Keeping Christmas in your heart throughout the year

Have you ever given thought to that saying and what it means? It's about love, generosity, and compassion. Most people only give food the the local food banks during the holiday season but the real fact is that people are hungry all year long, not just as Christmas time. And donations of clean usable items like bedding, clothing, shoes and household items are needed at homeless shelters and women's shelters. These are people that through a tragedy are starting their lives overs and through the generosity of stranger they are able to start to put the pieces of tier shatters lives back together again.

I won't throw away something that is in good usable working order, I prefer to ask a friend if they could use it or I donate it to an organization that could use such an item.

As I've already gone through all of our holiday decorations and have donated items we have not used in ages, I'm now working on bedding. I'm currently going through our sheets, blankets, pillowcases and throw blankets. Those that are in good usable condition will be washed and donated to the women's shelter, anything else...well I should be ashamed of myself if I was to come across anything ratty looking in our linen closet! Towels are another thing, I've got this assortment of these HUGE beach towels that we haven't used in ages. I cringe when my children find them because they will use them instead of the bath sheets <(larger than a regular bath towel smaller than a beach towel). They are all washed and in a bag ready to be donated. My question for you is...Are there items in your linen closet that you could donate? For me, since we just got the new mattress and it's 14½ inches thick, we've had to replace our bedsheets. The other ones are fine so I packaged them up and donated them. Hannah decided that she doesn't want to have pink sheets and bedding plus the teddy bear themed flannel sheets that were a Christmas present a couple of years back (that she never uses) any longer so those items are also going to be packaged up and give to a place that I know will put them to good use. Come on join me and go through your linen closet and purge those items that have just been hanging out. Make some space for those sale items you're going to buy in January!