No Impact Week - Day 6: Giving back

I've been putting off writing about day 6...

The No Impact Project has a list of registered partners you can volunteer with in the States, and probably other places in the world. It is with zero pride that I say that we didn't manage to complete this part of the project. We tried to Google some places to volunteer but one-day opportunities were not plentiful...and I wasn't even sure what to Google. I hope to find a solution for this before we do the second segment of NIW in the Spring.

In the meantime, I had written to a company to complain about some pretty new shoes I'd bought which were already falling apart. They wrote me back and offered to send me a new pair for winter. I struggled with the idea because a) they would be new and b) it was still no impact week even if I'd receive them after. I finally reasoned that if I didn't get this pair, I'd have to get another pair eventually and the chances of me finding a pair of really great shoes second-hand was slim to none...and I'd still have to pay for them.
I guess there are still some solutions I do not see possible, like only buying shoes second-hand since the shoes mold to your feet after awhile and if you're not the first to wear them, they mold to someone else's feet.

I do, however, plan on buying more high quality shoes (though the tough part is figuring out the quality ahead of time since price isn't the best indicator anymore... as was the case this time) and having them fixed. I think we should support our local shoemakers since they have a unique type of knowledge that is worth having around. And when you buy shoes, when you can, buy for life. Obviously this is a lot easier to do with a pair of boots rather than running shoes but it's a good concept to think about and research. If you know companies like this, please let me know!

So no, today's post may not be inspirational but at least it's realistic. Sometimes things don't work out the way you intent and you can draw lessons from them, share ideas with others and see what comes up. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions for what you would've done!