YOU CAN DO (NATE) IT!

As Joe hopped an airplane to sin city this morning I dove into a laundry bin, threw something on and headed out to run my morning errands. Clearly I've become far too familiar with the ladies at the Post Office as one glared in my direction and screamed, "ewwwwww your clothes is tight!!!" With an overwhelming urge to slap her across the face, I held in my anger, grabbed my Martha Stewart Living and headed home where I ran straight back into the closet. While Ms. Emily Post Office made me feel like I've been shopping at Baby Gap, I realized, surrounded by piles of ill-fitting old clothes, it was time to start my 2010 clean-up. To my horror, hidden in the cracks and deep holes of my closets, were discarded gift cards. While they'd all been used to purchase something once upon a time, they had remaining balances, so I poured a big cup of coffee, popped my happy pill to forget the rude lady at the Post Office, and started calling the companies to check balances. Sur La Table $13.09 (I long for the $700 All-Clad collection, so how the heck will $13 help, I thought?) JC Penny for $15.58 (uhm, A.) who on earth bought this for me and B.) what in the world would I buy there?) Walmart for $21.70 (uhm, again, I ask..). Then the snob in me came out of the closet with over $200 of random gift cards with remaining balances and I thought someone, somewhere needs this more than I do. $21.70 could buy food at Walmart, $15.58 could buy clothing at JC Penny, etc. More horrifying than a Government Employee calling me "fatty" in public (well, sort of), I couldn't find one local organization to accept my donations. While one can Google "gift card donations" and find several online companies that accept such items, I got to thinking...my blog is about learning how to do everything from dining to designing without emptying your pockets, so my research begins today to find an organization (or several) that need home supplies (while one can't do much at Sur La Table with $13, that amount at Walmart goes a long way!) As I sit in my warm farmhouse in the Hudson Valley complaining about weight I've gained over the holidays, a homeless kid is on the street in Anywhere, USA begging for food. And that (just like the lady pointing out my wardrobe misstep) just isn't right!

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Cleaning out my wreck of a closet, making piles for donations and throw-away: 2 hours. Finding a good home for my unused gift cards: I'll let you know!

COST: $0. While it's a wonderful idea to donate during the holidays, keep giving throughout the year. If you have an idea for gift card donations or have some you'd like to donate, email me at paul@paulhechtdesigns.com and let's figure something out! (99.9% of store gift cards have no expiration dates so call them, find out the remaining balance and write that amount on a sticker and slap it on the card so you'll remember. You'd pick $13 up off the street if you saw it, so don't toss it in the garbage just because you can't get that special item YOU want!)

STRESS LEVEL: This morning: HIGH. Now: LOW. What I'd love to do, while continuing to bring you daily design tips for your home, is help someone else furnish theirs!