It's a Blog-a-thon!

I should be decluttering and cleaning right now. I did tidy the front rooms and move some things around in the pantry. I took out the recycling. I wish I could find my iPod; listening to it makes household tasks much more enjoyable.

Instead I am writing. Thinking too, but if you look closely I've spilled a lot of those thoughts into the blog today.

I really regret deleting last year's blog. I did it in a fit of "why am I typing to strangers when no one comments and I should spend my life living instead of typing?" angst. It was a great blog, entitled Simplicity in the Suburbs, about living, frugality, vegan cooking, sustainability, health, happiness, etc.

Anyway, I'm thinking about what I need to do in the next 3 weeks. I have some specific homemaking goals:

Clean and organize office
Declutter and deep clean bedroom
General decluttering throughout house

My brain has also moved into holiday mode. My goals are to give as many handmade gifts as possible, and to stay within a set budget. We always go over budget; we don't go into debt, but we spend the extra December cash flow on gifts. We have 18 gifts to give, in additon to immediate family (me, Papa, Boys).

These are the ideas I came up with several months ago. Time is short now so I won't get to all of them.

Crocheted dish cloths (easy)

Crochet-topped kitchen towels (I really want to make some of these for my mom)

Woven potholders (I have everything I need)

Scarves (have one in progress)

Knit hats (T-Guy picked out his yarns ages ago, and I have enough for a few more)

Beeswax candles (rolled) (I definitely want to do this with the boys)

Tic-tac-toe boards (for the school-aged cousins)

Home made food items:

Salsa (jarred)

Cookies

Candy

Homemade vanilla

Homemade toiletry items:

Soap (have everything we need for melt and pour)

Bath salts

Hand salves

Lip balms

Any gifts we give that aren't homemade will be consumable. In general we ty to give consumable items to the older adults who just don't need any more stuff.