Good Vibes
Delightful Summer Reading (2018) August 17, 2018 10:01
It is Rosie here. When you receive your order this month (August), written on the box in the place that thanks the dear soul that contributed the empty cereal boxes to be put to another use, you'll undoubtedly see the name "Tracy" or "Kristen". Many people contribute these boxes to us, but as they are left often anonymously on my front porch, I don't always know who to thank for them. Usually I can guess, but sometimes I can't, so then I put the name of a person who is on my mind and want to send Good Vibes out to.
Kristen (our neighbour), and Tracy (her sister) have a new book coming out, and they've been writing a super interesting blog over the summer with bits of information and anecdotes that they came across while researching for their latest book.
Kristen and Tracy became very interested in finding out more about working-class London England from the late 1800's into the Great War times. Following a family and their close neighbours from life in London England, and their eventual migration to London Ontario. We don't know that much about working class people at that time as they were not considered to be important. It is incredible the stuff that Kristen and Tracy have dug up! I think you might like this blog too, every time a new "episode", or a suppose that should be called "post" (ha) comes into my email, I look so forward to reading it! And, I've had an advance copy of the book, it comes into stores in September and is wonderful - I cried at the end. That is quite an achievement for an historical account - not fictional, but based on information they were able to gather and piece together what life was like in that time and place!
https://thecowkeeperswish.com/
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And, here is another thing to read that is sure to make you cringe, but also certainly laugh out loud at least once!!
From our next door neighbour Deborah to her parents in 1978 or 1979 when she was 11 years old...
Coco Puffs?? (DLD's "Rescued" Cereal Boxes for Shipping Your Orders :) August 31, 2015 13:18
Hi everyone! Rosie here, this is the very first blog post that I ever wrote back in 2010. I thought I'd repost it here, the contents of this post is still very relevant today, 5 years later!!
Title of the Original Post:
Coco-Puffs??!
December, 2010
About a week ago, we received the following words from Gail:
I loved your packaging, by the way! My husband and I both were admiring your clever environmental solution! A Kashi Go Lean box turned inside out! I’ll share that idea with friends.
Thank you for the lovely and unique yoga clothes, Rosie.
The same day that I received that note from Gail, my daughter came home from school talking about how her class needs remotes for their Smart Board. She was frustrated about it, so we started to discuss ways that her class could raise money using something that many households could potentially donate for reuse.
Of course, then it dawned on me that WE need boxes at Dear Lil’ Devas, so I suggested to her that the kids in her class could bring in their empty cereal boxes and be paid $1.00 for each box with 100% of the profit going towards the remotes.
I wrote back to Gail, to let her know about the idea for fundraising that her positive feedback had spurred:
Those cereal boxes that you and your husband commented on are the PERFECT size for sending orders that have multiple items. However, none of us at DLD really buys too much packaged cereal, but whenever we can get our hands on one of those boxes, we always save them for shipping. I’ve wondered in the past how customers feel about getting their orders in these boxes, as it may seem a bit unprofessional – but we figure as long as they’re clean, and extending the use of the box before it hits the recycling bin is really cool!
Gail wrote back saying that she would like to donate $30.00 to the class to kick off the fundraiser!!!
Operating on a small scale allows Dear Lil’ Devas to easily put into effect ideas like this. I really feel that my cup flows over with happiness. Every action that we take, even (or especially) on a micro level has the potential to impact the people around us in a positive way.
We wish everyone a tremendous holiday season – please know; the heartfelt good vibes generated at Dear Lil’ Devas are reverberating extra loudly this year with the help of the kids in my daughter’s class!!!
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Added June 16, 2011
I have an update about our cereal boxes! Since the holiday season 2010, our cereal box collection has been ongoing… friends and neighbours save them for us, and the kids in my daughter’s class did another drive this spring to collect them! We have a rubber stamp now that we stamp the boxes with… its says:
Thanks to ____________
This box has been rescued
from the blue bin for reuse!!!
So, don’t be surprised when your next order arrives in a turned-inside out cereal box, and check the stamp to see who the kindly soul that ----went to the trouble to save it for us was!
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In 2012 I made this video to help demonstrate how to turn the box inside out:
Watch the video below where Rosie demonstrates how to turn an empty cereal box inside-out to reuse. (it's not as simple as one might think!)
Prepare empty cereal boxes to be reused for mailing gifts or packages. A thrifty, economical solution that is in your kitchen cupboard or recycling bin!