Helper Signup

In my never-ending quest to become more organized and efficient, I'm always on the lookout for tips, tricks, and tools to that end.

Here's one!

http://www.helpersignup.com

Zach's classroom mom emails out our supplies wish-list before class parties, and it is so easy! I love it.

Just thought I'd share. And hope that since I put it out here, it will not be forgotten. Now I wonder what event I'll need to initiate so I can "organize" the signup. :)


From HelperSignUp.com:
HelperSignup.com can help you organize clubs and activities of all kinds, including sports teams, exercise classes, PTAs, school groups, job fairs, scouting events, reunions, dinners, school clubs, sports clubs, holiday parties, school activities, fundraisers, school events, sports events, and much more. You can:

•Plan school events
•Schedule exercise classes
•Organize holiday parties
•Plan group meals
•Start up school clubs
•Get volunteers for sports events
•Organize scout activities
•Schedule PTA events
Think of how easily you can organize your sports event, school activity, or holiday party. Try HelperSignup.com today!

Giving on a Budget

Ideas from Delicious Living, December 09:

1. Donate Empties ($0) - used ink and toner cartridges can be donated for resale. habitat.org, mowaa.org, humanesociety.org may be interested.

2. Feed the Hungry ($1) - foodforall.org has partnered with hundreds of grocery stores. Consider tacking $1 to your bil each time you check out at the grocery store.

3. Stop Junk ($20) - www.tonicmailstopper.com gets you off junk-mail lists *and plants five trees in your honor*

4. Surf for the Earth ($0) - use www.ecosearch.org (powered by Google) to retrieve the same search results and know that any ad revenues are donated at 100% to non-profits like Rainforest Alliance and Sierra Club.

5. Plant Trees ($5) - www.plantabillion.org

6. Moisturize for Good ($20) - spend $20 on Lush's Charity Pot hand and body cream, and 100% of proceeds (minus taxes) goes to support animal, humanitarian, and environmental foundations

7. Adopt a Polar Bear ($25) - www.worldwildlife.org offers symbolic adoptions of 100 species, and 82 cents of every dollar goes toward conservation

The article suggested reading How to be an Everyday Philanthropist by Nicole Bouchard Boles, to find more ideas on low- and no-cost ways to make a difference.

Reuseable Produce Bags

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=117831&catid=188

Support some mompreneurs and skip some of the plastic!

So Easy, Yet SO Worthwhile

I got this email from my sister Laura who works at the National Marrow Donor Program. The NMDP is a non-profit that coordinates marrow donation and transplant matching for patients and donors all over the world.

I'm so impressed with how much the company involves all their employees in the overarching mission of their company. Laura, fantastic number-cruncher and manager that she is, can speak quite eloquently about the technicalities involved in marrow and stem cell transplant processes. When some of my friends were involved in transplant red tape, she was able to provide information to contact real people for help. A friendly voice can go a long way in some of those times.

But, back to the company, I have to say it's invaluable that they keep their employees involved and interested by sharing success stories with them and making them feel a part of those successes. What better motivation and retention methods can there be than helping employees feel responsible for having saved a life?

Below is the email message Laura got. I hope you'll take a moment to read about the NMDP and maybe even consider registering as a donor. What a great, selfless way to start off the New Year.
Good Afternoon,

Thanks to the work you do, little boys like Matthew Welling overcome life-threatening diseases, donors like Steve Karas and Jill Goldsmith save lives, and corporate partners like Aflac encourage more than a thousand employees to join the NMDP Registry.

Today 3-year-old Matthew is thriving because of the generosity of Steve, an NMDP donor, and Jill, a Gift of Life donor.

And, a recent CNN news segment highlighted Matthew’s story with outstanding results. CNN has millions of TV and online viewers, including an average of one million unique online visitors each day. Within the first 24 hours:
· 65 TV stations picked up the story, carrying our message to a viewing audience of more than 1,151,997 viewers
· More than 10,000 visitors came to www.marrow.org from CNN
· 344 individuals took the first step to joining the NMDP Registry by signing up online (on an average day, 21-35 sign up).
· Recruitment and Community Development and the Call Center experienced increased call volumes and responded to more than 70 e-mails submitted by visitors to marrow.org (a normal day brings about 30 such e-mails).

We are pleased to be collaborating with the Welling family and Aflac to help raise awareness of the opportunity to spread the word about our mission. By working together, our messages are stronger, our reach is greater and our results more effective.

If you haven’t had a chance to see this article, you can read Matthew’s story on CNN.com. We’ve also created a link from the News and Events section of insideNMDP. Please continue the momentum by sharing this compelling story with others through e-mail and social media sites and encourage more people to join the donor registry now.

