Recent Comments

1. Get Rid Of Some Of Your Books - 30 Sep 2005

   I’ve just done this as we were putting up a new shelf in the living room and it seemed like a good opportunity to actually make space for all the books on the shelves (rather than on the floor, on the fronts of the shelves etc.)

   I try to get rid of books I won’t read again, though it’s very hard!

   I will remember the magazines at the doctor’s/dentist’s tip – I tend to just recycle them.

2. Organise Your Money (What You Want To Give Away) - 03 Oct 2005

   I was also already doing this and have just put it down to register. I don’t go through CAF, though, because we have Give As You Earn at work, and where a workplace runs this scheme, they usually (always?) use an administrative charity to run it, but it can be different charities, not always CAF.

   I used to give money by standing order in my old job because it made me remember, and it makes less of a “dent” if it comes out at the start of the month. But GAYE is even better as it comes out of my pay cheque, so I don’t notice at all…

   Perhaps that’s not a good thing?

   Katie

3. Give A Gift That Keeps On Giving - 03 Oct 2005

   We had some Goodgifts on our wedding list and some people loved the idea but others weren’t so keen…

   We’ve also used the Woodland Trust for e.g. christening presents – not so much because people don’t want to get an overseas-focussed gift but more because the child can then see something more concrete by going to visit “their” wood.

4. DIY vegetables! - 06 Dec 2005

   I don’t have a very big garden, but I got some seeds from the local Seed Savers and I’m determined to plant my tomatoes in time next year!

5. Phone a friend - make the effort to keep in touch! - 12 Jan 2006

   What a good idea – I have a pile of Christmas cards from people I haven’t really been in touch with, sitting by the computer for me to email them. But it would be better to phone quite a few of them, so I will commit to doing this…

6. Don't just recycle, Freecycle - 29 Aug 2006

   We use freecycle and also a local email list called Lancaster Swap Shop – especially if you have/want something that is a bit too expensive to give away, or to offer or ask for services. It’s great – we usually offer home baking or wine in exchange for things, and usually get wine or fruit and veg from people’s allotments!

7. Become A Blood Donor - 30 Aug 2006

   I would love to do this but I go to malarial areas quite frequently so they won’t let me.

8. Give Your Unwanted / Unworn Clothes To Charity - 30 Aug 2006

   Many people have said to me that they send most of their clothes to charity shops but “oh, you can’t send underwear/socks with holes/anything that you can’t get a stain out of”.

   This is rubbish.

   Charity shops tend to do the following with their clothes donations, from what I have read: Very good quality, last season’s slightly-out-of-fashion: sell in charity shops in the UK in fashionable areas

   Good quality but less fashionable: either sell in the UK in less fashionable areas, or ship to developing countries so they can be sold there

   Good quality underwear, children’s clothes that are slightly dirty or have a few holes: ship overseas for sale there. They will be sold, believe me.

   Poor quality, things with holes: sell for cleaning rags or recycling.

   So don’t put any of them in the bin! Really, they will be used!

9. Save Paper and Packaging: Dump Your Junk Mail - 13 Sep 2006

   I’ve just come across:

   www.controlyourpost.co.uk

   which looks helpful…