One (small) good deed a day 2024

[crocheted_stache]

Usually when I pick up litter, report potholes, or whatever, it's on my way. I might make a point to go home the way I came so I don't arrive late with a handful of trash and hands I need to wash, but I rarely make a separate trip out for this stuff.

Well, yesterday I did that. On our way to and from biking an errand, I flung a small, fallen branch off the road and into the landscaping. I picked up a pointy screw in the roadway. I reported damaged pavement and a burnt-out lamp in a traffic light.

And after I got home, I went back out with an old broom and cleared a couple different patches of broken glass off a bike path the city doesn't usually sweep.

[oneday]

Picked up a plastic wrapper on the building's shared stairs that was a tripping hazard.

[BECABECA]

Drove my sister to and from surgery today, and tidied up around her house a bit afterwards.

Yesterday I did a bunch of yard work for my mom. And deep cleaned her bedroom the day before. Lots more to do at her house while I’m in town, it’s definitely a working holiday ;)

[Poundwise]

The most recent outgoing message for our school voicemail has a very long pause before the options come up, which might confuse new parents. I left a message for the office advising them to re-record it.

[crocheted_stache]

Today I caught a couple pieces of litter that were blowing in the breeze. I also reported a malfunctioning traffic light and a metal cover in the road that was so broken, it might as well not have been there. A different report yesterday resulted in a gate being once again closed today.

[Josiecat22222]

walked the dog on the beach.  picked up two plastic bags on the waterline and a deflated mylar balloon.  Save the turtles.

[crocheted_stache]

A few more pieces of litter picked up, a bunch more potholes reported to the city.

I stopped and offered to help a woman who was pushing a bike with a flat tire. She assured me she didn't have much farther to go.

[Raenia]

This was yesterday, but we went to the park and found some antisemitic phrases in sidewalk chalk on the playground. Found some chalk left behind and covered them up. Hopefully not too many kids saw it before we got there - it wasn't there when we left Saturday evening, and it was a fairly grey and chilly morning. Someone must have found it before us, though, and gone for a bucket, because when we came back after dinner those sections had been washed. Tag-team good deed!

[crocheted_stache]

This was yesterday, but we went to the park and found some antisemitic phrases in sidewalk chalk on the playground. Found some chalk left behind and covered them up. Hopefully not too many kids saw it before we got there - it wasn't there when we left Saturday evening, and it was a fairly grey and chilly morning. Someone must have found it before us, though, and gone for a bucket, because when we came back after dinner those sections had been washed. Tag-team good deed!

I like it. You might enjoy this excerpt:
https://youtu.be/N0i3rtafXyA?si=5NCROXTYNkOW3Ywu

This weekend, I found and reported a traffic light with the sheet metal plate behind it hanging down and well on its way to falling off. It's been breezy, and the auto-reply says they don't check their messages over the weekend, so I hope it hangs on until someone can get to it.

[Taran Wanderer]

A few weeks ago I stopped at an intersection near our home and picked up a bolt lying in the road.  Maybe I stopped someone else from getting a flat, and maybe I got some good karma. 

[crocheted_stache]

I caught up with someone before she left an event without her phone/wallet. She left the room but not the building.

[LaineyAZ]

I'm dropping off a bag of condiments and new plastic-ware left over from fast food trips to a woman who volunteers at a homeless shelter.

A tiny good deed but made me wonder that since just about everyone has a drawer of condiment packs in their kitchen whether it would be worthwhile for foodbanks to periodically collect them to distribute in food boxes?  Even a jar of mustard is so expensive these days.

[Poundwise]

Invited son's best friend to come help son make lunches for the homeless. He's a nice young man who's a bit aimless and his parents were delighted to see that he will do some service.

[crocheted_stache]

Reported a lamp out in a traffic signal, at least the third I've spotted this year. They're generally very fast to respond to those reports.

I also got responses to a few previous reports. One railing has been fixed, and various other things have been acknowledged and are somewhere in the process.

