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Eco-friendly and green gift wrapping ideas for this holiday season

Maya — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:01:54 +0000

The following is written by green living columnist Maya Bisineer of Memetales.

Did you know that half of the paper consumed in the U.S. every year is used to wrap and decorate consumer products? This holiday season, I’m challenging myself to to wrap all the gifts I give in an eco-friendly way.

Why not join this challenge as well? Here are some eco-friendly tips for holiday gift wrapping.

The Eco-friendly Gift Wrapping Approach

Eco-friendly and green gift wrap can mean a lot of things, but for me, this means to reuse and recycle as much as possible.

1. Use what you already have.

Don’t buy any gift wrapping material unless you have to. Find inspiration from things lying around your house—shopping bags, newspaper ads, and the like. Once you start looking at material as potential gift wrapping aids, the possibilities are many.

2. Reuse as much as possible.

If you have a recycling bin that gets filled pretty often, then you have plenty of wrapping paper and containers. I’m starting to save my yogurt containers for gifts!

3.Buy sensibly.

If you need to buy wrapping material, look for paper and bags that can be reused and recycled.

4. Less is more.

When you use unconventional materials for gift wrap, it’s easy to get carried away and think you need to make up for your approach by overly decorating the wrapped gift. Keep wrapped gifts as simple as possible. Just one little bow, a picture, or hand-written message on a brown box go a long way, making the gift look classy without looking like you tried too hard.

Preparing for Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping

Here are some basic gift wrap supplies you’ll need.

Paper

Save paper shopping bags from stores.
Ask for plain brown paper bags at stores.
Save interesting newspaper, magazine pages, and newspapers.
Save your child’s art work.
Save some of that plain white paper you’d otherwise recycle.

Cloth

Old scarves, t-shirts, thin towels, and washcloths are great for wrapping oddly-shaped gifts.

Containers

Bottles and tins are wonderful for packaging edible gifts.
Small baby food containers are great for jewelry.

Decorations

Keep these on hand for decorating wrapped gifts:

Crayons (great for drawing on gift wrap)
Small ornaments
Little pieces of art work (to cut and glue to gift wrap)

A Few Gift Wrapping Ideas In Action

1. Cloth

Although it’s not my personal favorite, cloth is great to wrap oddly-shaped gifts. Gifts for babies are great candidates for cloth wrapping.

I pulled a wash cloth tightly around this unusually-shaped teether.

2. Brown bags

Brown bags are incredibly versatile.

I learned this from a friend who always gives her gifts in simple brown packaging with one little bow. Classy and eco-friendly.

3. Brown paper from cut up brown bags

We have dozens of paper bags from Trader Joes. I used paper from a brown paper bag to wrap a little gift.

I used a miniature ornament to make it look a bit more special.

4. Plain paper with handmade embellishments

I wrapped this gift with plain white paper and a hand-written message for a special touch.

Don’t use ribbon; just use a crayon!

5. Children’s art work

I love children’s artwork because they are so unpredictable and look great almost all the time. In fact, the kids can be creating the gift wrap for you as you wrap the gifts.

Want to put a personal touch? Just ask the kids to make a custom drawing of the gift’s recipient!

Kids paint adventurously. The combination of colors they use is so festive, it makes for perfect wrapping paper.

I used part of my daughter’s painting to wrap this gift.

6. Bottles with a handmade label

It’s easy to transform bottles and tins into special gift packaging with a custom handmade label. All you need is a little white paper and some creativity.

My husband gave me a necklace in this bottle years ago. It is something I’ll save for the rest of my life.

7. Newspaper

I am a big fan of using newspapers to wrap gifts.

Use either the comics section with a simple bow or just the printed newspaper (no color or ads) for the classiest look.

What are some ways you creatively and frugally wrap presents?

Originally published on November 3, 2010.

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Q&A: Can beggars be choosers?

Tsh — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:21:52 +0000

Reader Melissa asked a great question recently. I’ve thought about it, too, and think I have an opinion, but I’d love to hear what you all think:

“I want to be generous to those who are less fortunate than me. I really do. I feel that we have a responsibility to care for them. There are lots of web sites out there that point to free or cheap deals (with coupons) at various stores. It’s frequently recommended that you stockpile what your family needs, then give the rest away to those who need it.

“My problem is that, now that I know how many bad things are in most prepackaged products (food and toiletries), I have a REALLY hard time donating things that I don’t consider to be good enough for my own family. I know that ‘beggars can’t be choosers,’ but am I really helping someone by giving them something that has harmful chemicals in it?

“Yet at the same time, I doubt that many homeless folks are able to cook from scratch. I feel badly about not giving more things away, but I would also feel badly about giving people something that I wouldn’t give my own family.”

