Shocking, right? Fabric is meant to be hoarded, right? But honestly, though those old pastel celestial prints might be useful for insulating my house or making my fridge run more efficiently, I am so over the stars thing and I am never going to use this stuff.

My local quilt guild takes donations of kid-friendly and soldier-friendly fabrics for various community service projects, but what if you don’t have a guild nearby? And more importantly, is there anything I can do to find a new life for the perfectly good yarn that I often see abandoned in thrift stores and at garage sales?

Here are five organizations that accept donations of craft supplies. Feel free to add more in the comments. I’ve tried to stick to permanent organizations instead of individuals or temporary efforts, and this list contains only organizations where I could confirm they accept donations. (There are hundreds upon hundreds of organizations listed all over the web, and hundreds of websites, but many of them no longer exist.)

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Google has offered to match donations made to UNICEF and Direct Relief International for all donations made at Google’s Support disaster relief in Myanmar page, up to one million dollars.

Internet users in Burma reported that access to Google and Gmail had been blocked by the strict military junta governing the country in the summer of 2006. By this time, Yahoo and Hotmail had already made the censored IT blacklist.

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Here, you will find six organizations accepting charitable donations for relief work in Burma as well as five organizations possibly accepting volunteers for relief efforts.

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What’s unique about the vocabulary-building game at Freerice.com — and the reason we think you should give it a gander — is that as you play you’re donating rice to feed hungry people through international aid agencies. A sister site of Poverty.com, Freerice.com is a fun way to help humanity while you improve your language prowess.

It’s the perfect scheme: hook students and aspiring socialites on a vocabulary-building game so captivating that advertisers will pay big bucks to market on the site, then use the marketing profits to feed hungry people around the world through international aid agencies. Excellent…

The word generator used in the game matches your skill level. Thus, whether you’re a scholarly lexical wizard or a sixth-grader with some savoir faire, the game will give you words appropriate to challenge you at your current vocabulary level. This makes the game is a good tool for people of all ages — from the young student to the college grad studying for the GRE to the person simply looking to beef up her or his vocabulary.

Here’s how it works. For each word, you get four possible multiple-choice definitions. For every word you get right, Freerice.com donates ten grains of rice and raises your vocabulary level slightly. If you get a word wrong, the correct definition appears and the game offers you a slightly easier word.

And remember, helping to alleviate hunger helps the environment and other species as well. As we mentioned in 7 Unorthodox Ways to Help Save Gorillas from Extinction, the threat of hunger often forces people to adopt unsustainable methods of survival, like poaching, exhaustively depleting natural resources, encroaching on new land in search of further resources, and relying on IMF loans to buy pesticides and genetically copyright seeds.

So fire up your vocabulary and give the game at Freerice.com a shot. It’s a fun way to tickle the gray cells, build your vocabulary, and better the world while you’re at it — one grain of rice at a time.

Photo Source:

A bowl of boiled rice | Flickr

imagine… | Flickr

Getting rid of stuff. Whether you’re moving from a bigger place to a smaller place, or just don’t want to move all of your old junk, moving is great at forcing you to pare down the things you don’t need. Instead of throwing everything away, see if you can donate unwanted clothing, furniture and other household items, or have a garage sale.

Avoid buying new boxes and packing materials. Start stocking up on used packing materials such as boxes and newspaper. Ask around at local retail businesses to breakdown and save boxes for you. Find out when they get their shipments in and pick your boxes up within a day or two after.

Another option is to rent reusable containers. If you’re in southern California try Earth Friendly Moving. They rent, sturdy containers for the duration of your move, then will pick them up when you’re done.

Pack dishes and other breakables securely in newspaper or old cloths, towels or blankets. Unlike bubble wrap (even if you’re reusing it), newspaper can be recycled, and the linens can be washed. There is, however, a brand of ecofriendly bubble wrap on the market called Bio-Bubble.

Make less trips. If you’re moving yourself, consider renting a large van or truck to make less trips. If you do use a personal car or truck, when loading up, think first about how to maximize the space to fit more in each trip (without overloading the vehicle.)

