Monthly Archives: March 2017

Sending Flowers? Consider the Meaning Behind Them

Author: Henry Waldo | Category: Baltimore md florist, Florist online, Wedding florist

When you’re looking for just the right flowers to send, there are a variety of spring bouquets and spring flower arrangements available. When you want to put a smile on a friend or family member’s face, sending flowers is a wonderful way to do so.

If you would like to learn more about the variety of bouquets and arrangements that are currently available for flower delivery, your local florist will be able to assist you with this. Depending on the occasion, your florist may offer recommendations and offer several flower design ideas from which to choose.

You may be interested to know that Rutgers University recently conducted research on gift giving. The results of this research showed that when a person chooses a specific gift to express their feelings, it says quite a bit about them.

A person that gives flowers, for example, is considered to be thoughtful, according to 99% of the participants. Furthermore, when people send flowers rather than other types of gifts, they are viewed as caring, emotionally intelligent, and successful individuals.

When choosing to send the gift of flowers, it’s interesting to know a bit about their historical significance and meaning. During the 17th century in Holland, for example, tulips were considered to be so valuable that they were used as a type of currency. Red tulips in particular were used to declare romantic love in Russia.

While giving a bouquet of red roses, or even a single red rose, is now considered to be a romantic gesture, it used to be otherwise. When a single red rose was held in a person’s hand, it represented social democracy or socialism.

Other flowers that represent love are red and white carnations. While red ones symbolize deep love, white ones symbolize pure love.

If you would like to have flowers delivered to someone special, then you may want to review the symbolism or message that these flowers convey. When you know someone’s favorite flowers, however, choosing those for flower delivery may be the best choice. Remember that most people feel special when they receive flowers, especially when this is an unexpected gift.

31 Mar 2017

Spring Cleaning for the Soul

Author: Henry Waldo | Category: Donation pick up va, Donation pickup, Donations for military families

Now is the time when people start thinking about the daunting task of “Spring cleaning.” As the weather warms up people often feel more motivated to take a look around their homes and separate what’s necessary from what’s no longer necessary. Things pile up over time, and most of us are guilty of allowing an abundance of stuff to clutter up our lives.

Once Spring cleaning begins the question is raised of what to do with all of these items. It’s tempting to throw away things that have broken or worn past their usefulness, but there is a better way. Many items can be recycled, even things that seem useless. Their material can be broken down and used again for other things down the line. As for those things cluttering up your space that are still useful but no longer desirable for you, it’s good to consider donating them. You don’t even have to worry about finding a place to drop off some of your donations, as there are organizations that pick up donations for you. So if you’re skeptical about recycling and donating, here are three reasons to hop on the bandwagon this season.

1) Reducing Wasteful Habits

The feeling of throwing something in the trash is often coupled with a feeling of dismissal. You no longer want the thing so you throw it out of sight and out of mind. Unfortunately, this waste adds up. Consider the amount of things you throw away daily and then add that to all the things everyone else throws away every day. Then turn that day into a year, a decade, a century, and you can envision just how monstrous that pile becomes.

By making a point to recycle items you know can be reused (like paper, plastic, compost materials, etc.), you can gain some peace of mind that you’re not adding to the piles in landfills across the country. Additionally, you’re helping commerce and those dollars saved by business will eventually return to you. When companies have more resources to make goods, prices drop. It might not be an immediately tangible result, but the efforts by many do make a difference on both the environment and the economy.

2)Giving Back is Good

Just as throwing something away may leave you feeling dismissive, giving back often gives you a feeling of happiness. Our brains are wired to feel good when we give to others. Giving charitable donations like clothing donations both helps others while helping you feel better inside. It’s a win-win scenario in this way.

And why not give back? At the very least, many of us can (and want to) sacrifice some of our old clothing. If your drawers are overflowing with promotional T-shirts, flannels that no longer fit, hoodies that are too large, or whatever, why not donate them rather than throw them away? There are people who will undoubtedly find use for them, which is better than having them buried in a closet for years. And if these donated clothes are sold by secondhand stores, much of the money goes toward charitable organizations.

3)It’s Easy to Give Back, Too

One excuse some people might have for not donating their old clothes is that it’s too much of a hassle. In the past, the process was certainly a bit more involved. But today, donating is easier than ever. There are organizations that pick up donations when and where you tell them (within reason). This means the most work you have to do is clean out your stuff, organize it, and decide what you wish to donate. And if you’re cleaning then you’re already doing this anyway. Organizations that pick up donations take the hassle out of the charitable process, leaving you with little excuse to not donate your clothes and other items.

In many ways our society has become very wasteful. While these habits can be hard to overcome, not all is lost. There is still time for us to change our ways and start thinking differently about our clutter. With recycling bins becoming more prevalent and clearly designated, and organizations that pick up donations, giving back to people, the economy, and the environment is becoming easier and more gratifying. Think of all of this as Spring cleaning for the soul and for the Earth.

07 Mar 2017

You Can Support Military Families With Your Everyday Items

Author: Henry Waldo | Category: Charitable clothing donations, Military support, Organizations that help military families

Some say that our nation is a divided nation and that we cannot find a way to come together. Many in politics want to keep us divided so that they can continue to promote their own agendas. However, when you truly think about it, and when you ask everyday people on either side of the political spectrum, support for military families is something that we can all agree on. We all want to see our troops and their taken care of.

What we may not realize is that there are things we have in our daily lives that we no longer have any use for. These things might include household items, personal things that have lost their shine, or, most importantly, clothing items we no longer wear or use. Back in 2007, charity foundations in the United States took in an estimated $5.8 billion worth of clothing donations.

This number is significant not only because it is large in and of itself but because there is still so much more that could be done. In 2011, the recovery rate for textiles and clothing that have already had use from one owner was only 15.3%. This means that there are literally tons of textiles and used clothing that could be given a second life somewhere else.

The average American purchases used clothing every year by an average of roughly ten pounds of clothing a piece. Many shops that resell these clothes are non-profit organizations that give support for military families and many other groups who have needs. Charitable donations are so much more than simply writing a check to your local charity.

Every day, we wake up and go through our closet to decide on what we would like to wear for the day. It might surprise us to learn that if we were to take only a few moments on one of our days off to go through our closets, we would find that we wear only a select few items of clothing over and over. Many of us find that we don’t need as much as we think we do.

Donating clothing to charity is an extremely effective way to help provide support for military families who might be in need. Our servicemen and women have been in the service of our nation while many of us have enjoyed the benefits of good jobs and a growing economy. When our military personnel come home from their service, they should not have to struggle as so many of them do.

You might think that you cannot spare even any extra change at the moment, but if you search through your closet of clothes, you might very well be able to part with some things that you know you will never wear again.

Gather your extra clothing together and call you local charity. Donating will never feel so good.

03 Mar 2017