Is it nobler to pass on buying goods with questionable ingredients, and therefore not affording to give at all? Or do you feel like it’s better to give what’s available, so that those who can’t afford anything at all can have—well, something?

What do you think? Where is that balance between being generous, while not spending money on things you’d rather not?

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A Natural Beauty Update

Tsh — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 04:01:14 +0000

I recently updated you on my hair care (not the most important topic in the world, but hey, you’ve been asking). While the baking soda, vinegar routine work well for my family because it’s frugal and non-toxic, I realize it may not be ideal for everyone. That’s okay.

I figured it’s a good time to update you on my other beauty and health care routines.

More than anything, I think it’s important to make an informed choice about what goes on our bodies. Just like what goes in (food), what we slather on our largest organ also affects our health. Plus, quality health and beauty products can really empty the wallet.

So our family sticks with the simple, which also happen to be pretty natural and (usually) frugal.

Several years ago, I listed what we were using for health and beauty. For the most part, this hasn’t changed.

Soap

We still use Dr. Bronner’s pure castile soap. It lasts forever, so it’s much more cost-effective than what it seems at first glance. We’ve also used Whole Foods’ store brand castile soap, which is even cheaper on sale (though stay away from the almond scent, which smells like Play-doh, in my opinion).

Castile soap is made exclusively from vegetable oils (usually olive) instead of animal fats. I love that it leaves absolutely no reside—I never noticed how filmy traditional body washes and soap left my skin until we switched to castile.

Lotion

Natural lotion is simply a mixture of water, oil, emulsifier (which blends the water and oil together so that it doesn’t separate), a thickener (the most common is stearic acid, found in cocoa butter), and a natural preservative. There are tons of natural liquid lotions available, both in the health section of grocery stores and online (lots of great Etsy shops make lotion).

Currently, my favorite is hard lotion from Made On. It looks like a bar of soap, but when you rub it on your skin, it gently melts and glides across your skin. I also use straight up coconut oil, though be mindful that it takes a few minutes to seep into your skin (it feels oily at first).

Facial moisturizer

I’m still going strong with only coconut oil (Vitacost is my favorite place for large quantities of coconut oil—their prices are great, and they have free shipping over $49). A little goes a long way, and combined with my oil cleansing method (explained below), keeps my skin supple soft.

Face cleanser

Two years later, and I’m still so glad I discovered the oil cleansing method (OCM) from from my friend Megan at Sorta Crunchy. Who would’ve ever thought you’d use oil to make your skin cleaner? This method has been a godsend.

Lip balm

I still use 100 percent lanolin, the stuff you use when nursing. It lasts forever; I’m actually still using the same tube from when I nursed my second-born back in 2008.

It doesn’t dry out my lips, so I apply it about twice per day. It also makes my lips look fuller and with its subtle sheen, I almost never use lipstick. If I ever want a little color, I use some Burt’s Bees lip shimmer.

Toothpaste

For awhile, I made our own toothpaste. This was when we lived overseas and had no access to toothpaste with decent ingredients. Kyle honestly never loved the flavor, so when we returned to the U.S., we switched to Tom’s of Maine. I know the brand isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough for us.

Deodorant

Katie Kimball makes her own deodorant, and I applaud her. Sounds like a very doable recipe. I just don’t haven’t devoted the time to make it, so I use Arm & Hammer’s Essentials natural deodorant. Again, it’s not perfect, but I’m very impressed with this stuff.

Makeup

I’m blown away with the Mineral Fusion brand. I have their concealer, bronzer, blush, mascara, and a few more items, and I hope to replace other items with their stuff as I use them up (I have my eye on their eye pencils and eye shadow. As with most mineral makeup, it’s not super cheap, but the quality ingredients make the expense worth it, in my opinion.They’re at Whole Foods, and you can find a $3 coupon when you like them on Facebook.

Combined with my hair care, this is about all I use in my health and beauty routine. It’s not perfect, but I’m happy with it—most everything lasts forever, going frugal with most of it means I feel okay about splurging on other things, and nothing is toxic.

What’s your favorite natural beauty tip, product, or brand?

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Create a (non-boring) Staycation

Tsh — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:43:54 +0000

It’s early August already—can you believe it? It feels like summer just started to me. Guess that’s what happens when you’re go go go for several months.

School might be starting in just a few weeks where you live, and you might be itching to get back to a routine. Understandable. But don’t wish away summer vacation just yet—take advantage of your open-ended schedule to be a tourist in your own hometown, especially if you haven’t taken a break.

Often called “staycations,” visiting your own stomping grounds has its definite advantages. And if you haven’t yet taken a vacation this year, now’s a great time to sneak one in—without having to pack.

