Before you donate, sell or throw away extra clothes, make sure your 72-hour emergency kit is well-stocked. Every person in your household should have one, with everything you’d need to get by for at least three days. This is the perfect place to use extra clothing, toiletry samples, etc.

If you should ever need to evacuate your home in a hurry, whether because of some disaster (flood, earthquake, chemical spill, etc.) or just because a family member elsewhere is critically ill and you need to rush to catch a flight, having these kits prepared ahead of time could make a huge difference.

All of our children are grown and have homes of their own. They also all live within forty miles of us. When I am making up a box for the thrift store, if there are items that I think might interest one or more of the children, I email them to see if they are interested. That way, if they truly want and can use something, it gets passed to someone else in the family. If not, no one is put in the position of feeling they need to take something just because they think I want them to. Works fine for us.

On the other topic, I have this thought – when a friend offers me something (within reason), I try to always accept the gift – someone once reminded me that it’s a gift to the other person if you accept THEIR gift.
I used to be the person that didn’t accept those little gifts from family/friends, and then I realized I felt ungracious. Now I smile and say “thanks!” and you can see the other feels good about it too. Obviously if they are wanting to give you something you can’t possibly take, that’s another matter. And things can be donated etc after the fact, like you did.

Here’s the catch – eventually someone will offer something that you really do need, and it totally makes your day! And you can do the same for others…just my two cents.

The line that really stood out for me was

“The exhibition hall in particular had an empty and echoey feel that I had not seen in years past. I talked to one exhibitor, my friend Dr. David Robinson, the prolific author of several books and the owner of Rapid Cycler Press, who told me that ever since the drug companies had stopped giving out free gifts, the attendance at exhibit halls was down.”

And the guys who attend this meeting are doctors! I guess everyone can get caught up in the “free” mentality. Once you see through it, though, you are, in fact, freer.

BigNan

I don’t want all that mess. I couldn’t believe that people were rushing around to get the stuff in the first place!