Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Pay It Forward.

I heart sharing and giving. I like doing nice things for other people, it makes me feel good to make some one else feel good. I think there's an awful lot of sadness and destruction in our lives and a simple "I sure hope you feel better" care package may seem like a small gesture, but it really can make a world of difference.

Recently I've been sharing my things in a different, less "instant gratification" type way. Clearly, I've been donating tons to the Youth Ranch. I don't (always) buy cheap clothes and I keep them in (fairly) good condition, so I hope that some young, struggling mother or who ever chooses my old item off the shelf is excited by the find and feels pretty when she puts it on.

I subscribe to a lot of magazines. I follow a couple of "thrifty" blogs and they periodically (ha, no pun intended) post links to free magazine subscription offers, which I generally sign up for. I get All You, Women's Fitness, Women's Day, Men's Health, Parents, and Martha Stewart Living for free. I don't have time to read them all cover to cover but I do flip through them and then end up with a huge stack of magazines to recycle. Since I've had Ben, I've been making good use of our library and I noticed as I was leaving that they have several clear bins by the door where you can drop off magazines or take some home to read. I've been leaving 4 or 5 every time I go (which recently, has been a lot. I read Nora Roberts religiously [my guilty pleasure] and I've been behind on a few books, not to mention all the fun crafting books I've been flipping through), and it makes me feel good to know that some one else is getting a free read from my free subscription!

I check through the "wanted" ads on Craigslist frequently. I almost got rid of two sampler cans of Similac formula that I have on hand, but literally the day after I replied to the lady's ad, all that formula was recalled and she never wrote back (I could have told her that I checked and the cans I have aren't included in the recall). Tonight I responded to a lady looking for some plus-sized clothes in the size I happen to have quite a lot of. Man, if she'd posted on like Monday she could have had a whole new wardrobe outta the 5 bags I donated to the Youth Ranch!! She's coming by tomorrow to pick them up.

I get teased by my family a lot that my world only extends as far as my arms can reach and that I'm pretty self-centered and slightly anti-social. Which...well, to be quite honest is mostly true. Mostly. HA!!!

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