Donate Clothes, Toys and Household Goods

The project:
Donate outgrown clothes in good condition, unbroken outgrown toys and household goods in decent repair to the local shelter thrift store.

Time:
An hour to clean out, collect, drive and deliver.

Why bother?
We do this pretty often. I don't see throwing these usable items away, and we don't have anyone nearby who can use our hand-me-downs, so we take them to the shelter store. Local shelter residents receive vouchers to "spend" at this decent "department store" style shop for anything they need, from clothing to goods needed to reestablish a home.

Worth it?
YES! Sometimes I think about yard-saling it, but we come up with a couple of bags of stuff every month. That doesn't make for a great yard sale, and we don't have the room to save up stuff to make for a worthwhile sale. Someday, maybe we'll have another garage sale/yard sale. Meanwhile, I hope thrift store shoppers, be they shelter residents or others whose proceeds help benefit the shelters, enjoy.

Photo courtesy Brent Moore and MariLynn under Creative Commons license.

Back to Scoopin' Poop - Manure Patrol

The project:
Scoop lots of poop.

Time:
90 minutes

Why bother?
This is an ongoing project (horses don't take a holiday from poopin') that you can read about here, and then some. But today's project involved another major cleanout of a neighboring area.

Worth it?
Yes. The workout was great - sweat everywhere; the end result was rewarding; and the simple thanks from the horse owner was heart warming.

Photo courtesy Kathy Sierra under Creative Commons license.

Talked Up Local Band

The project:
Help spread the word about local musician Jill Knight playing a free gig in an area shopping center.

Time:
A few minutes here and there.

Why bother?
I've loved this band since my days sitting by the creek during my lunch breaks and enjoying their tunes. They're fine on covers, but have wonderful original stuff. While there was no admission to attend the performance, the band was selling CDs, their lifeblood.

Worth it?
Yes - plus, one of my daughters and I enjoyed an afternoon at the shopping center browsing, then ultimately settling down with treats and enjoying the music.