[Serendip]

Reported a fire pit which was moved from a campsite into a nearby forested area.

Or am trying to report it since I've had to contact a few different places.. I can't move it by myself but it's hard to figure out who's jurisdiction it is.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Cut back a bunch of fresh herbs, and shared them with neighbors Via Buy Nothing.

[Serendip]

Moved a rock out of a pothole which might've been a problem from someone's tire if they didn't spot it.

[Weisass]

Helped reorganize the church attic, and my my does it look nice!

[Freedomin5]

"Adopted" one of DD's classmates. I found out they are from a single-parent family, and mom works long hours, so the kid has no adult supervision from the time school lets out until mom comes home late in the evening. They live down the street from us, so they're now hanging out with DD every day after school until their mom comes home. All of this is happening with mom's permission, of course.

[Dicey]

On my morning walk, I noticed a broken wine bottle on the side of the road, exactly where a car might park. My walking partner and I kicked all the pieces well into the gutter. Not as good as picking it up, but better than doing nothing.

[crocheted_stache]

Moved a rock out of a pothole which might've been a problem from someone's tire if they didn't spot it.

At least where I live, there's an app for that. A search for 'maintenance request [your city/region]' should find you the right place to report the pothole.

[crocheted_stache]

Today, I stopped a coworker from heading home with a totally flat tire on her car. She didn't know it was flat. She didn't seem to know not to drive on it while it was flat. (Yikes!)

The sharp piece of metal was still lodged in it, partially stopping the hole it made, and after determining she had no spare and making an unsuccessful attempt to get any air in with a bike pump*, another coworker came up with a battery operated pump. I needed to leave to get to a volunteer thing, so I kind of handed off the operation to him. The plan was to inflate the tire (which had apparently gotten her to work with the puncture) and drive to the nearest Costco.

Before I took off, I suggested that she make the trip on surface streets where she could safely pull off to the side if in case it didn't get her all the way there. It should have been all of 4 miles, but I had no idea how fast the leak might have been.

I'll check in with them both tomorrow to see how it went.

*Bike pumps for Schrader valves can work on car tires, but the communal bike pump in the bike storage area wasn't working.

[Poundwise]

"Adopted" one of DD's classmates. I found out they are from a single-parent family, and mom works long hours, so the kid has no adult supervision from the time school lets out until mom comes home late in the evening. They live down the street from us, so they're now hanging out with DD every day after school until their mom comes home. All of this is happening with mom's permission, of course.

That's not a small good deed, that's a huge one!

[crocheted_stache]

Today, I stopped a coworker from heading home with a totally flat tire on her car.

She and the car made it to Costco last night. The rest is just logistics to get back there and pick it up when the repair is done.

[crocheted_stache]

Reported a fire pit which was moved from a campsite into a nearby forested area.

Or am trying to report it since I've had to contact a few different places.. I can't move it by myself but it's hard to figure out who's jurisdiction it is.

I've found that the wrong jurisdiction is usually happy to refer you to the right jurisdiction.

[crocheted_stache]

Today I caught up with someone before she left without her purse, and yes, it was a different someone than I prevented from leaving behind her phone/wallet a few posts back.

[LaineyAZ]

Not sure if this is a good deed, but I emailed the city's parks and recreation department to thank them for the remodel and refresh of the local playground.

But for some reason, they didn't re-install the benches!  I'm hoping they're out being repainted but if not, there's nowhere for adults to sit while supervising the kids.  I'm also hoping the bench removals are not to prevent homeless from sleeping on them - it's a terrible trend that means disabled and elderly and even someone who wants a minutes rest off their feet (!) will have no place to sit.
So I'm waiting to see if the City responds and re-installs them.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Found a lost phone at the grocery store. Attempted to find the owner, but it was no one nearby. Waited in line at customer service to drop off the phone at the lost & found.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

I've been saving cardboard for a couple months now for natural weed control when I do my yearly mulching, which is for blueberries and provides my yearly family blueberry consumption. It really makes me happy to do this!

