365 Days of Giving January 12th and 13th.

As usual, I bite off more than I can check and suddenly fall waaaaay behind in everything. The good news? I have been keeping up with my donations. The bad news is that sitting down for a few minutes to write about it seems to elude me. This week, I will attempt to catch up!

Today is about January 12th and 13th. Both are going out together along with a few others items over to the Salvation Army to find a new home.

January 12th: I have done a few breast cancer walks and every time they give you one of their hats as a thank you. I would love to see them use that money instead toward more research, but I digress. And I accept the hat. A hat which I will never wear.

total donation count: 40
total days: 12

January 13th: Most people who know me know that I don't like the typical products or items, especially when it comes to items designed for girls. Someone thoughtfully gave me this purse, but I have never gotten around to using it and since I usually use purses that go over my head, this purse will probably continue to just sit in my closet. I would rather see it go to a new home instead.

total donation count: 41

total days: 13

365 Days of Giving January 11th.

Another freecycle giveaway: this gel wrist protector seemed like a good idea since I do so much typing. Yet considering that I am a "hunt and peck" type, my wrist don't even come near the right position for proper typing. So this item has sat in its original box for at least two years. Time for it to go!


total donation count: 39
total days: 11


Have you entered my giveaway yet?

http://http//funretro.blogspot.com/2011/01/365-days-of-giving-giveaway.html

365 Days of Giving January 10th.

full confession: I buy things because they're cute whether or not I need it. Sound familiar to anyone? This is reason #1 why I own things like giant paper clip/clothespin/magnet/whatever. Cute, yes. Useful for me, not a chance. I plan on finding some cute kid in my school to pass this on to. Perhaps this will help inspire more homework-doing in some way :)

total donation count: 38
total days: 10

Have you entered my giveaway yet?

http://funretro.blogspot.com/2011/01/365-days-of-giving-giveaway.html

365 Days of Giving Giveaway!

A Giveaway!

As you may know, I have decided to embark on a 365 project in which I give away at least one item per day to a variety of different people, some known and some unknown. Some items are personal whereas others are work-related. Feel free to peruse my other postings to see what I have been freed of so far this year.

I thought I would go in a different direction this week and make Friday's giveaway go to someone online, which means it could be you!

The purse below was given to me for Christmas. It is brand new and was given to me by my aunt. It is in perfect condition and measures 9"H x 7"W. There is one main pocket and also a zippered compartment in there as well. When empty, the purse lies flat against you and is super easy to wear on your shoulder or over your head. If you love a very ethnic look, this purse is perfect for you. While I like it very much myself, I have one that is very similar and in keeping with my goal this year, I am sharing items that I do not need.

This Sunday, I will select one winner and will send it on its way to you on Monday, January 17th, 2011. Below are the rules for entering. You will receive one entry for every step you take below:

1- follow me on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/funretro
2- follow my blog: http://www.funretro.blogspot.com
3- send a tweet with a link to this giveaway and include @funretro in the tweet
4- friend me on facebook: user name: funretro
5- post a link on your facebook account



Once you have done any or all of the steps, leave a comment below and tell me which steps you took. Each step counts as one entry.

BONUS: for every day you send a tweet or post a link on facebook you will receive one ADDITIONAL entry.


This giveaway is open to anyone in the world!

Thanks and have a great day!

365 Days of Giving January 8th and 9th.

OK, so technically I cheated on this one. I knew the next things I wanted to give away were school related so I gave them away today but am counting them as January 8th and 9th, which were weekend days.



The three packs of markers above were given to a relatively new teacher in my school. Crayola makes multicultural markers for children to sue to represent a wide variety of people. Once I stopped working as a classroom teacher and became mobile a lot of my supplies just sat and sat in storage. I thought this would be a better use of them

total donation count: 34
total days: 8


Three American Girls Smart Girl's Planners have also been lying around for ages. I picked these up at a teacher supply site but never ended up giving them away. I passed them on to the same teacher to share with girls she think could really benefit from them.

total donation count: 37
total days: 9

365 Days of Giving January 7th.

Why are those of us who are teachers such hoarders? I keep raiding my desk at school as well and came across bookmarks. Lots and lots of bookmarks. And all are still sitting in their original packs. Each pack you see here contains 36 bookmarks. That means I have 360 just in this photo alone. Today I will give away 3 packs of bookmarks to teachers, kids in the halls, and to anyone who will say yes. That's 108 giveaways, but I think I will just count it as 3 (one for each pack).

total donation count: 31

total days: 7

365 Days of Giving January 5th

Continuing on my freecycle journey (although no one has emailed me about the other items I posted..I have hope!), today I am listing a large clear glass ribbed vase. This is the kind you get form the florist when flowers are delivered. I guess somewhere along the way I got flowers from someone and decided to hold on to this vase, even though I never get flowers or, when I do, they come in yet another vase.

I am sure if I dig deep enough I will find a week's worth of these vases. Ridiculous.

total donation count: 27

total days: 5

365 Days of Giving January 4th.

I am still raiding drawers, closets, and everything in between looking for new things to give away. I can see how this can quickly become an obsession. I thought I would stick with freecycle again today and give away these two serving spoons. I bought them YEARS ago when I got my first apartment and thought I would be one of those people who cooks. I don't know if you can tell by the photo, but no, these were never used. What's even funnier? I actually have a SECOND set of them! Seriously, what's my problem?

So on to freecycle they go and hopefully to a new home soon.

total donation count: 26

total days: 4

365 Days of Giving January 3rd

Ever heard of freecycle? If not, you have got to check it out. What a great way to give and get things for free rather than throwing the away or visiting the local big box stores. I have been using it off and on for several years and this past year got really serious about it. For the next three days, I will be giving one item away a day.

Today's item? A white Cuisinart Handheld mixer. Not in perfect working condition, but for anyone even slightly handy, this will be a great find. And since we have a second one already (why? why?), we did not have to go to a store to buy another one.

total donation count: 24

total days: 3

365 Days of Giving. Jan 1 and 2

A couple of years ago I heard from a friend about a personal challenge he was planning on taking. It involved giving away one personal item a day for 365 days. As an avid believer in the motto of"reuse, reduce, recycle", I thought this would be perfect for me. I have to say, I followed it perfectly for all of 2009. Last year, it seems, I took a little vacation from this although informally (i.e. not keeping track) I did give away tons of things. I thought this year, as a personal challenge to myself, I would do it again, this time formally and will track myself here.

I certainly cannot promise to write every day. For those of you who know me personally you can understand why (teaching, etsy, and graduate school). But I will chronicle as best I can.

For the first couple of days, January 1st and 2nd, I raided my drawers and came up with 23 different shirts to get things started. All of them will be donated to one of my favorite places, the Salvation Army in Newark. NJ. I guess technically I am making my first 23 donations, but I am just going to count it for days 1 and 2.

Total donation count: 23

Total days: 2