[Free] Things I Collect to Give Away

I am a compulsive recycler. I have said it. It's out there. I can't help it. A while back I wrote a blog post, Convicted, to discuss that it's more than just a good feeling. When I see something that has good use left in it and I no longer need it, I try to donate to an appropriate source that will find use. I make two exceptions when it comes to wasteful consumption:
1) Bathroom Items
2) Stationery. I think that the impact you can make on someone's life with a random card, a Christmas greeting, a hand written note, or a congratulations for outweighs the environmental impact. I've been known to buy cards made of out recyclable material from time to time... but really that isn't such a valiant thing. I just think it's worth it.

To make up for it, I collect a bunch of random things because I think it's eco-friendly (reduces further consumption) or it will benefit others. I am pretty sure my husband HATES this. I feel bad because clutter is annoying. I even hate clutter but I hate waste 10x more than I hate clutter. So I collect things and then at the appropriate time I recycle a box and send it off. We're all universally recycling cardboard boxes? Right? It's a pretty simple thing to do and it's so recyclable... like.. we're all doing this? Just say yes.

Here are some examples:

Egg Cartons
Lots of people have their own chickens and need containers for their eggs. My parent's neighbor posted once that she needed egg cartons. When my parents visit I send them home with a paper bag full of egg cartons that they leave on the neighbor's porch. I don't think there's even an exchange, but I think she knows that my parents dropped them off. Or we have some neighbors that live by my parents farm place that could also use them. I think my mom just leaves them in the back of their truck. Then one day they found a dozen farm fresh eggs laying in their own truck. Isn't that adorable? Neighbors just taking care of each other?

Pop Tabs
You know the little ring you use to open your beer soda? Well the Ronald McDonald House collects those and recycles them to help support their program which provides a place to rest, eat, and get cleaned up for families who have children in the hospital. This organization pulls at my heart strings and I am more than willing to do anything to support them, especially with something as simple as pulling off a pop tab before recycling a can. This is also my sorority's national philanthropy. I bet you 8 times out of 10, if you walk into an Adeepi's house, you can ask them where their pop tab jar is and they'll show you.
When I have collected a zip lock bag full or so, I give it to the local Adeepi chapter or someone that I know will be visiting the RMH house soon.

Batteries
You should not throw batteries in the trash. As they break down in the landfill, they leak chemicals which leak into groundwater and contaminate it. Yes, areas around landfills are already plenty gross with all of the things people throw away when they shouldn't. But really, do you want to be part of the problem?
So what do you do with them? We have an old Eskimo Joe's cup in the garage and over time we just put them in there. After the cup is full we dispose of them properly. My friend Jessica lives in Moore and they have a daily drop off site for batteries there. So I give mine to Jessica and she graciously drops them off for me. Luckily, I have only ever had to ask her once.  Other communities hold Hazardous Waste Days where you can take old prescriptions, paint, batteries, etc so they can be disposed of properly. I encourage you to look up when your community's next Hazardous Waste Collection Day is. It will be a good way to give rid of clutter and have a good conscience about it!

Make-Up Containers
I hang on to my make up containers when they're empty. I keep them in the door of my car and when I find myself at Dillards, I walk by the Origins counter and drop them in a box and they recycle them. If you turn in 6 MAC make up containers, they'll give you a free lipstick. So that's cool!

Glass Jars
When we are done with a spaghetti jar or pickle jar, I run them through the dishwasher and store them in the laundry room. Come summer when I have tons of tomatoes and onions, I make big batches of salsa and give them away in the old jars. They don't seal like canning, so you have to eat it within a week, but I haven't had anyone say they had a problem with that. I just ask that they recycle the jar when they are finished with it.
One time I had way too many jars and I was pushing the threshold of husband tolerance so I posted that I had jars of a variety of sizes on Freecycle. The woman that asked for them happened to work nearby a place I needed to shop so I dropped them off. She told me that she was having a Harry Potter birthday party so she was using the jars to decorate. Sounds good to me!

Baby Jars
It's easy to think of things to do with baby jars. I reuse them and send the food I make myself in them to school with Cline. Of course these don't seal again so I only do it for a couple of days. Matt has taken a stash and is going to put loose tool items like screws in them. Now that I have a pretty good collection I have posted them on FreeCycle and I am meeting a woman later tonight to deliver them. I'll have to ask what she plans to do with them. Button storage? Spice storage? Who knows.

Box Tops and Campbell Soup Labels
My child isn't in school yet, but it doesn't take much to realize that schools can use all of the financial help and resources they can get. So if I buy something that has Box Top for Education (by General Mills) then I just tear it off and put it in an envelope in a kitchen drawer. When a teacher friend has a drive for them where the kids will get some prize I just pop 'em in the mail. The cost is a $0.49 stamp. I'll say well worth it.
And then sometimes you get something like this in the mail:

That easily makes it worth it. What a good feeling! This has been hanging on my fridge for a really long time. Come to think of it, I have another batch I need to send to that school.

Also, Campbell soup labels are helpful. To find out a location near you that could use them, go to this website and type in your zip code. It's that easy.