Women

There are so many women with whom I'd like to

*and with whom I get to* do this.
Thank you to all of you!

Text on the art reads:

Each year the women gathered to renew their spirit,

nourish their souls,

and earn their laugh lines."

Item found: http://www.femailcreations.com/products/sku-143702.html

Say Thanks

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com , you can pick out a thank you card and message (or compose your own personal message) and Xerox will send to our troops serving around the world. It is FREE and only takes a minute or two!

If not out of Civic Duty,

...then for a FREE cup of Starbucks coffee (or donut, or something else), but for goodness' sake, please just

GET OUT & VOTE!

10/22: Turn Off Your Cell

I didn't read this in time to turn it off for the duration of the boycott, but it's off now.

Quilt Giveaway!

I'd love to win this quilt!! Isn't it beautiful?

Sorta like winning the lottery, my chances are slim, but I'm doing what I can to get my name drawn. :) If you'd like to try too, visit the Old Red Barn Co. blog and leave a comment on her quilt giveaway entry. If you don't need a quilt but think I do, visit and leave a comment and give me the quilt if you win!

It's a fun blog to read all the time, so keep the site bookmarked. She has great, crafty ideas; beautiful photography; and a fun sense of humor. And, she sells sugar scrubs that I'm hoping to try some day too!

Improve Your Vocab, Donate Free Rice!

Natural Cleaners and Wipes

I saw this post on another blog, and I plan to try making some home-mixed cleaners too.

Does it seem that I might clean more, too? :)

I DID once buy a super-cute broom that was to inspire me to sweep more. Actually, I do enjoy sweeping more using it. It's got pink, leopard print! I thought better of gifting similar brooms. Even though I'd never have meant it to imply someone else should sweep more, I can see where that impression might be drawn.

So...here are the recipes. Thanks, Dana, for letting me reproduce them here!

Glass Cleaner
2 parts vinegar to 1 part distilled water.

Sometimes I add some antiseptic essential oil such as lemon, lavender or tea tree. Oh, three or four drops.

Store in reusable, spray bottle.

All Purpose Cleaner
2 teaspoons Borax
20 oz of distilled water
10 oz vinegar
2 drops of your favorite dish soap
A few drops of essential oils if you wish
Store in reusable, spray bottle

Scrubby Stuff
A box of Borax
A box of baking soda
A few drops of essential oil -- here my favorite is lemon and rosemary
Store in ziplock bag (or plastic, lidded container) with scoop

Do you do homemade cleaners? What are your recipes? My Radical book club friends also passed along a great recipe for homemade baby wipes:

Baby Wipes
1 roll of paper towels (I usually use Kirkland or Target brand, which are nice because they're the choose-your-size version, but it's probably "greener" to go with the 7th Generation brand, or similar)
2 cups boiling water
1.5 Tablespoon baby oil (I use Burt's Bees apricot baby oil, but I've heard grapeseed oil is great as well)
1 Tablespoon baby shampoo
2-3 drops tea tree oil (it has anti-fungal and antiseptic properties, awesome stuff)

* Using a non-serrated kitchen knife, cut a roll of paper towels in half, so you end up with two "short" rolls.
* Place one half of the paper towels in an airtight (cylindrical, if possible) container. Save the other half for your next batch of wipes.
* In a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, boil the water.
* Add the oils and shampoo and stir.
* Pour the mixture over the paper towels. Let the liquid seep through the roll. After about a minute, pull out the cardboard center of the roll, and the center-most sheet of paper towel, which may have glue from the cardboard. Careful, these may be hot, but it's much easier to get them out right away.
* Cover the container, and when you're ready, pull the towels from the center.

These wipes are great because you know exactly what's going on the kiddos' bums (and faces or fingers).
To make them ToGo, pull out several, and fold them into a reusable wipe containers.
One final tip, from Sarah the natural guru: place this formula in a ziplock baggie, and tape it to the bottom of the wipes container, so you're all set next time you need 'em but can't recall the ingredients. Or maybe you've got a better memory than we do - congrats!

Finally, I didn't invest in a cylindrical container like the one pictured. I just make do with the rectangular box that Huggies wipes come in. I place the roll of towels in vertically, in order to let the "potion" seep into the paper, but once it's all saturated, I lay the towels horizontally, and pull from one end. Some brands of paper towels are thicker, and harder to fit in the Huggies box, but we manage!

*Oh, just one more thought: When our kiddoes were infants, we didn’t use paper wipes at all; we just used warm water on 4” square pieces of old t-shirts, which could just be thrown in the wash and reused (kind of a la cloth diapers). I wonder if putting those scraps into a container and pouring the wipes potion over the top would provide an even “greener” option for wipes. I haven’t tried that, but have thought about it. Just putting it out there!