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Archive for the ‘Clothing’ Category


My Facebook friends already know that this past week ended grumpily for me. I was referred to as a “Slacktivist”, and while it was said tongue-in-cheek, it still ticked me off. Before I continued on in my dark mood, I figured I’d best check the definition of the term. Perhaps I was misjudging. Neither Merriam Webster nor Oxford dictionaries online had “Slacktivist”, so I went with often trusty Wikipedia.

Today’s definition

Wikipedia says, “The word is considered a pejorative term that describes “feel-good” measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. The acts also tend to require little personal effort from the slacktivist.” Hurumph.

“Examples …  include signing internet petitions, the wearing of wristbands (“awareness bracelets”) … putting a ribbon magnet on a vehicle, joining a Facebook group, posting issue-oriented YouTube videos, … or taking part in short-term boycotts such as Buy Nothing Day or Earth Hour.” I don’t exactly get why these are judged as ‘bad” things. Some are, indeed, things that Nils and I have chosen to do, others not, but each can be effective in building awareness and can have Impact, albeit in their own small way.

The definition I choose

I’ve decided to accept this in good spirit because I discovered that the term was “… coined by Dwight Ozard in1995,” with a different meaning. It was used to describe the young people of that time doing good work on a small, personal, individual scale (rather than en masse in demonstrations, marches or sit-ins). In my view, that could mean helping a small community or classroom, or one child, animal or adult in need. As a good friend of mine reminded me, “From small drops, big oceans are formed.”

The truth of the matter? 52 Weeks of Impact isn’t about coordinating large efforts, it’s about “achiev(ing) maximum impact with ‘reasonable investment’ of time, energy or money.” That could also be read as “little personal effort,” I suppose.

This week’s challenge

In the spirit of Slacktivism (by the definition I choose), I invite our lazy friends and followers to join us this week in doing as little as possible, with maximum Impact. No, honestly, this is no joke. I am forever surprised at what kind of opportunities there are to have Impact by doing little. See just how much Impact you can have by NOT going out of your way.

We’re going to run this Slacktivist challenge for the next two weeks and:

We’ll donate $25 U.S./20 Euro* to the winner’s favorite charity

Here’s the challenge:

  • Send us your best Slacktivist Impact Effort(s) — the lazier the better, but of course it must have some Impact. Give a brief description of your Impact Effort (provide a link to an organization, if applicable) and the Impact you think you had. Submit below in comments or go to Contact us. (Make sure you leave an email address for us to contact you)
  • The Efforts must be things you’ve done (we’ll have to trust you on this).
  • You may submit as many Slacktivist Impact Efforts as you want by midnight EST on Tuesday, October 5th, 2010.
  • On (or about) October 6th, Nils and I will short-list what we think are the top Efforts and (as soon as possible) we’ll post them online for voting.
  • The Slacktivist Impact Effort with the most number of votes wins.
  • The winner may choose any 501(c) or equivalent officially recognized charity and Nils and I will donate $25 U.S*.

Efforts will be judged on any or all of the following criteria:

  • Effectiveness,
  • Ratio of Laziness to Impact,
  • Coolness Factor,
  • Originality, and
  • whatever else strikes us at the moment.

Some examples to get your creative Impact juices flowing

  • Earlier this year we did a week of Effortless Impact with click-to-donate sites. Since then, we’ve discovered that’s only the beginning.
  • If you’ve read of a company doing something that’s contrary to your political or ethical leanings, choose not to support them, and send them a letter or a simple email telling them why you’ve not a customer.  (A list of current consumer boycotts can be found at Ethical Consumer).
  • It’s the start of autumn (or spring for those in the southern hemisphere) and time for autumn/spring cleaning. What can you give away to charity? Click for decluttering ideas and clearing out closet ideas.
  • Heading to your local library? Take a glance  through your books and see what you can donate.
  • Going to a grocery store, library, school, yoga class, or somewhere else that has a community bulletin board? Print out a pdf flyer on the symptoms of ovarian cancer and post it to create awareness.
  • Do you play Farmville on Facebook? Just by playing and collecting virtual school supplies from your FV friends you can work toward having Zynga donate $100k U.S. toward building a school for Haitian children.

Got questions? Please feel free to write us below.

Now, go out (or stay in) and be a good Slacktivist!

*Approximately $20 EUR, $26 AUD, 16 GBP, $26 CAD, 178 ZAR

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Dark clouds, spitting rain and an uncomfortable chill were our companions for morning coffee on Saturday. It was pretty dispiriting. Did we really have to go outside and get things done?

By the time we finished our morning ablutions and discussions on the day’s plan, the clouds had cleared a bit — in the sky, in our heads and in our moods — and we gathered up our materials and mettle and mobilized for a day of personal errands and Impact efforts.

Open Bookshelf and Contributing to the Literacy of a Small One

Sidewalk "Open Bookshelf"

First stop was Open Bookshelf, a freestanding “shelf” that’s bolted to the sidewalk a few blocks from our apartment. It’s a free “serve yourself” exchange where anyone can bring or take a book or books. For months, Nils and I have talked about participating. This weekend, we went with a dozen or so mostly English books, and just before we headed out, Nils added a German language book of Hagar the Horrible comic strips.

As we were finishing shelving our books, a woman approached with her granddaughter of about four years old.

“She’s fascinated by books,” the woman explained as the little girl looked on with wide-eyed curiosity.

“Ooh, I have just the thing,” Nils said. He reached back into the shelf with his own child-like enthusiasm.

“She doesn’t read yet …” the woman said doubtingly.

