Style Substance Soul » have 10 minutes?

Have 10 Minutes? Clean the World!

lois — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:45:22 +0000

Clean out those half-empty soaps, shampoos, conditioners and lotions you’ve dragged home from every hotel and donate them to Clean the World. This ingenious non-profit organization collects, sorts and sanitizes discarded toiletries, then delivers them to homeless shelters and impoverished countries where five million people – mostly children – die every year from hygiene-related diseases which are preventable by hand washing with soap.

The idea is so simple and so brilliant, and more than 250 big-name hotels, including Walt Disney World Resort, have already gotten on board, donating the partially-used amenities their guests leave behind.

Clean the World distributed 180 tons of hygiene products to the victims of the Haiti earthquake alone. Find out how you can help them save lives by visiting the Clean the World website.

Have 10 minutes?

lois — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:01:30 +0000

Read the introduction to Laura Vanderkam’s life-changing book, “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think,” and start making over your attitude toward time. We’ll be featuring this book in detail – including a Challenge with the author herself — down the line but just spending 10 minutes drinking in this new way of looking at your life will show you to make the most of the 10,070 minutes you’ll still have left this week.

Have 10 Minutes?

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:07:17 +0000

Log on to FreeRice.com, where you donate rice to the UN World Food Program simply by clicking on the right definition of the featured word. For each correct answer, 20 grains of rice are donated – and your vocabulary is increased exponentially. It’s no surprise that FreeRice has already generated enough rice to feed more than two million people. We just donated more than 1000 grains of rice ourselves – and learned the meaning of “propitiate” — because this game is so addictive, we can’t stop playing!

Give the gift of groceries to a soldier. Support our troops with a Commissary Gift Certificate, which you can order online at Commissaries.com.

Have 10 Minutes?

Susan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:52:40 +0000

Learn how to grow old gracefully with two excellent books. “You: Staying Young,” by Oprah’s favorite doctors, Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., is an owner’s manual to your body, complete with a 14-day plan to help jump-start your healthy journey into the future. “Younger Next Year for Women” offers solid advice to make the post-menopausal years the best ever.

While you’re devouring chapters (both books are so interesting, you may read for way longer than 10 minutes at a time), put on some great music like Dave Matthews’ “Grace Is Gone” or Tom Petty’s “Saving Grace.”

You might remember Elton John singing about “the grace of a dove” in the haunting “I Need You To Turn To,” so help yourself to a bite-sized Dove chocolate and celebrate the fact that chocolate contains anti-aging antioxidants. And when you order the personalized pink-foiled treats at MyDoveChocolate.com 10% of your purchase
will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Have 10 Minutes?

Susan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:14:28 +0000

Write a thank you note. We’re not talking about “Dear Mom, Thanks for the check. Love, Me.” We’re talking about a sincere, from-the-heart message that tells someone that they did something special for you, and that you appreciate it. Think about the friend who recommended that book you couldn’t put down. Or the teacher who stayed after school to help your child figure out a math problem. Or, yes, your mom – but not because she gave you a check. Learn how to write thank you notes that are a gift in themselves from one of our favorite old-school bloggers – the late Leslie Harpold. Be inspired by the lyrics to Natalie Merchant’s “Kind and Generous.” You can thank us later.

Have 10 Minutes?

Susan — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:06:16 +0000

Learn how to walk gracefully in high heels at the High Heel Shoe Museum, which offers 20 great tips plus an instructional video. Much of it may seem self-explanatory to many of you, but for those of us who tend to live in flip flops, UGGS and Chuck Taylors, the advice probably saved us a twisted ankle or two. Be sure to check out the Shoe Tube while you’re there – you may not care about Facebook but we know you’ll want to see what everyone’s got on their feet.

Have 10 Minutes?

Susan — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:43:26 +0000

Grab a cup of tea, sink into the sofa and get lost in “10 Poems to Change Your Life.” Convinced that “Great poetry can alter the way we see ourselves,” Roger Housden has compiled an eclectic collection of poems from a who’s who of poets including Mary Oliver, Galway Kinnell and Pablo Neruda. Housden uses each poem as a springboard, elaborating on its message and personal effect on him in a fascinating essay that may at least change your opinion about poetry – if not your life.

Have 10 Minutes?

Susan — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:51:05 +0000

Put a lilt in your step with the “Celtic Woman” performance of “The Butterfly.” Passionate and powerful, Mairead Nesbitt rocks the fiddle like nobody’s business. Download it on to your iPod and your next jog just may turn into a stepdance.

Watch in awe as these acrobatic ballet dancers flawlessly perform “Butterfly Lovers.” Based on the classic Chinese tragedy – considered the Eastern version of “Romeo and Juliet” and equally beautiful as a sans-dance violin concerto – what these dancers do en pointe will take your breath away.

Have 10 Minutes?

Susan — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:33:43 +0000

Start organizing your books! If the thought of categorizing them on your shelves is just too daunting, try cataloging them online at www.librarything.com. A bibliophile’s dream, this highly innovative site proves that libraries really are cool places to meet fascinating people.

Have 10 Minutes

Susan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:03:42 +0000

Download 10,000 Maniacs “Poison in the Well,” listen carefully to the lyrics, then log on to http://article31.org and sign the petition to add Article 31 to the United Declaration of Human Rights. Article 31 states, “Everyone has the right to clean and accessible water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and family, and no one shall be deprived of such access or quality of water due to individual economic circumstance.” Forward the petition to everyone you know.