Slow Time Tasks

During any receiving shift you may be caught with a full group of volunteers and absolutely no donations. What to do with so many willing hands and so few things to do? Slow Time Tasks!

• Wrap cords, count them, and pack them in a box. Label box with quantity and type of cord when full.
• Clean up. Often there are abandoned cardboard boxes to break down and put away, sweeping up to be done, etc.
• Move receiving boxes to their designated areas - e.g. advanced testing box to advanced testing, steel box to recycling.
• Deconstruct floppy disks and sort into their components (Magnetic/non-magnetic metal and dirty plastic) If there aren't any in Receiving, ask in the Recycling Warehouse
• Break down styrofoam, put it in a garbage bag and take to the warehouse
• Break down extra boxes
• Look through the deconstruction box for things that would be easy to take apart in Receiving (things with just one screw or an easily removed battery
• Ask the Recycling Warehouse if there are drive rails to deconstruct (separate metal from plastic parts)
• Ask the Recycling Warehouse if there are laptop or cell phone batteries to bag or tape
• Ask the Recycling Warehouse if there are dead or rejected wall-warts to cut.
• Reclaim rubber bands from cords in the Danger Cart
• Ask the Recycling Warehouse if there are batteries to test (When tested, working ones can go to the store)

If none of these tasks lasts long enough and it doesn't look like there will be any donations, consider diverting volunteers to another area (ex: Recycling Warehouse) -- But don't forget to ask the area coordinator AND the volunteer!

--Liliana 01:10, 24 February 2011 (UTC)