It’s now half way through my Do What Ought To Be Done month so here is an update on how I’m doing. (Look here if you need a reminder of my goals for July.)
I’ve anxiously been waiting to donate blood but I seem to have caught some sort of cold virus. I haven’t been feeling well these last couple of weeks and I know that you must feel great in order to donate blood. I will do my best to get better and hopefully I will still meet my July 31st deadline.
After catching a commercial on TV about organ donations, I immediately went to the website and signed my husband and I up to be donors. For something that can possibly have immense positive effects, it was such a simple process. I really don’t understand why more people don’t do it. Below you can see why organ donations are so important, and you aren’t going to need them when you are gone anyways so why not take the two minutes to sign up?
The website states that “One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation, and enhance the lives of up to 75 others through tissue donation. Every three days someone dies in Ontario waiting for a life-saving transplant. There is a chronic shortage of organs and tissue in Ontario and the need for organs and tissue continues to outweigh their availability. More than 1,500 Ontarians are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and thousands more are waiting for a tissue transplant. Organ donation saves lives. It is often the only treatment option for people with organs that are damaged through injury or disease and who would otherwise die.”
And even if you die in such a way that disqualifies your organs, they can still usually get usable tissue from you so it is still very important to sign up and let your wishes be known!
I have not donated any money or sponsored a donkey yet. I have my credit card limit set very low and it’s currently near the max point after paying for my next Adventure day and some theater tickets. I need to wait a few more days before the balance is paid and then I can get all over my donations. 🙂
My husband and I joined forces and spent an evening replacing 20 of our incandescent light bulbs with those neat-o spiral CFL bulbs. We replaced every single “standard” light bulb that we had. The only bulbs left now are some weird globe shaped ones with small connector ends in our bathrooms and a number of halogens up in our track lights and spot lights. Eventually I’d like to replace the halogens with energy-efficient ones but they are $17.99 for a two-pack and we have over 15 bulbs.
I have not yet found a collapsible reusable bag but I have been more conscious of using the bags I do have now. I have not even attempted the thermostat program either but I do still plan on getting it done before the end of the month (plus, in the meantime, even though the air conditioning is on, I have it set quite high so it’s still fairy warm in here – saving energy).
I have successfully gone vegetarian for one day each week. I replaced my meat/fish sandwich with an egg salad sandwich and I made pasta each night for dinner. I know it’s not all that creative but it was easy and contained no meat so my mission was accomplished.
Getting rid of all my excess stuff responsibly has been taking a lot longer than expected. It requires a lot of research and organization, which I don’t mind, I’m just not as far along as I would like though. I have mostly gone through everything that I want to get rid of and have sorted it somewhat into different boxes and have been giving away little bits as I go along. I have yet to go through the majority of my no longer wanted clothes but I plan on doing that tomorrow (I want to wash everything first and I need to wait until the weekend to do that)
So far, I’ve been able to find new homes for a big scented candle, some hot chocolate I can’t have, a brand new box of coffee filters and a lamp. I have also donated my old glasses to onesight and just found out that they also take non-prescription sunglasses (I have a few pairs of these that I will have to drop off). I have managed to organize and set aside a bunch of old PS2 games for a friend and/or the game store, some colouring books & crayons for a school/daycare center, a ton of great stuff for the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a bunch of coat hangers that I’m going to bring to a dry cleaner, some dishes for Goodwill, an old alarm clock and DVD player to be recycled at FutureShop and a bunch of other random stuff that I haven’t found a place for yet (computer games, scrapbook magazines, a brand new teddy bear and some girly stuff – perfume, body lotion and brand new hair brushes). I also have all my clothes and shoes to eventually drop off somewhere too once it’s washed.
I had read somewhere that you could order a Rescue Alert Sticker online for free but I haven’t been able to find any places that ship to Canada. I discovered a few different ones on amazon.com but they don’t qualify for the free shipping and I don’t even want to know what the shipping cost would be. I’m going to hit up a couple of pet stores in hopes that they might carry some. Worst case scenario, I make my own and tape it to my window. 😛
I have started getting bits of my emergency kit together and I have cleared away a spot in our closet for it when it’s all done. I can’t believe how much room you need though, there is a lot of stuff! For just two people, and two dogs, we need over 2 cases of water plus 3 days worth of food for each of us on top of all the other extras (flashlight, candles, can opener, first aid kit etc.)
Surprisingly, the tasks I have completed so far have made me really, really happy. Not only am I clearing the nagging tasks from my to-do list (and mind) but I’m doing something really good for other people, the environment and the world. I love this month!
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