This is easy for my family, since we just moved to a new town; everything’s interesting. This is why staycations have been on my mind, actually—the thought of packing and driving again makes me twitch.

I’d much rather tour our own town. Here are a few ways we’ve gotten good ideas on what to do around town.

1. Ask around

For us, this has been the best way to find things to do. Ask your friends about their favorite family-friendly restaurant. Chit-chat with the person next to you at church or in line at the movies, and ask if they’ve done anything fun this summer. Ideas will come in unexpected places.

We asked our new neighbors for a rundown of their favorite restaurants, and we found a great hole-in-the-wall Mexican dive that we’d otherwise drive right by. (Okay, so it’s hard to top Tex Mex from Austin, but it wasn’t bad for the Pacific Northwest.)

2. Tap social media

Ask Twitter or Facebook for ideas and tips. These circles are far-reaching, and you’ll discover all sorts of locales from new people. I can’t begin to count the number of readers from Bend that have gone out of their way to say hi (hi, everyone!). It’s here where I learned about the nearby High Desert Museum, so we plan to visit it soon.

3. Use Yelp and Urban Spoon

Both of these sites (apps on my iPhone, actually) have been super helpful for giving us restaurant ideas, and Yelp has also helped me find thrift stores, grocery stores, and parks.

It’s also fun to shake your phone and let Urban Spoon randomly pick the place for dinner.

4. Discover your local state parks

It’s pretty hot in several places right now, but if you’ve still got good weather, enjoy outside time. Search for local state parks and bring a picnic lunch. It might be too late to book overnight camping, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking day trips to swim in natural watering holes or hike forests.

5. Take advantage of the library, Netflix, or Redbox

After a day at the museum or touring your state capital, top it off with books or a movie about your area. Check out books about your natural surroundings or the history of your city.

End your day with a family movie night. If you toured a local farm, watch Babe; if you visited an aquarium, turn down the lights for Finding Nemo (avoid Shark Week on Discovery for the shorter crowd).

6. Explore the staycation blog roundup

Eariier this summer, The Happy Housewife hosted a wonderful U.S. city tour roundup, featuring over 85 cities. See if your city is there—this blog series is chock full of good staycation ideas.

7. Camp in the backyard

End your staycation (or each evening) by camping in the backyard. Kids love the thrill of sleeping outside, and you won’t have to pack a thing. Bathrooms are a few steps away, and if it gets too hot, wet, or cranky, all you have to do is pack up and move back inside.

Have you taken a staycation this summer? What did you do? If you’re so inclined, leave a comment naming your city and your favorite family-friendly stomping ground.

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The Oh-So-Important HAIR Update

Tsh — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:01:37 +0000

One of the all-time most popular posts here on Simple Mom is about my hair. In that I don’t wash it. Almost two years old, and this post still gets at least one comment per day, it still makes its way around Twitter, and people in real life still ask me all sorts of questions.

I wonder sometimes if those people are closely inspecting my hair, wondering if I hide spider webs underneath, or if it would smell like — I dunno, something gross if they came too close.

Reader Sandra recently wrote and asked:

“I have been reading your blog and found the no shampoo post interesting. I see it was posted a while back — are still doing it, and if so, how your hair is today? I started to do this last week and I am finding my hair very dry and tangled. I am wondering if this is part of the process, or if I am doing something wrong.”

I suppose it’s time for a hair update. Because I know you’re all on the edge of your seats, wondering if I haven’t washed it in 24 months.

Drumroll, please.

Yep, I still don’t wash my hair… in the traditional sense, that is. I still do what I shared in that post two summers ago — I use a simple mix of baking soda and water to cut the typical grime, and I follow it with apple cider vinegar to keep it smooth and shiny.

No shampoo, no conditioner.

Now, in my last trimester with Finn, I did use a gentle, natural shampoo because my hormones were out of control and it showed in my hair. I didn’t have the patience to tweak the right baking soda-water ratio. No conditioner was necessary though; good ol’ vinegar was still fine.

And a few weeks after his birth, I was back to baking soda.

What about the rest of your family?

Kyle tried baking soda for awhile, but he just didn’t like it, so he uses either a natural shampoo or castile soap, which we also use on our skin. Either of these work well for him, and it still saves us boatloads of money each year.

I hardly wash my kids’ hair at all. Honestly, they just don’t need it very much because they don’t have the hormones activated that cause the grease. The only time they really need a cleaning is when their hair is caked with yogurt, oatmeal, and who-knows-what. It also gets washed a bit more often in the summer with the pool chlorine.

Don’t mind the goofy face. If you’ve ever had a three-year-old boy, you know what it’s like to take photos.

Just because it’s easy, I use whatever natural soap on their hair that I’m already using on their skin. After her shower, Tate also uses a natural detangler to tame her otherwise nest.

