I recently found out about a local charity in our area that provides care to women in need, specifically pregnant women. Although Hope Unlimited Pregnancy Crisis Center has been around for several years, I’d never really known MUCH about it. As a pregnant mother now, I know how bittersweet a pregnancy can be. I know how fears about money and life situations can creep into even the strongest of minds, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be confronted with doubts that other women have to face every day. For me, this charity is an important one that tugs at my heart. It is a place that women can go and learn about their choices (although this center does not perform abortions), and should she choose to keep her baby, she is given access to medical care – regardless of whether she can afford it or not. The charity provides not only medical care and counseling, but also classes and other programs to help get women (and men, too) back on their feet.

There’s so much more, so much that it’d take a good hour for me to just TELL you, much less write it in a blog post…

Steven and I felt called to raise money for this awesome source of hope for so many, and we’re hoping our friends and family from across the world will join in. We’re stepping out on faith and offering $100 as a giveaway to one lucky person who chooses to donate $10 or more (to be drawn at random). Of course, we completely understand if you find yourself unable to donate or give – and that’s okay. We really hope that whether you can give or not, you’ll visit the original post and leave a comment to help cheer us on. Every voice counts and we want to hear from all of you…we need to hear from you.

(If you DO wish to donate, you can use the widget below.)

Love,
Ashley

Welcome back!


Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

I figured I’d try my less-trash challenge again today.  I’m kind of intrigued, if I do say so myself.  And, I’m quite curious as to what the results would be should I do this for any longer than a day.  So, I marched on.  On cleaning day.  Well, sort of.

Today, I trashed the following:

One Diaper.

Toilet Paper.  Like I said, I am NOT going to a) sit there for hours to “drip dry”, b) use my hand, or c) use cloth.  Nuh uh.  HOWEVER, if I happen upon some more-eco-friendly TP than my supersoft Charmin that is soft and not see-through thin, I may consider that.  Maybe.  (This is going to bring in some interesting searches on analytics.  Can’t wait.)

Paper Towels.  Only for Glory messes, though (my dog is only sort of potty trained…and, she “fakes it ” sometimes outside just to come inside and pee.)

2 Shaklee Cleaning Wipes . TWO!  Did you hear me?  I cleaned the entire bathroom, and that’s the only trash I had!  Woot!

Some Floss.  Uh, yeh.

One Cotton Ball soaked in Witch Hazel.  –In case you were wondering, it’s a natural astringent and skin soother.

Disposable Razor, which would no longer shave.  Anything.  It was purple.  You’ll be quizzed later.

Frozen Mixed Veggie Bag.  I make Lorelei’s food (and have been since she started solids) soooooo…yeh.

Colored Pencil Shavings.  I had to sharpen a few pencils.  I guess I could’ve technically thrown them outside but it was raining…and I’m lazy.

Okay…so that was IT.  My only trash. You have to be oh so proud of me, right?  I think it’s pretty good.  Not 0(zero), but IF I did 0(zero), it wouldn’t be a forever thing, you know?  I AM cutting down though.

And now, here’s the fun part.  Stuff I’m RE-PURPOSING:

1 TP Roll and 1 Paper Towel Roll and some Dryer Lint.  Stuff the Dryer Lint in the Paper Towel/TP Roll for fire starters.  More Ideas for Paper Towel Rolls: Use them to make bracelets, organize cords or Christmas lights.

1 Empty Wipes Canister (Shaklee).  I haven’t figured out what I’m doing with this guy just yet.  Hmmm.  But, I’ll figure something out.

Hand Soap Container.  I refilled it with concentrated hand soap and added a bit of water to make it last longer.  Voila.

Plastic Walmart/Kroger Bag (I forget which).  Used it to line the bathroom trash can.

Want to know what you can do with all of your lovely trash to REPURPOSE it?  Try these cool websites:

Re-purposing your trash 

Replayground 

WhipUp 

And then… To win some cool prizes, check here:

Shaklee Go Green Cleaning Set (hosted by yours truly!!)

Earth Day Celebration with lots of goodies to win 

More giveaways!! 

I figured that since I issued the challenge, I should be one of the first to jump in feet first. So, today when I woke up, I was ready to go – I’ll show you, I can reduce and reuse with minimal trash. Um, sort of. Maybe?

My intention for this entire challenge was more focused on having people become MORE AWARE and less about what actually went into the trash bags…

Today, my first activity resulted in trash. A dirty diaper. Not only did I already have trash at 9AM, but it was stinky trash. I changed the diaper and replaced it with a fresh cloth diaper. (By the way, I was going to take pictures but decided not to, you can thank me later.) Then, I headed to the bathroom to mix up the diaper wipe solution (a squirt bottle full of water and a squirt of her baby wash) so it’d be on hand for later (I use cloth wipes for non explosive diapers, cutting down on waste).

Then, at breakfast, I realized another place I create trash. The paper towels I use to wipe her face and hands and high chair tray after eating. So, today…I got out a wash cloth instead. I really do need to get a few “special wash cloths” to keep in the kitchen that are just for this purpose. Also, instead of reaching for the Kleenex when her nose started running, I used a cloth (old -as in she’s outgrown them -burpcloths).

