Clean Up Your Act

Pretty much every establishment you go to that serves food or snacks comes complete with a cleaning crew.  If you ever worked in the food and beverage retail industry, you know that cleanup is one of the least favorite chores of our teenage years.

When you venture out, why not make it a little easier on the kids (as if they don’t have it easy enough, right)?  But seriously, those little Acts of Good Stuff really do add up.  So when you go to the movies, take your popcorn and nacho trash with you and use the receptacle in the lobby of the theatre.  The next Kid’s Meal you treat your youngin’ to… take the time to clean up your mess.

Yeah, there’s an employee who is paid to do that, but why not make his shift just a little bit easier… just cuz.

Salt, Vinegar, And A Little Elbow Grease

It would be unthinkable to toss ALL of the chemicals that we purchase. Some things are just necessities of the twenty-first century, especially when it comes to cleaning products.

It’s certainly possible, however, to use SOME non-chemical alternatives. A simple Google search will help you find some ideas, like the one below that I found on OrganizedHome.com! (Just Cuz)

Furniture Polish

Most of us no longer use hard-to-apply furniture wax, but rely on oil-based polish to keep furniture protected and shiny.

Our “salad dressing” version avoids the danger of silicone oil, found in most commercial polishes and sprays. Silicone oil can penetrate tiny cracks in furniture finish and enter the wood, causing problems in the event refinishing is needed. Lemon juice dissolves dirt and smudges, while olive oil shines and protects the wood:

Mix in a sprayer bottle:

1 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup lemon juice

Shake well and apply a small amount to a flannel cleaning rag or cleaning cloth. Spread evenly over furniture surface. Turn cloth to a dry side and polish dry.

Paint A Railing

Do you have a honeydew (Honey Do?) list? Does your partner?

How about sneaking a peek at your partner’s list, and find something that they have planned, and take it upon yourself to do it for them.

Something unexpected. Something that he or she would never expect you to do. Even if it takes eight times longer for you to do it, and you start to regret offering three hours into it *grin*, do it out of love and because you wanna do something nice for them. I’ll bet that if you start the project, work your way through it (again, no matter how long it takes), and complete it, even if it’s not quite as good as your partner would have done, they will be most appreciative of your valiant effort.

Paint a railing. Install some book shelves. Darn some socks (do people darn socks anymore?).

Do it because you love ‘em, and just cuz…

Start A Shopping “Club”

This one blurrs the “Do Good Stuff” with “Do Green Stuff.”

I may be one of the few people who actually enjoy grocery shopping. Well, maybe it’s not so surprising, seeing as I need to lose some major weight.

In any case, I have started to share my bi-weekly grocery shopping with a friend of mine. It turns out, this is quite a money saver, not to mention cutting down the amount of gasoline consumed by making two separate shopping trips.

My friend and I both clip coupons, whether it is for a product we use, or not. She will almost always have a couple that I can use, and vice versa.

In addition, we sometimes purchase bulk items and then split them. Not only does this save us a nice chunk of change, but we end up with less wasteful packaging!

So ask a neighbor, or even two, if they want to share the ride during your shopping excursions. It’s a great way to catch up on each other’s lives, save money, and save energy… just cuz.

Help A Neighbor Out

With summer comes yard work.

I hate yard work, and I’m thankful that I live in an apartment, so I don’t have to worry about mowing the lawn, picking up twigs, watering or raking the grass, etc.

However, the other day, a friend of mine mentioned a “nice thing” that made me think about doing things in our yards. Apparently, she had hung some laundry out to dry (not only saving the electricity, but you know how nice sun-dried linens smell!). She needed to run some errands, and left the house. Storm clouds started to roll into the scene, and unfortunately, she was not home to bring her linens in the house.

Thankfully, a neighbor happened to be in their own back yard, and saw that the linens were out on the clothes line. The neighbor looked up and realized it was only a matter of minutes before the skies were going to let loose. So the neighbor ran next door and gathered up the laundry before the rains came.

This neighbor didn’t HAVE to do it, but out of kindness they decided to do it, just cuz.

So… the next chance you get to help a neighbor out, whether it be pulling their laundry in before it rains, or chasing and replacing the garbage can lid that blew away in the wind, do it just cuz.

Clear The Jam; Replenish The Paper

If you work in an office environment, you are well aware of the myriad of frustrations that can come into play during an average day.

Last week I was in our copier area, a room that houses all of our everyday office supplies in addition to our multi-functional device (MFD). I was getting some folders when I noticed the copier was jammed. Although I did not need to use the copier, I was still annoyed that someone had left it jammed. Instead of billing it forward (as opposed to “paying it forward“) (), I thought that a more karmic-ly positive thing to do would be to relieve the jam the machine. It was not a simple jam, so I understand the previous user’s frustration. But I cleared all the jams I found. I took it a step further and checked the paper bins, replenishing those that were at or near empty.

It only took a couple of minutes, and the next person who needed to use the machine wouldn’t be faced with yet another irritating thing in the office. So next time you see something in the office that is “broke” – even if you didn’t break it, or it’s not in your job description to fix it… if you can, just do it.

Nobody needs to know you fixed it, and you certainly aren’t required to fix it, just fix it just cuz.

Leave Some Time For The Next Guy

I used to wash my clothes at a laundromat. Now, I’m fortunate enough to have a clothes washing facility in my building. When I used the laundromat, the going rate was 25¢ for fifteen minutes, and I’d usually throw four quarters in for my sixty minutes of drying time.

Occasionally I would check my clothes after 40 or 50 minutes, and at times, they’d be perfectly dry, leaving ten to twenty minutes on the timer. Instead of leaving my dry clothes drying for that added time, I would point out to someone else that there was time left on my dryer.

Try it yourself. Why not save someone a quarter? Just cuz!