If you’re hiring a mover, do a little homework. While you may not find a green mover in your area, you can find out what kind of packing materials they use, if they recycle, or if they’ve ever thought about using biodiesel for their trucks.

Care 2 Green Living - Green Moving Guide

GO - Donate to Charity when Buying or Selling Your House

Got a tip for Amy and Jennifer? Share it with them! If they publish it, you’ll receive two $5 Wind Cards from Renewable Choice Energy.

Glossy magazines and mailers from stores can first be "reused" before being recycled. Consider encouraging your child (age appropriate of course) to cut out pictures from ads to make their own collage or a picture of their "new room". Once they’re done with the cut outs, recycle everything. You get double duty out of a recyclable material and have an entertaining activity for your child.

Schools or other organizations such as scout troops or churches may have similar projects in mind for their young participants.

Other places that might benefit from your magazines include health clinics or libraries. Many large doctors offices or hospitals have the budgets for magazine subscriptions to keep waiting rooms full of reading material. However, some smaller locations or non-profits may welcome your magazines including health clinics or the veterinarian’s office. Even places such as hair salons or laundromats might need a little more variety on their magazine racks.

Libraries subscribe to many magazine titles for archival purposes. However, the prices are much higher for institution subscribers than it is for the average reader. Your public library, community college or university library, or the libraries at high schools and middle schools in your area may also benefit from magazine donations.

Before you donate, tear off your name and address from the covers of the magazines if you’re a subscriber. And encourage the person you’re giving the magazines to to recycle. Most curbside recycling services accept magaiznes. If you’re unsure about yours,
check with your local recycling center or find out at Earth 911.

Of course you can always bypass the print edition and read your favorite magazine online. Many publications offer the same info online to print subscribers.

Amy says: I currently subscribe to five print editions of magazines, and I usually buy a few from the newsstands each month. Some issues I save, the rest go into the recycling bin. Although if I happen to finish reading an issue en route (usually at a cafe), I’ll leave it for someone else to enjoy.

For suggesting today’s tip, Gaylene will recieve Wind Power Cards from Renewable Choice Energy. Do you have a tip you’d like to share? Send it to us.

Swap 'em. Hold your own swap party. Invite your friends or co-workers to bring unwanted clothing to swap with one another. Set the ground rules first. All exchanges are free, and items should be in good condition. Of course, shoes and accessories might be more swappable if you and your friends don't wear the same size clothes. (Read Rebecca's tip on throwing a swap party.)

Want to swap on a larger scale? Find an upcoming Swap-o-Rama-Rama near you. For a small monetary donation (usually around $5 or $10) you bring as much as you can carry in and take as much as you can carry out. Volunteer staff sort donations by type (women's skirts, men's pants, children's shirts, etc.) and the best part is Swap-o-Rama-Rama events have DIY stations and sewing machines so you can alter and redesign your new finds.

There's also sites like Freecycle and Craigslist if you've got a special treasure to give away (Craigslist has a 'free' category).

Sell 'em. Hold a garage sale (or yard sale, or stoop sale.) Get your neighbors involved too. That way you can get them to clear out their closets and have some help promoting your location.

Donate 'em. National charity organizations such as Salvation Army and Goodwill will accept clothing donations. Check around in your community for homeless shelters, women's shelters, churches, and other non-profits that accept clothing donations. Some second-hand stores accept lightly-used clothing and donate what they don't think they can sell. By donating, you'll also get a tax write-off, so make sure to get a receipt.

Amy says: I've got bags and bags of clothing my roommate and I have ready for donation, which are stored right now in our entry way. I'm currently looking for a local donation center that picks up (the Salvation Army has too wide of a pick-up window, 8a-4p). If I can't find one, I'll probably sign up for a car share service and take them myself. That way I can call some friends and take their unwanted clothes too.

Salvation Army
Goodwill
Swap-o-Rama-Rama
Freecycle

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Municipal Solid Waste: Textiles

Tip o' the Day: Free Swap Party!
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