Feed Hungry People

We waste a lot of food. It's not good and if you want to waste less try here: http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/
It's an awesome site and has a link for 'how to use up leftovers'


Places in the US do some pretty cool things to try and reduce the wastage. For example, organisations recruit volunteers to visit farms after a harvest to pick up good produce left behind. In 2009, they saved and distributed 15.7 million pounds of produce.

Groups such as Food Runners, a non-profit in San Francisco run entirely by volunteers, deliver an estimated 10 tons of food each week to hungry people; otherwise, it would have been wasted. Taken from coffee shops, restaurants and supermarkets, this salvaged sustenance is used in shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers and other locations.

Give it a go. It helps hungry people AND the planet. Awesome :-)

Give 10% of your earnings to charity

This is indeed a regular saying, but it's true. Be nice and give 10% of your earnings to charity, whichever you think is best. I'd suggest WWF, Friends of the Earth or Greenpeace - make a difference to the world you live in and depend on. But there are lots of other options too, for example Oxfam - saving people in the world and looking after it too.

I know it's hard, I really do - currently I think the most I manage is about 3%? Hopefully though, once we're done clearing our own debts, then we can rack it up to 10% and life will be sweet :-) And it will definitely make the world a better place when we do. So if you can afford it, do it! Please :-)

Declutter and share

I genuinely believe that an emptier space is a happier space, that the energy flows more freely around a decluttered room and that it becomes infinitely easier to relax both mentally and physically in such a place.

I also suspect that many people have a lot of things they don't necessarily want, or need - things that have been acquired and then kept through habit. The chances are probably also good that the things you never look at, use or admire are things that someone else would give their left arm to own, that they could never dream of affording or just don't know how to get any more.

So follow this 2-part plan to achieve an inner glow that will last you for weeks.

1 - Declutter. Go through your things, one by one (this is very important, look at each item individually) and think 'do I really need this? Do I? Really? Why?'. This way of looking at things has helped me get rid of stuff that I thought was a life fixture. Turns out I didn't need it or especially want it at all. I was just used to it.

2 - Give your ex-clutter to someone else who really wants it. Advertise it on your local freecycle group. Take it all to a charity shop. Give it to your friend who has always really wanted it.

Declutter and share - you get happy, and you will make someone else just Glow with happiness as their dreams unexpectedly come true. And it's green too, reuse and recycle!

Here is a great link suggesting places you can share your old things out to (other than the nice easy option of the local charity shop you support):
http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/declutter-donate-stuff-460210
I can't promise how many places have an equivalent in the UK but I suspect they are definitely out there, all it takes is a quick google search.

Here's a good example of this idea in practice:
http://www.dosomethinggoodday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=23

Good Luck :-)

(and here's something funny,  just for smiles) :-)

Spring Flowers

This is the time of year where supermarkets sell all sorts of spring flowers in pots - hyacinths and daffodils being two of the main ones. Also lots of cut daffodils.

If you look though, these all have sell by dates on, and just before the sell by date they're generally reduced to ridiculously cheap prices - last week I bought a hyacinth in a beautiful pot for 49p!

If you see a reduced spring flower in a pot or even really reduced daffodil stems, think about buying some for a friend, or buying £5 worth and taking them to the local old peoples home to brighten up their day. Last year I think £5 would have bought me half of the local supermarket's stock, and it was only being unemployed that stopped me :-) This year I'm going to be watching them like hawks - and hopefully soon our local old peoples home will have daffodils coming out of their ears ;-)

Give an old or lonely person a present

Merry Christmas in advance to everyone who reads this blog :-)

My suggestion for niceness this Christmas is this: almost all of us know of an old person or housebound person in the street, who will be lonely this Christmas. Go out and buy them a present and drop it off, nicely wrapped up :-) Or even just give them a Christmas card. I am absolutely certain it will brighten their day huge amounts.

Of course the next stage up for that is if you want to, invite them over for Christmas! They might say no, but they might be thrilled and come and have a lovely time. Obviously only invite people who aren't axe-murderers :-)

Or if you don't know anyone local, go and buy a nice shareable present and give it to the local care home/nursing home to be shared amongst the residents. I'm sure there will be lonely people in those places too and that a present would just make their day.

And again - Merry Christmas everyone!

Help people in the snow

So, it's snowing in quite a few places at the moment. And it's gorgeous and amazing!

But take a moment to remember all the people who actually find it really hard to deal with - and help them out!

If you see an old person tottering along on the icy pavements with a stick, try asking them politely if they want a hand. I did that today and not only had a lovely chat with the lady and got wished a Merry Christmas, but she also had a huge smile on her face and really seemed like I had made a good difference to her day. So ask nicely - my lady said she was ok but when I asked if she'd like a hand, she said yes.

And if you don't see any old people needing a hand out in the street, maybe ask someone old or housebound if you can pick them up any shopping whilst you're out. I generally ask my neighbours this but whilst they've not said yes yet, I think they appreciate the offer :-)

So that's my nice suggestion for the day! I hope you're all enjoying the snow :-)

Beautiful Lights

Between 12-15 November, there's a series of installations based on light taking place in Durham.
http://www.lumieredurham.co.uk/guide/

It sounds absolutely Beautiful. My especial favourite has to be: 
'Power Plant will be taking over the Durham University Botanic Garden: it's a beautiful series of installations that use light and sound to create an ethereal, eerie world where plants whisper and old gramophones crackle'

Last night we went to see the local fireworks. A lot of people had paid to get in, but a lot of people were standing on the other side of the river, lining the town, watching the beautiful lights flickering in the sky.

So I suppose the suggestion I have for today, for being nice, is finding something beautiful and either showing it to someone or giving it to them as a gift. Buy an old lady a bunch of flowers. Draw a card for your partner to tell them you love them - anyone can draw a romantic heart :-) Buy yourself a suncatcher and hang it in the window so that beautiful lights can twinkle through your room every day, even in winter. Go and pick up some rubbish in your local park so it looks even more beautiful for everyone who walks through it that day. Sit and look up at the stars with someone this evening.

There's beauty everywhere, if you look and if you make it happen.

(and sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've had a cold and felt grumpier than a grumpy thing :-) In those circumstances, the nice choices are duvets, cold remedies and hugs)