Merry Cranberry, by The Body Shop
QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:
– Have you had a glass of orange juice lately? If you don’t have any in the house, add to your shopping list for the week. Remember that blood oranges are in some of the stores right now too. Yum!
– Make some time tonight for yourself; treat yourself to a beauty regimen you don’t normally take time for. Apply a mud mask, a hair mask or hot oil treatment, exfoliate your skin, use a sugar scrub on your hands and legs, or give yourself a pedicure. (I’m going to be moisturizing my dry legs tonight!)
– Write two holiday cards, stamp them and put on your mailing table ready to go out. The more Christmas cards you write right now (even though I don’t want to rush the Christmas holiday before Thanksgiving is here) the easier your life will be come late December.
TODAY’S PROJECT: Sorting Casseroles and Storage Containers
With holiday dinners coming up, you’ll need all your casseroles, cake pans, pie pans, and Tupperware/Gladware in order. You’ll want to be sure you have empty containers you can send leftovers home in for people.
Sort out your kitchen cupboard, take inventory of your casseroles, and wash any that need it. Wash down the shelf before replacing. See if all your food storage containers (Tupperware, Glad, Rubbermaid or other kinds) have matching lids. Throw away or recycle any that are stained, melted or gross-looking. Match up containers with their lids and store in an organized manner.
If you have more than one or two makeshift money-saving storage containers (ie old butter tubs you’ve saved) really think about how many you need to keep, and recycle anything you can part with. Declutter!
If you actually need, and will use, food storage containers or casseroles, add to your shopping list.
I’ve been enjoying Glad holiday colored red and green reusable microwave storage containers. They’re inexpensive enough you don’t care what happens to them, unlike my Tupperware. I use them primarily to send leftovers or food gifts home with people. I’m putting them on my shopping list this week. After Thanksgiving I can send guests home carrying pieces of pumpkin pie and extra mashed potatoes.
LOVELY BLOGS: Econobusters
In the past I’ve not been very interested in “money saving” and “frugality” type blogs. I try to save money and not waste it, but didn’t really want to spend a lot of time reading about it. And often you run into blogs that smack of cheapskateism or horrible suggestions on reusing stuff that’s icky, etc.
Econobusters, however, is an interesting and useful read. She passes along helpful tips, and shares info about freebies that don’t make me feel like she’s being paid to endorse them. Recent posts include tips on simple ways to decorate your front door for Thanksgiving; a recipe for an inexpensive bacon cheese dip snack; budgeting tips for your Thanksgiving grocery shopping; and links to other frugality blogs.
If this is a topic you are interested in, I definitely recommend this blog!
LOVELY TELEVISION: Sesame Street
Sesame Street is celebrating its 40th anniversary this week. I’m 40 years old, so I probably started watching it several months after it debuted. I’m pretty sure my mom depended on the show to entertain me so she could get some laundry done in peace. I definitely think the show contributed to my early reading and love of words (my mom spending tons of one-on-one time reading books to me was definitely a huge factor, too!)
Just for old time’s sake, I’m going to watch an episode of Sesame Street this week next time I am doing laundry, paying bills, sorting, or doing something else that will let me sit down and relax for half an hour. I’m looking forward to seeing a current episode – what are they doing lately?