This works perfectly for them.

I don’t think it’s a major deal if you choose to use shampoo, conditioner, and other hair products — this method is simply what I’ve chosen for my family. But I do think it’s important that you make an educated choice.

My original poo-free post shares my reasons for skipping the shampoo, so you can decide for yourself and sleep well at night, knowing you’ve made a thoughtful choice. I simply want you to know that there are alternatives to “traditional” hair care.

When the weather is drier (like in the winter, or in less humid environments like our new home in Oregon), I also like to finish my clean hair with a tiny dab of hair butter — oh my goodness, this stuff is heavenly.

Common FAQs

1. Doesn’t the vinegar smell?

Not at all. Sure, it does when you pour it on, but as soon as you rinse it off, it’s gone. Unless you put essential oils in either of these mixes, your hair will smell like… nothing.

2. What amounts do you use?

For me, one tablespoon baking soda to one cup water works well. If I do more, my hair feels strawlike; less, and my hair doesn’t feel clean. This amount will last me about two cleanings.

I use about a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar to one cup water, and I use this very sparingly. It lasts a really long time.

My mother-in-law brilliantly mixed a large batch of both and keeps them under her bathroom sink, making it easy to refill the bottles in her shower.

3. How often do you clean your hair?

Depends on the season (both the year’s and my body’s). On average, I’d say I do this about every four or five days. My hair doesn’t create needless, extra oil because I’m not stripping it with shampoo, so it doesn’t require cleaning more often than this.

4. What do you put the stuff in?

Simple squeeze water bottles with a drinking valve. But I don’t drink it.

5. I tried this, and my hair is too crunchy/oily/dry/icky feeling. What did I do wrong?

Probably nothing; you just need to tweak your recipe. I’m not an expert, so I can’t dispense too much wisdom on the matter. I know some people prefer honey over vinegar, or making a simple paste of baking soda with a few drops of water. Play around, Sandra.

6. What’s the benefit, really? Shampoo isn’t the evil or evils.

No, it’s not. But it’s one small thing my family does, and we reap the benefits. It saves us gobs of money in haircare products, we feel like our hair (and therefore our bodies) is healthier, and we’re not contributing to the environmental impact it takes to make traditional shampoo.

Plus, it just makes things… simple. It works for us.

I know a number of you are shampoo-free. What’s your experience?

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5 Reasons To Line Dry Your Laundry

Tsh — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:01:18 +0000

I love the response this post got when I first published it in summer 2009 — it really show the vast diversity of all our living spaces and cultures.

I‘m not a luddite — I love technology. I love the ways it enhances our home life in so many ways, from storing our food at adequate temperatures, to washing our clothes so that we don’t have to work our hands raw with a hand-cranked wringer. We have much to be thankful for in our generation.

But there’s something rather soothing about line-dried clothes, I find. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but during these warm summer months, I enjoy hanging our laundry out to dry daily, watching it flap in the breeze and shine whitely in the sun’s reflection.

Here are some of my favorite reasons for line-drying clothes during warm weather.

1. It saves money.

This is the obvious one. Dryers use up a lot of electricity — almost more than any other household appliance. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that an electric clothes dryer accounts for almost six percent of a household’s annual electricity consumption.

That may not sound like a lot, but consider how many items in your modern-day dwelling use electricity. If you average $100 a month for your electric bill, your clothes dryer accounts for $72 per year. That’s almost another month of electricity in your home.

All I know is, since we’ve been line drying almost exclusively, our electric bill is considerably lower than it was last year. That’s a good enough reason for me. It cost us $20 for a drying rack and $4 for a ton of clothespins. Not a bad deal.

2. It saves the clothes.

Yes, dryers make your clothes softer, but they also weaken the fabric’s fibers much faster than if they had been air dried. All that lint after a cycle in the dryer? That’s fabric slowly wearing off of your clothes. It’s gradual, for sure, but in our family, we prefer buying fewer quality clothes, so I want them to last as long as possible.

Photo by Billy Verdin

3. We go through less laundry.

Since line drying takes a (tiny) bit more of my time, I’m a bit more aware of whether our clothes actually need to be washed, or whether they could be worn another time. I don’t know what it is — I think it’s because the act of hanging out our clothes to dry is a more active activity than tossing them into the dryer while I start something else.

When life isn’t crazy, I usually do one load of laundry about five days a week (which includes two loads of cloth diapers). It’s truly a pretty quick and painless process — a toss into the washer with Soapnuts and a few drops of essential oil, and then a trip on the clothesline.

A few hours later, I take down the clothes, fold them immediately, put them away, and… that’s it.

4. It uses less chemicals.

The sun is a natural whitener, so when you put thoroughly wet whites out on the line, the stains fade naturally. No need for bleach. In fact, I hear putting wet whites on fresh grass to air dry gets them stunningly white.

