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BRAS that are slightly used can be donated to FREE THE GIRLS, a non profit that helps women exiting s*x trafficking to reintegrate into their communities.

One of the pillars of this organization is to give women the ability to earn a safe income. Something simple like bras are a common item in many households around the world.

Free the Girls collects bras in North America and other parts of the world, then ships them to their programs in vulnerable communities. The women in their programs sell the bras in the market to make a safe and sustainable income.

Read more about their story

I’ll be taking mine to a drop off location 5 minutes from my home. Super easy! I know something as personal as my bras are getting into the right hands and not the trash or landfill, and they are making a positive and lasting impact in another woman’s life. Love it!

You can find a church, retail store or organization near you.

*xtraffickingawareness

I really had no idea. I’m not here to guilt anyone because, listen, I’ve been throwing away food scraps for years and just now learning what that does to the environment.

But it kind of blows my mind that the average person in the US throws away the majority of the textiles they don’t want versus recycling them. I haven’t looked at other countries but curious to see what this looks like worldwide.

I know throwing stuff away is easy and convenient, but there are so many ways to get the things you don’t want into the right hands versus our landfills.

A few ideas:
- Have a clothing swap with your friends
-Sell clothes on Poshmark, or my teenage son sells clothes to his friends for less than they’d pay at a thrift store.
-Donate clothes to a vintage clothing store, or sometimes they’ll pay top dollar for your Mickey Mouse t-shirt.
- Donate to Goodwill, ARC, church ministries or homeless shelters.
- Use pillow cases to cover fragile platters, vases, silver items that are stored away until you need them.
- Bring blankets, sheets, drapes to transitional living homes, domestic violence shelters, youth emergency shelters.
- Donate suits and professional clothing to Dress for Success or Hire Heroes, USA.

These are just a few ideas. They take a little time but big donation centers like VOA and ARC will pick up from your home.

Getting this lovely couple started with their new solar system. Their son just turned 17 and they feel like everything is getting so expensive. They were looking for ways to cut costs and heard they could reduce their energy bill by going solar. With the tax incentive, along with the financing they chose, we can lock them into payments of $103/month whereas their electricity bill is projected to be at $168/mo in less than 5 years and just getting higher. They were nervous at first but now really excited!

Hey all, I said I’d get back on how this t.p. Is working out. We totally love it! Very soft (which I was worried about) and durable - 2-3 squares and we’re good so I’m thinking we’ll save money. Plus this company helps vulnerable communities have access to clean toilets so our resources are going to a great cause. Made from bamboo which is plentiful and reduces the amount of trees that are cut down every day.

COMPOSTING This was a combo of broccoli scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, banana peels and tomatoes 20 hours ago. Like what?! Blown away.

My customer’s new solar system is helping to offset greenhouse gas production. The equivalent of planting 1,670 trees over 25 years, avoiding 161,425 miles of driving. And he’s saving money.

QUOTE Definitely a lesson for this time in my life. I love how while the leaves are dying away, the vine still produces fruit. Patience is hard for someone like me who likes to control things! But if I remember that everything has a season, I can enjoy what’s happening now while I patiently await the beauty of what’s coming next.

NATURE My son sent me this pic from the Japanese Garden in Portland. He spent part of his day there while visiting the city and exploring. He said they encourage you to unplug, turn off your phones and have a sensory experience. It’s these little havens that remind me just how powerful nature is and how it can shift us so quickly.