Holiday grand plan 2010

[blessedw2]

I understand... dh is the same way.
I find him doing work, that he and I know isn't safe for him right now. he says it makes him happy. (scares me though )
have a great day dharmony!

[blessedw2]

I was going to wait for the christmas donation for the tide and tp but realized dd15 couldnt carry that to school so I went to local food pantry where there was a huge line of people waiting for food. I felt bad when the man asked is that all you have? I wish I could give more. so next grocery shopping day I will buy another tide and a couple of canned goods or cereal. the tide for the shelter and the canned goods/cereal for christmas run.

[Indiana]

blessed you were there to hear his voice but I didn't take it to be that he meant you brought very little. I took it to be are you bringing in more so that he would to our to your car to get it for you.

[Harriet]

Yes, that is my take on it, too, Indiana. When I used to work at the food pantry, the male volunteers especially were hoping for people who needed help carrying, simply because they were bored with the indoors and knew they really could be helpful if there was anything heavy, so would ask that question.

I can tell you for sure blessed that detergent is greatly appreciated and when I was working it didn't stay in the pantry more than a couple days. We would only hang onto it if we realized it was a large size and the family we had was a single person. Then we would hold it back for a large family in an attempt to help the most people. That's why a variety of sizes are appreciated.

I am surprised to hear that there was a long line waiting - that isn't my memory of a pantry at all, so the one you went to must be more urban. We were a "branch" in a way, of a larger pantry, and we never had a line and it was even rare for more than one family to be present at once. Always plenty of space to sit and wait if necessary. Of course, those weren't "hard times" either.

[blessedw2]

i think you two are right. He was a male helper.. I think you are exactly right. I wasn't insulated by any means but felt bad I couldn't do more and I think he DID want to help me carry things in.

there were people sitting inside waiting for their number to be called and people waiting outside in a line. they only have one pick up time .. from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. I am not sure how many they feed. I was thinking this would be a good confirmation project for dd15, to feed the hungry, but she has to decide that herself.

[Indiana]

blessed our are having a hard time keeping stocked for the number of requests. Our area has been hit hard with unemployment.

[Harmony]

There are homeless everywhere down here. There are groups in the woods. Used to be the homeless were mainly ones with mental problems, and I know there are still some of those, but now there are just a lot of people in bad times who have given up.

About Christmas, today I looked at a display of Christmas Trees. HD has theirs up already. I told DH what I was planning this year (scaling down) and he didn't say much at all. I asked him if he was on board with all this and he said sure. So maybe he's not going to fight me on any of this.

[blessedw2]

it's hard changing traditions and adjusting, it takes time. ((()))

[blessedw2]

this week from ceo's list

Guest Room
Guest bedrooms and other bathrooms. Use the same procedures for master bathroom and bedroom. Take note of your area and surrounding . Make lists of those items you need to replace.

Donate or toss what needs to be. Be ruthless this time.
Holiday Prep:
•Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
•Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
•Buy two canned food items from menus (get 2 of each item, one to use and one to donate to food drive).
•Buy 1/8th of TO BUY gifts. Save all receipts, note return policy before buying. Ask for gift boxes
•Wrap and label packages. If needing to ship, get some shipping boxes now and store packages in them.
•Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.

Decorate for Halloween:

•If you decorate mainly with a fall harvest look, then a few Halloween things can make it for Halloween. After October, replace the Halloween decorations with Thanksgiving things for a minimum of work.

[blessedw2]

the list above is too much for me especially when my home was full of stuff. I think decluttering is through out the year and trying to do it all for the holidays is too much.

my thought :if you have so much that it would cause mental stress...then toss and donate one thing even useless as a piece of paper as it brings power to you as you declutter. one success builds on another. One drop of water at a time fills a bucket just as one piece of clutter out at a time (with out bringing things in ) empties a room.

look for garbage in that room and take it away. there is a difference. no dishes in the bathroom or guest room

do you have a blankets and pillows sheets for the guest?

vacuum the rug, dust one area a day in the guest room if it is overwhelming.

when we had a freezer we did make extra for a meal and freeze it for the holiday month.