The Elf Blog

Christmas Countdown - 7 Months!

Christmas is seven months from today! I'm already excited! Remember: the purpose of the Christmas countdown is to help you prepare. If you follow the countdown, when Christmas Eve rolls around, you'll be relaxed and ready to celebrate.

Here are the things you should begin working on over the next few months:

• Keep updating your Christmas card list. (If you don't have one, make one.) Summer is a big time for moves and marriages, so it's helpful to keep the addresses current.

• If you plan to make gifts, now is a very good time to start. You can do a little at a time and still finish. It’s a great thing to do on a rainy day at the beach.

• If you are vacationing (or traveling for business) this summer, be on the lookout for charming and unusual gifts for those you love. I've bought some of my favorite gifts at little boutiques I've visited on my travels.

• Have a conversation with family about where you will celebrate the holidays. As soon as that is decided, make any travel arrangements needed. The earlier you book a plane flight, the better price you’ll get and the more choices you’ll have.

• Make a budget for the holidays. I tend to look at Halloween through New Year's. It should include all aspects of your celebration: gifts, travel, food, entertainment, decorations, cards and postage, etc. If you have not already started saving to cover these costs, start now. You should never go into debt to celebrate the holidays. Having a budget and saving throughout the year will allow you to keep control of your spending while prioritizing the things that mean the most to you.

Incentives

It’s amazing how small an incentive can change behavior. As of January 1st, my county imposed a 5 cent tax for every bag you get from a grocery store, a department store, etc.

Now, 5 cents isn’t a lot of money. Even if you are doing a huge grocery shop, it’s not going to be even an additional dollar added to your bill.

But I went grocery shopping Friday evening. Within 2 weeks of the tax going into effect, well over half the people I saw in the store either had reusable bags with them or had brought plastic or paper bags from home to reuse.

It seems that 5 cents a bag was enough to get people to change their behavior. And for those who forget or who don’t change their behavior, the money collected goes to clean up the extra trash generated by all those bags.

It’s amazing how little of an incentive it takes to create a behavior change. What other behaviors might it be worth trying to change?

Keeping the Clutter from Coming Back

You’ve gotten rid of the clutter.  Good for you!!!!  Take a moment and celebrate your achievement.

Now, it’s time to think about ways to avoid building up clutter in the future.  You don’t want to have to de-clutter too often.

Here are some strategies for keeping clutter to a minimum:

• Identify the places where you tend to accumulate clutter –a specific corner or cabinet or closet or drawer.  Make a special effort to avoid putting things in those places unless absolutely necessary.
• Don’t buy something new if you know you already have one but just can’t find it.
• Don’t get sucked into “stock-up” sales that encourage you to buy huge amounts of something.  Most sales are on a 2-3 month cycle at the most.  You don’t need to buy enough of something to last a year.
• If you like something, you don’t need to buy it in every color.  Pick the one you like best.  Note the noun is singular.
• When you want to indulge with a purchase, buy a service, not an item.  You don’t have to find a place to store a pedicure or a ghost tour.
• Make it a habit to rotate your closets and cabinets so nothing gets stuck in the back for too long.
• Repair or discard things immediately.  You don’t want them to build up.
• Borrow, don’t buy, things you don’t need to own, especially books and videos.
• If you want to be really hard core, discard something for every item you buy.  You buy a book, you donate a book.  You buy a pair of sneakers, you discard a pair of sneakers.

What strategies work for you?

 

 

Giving Stuff Away -- The Basics

So, you have a stack of stuff you want to give away.  What do you do with it?

Clothes and household goods are accepted by many charities.  Some groups sell these items in a thrift store.  Others (particularly homeless shelters, prison-to-work agencies, and refugee resettlement groups) give the items directly to their clients. Some will pick up the items.  In other cases you need to drop it off.  If you donate the material to a charity, you may be eligible for a tax deduction.  If so, get an itemized receipt.  To make it easier, make a list of everything you plan to donate.

Books, videos, and CDs can be donated to some schools, libraries, community centers, and retirement homes.  Please make sure you call these places before you take the materials to them to make sure they receive donations.  Some cannot accept donations while others can do so only at certain hours.  Another option for these items is a used book store.  My library has a used book sale.  In some towns, schools or charities have periodic used book sales. 

For larger items, you might want to consider online lists like CraigsList or FreeCycle.  You’ll want to post photos and monitor requests carefully.  And never be home alone when the pick-up takes place.

What methods have you used to dispose of useful things you no longer need.

Fall Food

Fall is my favorite time of year to cook.  The fruits and vegetables that come into season now (especially apples and squashes) are among my very favorites.

Fall is a great time of year to create soups and stews.  They save time and money.

Soups and stews cook slowly, but once the ingredients are combined, they don't require much attention.  You can leave them simmering on the stove or in a slow cooker with an occasional stir while you do something else.  They can be reheated slowly during the day so that they are ready for dinner.  Combined with some good whole grain bread and a salad, they make a good meal. And, if a family has to eat at different times, a soup or stew is a great option.  Folks can serve themselves when convenient. Most soups and stews freeze well, so you can defrost them for a quick meal.

