And don’t Forget the Senseless Acts of Beauty!

Ann Herbert, the poet artist who inspired Random Acts of Kindness, also implored us to add prettiness to the world. There are so many ways to do this: plant flowers, pick up trash, or paint a lovely mural for the entire neighborhood’s pleasure.

What beauty can you bring to the world?

Be a Good on Your Own Block

Make a list of small things you can do around your house and place of work to conserve energy and water, stop waste, and increase the recycling. Then start doing them!

Spend Your Money in Your Own Neighborhood

    Support local agriculture and business by purchasing produce or baked goods from farmer’s markets. By doing so, you ensure that your fresh food is organically grown and isn’t imported from another state or country-the cost of shipping is a contribution to greenhouse gas and pollution. Every dollar you spend locally will go a long way toward supporting your local economy and your next-door neighbors.

Can I Grab That For You?

    Every Sunday night, when you go to take out your own garbage and recycling, knock on your neighbor’s door and offer to take hers out, too. You might even be invited in for tea and cookies, as I was!

Roll Out the Welcome Wagon

    Greet your new neighbors with a homemade housewarming gift. You’ll make a new connection and help them feel more at home. Good neighbors can last a lifetime and bring a real sense of community on a daily basis.

Be a Fixer-Upper (Plus Weeding is Good Therapy)

    Assist seniors near you with tasks like raking, shoveling, or doing minor home repairs through Volunteers of America’s Safety of Seniors Handyman Program (voa.org). I pull my 98- year-old neighbor’s weeds and it is a good exercise for me, it benefits the neighborhood, and she appreciates the weekly attention she and her yard enjoy!

DIY Optimism

    Make a sign that reads, “Take what you need,” with tear-off tabs on the bottom that say, “love,” “courage,” “optimism,” and so on. Hang it up in places you regularly pass by. Keep refills at the ready!

Give Good Luck

    If you see a penny on the ground, flip it and make it face head’s up. Some people find joy in picking up a lucky penny and you can help bring that joy to them.

A Friendly Eye

Offer to take care of a neighbor or friend’s home, yard, or pets while they are away on vacation. They will be comfortable knowing their valuables are in good hands.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

    Go for a stroll around the city you live in. Pay attention to the little things you may have been missing, such as the architecture, the perfect picnic spot in a park, the greenery, and the people around you. Spend your money where your heart is, your own community.

National Car Free Day

    Walk, bike, run, skip! Try not to drive so often. Put on your walking shoes and enjoy the area around you. Walk to the nearest convenience store if you need something or spontaneously visit a friend who lives close by. You may rediscover the beauty of your own neighborhood again in the process!

Spend Your Money in Your Own Neighborhood

    Support local agriculture and business by purchasing produce or baked goods from farmer’s markets. By doing so, you ensure that your fresh food is organically grown and isn’t imported from another state or country-the cost of shipping is a contribution to greenhouse gas and pollution. Every dollar you spend locally will go a long way toward supporting your local economy and your next-door neighbors.

The Helpful Hand

    Every Sunday night, when you go to take out your own garbage and recycling, knock on your neighbor’s door and offer to take hers out, too. You might even be invited in for tea and cookies, as I was!

The Good Neighbor Policy

    Bring your neighbor's newspaper to their front door and leave a plate of homemade muffins and a bottle of hand sanitizer next to it.

Friends Let Friends Forage

    Plant a fruit tree. We know trees clean air by absorbing odors and pollutants while also providing oxygen and shade. And if you want to be generous, go ahead and plant a fruit tree near the fence or street. Put up a little sign that says "Help yourself!"

Have a Good Neighbor Policy

    If you live next to an elderly couple or someone who is disabled, volunteer to help them around their yard by raking their leaves or mowing their lawn. Consider it good exercise and a good deed.

Start a Changepot

    This is exactly as it sounds: a pot for change. If you don't mind stopping in the middle of a sidewalk or side of the road, pick up loose change that has fallen to the ground. Add your findings to the same pot an after a few months, see how much you have collected. If you're strapped for cash, spend your findings on a nice meal for your family. If you are fairly stable financially, donate the money (anonymously) to a good cause.

Share Your Toys

    Leave small, handmade toys for people to find. The Toy Society spreads love by doing this good deed. Visit thetoysociety.blogspot.com for more information and inspiration. You can post your toy drop on the website and view the drops that others have made. Feel free to share a picture and revel in the thought of bringing a child happiness, especially with the pandemic- it might also be a good idea to leave a note on the toy that lets people know they can take it. For example: “Take me home- I’m Yours!” If you'd like, write that the toy has gone through its two weeks of quarantine and leave a small thing of hand sanitizer with it.

A Very Very Very Fine House

    Volunteer to help build a house together though Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org), a nonprofit organization that builds and repairs houses so that families have a safe and affordable place to live. Maybe you'll even even get to meet former President Jimmy Carter and you can hammer up a front porch and discuss world peace together.

National Lemonade Day

    

Businesses are opening up again, even the ones in our own neighborhood. But instead of driving past yet another lemonade stand, help the kid by pulling over and buying a cup on a hot day. The kids will feel a sense of accomplishment as more people follow your example. Model good behavior whenever you can and it will return to you in spades.