Before we get started today, I'd like to tell you that our challenge is being "simulcast" over at Gaiatribe. Our good friend Elizabeth Barrette asked me to write a little about how these weekly challenges came about ... so, if you have a few minutes, hop over there and check it out.
How did everyone do on the "No Spending Diet"? Check out our Honor Society for some great articles and ways in which people made this challenge work:
Sober White Women at http://thoughtsofasoberwhitewomen.blogspot.com/2009/07/for-smaller-foot-print.html
Chicamom85 at http://chicamom85.blogspot.com/2009/07/change-world-wednesday-7152009.html
Melissa at http://greenbeangal.blogspot.com/2009/07/saving-resources-in-unusual.html
Sinclair at http://naturewithme.blogspot.com and http://sharingourgifts.blogspot.com
Dafthermit at http://theblackbuscompany.blogspot.com/2009/07/reduce-footprints-change-world.html
Ecogrrl at http://ecogrrlnetwork.blogspot.com/
Eemilla at http://eemilla.wordpress.com/
GigiSxm at http://adventuresingigi.blogspot.com/2009/07/change-world-wednesday-challenge.html
Art Ist at http://4oneaday.blogspot.com/
TC at http://livesmartbook.blogspot.com/
Kate at http://holdfastseeker.blogspot.com/2009/07/less-stuff.html
Elizabeth Barrette at http://gaiatribe.geekuniversalis.com/2009/07/15/saving-and-reusing-household-items/
Lawrence Brown (sorry, don't have a site address for Lawrence).
Argentum Vulgaris at http://tomusarcanum.blogspot.com/
Kelly at http://www.ivebecomemymother.com
Thomas Winther at http://www.renewablesathome.com/reuse/repurposing-stuff
Aid Renegade at http://www.aid-renegade.com/2009/07/how-to-cut-electricity-bills/
Rewinn at http://rewinn.blogspot.com/2009/07/this-week-in-sustainability.html
Inge' at http://dementiafor2.blogspot.com/2009/07/no-new-shoes-for-mama.html
Thanks to everyone who participated!
Are you ready for a new challenge? Last week's challenge addressed the need to reduce our consumption ... participants were asked to not buy anything new for a week (except for food, health and safety products). This week's challenge (which only has one "level") was recommended by one of our favorite followers, Sas_Consultant, and is all about reusing:
We all know that it's better to reuse something we already have rather than buy something new. But what about those items that are sitting in closets, storage sheds and the "back room" ... those things that we don't use and probably haven't used in a long while? I'll bet that there is someone who could use it. So, this week, take a look around your home and put together a box of no-longer-used items and ... "reuse them" by giving them away. Donate them to local charities, shelters, retirement homes or the Humane Society. See if your neighbors might need them or perhaps a family in need would appreciate them. This challenge has a double impact ... we'll be making items available for reuse and we'll be helping others. It's a challenge with heart!
We're changing the world ... one challenge at a time!
As always, I would love to hear from you!
It is so funny that you would post this! I just grabbed a box and started to fill it with unused but usable items! LOL
ReplyDeleteCan you believe that we have a tub of camping stuff and we don't even camp!
Kelli
I, too, immediately put a box together to take to goodwill. I found an extra coffee grinder that my roommate left, and added it to my box of books, clothes and random items. It's funny how much stuff I lug around from place to place, hoping that one day, I will reuse them. Knowing that I won't. That will be continue to be boxed up in my life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great challenge and I am posting on this today!
Please count me in for this challenge. JC @ http://onedayoneimage.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
We currently have a bag of clothes ready for Goodwill, so I'll rummage around and see what we can come up with.
ReplyDeleteAll right...another fine challenge. I'll get on it this week. I was in the shed yesterday thinking much the same thing. Plenty of things just sitting there collecting dust. Thank you SF & thanks for dropping by my blog as well. Hope you enjoy the French Broad Chocolate Lounge...actually I know you will.
ReplyDeleteI also posted on this today. This is a good way to clear the clutter from your house and along the way your mind.
ReplyDeleteHere at Earth Promise, we posted a blog back in May about our abundance of "stuff" that I want to share:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.earthpromise.com/blog/2009/05/14/reduce-and-reuse-it-helps-our-environment/
As for this week's challenge, I find that summer is a great time to "clean house", and donate those unused items!
Clothing swaps (mentioned in the above blog post) is a great way to get together and find some fabulous duds!
I actually have a large bags in my trunk ready to go to AVDA (Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse). A great challenge this week!
I'm a regular declutter (and I always donate or recycle where possible) so I don't think I could come up with much to give away right now. It's a great idea though.
ReplyDeleteI've been bad at keeping up with blogs (and your eco challenges)lately too. But thanks for the birthday wishes. A very belated happy birthday to you too.
We are in the process of moving, so we made a trip to the Salvation Army with load of donations. It feels good to give to those who need it and to get it out of my closet.
ReplyDeleteI plan on putting this challenge on my blog today...
I love this challenge and have posted it on my blog. I am going to challenge my husband and daughter to join me.
ReplyDeleteLast week I save $16.85, not buying extras. Thanks
Anne
I have 5 bags of clothes between my husband and I that we are going to God willing drop off at Good Will this weekend. We also found a cat carrying case in our closet (we don't even have a cat and never have...) we plan to drop off at the animal shelter or a friend's. Thanks for this challenge, it feels so good to walk into my freshly organized closet!!!
ReplyDeleteanother great concept to share - thank you for all that you do each week to spread the eco! :)
ReplyDeletei keep a box by my front door - i'm on the mailing list for the local ARC charity which collects clothing and household items, so everytime their postcard comes, i make sure to fill up a bag, every month, no matter what. 'auditing' what i have and focusing on simplicity is very cleansing for me. my biggest change in the past year that is related to this is simple: if i want to buy something, i have to donate something. so when i buy clothes a few times a year (i'm not a 'browser' like many women - the urge hits me like a tidal wave every few months, that's it), i come home and get rid of anything that i don't ADORE myself in. after all, if i grimace when i look at myself in the mirror in it, why do i keep it? someone else will look better in it!! :)
Yesterday I gathered two bags of outgrown clothes, and today I dropped them off at a local thrift store.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! and it got me thinking ... Everything takes up space. If you rent, you pay rent on that space. If you own your house, you still pay your mortgage or maintenance costs on the space.
ReplyDeleteWhen you give away stuff, there's an empty space left where the stuff used to be. Think of it as a gift to yourself!
I looked around my place, and tried to think of about everything there in terms of the rent I paid to keep it. Figuring I pay $1 a month for each square foot, a couple of bar chairs I never sat on, that occupied a 2 foot by 3 foot space (about 6 square feet), cost me $72 a year just to keep and never use!
Knowing that, it was much easier to give them away to a thrift store.
Give Yourself the Gift of Space