good deeds ~ the little things you can do!

hello again! i hope you all had amazing weekends. i had a lovely date night with dannon exploring the los feliz neighborhood, eating dinner at home {yum!}, and watching a classic movie. simple, but sweet!

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as you may remember, i recently started a new series all about the good things we can do to help others. last week i talked about raising money for heifer international. this week, however, i wanted to highlight some ideas for those of us who don't have much money to spare. there are tons of great non-monetary ways to do good for others!

donate your stuff

even though it's fall, you can still do a little spring cleaning. i mean, do you really need that many clothes {i'm talking to myself here too}? someone could probably make much better use of them, not to mention the fact that you'll need to make room in your closet for upcoming holiday gifts. donate your unused clothes, shoes, toys, and other house stuff to your local shelters!

be a school volunteer

working in schools for many years now, i know that there's always a need for volunteers to help with tutoring, prepping for class activities, decorating bulletin boards, and helping with supervising the kiddies. inquire with your local school district, or if you're in college, your university may already be connected to some schools where you can get involved.

clean up

hey guess what? anybody can clean up a park or neighborhood, anytime, anywhere. all you have to do is take a few minutes to pick up trash you see on the ground, and viola! the world's a better place.

visit a nursing home

the stories you hear from many of the residents in your local nursing home are inspiring to say the least! unfortunately many of the residents rarely get visitors. with just an hour or two you could brighten someone's day by reading to them, playing games with them, or just chatting.

be a story teller

i know a lot of libraries and bookstores that love to have volunteers read to the kids during story hour. this usually involves really cute stories, really fun dramatic readings, and really adorable children. icing on the cake: studies show kids gain intelligence by having someone read to them just as much as reading by themselves. that means you would be entertaining children and making them smarter!

share

feel like baking? why not make a little extra to share with your neighbors? you'll put a smile on their face and cultivate an environment of safety, kindness, and togetherness right outside your own door.

adopt

just to add a little laughter to your life, how about adopting a word?! i saw this on brandi's blog last week and it was so fun. head over to savethewords.org and save one through adoption {it's free}.

and perhaps, while we're at it, we can all adopt the spirit of love?...

happy monday.