Are you getting ready for next year??

I am!! I have to. If I waited until fall to start I'd spend WAAAAAYYYY to much and that makes my wallet hurt! I had seen something on a web site earlier in the year to help keep me going through out the year, but then I couldn't remember where I found it. Soooo, I decided to take what I could remember and run with it. This is what I came up with....


This is the front cover of my CHRISTmas notebook. I used a spiral bound note card book. Having started to use it I wish I had used a note card binder instead so I would have a little more flexability.



This page starts my first section.



Our Traditions.....



The next divider looks like this, can you guess what the section is??


Did you guess?? I know you did! It's "people to buy for". I only included a sample of the pages to give you an idea. The first page is a complete list of peeps. Then a couple of pages that look something like this. DH, the kids and Mom each get their own page. The kids pages have a list of those that they get gifts for as well, to help keep track.


Then we come to the next divider, "stuffer stuff"....
Stuffers are my nemasis. First, because they get expensive quickly, and secondly, I usually buy enough to fill 6 of them.



I have a "fabalus" arrangement with my BF where I get her stuff and she gets mine, and then we ship them to each other. I LOVE this!! Each stocking gets it's own page....



The next divider starts my CHRISTmas timeline...



My countdown starts in November...


and goes through the day AFTER CHRISTmas....



The next section is more or less "miscellaneous"...




I've included things not to forget (Santa brings a new tooth brush in our stockings every year). As you can see, I have a line for each type of battery. I just write the number of batteries for each item next to the appropriate type and mark it out when I buy them.


It seems every year I end up with a couple of things I changed my mind about later....


I'm going to add another page for gift ideas. That way if I see something for someone, but have to wait to get it, I can reference back later. It will have the item, price, where I saw it and who I think would enjoy it. I can also take the time to find it elsewhere for less that way! Win, win!

I love this idea and have already implemented it. It looks more daunting a task than it is. Start to finish it only took me about 30 minutes. Wrapping the pages isn't a must, but it makes for great dividers and helps keep the CHRISTmas spirit going. It's the perfect size to fit in my purse so I can keep it with me. I'll never have to try to remember what I've picked up where for whom again!! "Fabalus!!"

Me

How was you CHRISTmas??

Mine/ours was "fabalus" all things considering. I think I got everything I asked for this year which was VERY nice! I got an AWESOME purse that I absolutely love, a beautiful watch, my much wanted body pillow and I got to go shopping the day after to prep for next year! By far my best present was this....




Here is a close up of the note that was attached (You'd think Santa would have better grammer skills! lol)



I've also had some requests to see my next best present, so I felt obliged to add it here as well...



Like I said, all in all, it was a great CHRISTmas.


Me

Home Made Powdered Detergent

I want to start out by saying that I was a bit dubious about powdered detergent. I've had problems with store bought detergents leaving residue on our clothes in the past. BUT... my friend who gave me this recipe (thanks Cyndi) didn't have that problem so I thought I'd give it a go.


You will need...

(one part Borax, 1 part Washing Soda and 2 parts soap)

1 bar of Ivory Soap *
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
A food Processor (you could do it by hand, but who has the time?!)


Start by putting your shredding blade on your FP. Stick your soap in there and let it fly!! With the flakes still in there and shredded, take off the shredding blade and put on your chopping blade. Now add your powders and give that a good whirl. Voila! Just add two table spoons to the washer while it is filling up and then add your clothes! It works GREAT!!

*you can use others, but one bar of Ivory works out to be the 1 Cup the recipe calls for.


Making my own seems to be rewarding and more frugal than buying it at the store. Plus I'm cutting out the "extra" chemicals store brands have to offer! I spent roughly $10 on supplies to make a triple batch, but have PLENTY of Borax and Washing Soda to make more and to use for other things. So really, the up front cost is (about) the same, but you get way more in the long run. BTW, I got all of my ingredients at Wal Mart except for the Washing Soda. I had to go to another local grocery store to buy that.

Have fun being that much more self sufficient!!

Me

Hello Blog Land!!!

How is everyone today? Things have been hoping around the BigM home! Thanks Giving was a (near) disaster (thank you Daddy for helping save the day!), and my Mom has moved in! Our family is now 6 (plus one furry member).


Me