City living has become a lot greener as of late thanks, in part, to the efforts of non-profits like Evergreen. Evergreen is a national charity that supports greener, more sustainable communities in our cities. (They’re also the people behind the Evergreen Brick Works in the Don Valley — a nature-focused community centre replete with a weekend farmer’s market.) They help to fund and facilitate greening projects at schools, community centres and public spaces in cities across Canada. That’s definitely something I can get behind.
With it’s “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” campaign Energizer Canada has also gotten behind those efforts by contributing $100, 000 to Evergreen. And that’s not all. We can all pitch in by going to the Now That’s Positive Energy website and pledging to do three or more kind acts in our daily lives. For every pledge, Energizer will add another dollar to its contribution.
It didn’t take me any time to pledge my five acts of kindness:
- Take shorter showers: Granted, with a newborn plus two under my care this is pretty much a give-me. In fact, I’ll probably even go one step further and skip more than a few showers while I’m at it!
- Hang the laundry out to dry (weather permitting): I actually already do this sometimes, but I should do it more often. I love how fresh line-dried clothes smell and I even love the way they look hanging from my two (!) clotheslines that span both my backyard and my parking spots. And with our new HE washer, they don’t even take much longer in the sun than they do in the dryer.
- Donate clothes I don’t wear anymore to charity (an act of giving that benefits the landfill too): Oh yeah! With three growing kids (and six plus years of changing sizes pre-post-and-during pregnancies myself) we have a lot of cast offs that should go to charity. I can’t wait to organize those closets!
- Do my laundry during off-peak hours: Okay, this one is truly going to be a challenge. I need to get into a routine that involves throwing a load in every evening (or early in the morning if I want to hang dry those clothes!). Too often, I find myself running the washer/dryer and dishwasher mid-day just because if I don’t do it now, when will it get done?
- Tell my kids how much I love them: As much as I already do this and enjoy doing this, it’s always good to remember how much it means. At the end of a long day — or in the middle of a meltdown en route to the school bus — it’s easy to forget that I’m not the only one who gets tired and upset. Sometime a simple “I love you,” can make all the difference.
There’s lots of pledges to choose from, so click on over and choose yours. It’s a worthwhile exercise that also gives to a good cause. Win-win!
Disclosure – I am participating in the Energizer Canada & Evergreen “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Energizer Canada & Evergreen. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.