A day working for the planet

Friday is our sabbath, so we decided to do something different and, we hope, useful. Lori and I volunteered to work at the Charlottesville Habitat for Humanity store for the day. If you haven't been there, go.

The store has everything from kitchen sinks to baseboards, from washing machines to windows, doors, bathtubs, brand new flooring, building supplies, and all manner of furniture. Everything is a bargain, and every sale benefits Habitat for Humanity.

And for the next three months, 5 percent of the sales will go to Habitat's rebuilding effort in Haiti. The rest of the sale proceeds goes to help Habitat build houses for low-income people.

One of our parishioners, Buck Smith, is the store manager in Charlottesville. He does everything from scheduling and paperwork, to dismantling ceiling fans and carting bathroom cabinets out the door and into customer's vans.

As for me, I cleaned a lot of things. I was much content working with my hands, unloading a truck and dusting everything I could find in the store that needed dusting.

My adventure for the day was going on a pickup with Larry, who has been working for Habitat for many years. We picked up a donated washing machine, loaded it into a truck, and lumbered our way back to the Habitat store.

Back at the store, Lori was inputting donation data into a computer. I cleaned up the washing machine. My other project for the day was to scrub tape off a sign so it can be re-lettered and reused.

One of the principles of Habitat for Humanity is recycling -- everything is reused and reused and reused again. As little as possible ends up in a landfill.

There are Habitat for Humanity stores all over the country. You do the planet and people a favor by shopping at one. While at the store in Charlottesville, pick up an ice shovel -- they are on sale.