Soups and stews are also a good way to save money.  They stretch a limited amount of meat to more servings.  Soups and stews can use less expensive cuts of meat since the slow cooking will make them tender.  You can use up leftover veggies or veggies just about to go bad in soups.  Bones from ham, roasts, and chicken carcasses can be used as the basis for homemade stocks.  (Roasted veggies also make a great stock.  Roasting them before using them to make stock intensifies the flavor.)

What are your favorite things to cook in the autumn?

Christmas Countdown - 4 Months!

Believe it or not, Christmas Eve is only 4 months away! If you follow this countdown, by the time Christmas Eve arrives, you'll be rested, prepared, and ready to celebrate.  Here are your tasks for the coming month:

• Keep saving toward your holiday budget. Ideally, you'll have completed your saving by Halloween.
• Make your holiday travel arrangements.  Typically, airfares start falling the week after Labor Day.  But keep in mind that prime tickets for Thanksgiving are already gone.
• Keep working on crafts.
• As you plan fall meals, try to use up pantry staples and freezer contents to free up room for holiday foods.
• When storing summer things in the attic or basement, take a few minutes to identify where you've stored your holiday decorations.  If anything requires repair, do it now to save time later.
• Make your Christmas lists, specifically, your Christmas card list, a craft list, your gift list, and a list of any entertaining you plan to do from Halloween until New Year's.
• Decide what you hope to accomplish this holiday season.  You can make a list of goals, make a word cloud, create a vision collage -- whatever works for you.  It will help you keep your focus on what's most important to you.

Christmas Countdown - Five Months

Christmas is five months from today!

Here are some tasks to keep in mind to aid your preparations:

• Continue putting the budgeted amounts aside so that you can cover your holiday costs without resorting to credit.
• Make travel reservations as early as possible.  By September, the best deals will be gone.
• Begin developing your Christmas gift list and, as you see appropriate gifts, pick them up. (I've already made a good start on my shopping.)
• If you plan to make gifts (other than food), start now while you have time.
• Use bad weather days this summer (ones that are too hot or too rainy to go outside) to go through the recipe file you created last year.  Pick out the recipes you want to try this holiday season.

The Wrong Kind of Saving

You know that I'm all about saving time, money, and effort.  But there is one type of saving to which I am strongly opposed.

So many of us, when we buy or receive special gifts or little luxuries, decide to save them "for a special occasion."  We don't use the nice towels or the good china or the lovely scented candle or the luxurious bath oil.  What are we waiting for?  Seriously.  In so many cases, something is lost or spoiled before we every get around to using it.

I really try to live by the Disney motto: Celebrate Today!  Give yourself permission to make an ordinary weekday the "special occasion" you've been waiting for!

Christmas Countdown -- 6 months (minus a few days!)

Actually, last Friday was 6 months until Christmas Eve, but things have been a bit nuts at work lately, so I'll step in here with the next installment of the Christmas Countdown:

1)  If you don't have a holiday budget, develop one now.  Keep in mind that if you have a holiday budget in place, some of those vacation purchases can become gift purchases!

2)  If you need to trim your budget to make it realistic, now is the time to discuss cutting back on spending for gifts or limiting travel costs or other purchases.  You may be able to throw a party jointly with a friend and cut your entertainment costs.  Thinking about it now gives you more options. 

3) Keep updating your card address list. 

4)  If you can decide your travel now, you can buy your tickets with maximum choice of seats and at great prices.  Some sites (like Orbitz) even offer price assurance, so if someone else gets the same flight cheaper, they'll refund the difference to you.  If the costs are high, consider travel insurance -- just in case.

5) If you plan to make some gifts (apart from baking), start planning now.  The lazy days of summer may be the best time to knit that sweater, make the jewelry, or compile the scrapbook.  Some things can only be done in the summer.  Take advantage of seasonal produce to make jam and pickles or can peaches and tomatoes.  A basket filled with your home preserves makes a lovely gift and brings the summer alive in the depths of winter.

Christmas Countdown -- 7 Months

Christmas Eve is seven months from today!  I'm already excited!

Remember: the purpose of the Christmas countdown is to help you prepare.  If you follow the countdown, when Christmas Eve rolls around, you'll be relaxed and ready to celebrate.

Here are the things you should begin working on over the next few months:

• Update your Christmas card list.  (If you don't have one, make one.)  Summer is a big time for moves and marriages, so it's helpful to keep the addresses current.
• If you plan to make gifts, now is a very good time to start. You can do a little at a time and still finish.
• Use a rainy summer day to sort through your Christmas recipe file.  Discard the ones that were not good.  Highlight the ones you love. Select some new ones to try this year.
• If you are vacationing this summer, be on the lookout for charming and unusual gifts for those you love.  I've bought some of my favorite gifts at little boutiques I've visited on my travels.
• Have a conversation with family about where you will celebrate the holidays.  As soon as that is decided, make any travel arrangements needed.  You may be surprised to learn that Thanksgiving flights are already filling up.
• Make a budget for the holidays.  I tend to look at Halloween through New Year's.  It should include all aspects of your celebration:  gifts, travel, food, entertainment, decorations, cards and postage, etc.  If you have not already started saving to cover these costs, start now.  You should never go into debt to celebrate the holidays.  Having a budget and saving throughout the year will allow you to keep control of your spending while prioritizing the things that mean the most to you.