The dryer causes static cling, and the ingredients found in dryer sheets is like a criminal line-up of carcinogens. Line drying takes cares of this need.

5. It’s therapeutic.

I genuinely like hanging our clothes out to dry. Most of the time, it’s a few minutes of peace with my thoughts, doing something basic and methodical with my hands. It’s one of those acts of quotidian liturgy that, for me, is a simple act of service for my family. I enjoy praying for each person who wears the clothes I’m hanging.

Other times, my kids join me to hang clothes, and that can be just as fun. My four-year-old hangs the clothes in all sorts of artistic ways (which I often have to re-do later), and my toddler giggles at the feel of damp, cool clothes brushing his head as he walks under the rack. He also loves emptying and restocking the clothespin basket, handing me one as needed.

Much like showering, I get some good thinking done. While my body is busy doing something rote and routine, my mind is free to wander. Where do you think I came up with this post idea?

Photo from sxc.hu

Tips for Clothes Drying

• If you don’t like the stiffness of line-dried clothes, you can give them a quick spin in the dryer for five minutes after they’re dried. It’ll soften the fibers a bit.

• Plan your laundry colors with the sun’s peak. I aim to have my whites drying in the late afternoon, when the sun is at its brightest here.

• Clothes will line dry even when it’s cooler or wetter. Simply put them under a roof, like a covered patio or balcony. And if you have a drying rack (as opposed to a permanent clothesline), you can bring your drying laundry inside overnight.

• If you really want to dry your clothes in the dryer, use dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. They can be rubber with little stubby spikes, or they can be all-natural made of felted wool. Basically, they bounce around in your laundry load, separating the clothes and fluffing them up, so that you don’t need to reduce static cling chemically.

Do you line dry your clothes? Why or why not? What tips do you have for effective drying?

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Fun and Frugal Ideas to Make the Most Of School Break

Maya — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:01:16 +0000

Written by green & frugal contributor Maya Bisineer of Memetales

Summer break is exciting for kids but always mildly stressful for me as a working parent with a flexible schedule. I worry that I cannot manage the schedule change and the kids will spend too much time doing nothing. I worry that by the time we start making the most of it, the summer break will be over.

Growing up, the best memories I have from my summers are from when I did something completely new and different, immersed myself in an activity, learned something completely new and spent quality time with friends and family.

First off, I sat down and forced myself to articulate the “good” things about summer break, and then came up with plenty of ways to make the most of summer break with just a few small changes.

Why A Break From School is Great

Photo by f-ilia

1. Relaxed mornings

The kids don’t have to rush off to school at a set time everyday, and this means that we can take it a bit easy in the mornings.

2. More time together

No school means more time with the kids every day.More time makes it possible to actually accomplish some longer-terms goals – especially goals involving reading, music, and art. Summer is a great time to give kids a head start on new skills.

3. Full days off

With no school, we have a whole day off to do something fun.

Ways to Make The Most Of School Break

Photo by alexragone

1. Morning reading

We always read before going to bed. With a four-and-a-half year-old who is quite obsessed with reading, I can never get enough one-on-one time with her and a book. So we added a wake up reading routine.

This is a short, simple routine where she reads two little books of her choice as soon as we wake up, right in bed. It is incredible how much my daughter looks forward to it every morning. Needless to say, she is doing really well at reading daily.

2. Volunteering

Starting to volunteer always takes some effort. Summer is a good time to find regular volunteering opportunities close to home. With the kids on a flexible schedule, you are able to explore, see what they enjoy, and where they want to contribute.

This is the first year that we will start volunteering at the Humane Society. I look forward to taking a few afternoons off and helping there with my kids. It will be the first time we will make volunteering a “regular” thing in our household, and I am excited about that.

3. Learn a new language

It’s important for kids (and us!) to learn another language. My kids are growing up multilingual, and summer is a great time to focus a bit more on language learning. Several times a day, we pretend there are aliens and we need to speak in a foreign language.

4. Invent celebrations

Designate a few days in the summer for special, made-up celebrations. This idea came from my three-year-old when she asked me why we had no “Big Sister Day” and “Little Sister Day” celebrations, even though we had Mother’s and Father’s Day. All we need to have fun is an excuse, so why not create a great one?

Photo by Juhansonin

5. Start a journal

Give the kids their own special journal, and keep one for yourself as well. Spend five to ten minutes daily writing in the journal. I ask my girls to write about what they loved most about their day, and they’ll write a few words. I also doodle and write a few lines in my own journal everyday. Writing is a great experience to share, and it’s fun over time to read back at what they wrote.