[crocheted_stache]

DH found and turned in a credit card that had apparently fallen out of someone's pocket. Whether that physical card ever makes it back to the owner or is just safe until the owner orders a replacement, at least it's not out there getting misused.

I reported yet another hole in the road, and I sent photos and a lot of feedback to the city staff who are trying to improve both the feedback system and the city's response to it.

[crocheted_stache]

Not sure if this is a good deed, but I emailed the city's parks and recreation department to thank them for the remodel and refresh of the local playground.

But for some reason, they didn't re-install the benches!  I'm hoping they're out being repainted but if not, there's nowhere for adults to sit while supervising the kids.  I'm also hoping the bench removals are not to prevent homeless from sleeping on them - it's a terrible trend that means disabled and elderly and even someone who wants a minutes rest off their feet (!) will have no place to sit.
So I'm waiting to see if the City responds and re-installs them.

This definitely "counts."

A little public feedback can go a long way. And having watched a loved one struggle with neuralgia in his feet that made prolonged standing very painful, public seating should absolutely be a standard accommodation, especially anywhere there's likely to be a lot of waiting. Here's hoping for some freshly-painted benches to return soon.

[crocheted_stache]

Today I biked a direction I don't often go anymore. I stopped and reported a pretty good-sized open hole I found in the road. It's hard to tell, but I think the photo got the message across. It may have been dispatched by the time I got where I was going.

[Freedomin5]

I held a FIRE talk at work and taught a bunch of people ways to tariff-proof their finances.

[Poundwise]

I held a FIRE talk at work and taught a bunch of people ways to tariff-proof their finances.

Very good!
And I am envious of wherever @crocheted_stache lives... it must be a smoother bicycle ride than most cities!

Yesterday I happened to be near a little park that I helped my friends reclaim from waste land.  There was a lot of litter, so I spent 5 minutes picking up most of it and throwing it out in the trash and recycling cans that were only 20 feet away from the litter.

[crocheted_stache]

And I am envious of wherever @crocheted_stache lives... it must be a smoother bicycle ride than most cities!

It isn't, but I will not give up trying.

My city is only getting a couple new pothole reports from me today. The next city over...dozens, if I can figure out where all the different photos were and get them entered. That's partly because my city is a lot smaller and a little more on top of its pavement maintenance (mostly), and partly because I spent more time today in the next city over. Both cities make for challenging bike rides in different ways, and I often end up riding in spite of conditions more than because of them.

Cliché though it may be, I also helped a woman in a wheelchair cross a big, busy street. She didn't ask, but I was going that way too, and being on a bike, I was a little more visible and able to stop the car traffic that was turning right across the crosswalk.

I do a fair amount of volunteering in an effort to get not just potholes filled, but also to get big, busy intersections redesigned so they're safer. There's an awful lot more work to do.

[FireLane]

I went to the supermarket, and when I got a cart from the cart corral, there was a purse in it.

I thought about opening it to look for something with a name or an address, but I didn't want anyone to think I was taking the money. Instead, I walked down the nearest row of parked cars. In one car, a woman was sitting in the driver's seat on her phone.

I tapped on the window and asked if she was missing her purse, and she realized she was. That's one purse reunited with its owner.

[Dicey]

I went to the supermarket, and when I got a cart from the cart corral, there was a purse in it.

I thought about opening it to look for something with a name or an address, but I didn't want anyone to think I was taking the money. Instead, I walked down the nearest row of parked cars. In one car, a woman was sitting in the driver's seat on her phone.

I tapped on the window and asked if she was missing her purse, and she realized she was. That's one purse reunited with its owner.

Wow, that's a huge good deed.

[Serendip]

Picked up two banana peels left beside a forest trail (in our wildlife-heavy zone, it's a big no-no)..

