My Project for Champions For Kids

You are familiar with my Country Living posts I am sure, living in the country is not for the faint at heart…

One thing about this old farm house that we live in is the lighting isn’t that great at all. (That is just ONE thing of many, but at least it is something that is in my control, unlike the lack of electrical outlets, plumbing issues and the squirrel I think lives in the attic.)  I was excited to be able to participate in a Simple Service Project with Champions For Kids!  If you are like me, this is something that you haven’t heard of. This is a pretty awesome thing to get involved with and I honestly didn’t know it existed until last week!  They do different projects every month that allow us to give back to the community.  It isn’t a charity, but more of a lifestyle!  We here at The Busy Nothings have a goal to participate each month, whether we blog about it or not.

The first thing I got to do was go shopping!  I was looking forward to a little ‘quiet time’ at the store by myself, that doesn’t happen often.  Granted, my kids are older, so there is less crying, but more whining.  We don’t have regular television, just Netflix and movies, so we are a bit spoiled.  I make jokes all the time about the kids not even knowing what they want for Christmas because they don’t see the commercials that ‘tell’ them what they want!   It was nice to be able to just browse around the store and take my time.

You can see my entire shopping trip in my Google + Photo Album  As I headed to the lighting section of Walmart  I wondered what I would find and how many bulbs I would be able to change out!  I wanted to change all the bulbs in the house!  Now before you think I went broke in the lighting aisle, it might be good for you to remember that I live in ‘that old farmhouse in the country’.  Minus the two florescent light fixtures, I have a GRAND TOTAL of …wait for it….9 bulbs in my house…Yes NINE!  I started laughing when I realized just how few bulbs I had to exchange.

I was very pleased that they carried not just the regular bulbs that I needed, but also the special kind of bulbs that go in my ceiling fan! You know, the ones with the huge bulb, but the little screw in. (I think there is a more technical name for it, but it isn’t coming to me right now).  I was a little bummed that they didn’t have energy saver florescent bulbs for my bedroom light and the kitchen light, but  I will most definitely be keeping my eyes open for those products to make an appearance!

Part of what I wanted to do was to create a board to show others how much I saved.  I needed to purchase the supplies for that as well.

Elmer’s had many interesting items and even had suggestions of products to use on the tri fold board that I ended up purchasing !

Here is what I ended up heading home with: (I love Horehound candy, and it was my Grandpa Skifstad’s favorite).

When we got home Madison helped me switch out all NINE of our bulbs…She said “Look Mom, I have a bright idea!”  She is quite a character that one!

After we got the bulbs switched out, we went to the GE Savings Calculator Page and figured out how much we saved! (TBA, keep reading, I will let you know how much it is!)

This is what we used to start the project.

I can’t lie, I did get a bit distracted for just a few minutes…Don’t judge me, you know you would love to do it too!  Nothing like taking me straight back to elementary school!

 We replaced 9 bulbs total! I am still laughing about that…and honestly, that is only because Madison’s room takes two bulbs and the reading light in my bedroom takes two bulbs also!  I am seriously curious now how many bulbs you have at your house…

Based on the calculator that I previously mentioned, they calculated that we will be saving $50.95 a year!  That adds up… being a single mom with three kids!  I am not even sure if that included the amount of money I will be saving by not having to buy bulbs every couple of months. These bulbs have a 9 year life!  I used glue and glitter to make the dollar signs.  If you go to Glue ‘N Glitter on Facebook, or Elmer’s Craft It they have a lot of craft ideas to share with you and your kids!  Madison jumped right in making a cute little sign to take to her dad’s tonight. (She is going hunting with him in the morning and can’t wait!  Hopefully I will be able to share a story of her successful hunt soon!)

We are donating another 6 pack of GE Energy Saving Bulbs to Kiddie Campus in Prairie Grove, a local day care that is just opening this month!  The owner Kristin, a friend of mine, was very thankful and appreciative of the donation!  She even hit me up to teach some CPR and First Aid for her and another lady!  I am a certified instructor with the Red Cross and love living in a small town and being able to help people!

I love the quote I put at the bottom of the display:

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” ~Native American Proverb~

I enjoyed participating in this project and having my kids (whom I home school)  being a part of it as well!  One of the things they miss not being in school are projects on this level.  We are excited to keep participating with Champions for Kids  I am more than happy to do anything that will help make the world a better place for them.

This was a pretty awesome project and I am going to be putting up the tri fold board at the local library to encourage others in my community to make the switch to GE Energy Saving bulbs as well as getting involved in a Champions for Kids Simple Service Project!

If YOU would like to participate, you can follow Champions For Kids on Facebook and Twitter.

DISCLOSURE: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Elmer’s.#CBias #SocialFabric.  However, those of you who know me, know that I love doing things like this and giving back to the community!  Never fear, you will always ‘hear it like it is’ from Sarea!