6. Grow a garden

Growing a garden is perhaps one of the best ways to teach kids responsibility. This year, we are designating a small patch of the garden to each of our kids, and making it their responsibility to take care of that patch. They will plant flowers, water, and weed their areas.

7. Explore art and music

Summer is a great time to explore, research, and expose kids to music and dance. Last year, we watched a number of live dance and music shows at community festivals. We also spent time researching various forms of dance and musical instruments. This piqued my four-year-old daughter’s interest in taking lessons once school started again. I plan to do the same with art this summer.

My plan is to focus on three to four of these ideas that my kids and I enjoy the most. Other than that, we plan to play a lot and snuggle multiple times a day.

What are you planning to accomplish with your kids this summer?

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How to Simplify, Declutter and Make Money

Maya — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:01:47 +0000

Written by green & frugal contributor Maya Bisineer of Memetales

A few weeks back, Tsh hosted Project:Simplify. It was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to get rid of some clutter, clean up, and simplify little areas of our homes.

In our household, decluttering is also a great way to discover new ways to make some money. It is a constant inspiration for me to clean up, while my husband gets in line to get rid of things “meaningfully” — he has slowly mastered the art of making money while we clean up.

The path to actually making money is not a short one, so here are a few things to get straight before you set yourself on this path.

1. Like most everything else, making money takes time, trial and error.

Decluttering to make money can be frustrating in the beginning, and very often it feels like you are spending more time on it that it is worth. While that might very well be the case, give it time and start with low expectations. You’ll be better at the experimentation with that frame of mind.

2. Wait until you get two to five items together, but do not wait too long.

You’ll learn a lot through this experience, but it’s better to compress that learning into a shorter time. Wait to get two to five items collected before you start to sell your stuff. However, don’t wait forever, like I often did when I was getting started.

Procrastination often goes against the philosophy of decluttering.

3. There is ONE master of selling in the household.

Selling is hard; something not everyone is good at. Decide who’s “the master of selling” in your home, and make it that person’s job. Leave the selling to that person.

4. You WILL find a system that works for you, with time.

To put it simply, you will learn and figure out what works for you within a few months to a year.

Photo by epsos

Here are some simple ways to make some money while you declutter and simplify your home:

1. Sell on Craigslist

Craigslist is the simplest way ever to sell just about anything. List it, upload some pictures and wait for the emails to pour in.

Craigslist is the best place to sell gadgets that aren’t too expensive, children’s clothes, things for newborns and all kinds of furniture.

You never have to give your real email address or worry about responding to anyone that sounds less than appropriate on the phone.

What to look out for while you use Craigslist:

People will come to your home to pay and pick things up. Be sure not to be home alone. Put things out in the driveway or garage, and be sure to call people home early in the day.

2. Sell on eBay

eBay is a slightly more complicated way to sell, but it is a great way to sell valuable items, antiques, electronics and unopened items. Since eBay is a bidding system, it can be a very good way to sell items in high demand.

What to look out for while you sell on eBay:

Be sure to estimate shipping well. If you do promise free shipping or shipping at a standard price, be sure your estimation is right. Consider packaging charges as well. We once sold posters for a dollar and spent over five dollars packaging them to ship it.

3. Freecycle.org

Freecycle is not technically selling, but it is a great way to give away what you do not need quickly and to someone who will use it. Freecycle is an area-based mailing list that you can join to give away or find free stuff.

What to look out for while you use Freecycle:

Once again, a stranger will some over to pick up an item. Be sure to keep things out in the driveway or garage before the person comes over to pick up an item.

4. Donate to Charities

Donating to charities is a always a option. There are so many choices too! While you do not make money right away, they money comes back in terms of deductions on the taxes.

The Kidney Foundation will come pick up items every few weeks if you are on their list. They will call, let you know when they will be in your area. All you need to do is put the donation bags out and they pick up the bags and leave donation receipts for you.

What to look out for while you donate to charities:

Donations to charities and registered non-profits should be tax deductible. Be sure to get a receipt, and always keep track (a written list) of the items donated. We always keep an itemized list and take pictures of items we donate. Do a little homework to see what kind of items charities do not accept to prevent work for them later.

5. Sell at secondhand stores

Secondhand stores are all over. They stock specific items for sports, kids, furniture, and so on. These stores will always take gently-used items that would cost people a lot more to buy first hand.These stores are great if you want to get rid of a bunch of similar items, such as baby items when your baby turns two and you no longer need all that baby clutter around the house (such as big toys and furniture).

What to look out for when you sell items at secondhand stores:

The main issue with these stores is that they don’t take everything. They also might not give you the best price for an item. If they don’t pay you upfront, then they will give you 20 to 30 percent of the price when it finally sells.

