One
of my goals this year is to use up what I already have. I went through all
of the leftover Christmas cards I have in my stash and found I have plenty of
cards to send out this next Christmas. I
also have enough Christmas stamps leftover to mail them with. I have loads of Christmas stickers and plenty
of return address labels too. I put the
cards, envelopes and stamps away into my Christmas journal for safekeeping and now I am all set.
The
rest of the cards I had leftover I decided to put into our donate bag as part
of our 30 Bags In 30 Days challenge. I really like to make my own Christmas cards
too so that is what I plan to do next year, but for this year I will use up the
extra cards I have set aside.
Some
of the cards I had in my stash were part of a bag of Christmas goodies I had picked up last year at a thrift store.
The bag had gift boxes, gift tags, stickers and miscellaneous wrapping
supplies in it along with a nice handful of cards and envelopes. I paid $1 for that bag and I've used quite a
lot of the items that were in it. I've
definitely gotten my money's worth and I still am. Thrift stores are a great place to pick up
leftover Christmas items for mere pennies, especially off season.
I
always type up a letter to tuck inside our Christmas cards. Last year I used up some Christmas stationery
I had purchased quite a long time ago to print the letters on. This year I'm going to use up some nice linen
stationery a friend gave me when she cleaned out her desk. It is really nice paper and will work
perfectly for this purpose.
I
have to tell you I'm really excited to have all of my cards, stamps and
supplies ready for the next Christmas season. One thing already checked off of my list and
off my mind. I'm even more excited that
I'll get to do all of this without spending anymore money. Yay!
Sounds like your Christmas prep is off to a great start! I think I will sit down tonight and make a list of things I can make for this year with the supplies I have. Those bowl cozies people are making now are on my list to make for gifts. They look easy, functional and best of all use up the supplies I already have including abundant batting scraps.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have to practice "use it up" this year. I need to make each dollar count as that is the only counter measure I have to combat inflation/wage stagnation. This helps me to not be helpless but proactive. We are watching our food very closely and making sure to use it all up. I have also decided to switch back to paying cash for groceries as I feel like I spend less that way. I plan to use a set amount weekly and have a separate envelope for stock ups. I think this may work, Hopefully anyway :)
Like minds you and I. I'm doing the same thing this weekend in an attempt to see if I can do either a low spend or even better a no spend Christmas.
DeleteI like your plan for groceries. That is kind of what I've been doing this month too and it seems to be working pretty well. I'm scouring the weekly ads to get as much as I can for each dollar and scrounging for coupons too. It's a job in itself but it seems to be paying off big time. :)
I am going to the post office today to buy stamps for Christmas next year. I know a nickel won't break me one way or the other, but I had just rather not spend the extra. I send out about 60 cards and that is 3 bucks I don't have to spend during the holidays.
ReplyDeleteA nickel is a nickel so I don't blame you. It adds up fast.
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