I don’t know how long you have been following the One Crazy House, but we love tips and tricks that make life easier, like decluttering a bedroom!! But what you may not know is that we are huge proponents of adoption and foster care! Mattress Firm, sponsors of today’s blog post, is combining our two passions with a terrific initiative “Kid Heroes”.
Keep reading!! There is a contest where your kids have the chance to win a $500 Toys R Us Gift Card along with a $5000 donation to a non-profit. Details for the Mattress Firm Kids Heroes Contest are at the end of the post!
Before becoming a blogger, before becoming a mom, I grew up in one of the craziest and coolest families out there! I grew up in a foster home.
Over the course of my life, over fifty kids came to stay with my family – some for just a couple of days at a time, going right back home to family or friends, some for a couple of years. Some came alone in the middle of the night, some arrived with siblings, some even came with their teenage parents!
But ALL of them arrived with very little personal belongings, most with just a small bag of a few items.
Give Back with the Kids Heroes Contest
We were so blessed that our community came along side us growing up and helped provide clothing and other essentials to our family whenever new kids would arrive.
Today, it was time to pay-it-forward!! With Mattress Firm Foster Kids and the “Kid Heroes” initative, local foster kids in communities all across America are able to get clothing and other essentials!
At the end of every season we go through our clothes together and the kids and I ask each other these questions. Too often the answer is no. If the answer is no to ANY of the questions we put the item into the giveaway pile. This year’s batch was dropped off at our local Mattress Firm. They had a big barrel that was filled with items that were being donated to the foster kids in my area!
Five Questions to Ask When You are Decluttering:
Does this still fit you?
This is especially necessary with my kids. Too often my idea of what fits and their memories are “off”. Try on items that you wonder if they fit. If they don’t – drop them into the NO pile.
From May 2nd to June 26th, bring your like-new or gently used kids clothes to your local Mattress Firm, they have a bin ready and waiting! The Kids Heroes Contest makes it easy to give back to your community.
Have you worn it in the last six months?
The reality is that if you did not wear that outfit in the last two seasons, the likelihood of you wearing it in the future is pretty low. This item goes into the “NO” pile. If you have doubt, we love the box it trick. Put the item into a box, seal the box and write the date…. six months later, did you miss that item? Did you dig it out of the box? If not, put the whole box into the NO pile
Do you like it? Do you *love* it?
No really, do you love it? If not, don’t hold onto it. I know I am not the only person who tends to re-wear the same ten or fifteen favorite items over and over again. It’s because I love them! If an item isn’t in the “I love it” category it automatically goes into the NO pile.
Is it in good condition (no stains, tears etc)?
If the item has stains or tears instead of putting it into the NO pile, put this item into the trash pile. Your NO pile will be going to the giveaway bin, this is NOT that pile.
The reality is that the families who are recieving those giveaways don’t want your trash any more than you do. As a gal who growing up was on the recieving end from the community, it was a bit disappointing to get excited at the prospect of new-to-you clothes, only to discover it is unwearable due to a tear or something. Do the family you are gifting these items to a favor and don’t include things you would not wear in the giveaway bins.
Make the kids and families recieving these clothes feel special with your donation!
…And of course, while we were there – at Mattress Firm, we had to go feel all the “guts” of the mattresses!
Is the outfit in style?
Ditto with the above. There is a difference between “not your style” and completely outdated. If the item is completely outdated, think about the kids who you are passing those items along to. You don’t want your child teased on the school bus wearing that hideous shirt, we probably don’t want that child being teased for it either.
Discard the worst of the worst.
And if the item is NOT in good condition or is outdated, we put it into the discard pile. The discard pile we can cut up into rags, or repurpose the clothes for random projects, or even just throw in the trash.
So much fun!! Take selfies on the beds!
Join us in the Kids Heros Contest
Starting May 2, Mattress Firm is launching Kid Heroes, a national social media contest to raise awareness for the Mattress Firm Foster Kids program.
Mattress Firm is asking parents or friends of a child who makes a clothing or monetary donation to their local Mattress Firm store to submit a photo and caption of their child
making an impact on foster children.
There are three ways that customers can enter the #Donate4FosterKids promotion. Entries are accepted on Instagram or Twitter beginning Monday, May 2 at 9 a.m. CST through
Sunday, May 22 at 11:59 p.m. CST using the hashtag #Donate4FosterKids, or online at www.MattressFirm.com/KidHeroes from May 2-22, 2016, coinciding with National Foster Care Month.
Whether it’s a photo of the child putting a pair of clothes in the donation barrels, or a child selling baked goods at school to raise money for the cause, Mattress Firm wants to see a photo and hear a little bit about how they are helping. Along with the photo, Mattress Firm asks that the caption describe how the child is supporting the cause and how they aspire to make a difference in the local community.
Photos will be housed in a content gallery on www.MattressFirm.com/KidHeroes, where voting will take place for a chance to win a grand prize.
Finalists, and later the contest winner, will be determined by the most votes received on their submission and the top five photos with the highest number of votes move onto the Finalist Round from May 23 through May 29.
The winning photo will be announced the week of May 30.
The winning kid hero will receive a $500 Toys “R” Us gift card and a $5,000 donation to the local Mattress Firm Foster Kids nonprofit partner of the winner’s choice.
This post has been sponsored by the Mom It Forward Blogger Network and Mattress Firm. All opinions are my own.
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