE money, but what definitely is in your control is spending less and making the money you do get go farther than ever before. I'm in an industry that was hard hit by the economic troubles and I went from October to February without a single paycheck and since I'm self-employed I couldn't just try to get on unemployment. Our savings was eventually depleted and we scrambled a lot to try to figure out how to feed the family on very little money. A friend of mine got me hooked on couponing and now that I see how much money I save ($400 a month or more) I'll never go back.

Worth it?
Incredibly worth it! I love sharing the things I've learned and hearing people tell me the success stories they are having and knowing I've helped. It's like giving free money away and it doesn't cost you one single thing except a little time to teach what you know.