I was in the bank last week doing bank related things when I noticed a small Christmas tree.  It was decorated with white envelopes clipped to the tree with little wooden clothespins; each painted clothespin sported a cute Christmas ornament.  A closer looked revealed each envelope was preaddressed to one of four destinations: Healdsburg Animal Shelter, Healdsburg Senior Center ? Meals on Wheels, Boys & Girls Club of Healdsburg or Healdsburg Food Pantry and already had the appropriate postage using, of course, cute Christmas stamps.

The best part is that each of these organizations will benefit from the extra donations they will receive this Christmas season ? the second best part is that I get to keep the cute clothespin! I now have four.

Evidently there is a woman in our community who upcycles clothespins into donations.

I have no idea who she is, since she doesn?t include a placard on the table to ensure that she receives full credit for this endeavor – But I feel blessed to have the opportunity to participate in her kindness.

At the local recycle center 80 empty water bottles will get you a whopping 4 bucks.

At the Samaritans Purse website that whopping 4 bucks will provide a child with milk for an entire week. 

You Should Do It.

Tomorrow kicks off the national collection week for Operation Christmas Child – although for many of us this project actually begins in July, when it’s still hot outside and most people aren’t thinking about Christmas.

A small group of us gather each Wednesday to wrap shoeboxes to look like Christmas presents. As each Wednesday follows the next, the weekly tasks turn from wrapping boxes to sorting, counting and packaging soap, wash cloths, tooth brushes and toothpaste into ziplock baggies.

Next is school supplies, hairbrushes, socks, candy and of course toys and a special stuffed animal.  Last to be included is a short note to the receiving child letting them know that even though we have never met, there is someone out there that is thinking about them and praying for them.   And most of all, we want to tell them that Jesus loves them so very, very much.

You may wonder what this has to do with upcycling – I could take the easy road and say that we turned an old shoe box into a Christmas present – but it’s so much more.

Today our small church exchanged our normal Sunday morning service for a box packing service – everyone of every age participated.  Two hours and 1200 shoe boxes later we had turned a small congregation into world-wide missionaries, sending hope to children all over the world.

Learn more about Operation Christmas Child

I sometimes use the words upcycle and recycle interchangeably, much like Alanis Morissette uses ironic and coincidence? or some other word.

Today I want to talk about the similar sounding ? freecycle.

Freecycle.org is a great way to recycle your old items and pick up some great finds (wait for it?) for free! 

It?s a global nonprofit community that is all about reusing to keep good stuff out of landfills.  

An effective, smart idea made even greater when you consider that you don?t have to deal with craigslist freaks ? you know who you are.

Happy Halloween!

Whatever your celebratory beliefs concerning Halloween, of all the holidays, it is arguably the high holy day of upcycling.

I have personal knowledge of a single hot pink bed sheet purchased from Goodwill that was upcycled into a glam-ghost costume? which was accidently turned into more of a hot pink burka? then upcycled a third time into a super heroine cape for *use your announcer voice* Glam Girl!

? and all this in just one night!

I read an article by Tom Szaky proposing another option to the traditional ideas of upcycling.

The idea is brilliant: Collect Scotch Tape dispensers from the public and give them back to 3M to use for the exact same use they were before?tape dispensers.

Ok, so I?m inspired.

I don?t have a personal collection of tape dispensers laying about, but I?ve got a stack of PG&E return envelopes since I pay my bills online - I?m off to return them to PG&E. 

Admittedly billing envelopes are not as heady as tape dispensers, but we all do what we can.

Read the whole brilliant article at triplepundit.com

 I hate to shop, but…

? if you could find all manner of stuff you needed – everything from the brand name classic to the completely funky, and it was all arranged by item and color, in an immaculately clean shop and every time you bought something it helped people, you’d have to do it, right?

This my friends is the Goodwill store in Santa Rosa.

I got an amazingly cool new purse that I would have never purchased while it was on the rack in Macy’s and some equally fab shoes. And I came this close to rocking a pair of shoes i can only describe by tossing around words like; plastic coated, red, high heeled loafer and alligator.

And when I?m done using them, I?ll donate them. It?s the circle of life my friends.

Tremendous.

so nice it?s posted twice: taken from its-nin.livejournal.com