What Would Awesome YOU Do?

Awesomize your Business, Your Life, and the World

The Ever-Growing List of Ideas to Awesomize the World

I’ll be sharing lots of inspiration and ideas over the course of the 30 days of Awesomization, but I also wanted to give you a one-stop list of ideas for awesomizing the world right here. Come back often, it’ll keep growing all month long.

Clear the Clutter and Make the World a Better Place:

Looking at the extra “stuff” and clutter in my house is downright depressing.  But I know there are people in need who would thank God for any of it that I sent their way. So, why should I sit and judge myself on the things that are sitting around that I’m not even using when I could RELEASE them to other people who will actually use them.

storageunitfloodActually, I learned a big lesson about this in May 2014. Pensacola had an epic flood and that flood hit a lot of houses, including my storage unit where I kept off season things and keepsakes.

What you may not realize that is after the flood, the storage unit company did not let us in for 5 days. After three feet of water sat in there for 5 days, everything was moldy and falling apart. We were unable to recover pretty much anything, including my son’s ultrasound pictures, my baptism dress from when I was a baby, and many more things.

The bad in this situation became a positive in that I learned to give more things away to people who can use them NOW.

On that note, let’s brainstorm some ideas.

  1. Clothing. I find clothing to be one of the hardest and one of the easiest things to go through and donate to charity at the same time. On the one hand, I have clothing collecting dust in my closet because I’ve either gained or lost weight. But on the other hand, I have clothing collecting dust in my closet. WHY would I hold onto those when there are women in battered women’s shelters who NEED that clothing. Plus, as I lose weight, I’ll want new clothes anyway.
  2. Books. Are you a book hoarder? I used to be. However, I realized how silly it is to hold onto so many books. Yes, I still have the ones that are meaningful to me. But the books I’ve read? Shouldn’t I give others the same opportunity to enjoy the stories inside?
  3. Food. We all have food in our pantries that we bought on a whim and now sits there. Give it away if you’re not going to eat it in the next month. It does no good to us to dust cans of food. In actuality it feels a little bit silly, right? At least it does to me.
  4. Got old towels and sheets? Don’t throw them away. Animal shelters love old towels, sheets and blankets. So if they get too rugged for use in the house, drop them by the nearest rescue or shelter. They’ll be put to good use.
  5. Hotel soaps? If you’re like me, you may have bags of these things. Take them by the nearest women’s shelter. Oftentimes they show up in the middle of the night and need the bare necessities. If you’re feeling extra awesome, swing by the dollar store first and stock up on soap, deodorant, toothbrushes and tampons. Bring those by, too.
  6. Buzz and Woody. If you have a kid my son’s age, you probably watched Toy Story many times. The concept is that the boy that owns the toys is growing up and the toys are sad because he no longer plays with them. Do you have toys sitting around unused? If so, there are children out there that would LOVE to have them.  Of course, I’m not talking about your grandpa’s train set, but other toys.

Reach out to Someone Who Needs It Today:

Awesomizing the world to me, means simply to make someone’s day who is outside your immediate family or circle. Here are some ideas…

  1. Write a quick note and send it to one of your grade school teachers to let them know how they positively impacted you.
  2. Send a hand-written thank you card
  3. If you have an elderly neighbor, bring in his/her trashcan when you bring in your own.
  4. When mowing your lawn, keep going and mow the neighbors (if they aren’t the super-perfect lawn types.) 🙂
  5. Have a friend who has had surgery or who is going through an illness. Don’t ask “What can I do for you” – just DO something. Oftentimes those in chemo or facing difficult times won’t know how to ask or what to ask for, even when you give them permission. Instead, if it’s someone you know well, just show up with a casserole or a bag of fresh fruit or even a mop if they’ve been shut in for awhile. The worst that will happen is they’ll say “not now” and you can try again soon.
  6. If you have a friend who has a loved one in the hospital or they are, ask about their pets. Do they need care? How can you help?

Got Time but No Money? 

  • Volunteer. Animal shelters, assisted living facilities, zoos and other organizations need you.

Just Click – and Share.

  • Shop on smile.amazon.com instead, and automatically donate 0.5% of your purchase to the charity of your choice.
  • Share your favorite awesome stuff with your Facebook and Twitter followers. If you enjoy a podcast or book or blog, they probably will, too!

Go to greater good and choose what means most to you and click it today. Then share it on social media so others can, too.

There is a button on top of each page listed below that says “Click here – it’s free!” and they donate based on clicks.