10 DIY Christmas Gifts Your Friends and Family Will Cherish

homekeeping binder

Written by Jaime G, Guest Writer Whether you're on a strict budget, have a large family and many friends, or simply enjoy creating meaningful Christmas gifts, I hope you'll find a few Christmas gift ideas you'll enjoy making - and giving - on my list. It's wonderful to create lasting memories, especially during the Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you and your family! 1. For the tea lover in your life, a homemade chai tea kit would make an ideal gift. Using an assortment of [...]

9 Homemade Gift Ideas: Frugal and Fast

Naturally Sweetened Caramel Corn

  Written by Mindy, Contributing Writer I have always loved making, giving, and receiving handmade gifts.  There is just something very special about a gift that somebody takes the time to make themselves! As much as I’ve always loved making gifts to give others, I do…ahem…have a history of not completing all of my handmade gifts on time.  I always have such grand dreams of crocheting everyone in my family huge blankets for Christmas, or making everyone a pair of matching pajamas. If I would [...]

Giving Above and Beyond This Christmas

bead necklaces at mercy house

Although I think we would all agree that Christmas is a season for giving, we often restrict that giving to family and friends. Yet this season offers us a beautiful opportunity to show the love of Christ in a very tangible way, as we give beyond our personal relationships. Not only do we have the chance to reach out and bless others who might not otherwise receive anything, but we can also do it together as a family, teaching our children about generosity and showing [...]

When Less Really is More

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Last week, we turned our house upside down. Almost literally. In a matter of one morning, we uprooted everything in our family room (which housed all of our children's toys, DVDs, some books and random other things), our entire downstairs storage (boxes upon boxes, whose contents we had long forgotten), and our "messy" room (an office-like room that was a catch-all for things without a proper home). A week or two earlier, I had also dramatically cleared out our family closet, main bathroom, and kitchen [...]

I’m a Mess, You’re a Mess, We’re All Just Lovely Messes

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Outside the window, leaves of crimson and burnt orange shiver on the trees, and every once in a while, a cluster of them swirl to the ground as a gust of wind blows urgent. The seasons have shifted and I find that as the weather turns chilly and the sun hides its face and the branches become bare, I turn inward, physically and mentally. Physically, I begin to look at my home as the lack of warmth and the steady drips of West Coast rain [...]

11 Herbs and Spices for the Holidays

cloves

As 2011 comes to an end, we’re sharing helpful lists to help you save money, stay healthy, get organized, creatively repurpose, frugally gift-give, intentionally celebrate and more in our “11 Things for 2011” series throughout these holiday months. Written by Stacy K, Contributing Writer The holidays are a wonderful time to enjoy herbs and spices. There are so many opportunities to use them in baking and cooking as well as medicinally. Today we are going to look at eleven herbs and spices and how they [...]

So, Mornings… How Are They Going for You?

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Have you met my friend, Kat? Allow me to introduce you... She makes a ball cap look great. She loves Tex-Mex food (me, too- except I live in Canada. Drat.) She actually has a chin-up bar in one of the doorways in her home, and every time she walks by, she does a chin-up. She is one of the coolest moms I know, and inspires me to want to be the same. She has a thing for teeny-bopper music, and at the same time, she held [...]

An Experiment: Just How Many Clothes Do Kids Need, Anyways?

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By many people's standards, I suppose my children don't have that many clothes. I certainly don't spend a lot of money buying clothes, and we sometimes have lean seasons where we run a bit low on boy's shorts or wish we had just a couple more girl's short sleeved shirts. The closet you see above is the hanging portion that contains our 3 children's shirts, sweaters, dresses and skirts (plus a few fancy dresses that hang above). What you see is basically what we have, [...]