Good Deeds

The Strenuous Life is a revolt against the self-indulgent ethos that only looks out for oneself. We exhort men to have noble and good aims and to daily strive after them, even when it’s inconvenient. Virtue, duty, and service over self-gratification. Selfless self-improvement is our mantra. As we seek to become more fit, skilled, temperate, frugal, patient, courageous, resolute, and honest, we strengthen and improve our families, communities, and country.

Good Deeds You Can Do

Write a thank you note

Compliment a stranger

Return a loose shopping cart

Pick up trash

Do the dishes

Take out the trash

Wash the car

Wash the dog

Babysit

Cook a meal

Mow the lawn

Weed the yard/flower beds

Fold laundry

Fix something around the house

Pick up bedrooms

Dust your home

Organize the garage

Teach a skill to someone at work

Teach your children a skill

Clean the toilet

Bake some cookies for the neighbors

Send someone an appreciative message/email at work

Hold the door open for someone

Start up a friendly conversation with your neighbors

Do maintenance on a friend/loved one’s car

Buy some Girl Scout cookies

Leave a note/treat for your mailman

Go on a drive with one of your kids and just talk

Volunteer at your local food bank

Sign up for a river/stream clean-up

Mentor youth through a program like Big Brother, Big Sisters

Donate items to a local homeless shelter

Donate blankets to the newborn unit of a hospital near you

Volunteer to serve a meal at a soup kitchen

Call your mom/dad/grandparents

Volunteer at your child’s school

Volunteer with the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts

Serve someone in your church

Volunteer with a local environmental club such as the Sierra Club to restore a trail

Become a Volunteer Deputy Registrar and register people to vote

Volunteer at a local nursing home/assisted living

Organize a Strenuous Saturday for your local TSL chapter

Volunteer with a local conservation group to help an endangered or threatened species

Spot someone at your gym and give them pointers/encouragement

Host your friends for a dinner and/or cocktails

Watch a friend’s animal(s) while they’re on vacation

Share a musical talent at church

Teach someone else how to play an instrument

Clean the microwave

Start a book/podcast club

Make a double-batch of something yummy and gift to a neighbor

Buy a bag of good groceries and donate it to your local food bank or shelter

Cut fresh wildflowers and bring them to your local nursing home so the residents can enjoy

Bring your well-behaved dog for a visit at a local nursing home

Hold the door for people behind you

Bring someone less fortunate a plant or some fresh flowers

Make a meal for a friend recovering from surgery or an illness

Babysit for free – parents will always appreciate a much-needed break

Put together a basket of treats for someone who has had a death in the family and deliver it after the funeral when they’ll need extra support

Volunteer for a charity

Instead of buying gifts for your family, agree to donate the gift in monies to a charity of their choice

Pass on your unused monthly bus pass to someone in need

Take your neighbors trash to the curb while you’re taking yours

When in line at the grocery store, let the person behind you go in front of you

Pet sit for neighbors going out of town

Make or order dinner for friends with a newborn baby

Pay for the person behind you at the drive-thru

Help someone who looks lost with directions

Donate blood or volunteer for the American Red Cross

Donate your used clothes and housewares to charity

Take a CPR class – you never know when you might need to use it

Help an elderly person off the bus

Bring your old magazines to a hospital waiting room to make a visitor’s wait better

Write a letter or e-mail to a good friend or family member to let them know how much you value them

Offer to walk a neighbor’s dog once a week

Help a parent who is struggling to get a stroller down or up the stairs

Keep your city clean by picking up plastic bottles and other trash you see around your neighborhood

Visit a nursing home to chat with some of the residents

Smile at everyone you pass on the street

Pass on your books after you’ve read them for someone else to enjoy

If you’ve discovered a great little restaurant or store, spread the word

Let go of an old grudge

Help wrap gifts during the holidays

On a random weekend, surprise your loved ones with breakfast in bed

When you come across a buy one, get one free deal, donate the free product to someone in need

Compliment a stranger

Volunteer to do someone’s grocery shopping for them every two weeks

Leave your server a very generous tip

Feed parking meters that are about to expire

Pick up a large bag of cat or dog food to donate to a local animal shelter

Write a note of appreciation to your mail carrier

Give a lottery ticket to a stranger

Put together a writing kit with stationery, envelopes and stamps, pen and give to hospital/nursing home

Put change in candy and vending machines – or tape a couple of dollars to the machine

Buy a phone card and give to a homeless shelter for them to give to someone

Take flowers to a hospital ward and give them to someone who hasn’t had any visitors

Drop a few coins in an area where children play so they can find them

Let someone merge in front of you during rush hour

Many small, local nonprofits have “wishlists” of items they are currently looking for or always need - Provide 3 of those items

Bring baked goods to your local police or fire station to say thank you

Finish a punch card (for a restaurant, car wash, etc.) and give the “free” one to someone else

Walk for something that is important to you

Give a fast food gift card to someone who is homeless

Put out a bird feeder to feed the birds

Leave a note or a dollar in a library book for somebody else

Donate books to the library

While in a restaurant, pay for the meals at another table

Weed someone’s garden

Make arrangements to pay for a stranger’s gas, water, telephone, or electric bill

Rake someone’s yard

Go to the dry cleaners. Pay for someone’s dry cleaning

Create care packages for the homeless

Pay for movie tickets for a family while at the movie theater

Stop by a street vendor and give the proprietor a $20.00 bill - Tell the proprietor to give free merchandise to the next several customers until the $20.00 is consumed

Buy car wash certificates to keep in your car to use through out the year. - Each time you go, give the attendant two tickets, one for you, and one for the car behind you

Knit something for a friend, family member, or a cause

Attend an event important to your loved one

Mow a neighbor’s lawn

Collect coats to donate

Send a care package to a loved one

Offer someone a piece of gum

Make aromatherapy for someone

Say “bless you” when someone sneezes

Leave coupons at the grocery store by leaving the coupon next to the product that it is for

Straighten things up on store shelves while you browse

Hand out free popsicles on a hot day

Reuse “thought-for-the-day” calendar pages by adding them to each piece of outgoing mail

Leave quarters at the laundromat for others to use

Return shopping carts to their designated area

Share an inspirational quote

Leave a thank you note

Give a balloon to a child

Read to a child

Blow bubbles at the park for kids

Donate your talents

Call everyone you know and tell them you love them

Cheer someone on

Offer a ride to someone who cannot drive or does not have a car

Help someone achieve a goal

Write encouraging messages on sticky notes and stick them in random places like a car wash, vending machine, etcetera

Send expired coupons for military to use on base

Take in someone’s garbage cans

Say a prayer for someone

Take crayons and coloring books to a hospital children’s ward

Put a dollar in the toy section at your local dollar store

Give stickers out to kids you pass on the street

Write a note on the sidewalk with chalk and make someone smile

Collect Box Tops and donate them to a local school

Offer an elderly person, a pregnant woman, a physically disabled person – or just someone who looks tired – your seat on the bus

Additional Resources

Websites

Happy Orange Project: 365 Acts of Kindness

Books