Hats off to those of you who scoured your closets for clothes to donate to the charity of your choice last week! Not only is good for the charity, it's good for your own home organization.
This week, I'm gathering up items for our local women's shelter. I spoke with a representative from the shelter recently and asked her what types of items they could use. I happened to have a bunch of air fresheners that I wasn't going to use, but I didn't know if that was even something they wanted. The last thing I want to do is donate items that can't be used.
The representative said that they needed anything that a woman would need to set up house again. (The only exception was clothing, but I'm guessing that could vary from shelter to shelter depending on what's been donated locally.) That means that personal care items (deodorant, shampoo, soap, makeup, etc.), household cleaners, paper goods, dishes, rugs, blankets, furniture, small appliances, and other household items are all welcome.
I had only really thought about the women's personal care needs before my conversation with the shelter staff. I had never considered the overwhelming task of starting over, especially when some of the women have nothing but their children and the clothes they're wearing. Wow.
Since I've been thinking about personal care items for the shelter, I keep a bag hanging on a doorknob in my house. As I get free or almost-free items that can be donated, I place them in the bag. Now that the bag is full, I'll be taking it to the shelter's office site and dropping it off soon. Now that I'm thinking on a larger scale, I just added the baby wipes I got free tonight to the bag. When we move, I'll be passing along some of the household items that we planned to donate too. Thinking about women starting over helps me put in perspective what I have and how I can help.
Now it's your turn to share your ideas for sharing, giving, and being generous.
You can participate in a couple of ways. If you're a blogger, write a post about a way that you've been able to give. It can be something simple or something out-of-the-ordinary that you did. It can be something from this week or from last year. It can involve the giving of time, talent, or things. Don't think of it as bragging... It's a way to encourage others to take action and be more generous! A few guidelines for bloggers:
- Please add a link to Saving and Giving so that your readers can find everyone's ideas all in one place.
- Make sure the link that you add here takes people directly to your A Time to Give post, not the main page of your blog. To do that, publish your post, view your blog, right click on the title, and copy the shortcut. Then paste that shortcut in as your URL here.
- Bloggers who link to other posts or their main pages will have their links removed. This eliminates confusion for others who are looking for ideas on how to give.
- Please do not link to giveaways, contests, or ads.
- Feel free to use the image above in your post. It's not mandatory, but you're welcome to it!
If you're not a blogger, you can participate too! Simply click the comments link below this post, and leave your ideas there. I would love to hear from you!
If you have any questions about A Time to Give, please feel free to contact me at savingandgiving@gmail.com. I look forward to being inspired by your ideas on giving! And stop back each Thursday for a new edition of A Time to Give.
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