“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”
~ Mother Teresa

Either single-handedly, with the help of friends or family, or volunteering with an organization, cooking up a large or small project is a wonderful way to score brownie points. Anyone — small fry or senior, individuals or groups — can whip-up volunteer projects that help others.

Allow your ideas to percolate, and you’ll soon discover what your community needs. “Make a Difference Day” (this October 25) is really all about neighbors serving neighbors.

No matter whether you’re a scrambled student, a butter-fingered bartender, or even a half-baked housepainter, there are always a few extra hours to consider volunteering an afternoon of your skills: painting a neighbor’s porch or finger-painting with the kid next door; removing a scrap heap of trash from the side of a highway or scrap-booking memories at the Senior Center; granny-sitting or babysitting; swinging your kids at the local park or swinging a hammer to help with some carpentry; twisting a screwdriver to assist with electrical work or twisting taffy with some school kids; you get the idea… You could coach a sporting event, offer computer assistance, replant a flower or vegetable bed, do some office work, visit with someone who’s lonely, collect food for the homeless or even work in a soup kitchen.

With all of this not-so subtle discussion of food, food, and more food…on “Make a Difference Day” how about cleaning a neighbor’s kitchen appliances? (You knew I was going there now didn’t ya’!) It doesn’t need to take a month of Sundays to quickly and safely clean a kitchen. Here are a few quick pointers and eco-recipes to make your visit speedy and easy as pie.

Coffee maker:

To clean an automatic drip coffee maker run full-strength white vinegar through a normal brew cycle. Rinse by running plain water through the cycle twice. The pot will be remarkably clean and your coffee will taste better than ever. (Tip: coffee sometimes tastes bitter because of soapy residue…so never wash your pot with soap.)

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