Blog Action Day: Fight Poverty with Your Wallet

Today is Blog Action Day, a time when thousands of bloggers from across the globe unite to focus on one cause. This year’s cause is poverty — an issue that is becoming more and more relevant to people who never expected it as the country falls on hard economic times.

So Green Your Decor is taking a break from regular posts today to highlight this important cause.

What is poverty?

While most people associate poverty with homelessness, they aren’t necessarily synonymous. It can mean having your car repossessed and not being able to get to your minimum wage job. It can mean living in a slum where there is no clean water or access to health care. It can mean going hungry so that your children can eat. It can mean having to choose between paying the electric bill or buying groceries.

What it means to me

I say all of this from experience. While my husband and I have yet to own our home, we are blessed to have a roof over our heads in a time of hardship that has touched us personally. In fact, some people might classify our situation as being pretty close to living in poverty. However, I’m still thankful every morning to be able to look around at these four walls and appreciate that our family had somewhere to rest our head last night, even if it is not the most ideal situation.

So while going green and encouraging others to do the same is something I dedicate my life to every day, I understand being at the other end of the spectrum where “green” is a foreign concept and daily survival is the primary objective. I also understand that at the core of being green is helping others who are less fortunate or who might just need a hand up. Because no matter how tough we think our situation is, the truth is there is always someone out there who has it worse. Rather than wallowing in that fact, use it as motivation to help your fellow man.

What we can do

Here are my suggestions for ways you can help fight poverty with your wallet and green your home at the same time:

• You know that chair you were going to get rid of? Donate it to charity. Or better yet, ask your inner circle of family and friends if they know anyone who could use it.
• The next time you feel the urge to buy something you know you don’t need (I fight this every day ), take a minute to think about how the money you would be spending could help someone else. Then be thankful for what you already have and donate the cost of the item to charity. This applies to everything from furniture to a new pair of shoes. Bonus side effect: Avoiding unnecessary stuff means less clutter.
• Patronize thrift stores like the Salvation Army and Goodwill when you’re looking for furniture and other housewares. You’ll be giving those items a second life and supporting organizations that help people in need.
• When you are making everyday purchases, buy from companies that promote Fair Trade and support charitable organizations. All you have to do is ask.
• Check out Blog Action Day’s 88 Ways to DO Something About Poverty

Feel free to post your own suggestions in the comment section.

What I’m doing

I am donating all of today’s revenue from Green Your Decor to Project Peanut Butter, an organization that is working to fight global poverty. And thanks to my involvement with ElevenMoms, Wal-Mart will match my donation. Want to help? If you shop through any of my affiliate links — marked (aff), I will donate whatever I earn from your purchase, and it won’t cost you anything extra. By no means am I encouraging you to shop just for the sake of shopping. I won’t promote over-consumerism even for a good cause. But if you were already planning to shop or need to buy something, this is a good reason to do it. Need a place to start? Here are some of my favorite retailers (these are all affiliate links):

• Amazon’s Green Store — Really anything at all you buy from Amazon counts, even if it’s not green.
• Ideal Bite — Signing up for their daily emails with green living tips is absolutely free, and the tips are really great.
• VivaTerra – Eco Living with Style. Find natural home décor, unique women’s accessories, elegant dinnerware, organic gifts and more.
• Gaiam — One of my favorite green retailers and a very socially conscious company
• NIMLI — This company sells great eco-friendly products, including stylish organic clothes and more
• Design Public — Online retailer with a great selection of sustainable products. And this link also gets you free shipping on your $50 order.
• Feel More Human — Shop the “Eco-Friendly Home” section.
• Target — The retailer is doing a pretty good job of adding green products to its massive selection
• Inhabit
  — This company makes housewares that are truly sustainable, like their pillows and lamps made from recycled fibers.
• Thesis — WordPress bloggers, buy Thesis, the best premium theme out there. Really.

Want to donate directly?

Inspired by one of my fellow ElevenMoms, you can also make a donation directly to my fundraising efforts. If you will donate just $1 today, WalMart will match it, and all funds will benefit Project Peanut Butter. You can donate as little or as much as you’d like, but every $1 counts, and today, your $1 will become $2. Click the donate button below to make your contribution via PayPal.

Thanks in advance for your help in making a great donation possible, and there will be more of the content you love from Green Your Decor tomorrow!