Nils pulled out his Hagar the Horrible like a magician would a rabbit, and squatted down next to the little one. “Look here, you can look at the pictures and have someone read the words with you.” She followed along mesmerized.

Nils offered this prize over to her and she accepted it with a shy smile of gratitude. We watched as she toddled off happily with grandma to the bus stop.

Impact, Yes. Satisfaction, big time! That little girl’s smile yielded at least 100+ satisfaction points! Perhaps some of our other books will find equally worthy new homes.

A darn good start to the day!

Clothing and Toiletries for the Homeless

Back in January, we featured die Gruft, Vienna’s well-known homeless facility. Since then, we’ve gone back a couple of times, but it’s been several months. A quick morning dig through the closet produced a few tops, a sweater and a pair of (too small) nearly-new trousers. They were added to a bag of hotel shampoos and shower gels we’ve been collecting, along with overnight toiletry kits from Nils’ business class flights.

Though still overcast, temperatures were warming, so there were fewer homeless in the shelter this time compared to our first visit in the dead of winter. Nevertheless, our small bag of donations were gladly accepted.

To friends in Vienna: die Gruft’s currently in need of a variety of items including men’s clothing, office, kitchen and first-aid supplies, and eating utensils.

Supporting the Campaign Against Stoning

100 Cities Around the World Against Stoning is an initiative that arrived in my inbox early Friday morning, further proof that Impact opportunities present themselves when you keep your eyes open.

The terrifying threat of death by stoning of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is known worldwide. Saturday, August 28th was the day where people around the world gathered to demand the abolition of this inhuman and barbaric act.

In Vienna, there was no demonstration per se, but there was an information table in front of the Opera House. Nils and I, along with many others, signed a petition in protest against stoning and signed and mailed a postcard imploring the United Nations General Secretary, Ban-Ki Moon, to not accept Ahmadinejad at the General Assembly session in September 2010. (Click here for a letter version in pdf)

Overall, not a bad day at all, especially since we also got grocery shopping done, checked out a couple of kitchen supply shops for needed equipment, and had a nice lunch and conversation along the way.

Inanimate Impact

After having walked (an effort not to add to our carbon footprint) approximately 5 miles/8 km through the city on Saturday, Sunday was a “spud day.” We did, however, manage to do a few Impact efforts from the comfort of our sofa. These included click-to-donatesthroughs which we highlighted back in Week 7: Effortless Impact. While we do click-to donatethrough donations occasionally, frankly, it’s no longer a habit. We’ve pledged to each other to make a more concerted effort to click through more regularly.

Pups like this could be killed in their dens

We also answered to a call by the Defenders of Wildlife and sent a letter to the U.S. federal Wildlife Services agency in a campaign to Save America’s Wolves. I was shocked to learn that this branch of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture plans to initiate shooting of entire packs from the air, surgical sterilization of alpha pairs and gassing of pups. URGENT: Deadline for sending letters is August 31st, 2010.

And, last but not least, in the spirit of Week 22: Pollinating Happiness, we both signed into butterbeehappy.com and updated our Happiness Journals. Amongst other things, we’re pretty dang happy about our Spontaneous Impact Weekend.

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Rome wasn’t built in a day; our apartment wasn’t spring cleaned in a week.

Spring cleaning will continue on for at least another week. We made a decent first go at the bookshelves, our buffet/breakfront, and closets, however, we still have the kitchen and I know there are “tchochkes” hiding in nooks and crannies. But this past weekend, in observation of Stress Awareness Month, Nils and I decided to take off for a relaxing couple of days site seeing. (which turned out to be not so relaxing due to travel restrictions caused by the Iceland volcano eruptions). (more…)

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This week’s Impact Effort starts with our spring cleaning! This is something that’s actually overdue, not only because spring officially began several weeks ago, but also because the contents of our closets, bookshelves, kitchen cabinets and buffet/breakfronts are in need of sorting, throwing, recycling, donating, or gifting. We hope that what no longer serves us will fall into the recycle, donate or gift categories.

If you don’t “spring clean” (or whatever you want to call this annual or bi-annual purging), I recommend it highly. I firmly believe that unless we rid ourselves of the outdated in life, the new doesn’t have space to arrive! (more…)

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The way was packed. I ran interference while Nils carried. We wove our way through hundreds of others like us on this Saturday morning toting large shopping bags of goods.

Our goal, the homeless shelter called “Die Gruft” (website in German only), in the former catacombs of Mariahilfer Church, is smack dab in the middle of the BUSIEST shopping street in Vienna, Mariahilfer Strasse. Neighbors of the church include boutiques and department stores that carry top ready-to-wear lines like Hugo Boss, Joop!, Burberry, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. The irony of it all didn’t escape Nils. (more…)

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Note:  Though 52 Weeks of Impact doesn’t begin for another nine days, we decided to report in on our December 26th:

After a wonderful Christmas, opening gifts, relaxing and eating beyond our stomach’s content, the last thing Nils and I wanted to do today was expend energy. We certainly didn’t want to go out in the cold. But, the weather was uncooperative — it was exceptionally sunny, even balmy for late December. And to make matters “worse,” the hard work had already been done, we had sorted and bagged everything earlier in the week. We were looking at minimal effort. We still eyed each other reluctantly. There’s a perfect phrase in German to describe our state of being this morning: we were both taken over by our “Innerem Schweinehund” (Direct translation: our “inner pig-dog”, closest translation of meaning:  our “inner couch potato”). In the end, we hefted our heavier-as-a-result-of-Christmas-meal backsides off the sofa, grabbed up the bags, and headed out the door and onto the street. (more…)

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