Every January I set out to do a few projects, you know, the clean up and clear out kind of things. Other than preparing for taxes, everything else is linked together by one word: giving. It didn’t start out that way, just wanted to get a fresh start for the new year, but maybe that’s why I don’t mind taking on my “sure thing” projects.
One thing I look forward to doing is to go through my closet and anything I didn’t wear the previous year is pulled out. It’s embarassing to admit, but often this pile is full of things with the tags still on them. Yes, sometimes I buy things for a one off event, and end up deciding on something else or they simply were forgotten about. A bag is pulled together and, with the cuties, I take them to the local thrift shop/food pantry.
The next bag I fill is one with those cases Airlines give you with the basics. Toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, socks, lip balm, etc. That bag is taken to another local charity, one for battered women. Our thought on this has always been these women and possibly their kids most likely didn’t have time to pack, much less take the necessities. Good way to give someone a fresh start.
Another area I deal with in the house is our books. After I donated over 3k books, I promised not hold onto them unless they fit on a shelf – thank goodness for ebooks! So, I gather up both our piles, put them in bags – yeah, often a half dozen or more bags – and take them to the local library. They have an annual sale that boosts their budget and we’re all about reading.
Then there’s writing something to giveaway – giveaway as in write a short story and give it to someone to put out there to make money for a particular charity. The first one I did was in response to the 2007 Wildfires in Southern California. I have family in the area, one of them is a fireman in San Diego, and found giving a short story to the effort helped ease my heart. Funny enough, the second one, The Write Ingredients, was through Samhain Publishing and helps support the troops. My neighbors have two of their three sons in the Marines [one in Afghanistan and the other just graduated] and, while the parents and a bunch of us send thigns to them in specific, we know there are others who don’t receive anything and this was my way of saying ‘thank you’ for their service. The third one is coming out this February and will support the American Heart Association. There are a few members of my family who had or have heart problems and I want do what I can to stop the disease from taking another loved one from us.
Those are my annual “sure things”. What started out as an annual clear out, turned into something personally rewarding and when they’re done, I feel really good. How about you? What do you do that makes you feel good and ends up helping someone else?
Tilly Greene
WARNING! Red hot romances ahead!
www.tillygreene.com
Zandia is available in ebook and paperback
New Beginnings: Carpe Diem is available in ebook
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