6. Have a garage sale

A garage sale is a lot of work, but it can be fun if you do it with a neighbor or if you have a dedicated weekend for a neighborhood garage sale. Because they’re a lot of work to get ready for, so be sure to make it a day of fun for the whole family.

What to look out for when you have a garage sale:

Don’t obsess about the price of items. The idea is to get rid of a maximum number of items with the minimum amount of effort and still make some money, so stay focused on that.

7. Gift them!

I invited a number of friends over, and had my kids’ teachers look at all my books before I sold them all at Half-Price Books. It was a great way to gift people the books they loved.

When friends, cousins and my sisters come over to visit, I often gift them the clothes, accessories and sweaters they like in my closet. Considering my biggest ticket items are often gifts, I end up saving a lot of money and frustration when I give close friends and family things they love and I already have.

What to look out for when you gift items you own:

Don’t hoard items just so you can gift them in a few years to Aunt Hilda when she finally visits (and in the end, you can’t even be sure if she will love what you saved for her). Be sensitive, and never gift your things to people unless you know them really well… lest they think you are trying to be too cheap.

While you declutter this spring, I hope you make some money as well. Making small amounts of money is a great decluttering motivator and can help you simplify your life.

How do you make money while you de-clutter?

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6 Natural Remedies You Probably Already Have

Maya — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:01:45 +0000

The following post was written by green & frugal contributor Maya Bisineer of Memetales and was first published on November 4, 2009. I thought it was a great post for the cold season — especially if your kids seem constantly under the weather, like mine.

Natural spices in the kitchen cabinet have been ingredients of home remedies for several generations, and in this post, I want to share some of these spices that I have grown to love and respect.

I am not a doctor and do not claim any of these can cure you of sicknesses. I have however, grown up using these spices as a part of home remedies for years. They work wonderfully to prevent several ailments and to perk up my spirits.

All of these spices are strong and potent. NEVER use more than a pinch or a few drops of any of them at a time.

1. Ginger

Photo by fotoosvanrobin

Ginger (or ginger root) is one of my most favorite spices. It has been used in Asian cooking for years, and has a wonderfully distinct taste and smell — it’s been used over the years to disguise the taste and smell of medicines.

How I use it:

I often use fresh ginger in my cooking. Just a little ginger in tea (boil for few minutes) is extremely effective in reducing congestion.

Three to four drops of freshly-squeezed ginger mixed with a teaspoon of honey does wonders for an irritated throat.

I also regularly ate ginger candy to reduce nausea during both my pregnancies.

2. Garlic

Photo by carbonnyc

Garlic belongs to the onion family and is another root I use quite a bit in cooking. It has a strong taste when raw, but it gets mild and sweet on cooking. Garlic is known for its antibiotic properties, and is also a powerful antioxidant. Garlic helps control cholesterol, too.

How I use it:

Due to the strong flavor of garlic, I tend to not use it directly. I do, however, cook with it regularly. Just a couple of cloves, chopped and gently fried in a little butter contains wonderful flavor and goodness.

3. Honey

The benefits of honey are known worldwide. It has been known to energize the body, boost immunity, help with cuts and bruises, and works wonderfully on coughs and colds.

How I use it:

I mostly use honey as a sweetener, replacing corn sugar with it whenever possible. I also use honey as the base for a number of cough and cold remedies. The kids love a teaspoon of honey with a pinch of ginger juice when they have a cough. Ground pepper mixed with honey also works well for my husband and me.

For years, I have had a tall glass of warm water with a teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of lemon juice every morning. It is a great way to improve metabolism and maintain a healthy weight.

4. Turmeric

Photo by fotoosvanrobin

Turmeric is a key ingredient for many Indian, Thai and Malay dishes. It is known to be a really effective antibiotic, due to its antiseptic properties.

How I use it:

I also regularly cook with turmeric, especially since all curries contain turmeric. A pinch of turmeric can be added to lentils while they boil in the pot. I also use a mixture of olive oil and a pinch of turmeric for face and body massages.

5. Pepper

Pepper is a widely available spice, and it is known to stimulate taste buds and improve digestion. As with garlic, it is hard to use pepper directly, so it is best to incorporate pepper into cooking.

How I use it:

I drink a few tablespoons of warm milk with a pinch of pepper and powdered turmeric when I have a cold and cough. It helps settle the irritation in the throat. Vocal artists and singers in India are known to do this every night to maintain oral health in general.

6. Cloves

Cloves are known for their antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, antiviral, and even aphrodisiac properties. Traditionally, cloves were used to reduce bad breath.

How I use it:

In our home, cloves are the first remedy for a toothache — chewing a clove can be very effective. My mom carries a tiny box of cloves to use after strong lunches and dinners outside the home.

As with everything, spices should be used in moderation and with caution.

