I am going to share with you how you can make your neighbourhood better, one day at a time- just by being a good neighbour. Really simple but oh so doable.
Where I come from, being a good neighbour helps a whole lot and I have fond memories living on Logan Lane and Rosemount in Linstead, St Catherine, Jamaica. I can still remember all the faces, even if I don’t remember all the names. Some faces I remember with a smile.
Why Being a Good Neighbour is Important
Being a good neighbour sometimes saves you money, gives peace of mind and definitely makes for a more cohesive world. I knew almost all the people who lived in the vicinity (except of course if someone new had moved in). We were invited to each other’s homes for most events celebrated and in fact, it was quite inevitable that one would at some time or the other need to ask ones neighbour to safe keep something in their fridge or freezer on one or more of these occasions when it seemed one had to ‘cater for the whole community. Being neighbourly means we take care of the planet that we all have to share too!
Related:
Cutting down on food waste, one family at a time.
To be honest, for the most part, I like the ‘feel’ of my present community. I’ve done what I can to improve its feel so the same tips I am offering to you now I am going to adopt for myself (some I already do by the way).
- Take their garbage out – if your neighbour is old, ill, disabled or heavily pregnant, certainly this is something you can do for them. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.
- Collect their bin/garbage receptacle. If nothing else, they’ll respect you for doing this ‘dirty’ job for them. We recently began to use wheelie bins and for the first few times, I noticed that my bin was returned to its place by the time I got home from work. Since most of the other bins still remained on the pavement, I thought how nice it was of my neighbour to do me that favour. One day as I returned home from work, I was surprised to see my daughter who had just got home from school, dragging the bin back to the house! Lol. She had been doing it all along and I had a warm fuzzy feeling thinking it was my neighbour.
- Make the effort to make conversation. Even when my neighbours look away as we approach each other, I still make the effort to say something, anything. Even if it’s a day when rain is pummelling the earth, I’d say something like ‘good morning, what a beautiful day’ you are most likely to get a response even if it’s a grunt. It’s a start. Before long you will start conversing but the ice has to be broken somehow so be the one to break it.
- Offer your help if you think it is needed. I know we are suspicious beings, but that’s ok. It’s just a part of human nature. In the life cycle of a family, we know there are times when families could do with some help. It may be the transport for a wedding, something special for a christening or even some support during bereavement.
- Collect their package. We’ve all had the postman leave a ‘sorry we missed you card’ for a package that they tried to deliver whilst you were out! Bugger! I’ve told my neighbours I will collect their package if ever I am in and requested that they do the same for me. This helps to build trust.(plus the mailman will leave a note to say where your package is.).
- Welcome your new neighbour to the community. Help them to feel safe and accepted. Let them know that there is at least one friendly face around, and let them be pleasantly surprised when all the other neighbours start to do the same. It might seem daunting at first but fight the fear and make the effort. My welcome speech goes something like, ‘hi, welcome to the community. I’m Leisa and I live at number 3′. I’ve never had anything but a pleasant response. Try it!
- Just be neighbourly, Think about the feelings of others. Don’t play your stereo, radio or TV too loud, alert them if you are going to have lots of people over for a party, ask them to remove their laundry from outside if you plan to fire up your barbecue….just those simple things that show you are a considerate neighbour.
So some sure tested ways to become a better neighbour and create more harmony where you live. Remember my post about doing good deeds? Go try them out and it would be good to hear what the response is. Do you think you are a good neighbour? Have you got some ghastly neighbour stories? Hope not!
Remember to challenge yourself to be a better person each day.
Related posts
Simple things that make me smile
Talk soon,
Jo and Leisa
This is the most true article I’ve read all day. We all need to be more neighborly to our neighbors! My neighbor and I are constantly trading “favors” and it’s made my life so much easier. She’ll have eggs when I run out and I’ll have butter for her. lol. We even have started sharing some items that we don’t use often enough to justify buying for just one household.
I just makes life so much easier!
It’s little acts like this that makes the world turn so merrily around! Thanks for being such a great neighbour! And don’t let anything ever spoil that lovely relationship. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas with our readers.
xoxo
Well this is true. But I am the kind of neighbor who just stay in my place and prefer not to be seen by anyone. I just don’t feel like talking my neighbors. But maybe someday I’ll have a change of heart and I’ll surely consider these tips.
Such a pity! We all need each other and you never know when you will need to call on your neighbour for help. Just start off by saying hi and see where it takes you. Let me know how it goes. Remember you can do so much to brighten the corner of the earth where you are! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.
xoxo
Really enjoyed this and it is nice to be nice – good for our mental health too x
Awesome! Let’s carry on making our corner of the plot a nicer place to be. Stop by again soon.
such a good post. I am striving to be a better neighbor because i want to live in a community where we all feel close which is so rare in today’s world but I know it starts with me.
Thanks for giving me some tips on how to start.
In high school, one of our memorized quotes was, “Good fences, make good neighbors.” I forget the famous author’s name, but I’ve grown to appreciate the sentiment. Home is where you do not have to interact, even if you are grateful for common courtesies. After forced pleasantries in the work place, or just decent demeanor in public, it’s nice not to have to have spontaneous forced conversation, especially when you live in an area where a premium is spent for more acreage and visual buffer space. Maybe keep that overt friendliness to intrusiveness to an apartment dwelling in an urban space where you are already primarily anonymous in a community without much hope for personal, genuine interaction should you seek it. With that said, a nice pulling in of the trash can was already on my mind, but a uncomfortable forced dashing to the nearest automobile in the driveway to escape whatever kinda fake conversation or butchering of communal trees was not. Food for thought.
There’s always room for the neighbourly deed. But I do get your viewpoint. We live in a big circle and all depend on each other at some time or another.
Thanks for stopping by.
xoxo
I recently moved in an apartment that is still in an active construction phase. This is great info.
I love this article BUT the tips didn’t work for us with some neighbours till we found out we weren’t the only ones AND that they were Brethrens so it was not their practice to be friendly. Even when there was a major earthquake in our city, we went to check on them (as they’re elderly) and they ignored us… HOWEVER, we continued to be good and also invited them to our baby welcome where they came the day before to put in their apologies. They brought some presents which was nice…. In summary, I’m all for being neighbourly as you never know who might help you tomorrow.
Hey Tee
If we all do our bit…
So don’t base your response on how people are. Do good anyway. Thanks for stopping by.
xoxo