[FireLane]

I went to the supermarket, and when I got a cart from the cart corral, there was a purse in it.

I thought about opening it to look for something with a name or an address, but I didn't want anyone to think I was taking the money. Instead, I walked down the nearest row of parked cars. In one car, a woman was sitting in the driver's seat on her phone.

I tapped on the window and asked if she was missing her purse, and she realized she was. That's one purse reunited with its owner.

Wow, that's a huge good deed.

I lost my wallet at the supermarket a few years ago, and no one returned it even though my ID was in it. I know how it feels, I didn't want anyone else to have to go through that!

[crocheted_stache]

I just did some coaching by email for a friend who's taking her job hunt to a career fair today. She's re-entering the labor market (or trying to) after dealing with kind of a lot of family and relationship drama.

Over the weekend I did a citizen survey of public facilities in my area, and yesterday I took the discouraging results to a public meeting of the agency that maintains them. It wasn't really on-topic for the meeting, so I asked a staff member afterwards, and I'm confident he will get it to the right place to make a difference.

They knew they were behind on upkeep, but I don't think they knew how badly. I had a nice if not very scenic bike ride.

[Poundwise]

Some of my property faces a busy road.  There I have a long, deep bed of leaves which I planted with spring bulbs. It looks gorgeous when in bloom. This is a living example to people that they don't have to bag or remove their autumn leaves. Today I did some upkeep there and planted coneflower seeds (perhaps a little late).  Will also be moving a bunch of asters there so we can have 3 season interest.

Also having a pleasant place to stroll past may encourage more people to walk, who knows?

[crocheted_stache]

Yesterday I noticed a lot of water in the street and suggested to the neighbor on the upstream end of it that he check his sprinklers.

[crocheted_stache]

I ran an errand today. Along the way, I picked up one piece of litter and reported one pothole, one missing street sign, and one burnt-out traffic light.

[Poundwise]

I exchanged my scout co-leader's vest to the correct size for her when I passed by the Girl Scout store.

I offered to pick up something for a friend at another store, and while we were chatting, she made a suggestion to go to a closer store to find an unusual item.  It was in stock, a bit more expensive, but to me worth over two hours of my time. Yes, I know this is MMM but my time is valuable these days. :)

[crocheted_stache]

I helped someone find and work the fare machine and get on the right train.

[crocheted_stache]

I exchanged my scout co-leader's vest to the correct size for her when I passed by the Girl Scout store.

I offered to pick up something for a friend at another store, and while we were chatting, she made a suggestion to go to a closer store to find an unusual item.  It was in stock, a bit more expensive, but to me worth over two hours of my time. Yes, I know this is MMM but my time is valuable these days. :)

MMM has never been about squeezing out every possible penny. It's about making conscious, informed decisions that lead to financial freedom in aggregate. No facepunches from me for the occasional F-it, when "it" is two hours out of your way for a marginally better price.

[crocheted_stache]

Yesterday I reported an unauthorized sign. I try to be selective about reporting code violations. City code enforcement has no sense of humor. If it's blocking a sidewalk, or in this case, big, way out of place, and wildly irrelevant, I don't have much patience.

Yesterday I also washed out a little round plastic food container after I was done eating the contents and brought it to a coworker to put under a small plant pot on the windowsill to catch the drips when he waters it. He seemed pretty happy with how well it fit.

[Freedomin5]

I found a bank card on the ground and brought it to the bank so that they could return it to the rightful owner.

[Serendip]

Picked up an empty icecream container from the forest floor.

[Poundwise]

A tiny local cafe had a car driver into the shop window back in February. I wanted to go there today and saw that it is still boarded up and the door was locked, but there were signs indicating it's still open and to call to get in. I did so, and the owner explained sadly that they're still waiting for insurance/repairs to come through. I asked if I could take some photos, so that I could post on social media to get her business, and she said yes.

I did post on social media along with some photos of the cafe during happier times. I hope that people will shop there more until she gets back on her feet!