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Spirit of Giving

It has been a really long time. My days are so busy any more and when I want to blog I feel guilty because I should be spending any free moments working on my dissertation. My grading is done for the semester so I am free to work on it for a month. Except for when I pick up Cline. Buy groceries. Fold endless (ENDLESS) laundry. Clean the house. Make dinner. Plan Christmas gatherings. Spend quality time with my husband. Teach Cline to be a prodigy. Figure out if teaching to be a prodigy is a thing. Try many things so I can figure out what would make her a prodigy. Read baby book. Disagree with baby book. Everyone has plenty to keep them busy. I'm not exceptional. I just feel guilty when I don't use dedicated time on my dissertation. Like right now. But I don't care. I need to get this off my chest. Instead of a ridiculously long Facebook post (I don't think that's a good forum for "getting off of the chest" but that's just me) here we go. I wouldn't call this a rant. More of a reflection.

Each year we pick an Angel off the Angel Tree. Now before you go off thinking I'm trying to self glorify, please let me tell you that I'm not that kind of girl. It's the very least we can do and I think I get about as much enjoyment out of it as the child does. My love language is gifts so this totally rings my bell. It also makes me fall more in love with my husband each year. When I have picked a child, created a strategy for shopping for her, made a mental budget, collected my coupons to maximize the money spent, and am ready for check out.... Matt comes along and has doubled my order with no regard for the price. Oh, you got 3 shirts? Well she needs a coat, three more shirts, this is a cool toy! Oh, she needs this too. His unquestioning generosity makes me weepy. And then I daydream about this child waking up to a wonderful Christmas morning and think "Man, life is good. That's what it's all about." We shopped at Kohls this year. Matt had to take Cline to the car so I checked out by myself. As I was walking to the car my eyes welled up with tears. I thought about how we were able to provide gifts for Cline this year without question and how ridiculously blessed we were to do that. And then I thought about the kid we were buying for and her mom. I thought about how this wasn't some huge gesture that we deserved to be patted on the back for. This was just one mom helping out another mom. You never know what could happen and next year me and this mom could be switching roles.

It's no secret that the price of oil has impacted many families right here in this community. What if Matt lost his job and I wasn't able to graduate until December next year? What if we just didn't have the money to make ends meet and give Cline any gifts or new clothes for the winter season? What if our parents were also unable to help us give her a Christmas? Would you, knowing me, pass judgment on me? Would you say I needed to live with my decisions and work harder? I should provide for my own? My point is, I don't think anyone should pass judgment on someone if they ask for Christmas help, for help for food, or transportation. Sure, some people cheat the system, but do you realize how many people really benefit from the help? Good, solid people who just haven't been blessed quite as much as others?

I recently learned that there is a University of Central Oklahoma food pantry, of which many professors visit. People with not only degrees, but advanced degrees need help with groceries. Still think they needed to make better decisions? For grins, go look up how much money an adjunct professor makes. It's crazy.

On December 2nd, I got an email from Oklahoma Foster Wishes. It said that as of that day, there were still 500 lists of foster children in Oklahoma that had gone unclaimed. They said that the gifts that were donated were likely to be the only Christmas presents those children would get this year. I don't know enough about the foster system to understand why children under foster care wouldn't be given a Christmas present but it's not my job to ask questions. I read that email and from my desk I can see our Christmas tree and all of the presents set out for Matt, our friends and family, and my child. So I emailed the organizers and they sent me a list. A nine year old boy. He asked for craft materials. He just likes to make things. My goodness.

I worked at the Angel Tree with Matt's grandma last week.
A woman came by and by all appearances, and being honest, she didn't really look like she had two pennies to rub together. I wasn't trying to be judgmental, but from appearances she didn't look like she had a lot to give, perhaps she may have a child on the angel tree. Nope. She came to bring her Angel gifts back. ALL SIX OF THEM. Six bags filled to the brim. Not just a couple of wishlist items. One bag had 35 items in it. It included all kinds of toys AND clothes. All I could think was, "Why don't I have a heart like hers? I want to be more like the person that I had just cast many misconceptions." Or maybe she DIDN'T have two pennies to rub together. She just had that great of a heart of giving.

There were still too many Angels left on the tree. Many teenagers, in their formative years that could probably use someone, even a stranger, telling them that they love them.
Jesus is the reason for the season. It's such a great time of year to not only show our friends and family that we love them, but to appreciate the gift that is God's son. I don't believe we are winning any hearts for Jesus by critical Facebook posts. But I do believe that we can communicate God's love when a child opens a gift from a stranger and asks, "What would make someone want to do this for me? Who taught them to do this?" We can say all we want but it's the things that we do that makes a lasting impression.

Oil and gas prices are really low right now. It has a lot of people very worried about their future. Maybe while filling up at the gas tank, we should take that extra money not going in the tank and put it in the red kettle. Maybe we could give to a food pantry. Maybe we could donate a coat. Maybe we could give ridiculously... because really, is any of it ours? Can we really take credit for what we have? I know I can't.

Merriest of Christmases to you and yours. May you bless, and be blessed this season. #gracehasbeengiventome

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