Christmas is LESS THAN two weeks away!!!!!
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Posts mentioned within this podcast:
My Christmas home tour from a few years ago (shows my Wizard of Oz collection)
Elfis on the Shelf – Accepting What I Can’t Handle
Elf on the Shelf Ideas from Crystal and Comp
Shopping Online with an All Cash Christmas Budget (A guest post I wrote on Money Saving Mom)
Five-Minute Memory Makers – Rice Socks Heating Pads
Personalized Salt-Dough Ornaments
Clutter-Free Stocking Stuffer Ideas
My favorite Nativity Display idea
Be sure to follow my Christmas Pinterest board (and all my other boards too!).
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--Nony
Great hangout about Christmas and clutter and real life. (And thanks for the Elf on the Shelf shout-out!)
You know what my rule is at Christmas? I call it deliberate spending. My husband is the type that likes to give many gifts. In other words, he feels good when he gives 10 small, inexpensive gifts, opposed to one gift that is good quality that they will love and USE. Buying 10 gifts just for the purpose of having a lot of gifts to open is a nightmare to me as a mom. I know that in a month most of those toys will be broken, pieces missing, headed to charity, etc.
This year all of our boys want electronics…. and that is what they are getting. So, they will only get a few gifts each, but it is what they wanted, it is deliberate spending and it is quality items they will use.
Great podcast!
The link for clutter free stocking stuffers is not correct. Just letting you know, no a complaint!
Oh thank you so much for letting me know! Going to fix it now!
So I haven’t listened to this podcast episode yet, but I’ve plowed through all of your other episodes. I feel SO much better after I listen to you speak about how you are continuously working on your house. I spend the weekend cleaning and by Tuesday the kitchen looks like a bomb went off. I’ve put baskets out to corral my husband’s papers, a small tray for his pocket contents, and he still spreads stuff all over (umm, that’s not my purse on the counter–of course it is). It’s really helpful to know that deslobification might just be a constant process for me instead of some amazing nirvana-like space I’ll achieve “someday”.
We cleaned out most of our basement this summer (the horror!). I found several different boxes of Christmas decorations, ornaments, wrapping paper, lights, etc. I shoved it in the corner again. I just dragged it all out today to decorate, and was inspired to declutter as I went. Not sure why lights were in 4 different boxes, but they have their own box now. I even *labeled* it. Go me. I found 17 boxes of blank Christmas cards. I bought them on clearance each Christmas so I would have them next year, then I would lose them well before Thanksgiving. “Oh well, I’ll send cards next year,” I would tell myself, and then buy more—and lose them. I now know where the cards are, and will NOT be buying any more.
Slowly but surely, I’m paring down what I own and getting it into a version of “organized” that works for me. Thanks for the motivation. 🙂
Nicole
Love this comment! I’m all for finding whatever version of organized works for you!
Have a big box in middle of livin room floor. As we open Xmas boxes I put in lots og candles, ornaments, fancy tags. Then my grandaughter came by.. she wanted to use some things from the box to decorate her room and her dads apt. “He needs some bling. How do you prevent this? 50 things in the box 15 out when people see it
I usually try to be a little secretive about what goes in the box/bag! But you still got rid of 35 things, right?
When my kids were teenagers they loved to pop the bubbles in bubble wrap. One year for Christmas I put pieces of bubble wrap in their stockings. They loved it and when all the bubbles were popped, it made its way to the trash (with a little help). Clutter free fun!
I have 3 boys. 25 22 and 13. Every year they get an apple an orange a big candy cane travel toothbrushing kit (toothpaste brush and cover in a clear bag) a gift card for a restaurant and earbuds. Other things go in too like candy . But that is the base model stocking at my house.