Day 22 -- collecting coffee mugs to donate to shelter

"A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty."
---G. Donald Gale

I did not have a specific project lined up today so I followed up on an item in an e-newsletter that I got from Miriam's Kitchen in DC. The item said the shelter needs coffee mugs. I figured I had a few extra cof those luttering up a kitchen shelf and this would be a good excuse to de-clutter (why do I always need an excuse to de-clutter rather than just doing it for its own sake?).

I found about 10 mugs at home, but the real jackpot was when I mentioned this small goal to my friend Brenda, who happened to have 75 mugs at her house that she was willing to part with. She had bought them as a set for a special occasion but no longer needed them. So I was up to about 90 mugs with minimal effort.

If you're looking for a project, you could easily do this, or something like it. Just look around for something in your house that you'd like to have less of, and put them together in a box or bag. Chances are someone else also wants to have fewer of that item, and all you need to do is collect from a couple of other people and find an organization to donate them to. Don't be afraid to ask people to donate stuff - often times you are doing them a favor by taking the stuff off their hands or out of their homes.

I've become a big advocate of collection drives of various kinds, as the free transfer of goods from one person or group to another seems so productive and good for the environment, not to mention that it's also a really nice gesture of kindness on the part of the givers and collectors.