Grab a feather duster and dust off any air vents on your walls. Dust tends to sit on the slats and these need a quick cleaning now and then.

A GON Reader Asked:

Hi Maria! What is a good way to repurpose run medals? I have a drawer full of medals from my one marathon, many half-marathons, 10ks, and Global 6Ks For Water (World Vision). I don't want to just toss them, but have no good ideas. I have no children to pass them on to. Thank you! I really enjoy your daily news! Love from New Mexico!

--Laurie Westerman

Maria Gracia's Response:

Hi Laurie,

First off, congratulations on all of your running and swimming accomplishments. That is so wonderful to have those successes and memories in your life!

Anyone who has medals and trophies knows that these can end up taking up a whole lot of space. Years ago, I accumulated a collection of bowling medals and trophies. When I was ready to move out of my childhood home, my mother asked me if I planned to take the medals/trophies with me. At the time, I was in my 20s, was not very attached to them, and wasn't interested in them taking up the space they required. My mom was not someone who held onto things that were not wanted so she got rid of them.

I honestly had not given those awards a second thought until my own daughter began accumulating her very own collection of medals and trophies for cross country, track, swimming, and dance. It was then that I wished I had at least taken a photo of my old medal/trophy collection.

So, at minimum, if you plan to bid them adieu, I suggest you compile all of those wonderful awards in one place, and have someone take a photo of you with all of those medals/trophies. Then you'll have a memory of all of those athletic successes in one digital photo.

Here are some additional ideas:

1. Keep the medal, not the ribbon. If you remove the ribbon from the medals, you can then frame your awards. If you have trophies, you can actually detach the plate and frame those as well...while saying goodbye to the bulky top part and base. All you need is a shadow box frame, some scrap fabric, and a hot glue gun.

2. Donate them. If you prefer, you can donate your medals/trophies. If you Google 'sports medal recycling,' you'll discover that there are companies available that will take these off your hands. These companies will often use these to rebuild new trophies and other items. There is also an organization called Medals4Mettle. They accept old marathon, half-marathon, or triathlon medals to bestow upon kids and adults fighting serious illnesses, in recognition of their bravery.

3. Turn them into art. If you're crafty, you might turn your old medals into art. For instance, in one Internet search, I found a very cool windchime that someone created using old medals!

Hope at least one of these ideas works for you! So glad you're enjoying my newsletter.

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