Season of Service Week 4: Clean

by Mom It Forward on November 29th, 2010 | No Comments »

Week 4's Season of Service challenge, sponsored by Pledge, is to give to others and to the world in meaningful, selfless ways. This means identifying what your friends, family members, neighbors, fellow citizens, fellow humans, and fellow Earth inhabitants really need. Then, put that into action.

This list below identifies 10 possible bite-size ways to serve through cleaning. Please share a comment with other ideas you have or things that have worked for you.

Clean:

your house: Submit a cleaning tip to Howtocleanstuff.net. For every tip published, they donate twenty-five cents to the Clean Water Fund.
your family relationships: Is there a family member that's suffering? Take an hour or two to clean their kitchen and take that piece of their load off their backs.
your friendships: Is there a friend who's suffering? Tweet or Like a comment of theirs on Facebook, or leave a comment on their blog, if they have one. It doesn't have to be big; they just need to know you care.
your mailbox: Call the 1-800 number listed on any piece of junk mail currently in your mail box and "opt out" of future junk.
your neighborhood: Take your children on a walk around your neighborhood, all armed with plastic bags, grabbing tools, and maybe rubber gloves. Have them pick up garbage, and reward them with five, ten, or twenty-five cents for each piece, depending on its size.
your area: Identify a small, dirty spot in your area. Take a picture of it and post it on Guerrillagardening.org. With friends or fellow guerrilla gardeners, buy a tree or a few plants and surreptitiously plant them, then record your adventure on the site.
the air: Trees absorb carbon dioxide. Plant a tree in your yard or neighborhood (see Arborday.org).
the air #2: In Canada, the Clean Air Foundation will tow your car for free, have it dismantled and recycled. The site also offers incentives to help Canadians let go of their old gas guzzlers.
a landfill: Prevent the growth of a landfill; use all your stuff up before buying new stuff.
the environment: Set your thermostat one degree lower. This saves energy, which decreases pollution. It also burns more of your calories.

How Will You Help Others This Week?

What other ideas do you have for giving to others through cleaning?
How has giving to others made a meaningful difference this week?
How have others given to you this week and what difference has that made in your life?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Season?

Make a meaningful difference this season by taking the Season of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here's how you can participate:

Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week's challenge.
Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week's challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
Enter to win each week's giveaway. Check out this week's prizes from Pledge by clicking here.
Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.