I was feeling awfully proud of myself when I almost sidestepped into a puddle of Glory pee (the dog). Thanks for that. I’m definitely using papertowels for this mess. Sorry. I hurriedly took Glory out JUST IN CASE. If she pees outside, she MIGHT not go inside…which means, less trash, right? Right???!!!

So, moving on…I found a bit of tin foil hubby used to cook with last night and forgot to throw out. I threw it out. That counts as trash today. DANGIT. And then…the 2 DHL shipping envelopes got trashed…. DANGIT.

And then…I had to pee. (Useful information for you right there.) I considered my options and grabbed the toilet paper anyhow. I’d rather hold it then save TP. Sorry again. If it makes you feel any better, I only use 3-4 squares of Charmin Ultra.

Then, I made a large free-shaped (meaning it’s from remnant fabric and not an exact square…or circle…or triangle) cloth pillowcase type thing to stuff fabric scraps in. Once it’s full, I plan to close up the small opening and give it to Glory for her dog bed. She’s not happy with the shop rags I threw in there…she keeps pulling them out. So, she’ll get a “mattress” and I don’t have to throw it away. Plus, it’s totally washable.

Next, I had a few oranges on the counter top…I was afraid that they’d turned bad (mom would kill me as she gave them to me…err…a month ago?). But, no black spots. No spots at all. I opened one up and tasted…yep. Still good. Sweet! I cut them all in half and had my therapy, standing there juicing oranges. Gave baby some diluted juice and saved the rest (in the refrigerator for later). Then, I cut out the pulp of 1 of them and sliced up the peel. I’m saving the peel to try a candy recipe later tonight. What can I say? I was intrigued. I dumped the rest of the orange waste into my mini compost I made beside the house (it’s in a small crate).

Of course, we had a couple of casualties. Two bags were too close and within orange juice squeezing range and got stickified. I trashed those. I guess I really could have rinsed them out…but too late. I’m not digging them back out.

Then, it was time to do a little research. I discovered that the town my husband works in offers recycling. They can recycle paper/cardboard items all the time and plastic stuff they have certain days set aside (like 6x a year). SO, I wrote down the info and called the office to make sure I got everything. “Do I need to cut out the plastic windows on envelopes? No? Great. Can I recycle postcards? Yes? Awesome. Magazines, newspapers, books, business cards, brochures, and frozen pizza boxes? Yes? Lovely.” So, I made a “recycling area” by the trash can…just a paper bag where I put paper items to be recycled. Later, I will group the cardboard boxes in the garage to take to the recycling center. Or…for Steven to take to the recycling center

Total in trash for today:

- dirty diaper (ONE)
- piece of aluminum foil
- paper towels
-toilet paper
- two bags
- empty frozen pea bag
- DHL shipping envelopes (2)

Not bad, not bad…

Have you ever stopped to think about the impact we make on this world? Have you ever stopped to think about the garbage that we daily consume and throw out? Have you ever thought about what it would be like if we all reduced our trash for one day…much less, for an entire year…or *gasp* for the rest of our lives?

April 22nd is Earth Day, and with that, comes a challenge for all of us to do something better for our Earth. And so, I have a challenge for you

Between now and April 22nd, for ONE DAY, try to reduce your trash to as close to “zero” as you can get it – And then document it. If you have a blog or website, write about it. Take pictures if you want. Or, if you have no blog/website, come back here and tell me about your experience (in my comments).

For one day, see if you can have no trash (or see how close you can get). Re-purpose the things you would normally throw away…and go out of your way to use things that aren’t encased in plastic, paper, styrofoam, paper, etc.

If you are up for the challenge, please sign up in my comments. And, to make the deal a little more sweet, I’m going to do a giveaway (which will be drawn from the participants names). Don’t forget to leave a link to your post if you do it!!

I got another order completed!

3 Thank you cards (ordered by my mom!)

And, she donated some extra: making it an even $20

GRAND TOTAL so far?: $40 for Allie

I’m ready. Let me make you something. For Allie.

I had told you about a girl named Allie, and my offer to help a while back in this post.

Well, I just wanted to update you guys! Susan Murphy from Susan Murphy Inc. just ordered a set of 10 cards (with matching envelopes). Her only criteria? They have her business name on them.

And, so I made some…

Thanks, Susan! (You can visit her site HERE.)

Don’t forget! I’ll CRAFT FOR ALLIE until next Friday, so if you want to place an order, let me know!

More details here.

Remember my Thursday Thirteen post on First Impressions from 2 weeks ago? I listed a bunch of stuff that I had made. Well, I just found out about a really sad and tragic story about a girl named Allie, who came home from college to visit her mother – only to find that she had passed away. So, we are uniting together to do what we can. And, here’s what I’m offering up. For the next week (7 days), I will be selling some of my wares – and then donating EVERY PENNY to Allie. I can make scarves (even for your little ones), hats, pendants (like the ones I showed), and card sets.

Please email me (or leave a comment with your email address so I can email you) and I’ll get to crafting for you. It really is a limited time offer…and it’s for a really good cause. And – if there is something else you’d like made for you…just ask, chances are, I can do that too.

PLEASE NOTE: This was originally posted on my First Impressions blog. I’m extending my offer until March 14, 2008. All profits (less shipping and materials) will go directly to Allie. It’s for a good cause, and you get something cool – so why not? Not sure if I make it? Just ask!