What natural remedies do you use? As always, I look forward to what you have to share!

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9 Ways To Encourage Your Kids to Live Simply

Tsh — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 05:01:06 +0000

I thought I’d republish this post from January of this year, especially since several of us might be dealing with an onslaught of toy overload in the house, what with Christmas just a few days ago. Hope your holidays have been peaceful and fun. Mine have!

Simple living, going green, and generally doing away with the unnecessary is gaining popularity. And that’s cool. But it’s all for naught if we don’t pass on a love of simplicity to the next generation – we depend on them to do a stellar job stewarding the earth’s resources.

I was very mindful of this when I was writing the manuscript to my book. While I was doing research for the chapter about getting rid of unnecessary toys and paring down kids’ schedules, I was astonished at all the research out there that indicates that children need lots of downtime, lots of freedom, and lots of room to use their imagination. It’s hard to do that when we complicate their lives.

This attitude isn’t that hard to pass on to our kids, if we provide an atmosphere at home that values simple living. Here are a few tips for creating that environment, especially for the preschooler crowd.

1. Be hyper-selective about your toy selections.

Kids really don’t need many toys – in fact, the less toys “do,” the more room kids have for their imagination. Let the kids play, not the toys. Stick with the classics like wooden blocks, balls, art supplies, and books. They’ll last through multiple children, and they’ll stay fun longer – longer-lasting toys mean less purchases, and less purchases mean a less cluttered home.

2. Make your own toys.

Even better, let household items serve double-duty as both its original purpose and a toy. Dried beans or rice is great fun. Wad up your socks and play dodge ball in the backyard. And who hasn’t seen a kid pore over a simple cardboard box? Kids have a ball making the toys, and the homemade aesthetic furthers the simple living atmosphere in your home. Less toys = having fun with what you have.

3. Rotate those toys.

This is easy to do when they’re younger, so start right away. Only keep out about half the toys you own, and in six months, store those away and bring the others out. In six months, repeat again. Toys will be new again, and you didn’t spend a dime. Plus, the ones that are out to play will probably be played with more.

Photo by Jon Oakley

4. Let them be involved in your shopping process.

Kids absorb our habits, our ideas, and our choices, so explain the why behind your actions. If you’re at a store with your three-year-old, say, “I really like this red shirt, but I have a shirt like this at home, and I only need one. So I’m not going to buy it, and instead, I’ll look for a purple one.” When you’re at the grocery store, say, “I’m only going to buy six apples instead of 12, because they’ll go bad before we can eat all of them. That will waste our money.”

They might not understand exactly what you’re saying, but they’ll see that there’s a method to your madness – that you’re selective about what you bring in to your home.

5. Let them purge with you.

If you have routine of regularly purging your home, let them be part of the process. Ask them which of their toys they think another family would enjoy more, and let them see for themselves when they outgrow their clothes. And then explain what you’re doing on the way to the donation center.

6. Have them earn money for their treats.

You can start this much younger than you think – in our family, our four-year-old earns a nickel for every extra chore she completes above and beyond her basic tasks. It’s not much, but it provides her the opportunity to manage money and make decisions about where it goes. The earlier children understand that “money doesn’t grow on trees,” the more they’ll appreciate the value behind the things they do own. Wise money management is part of good stewardship – a cornerstone to simple living.

7. Encourage the right words.

Instead of “I want that!” or “I really need one!”, ask your preschoolers to simply say, “I like that.” It’s really subtle, I know – but this switch can transform their attitudes. I find that it tempers the greediness behind their statement, and helps them understand that just because we want something, it doesn’t mean we can have it. It also helps them see that it’s not necessarily wrong to want things – it’s simply a matter of choosing what’s worth your hard-earned money.

Photo by David Pfeffer

8. Be selective about their friends.

I don’t suggest being a jerk and shunning anyone who’s not exactly like you. But if your preschooler routinely socializes with another child who gets everything they want, and who has a room filled to the brim with toys, it might be harder for them to appreciate a clutter-free home and intentional simple living. Make friends with all sorts of people, of course, but be sure to include friends in their life with similar values.

9. Sponsor a child.

As a family, sponsor a child who truly doesn’t have much. It’ll help your child put a face and name to poverty around the world, and it will instill a more compassionate worldview. She’ll further see how blessed she is, and that perhaps her simple-living family who doesn’t have every toy from the store still has an awful lot. Compassion International is a solid, reputable charity, and they’ll send you updates and photos of your sponsored child.

Keeping your home decluttered means having fewer things, which increases the value of the items you do own. When you couple this with an attitude of cheerful frugality, compassion, and joy in the little things, your family’s home environment will reflect the best side of simple living – appreciating the little things in life. What a great way to enjoy childhood.

How do you encourage simple living in your little ones?

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