Brown paper

I have flash-backs of my Granny, and her saving habits, when I catch myself saving pieces of brown paper for wrapping up parcels.  My sister and I, as children, were always amazed at how much stationery Granny re-used.  She had a cupboard dedicated to paper, string and all the other paraphernalia used for wrapping.  Even now, I can visualise her folding up a piece of brown paper nicely and neatly into a square and in the cupboard it went... for another occasion!  Although it's probably not rational to be saving paper as if we were still in the middle of the Second World War, I can understand why women from my Granny's generation adopted such habits.  And it's not a completely mad thing to do - there are so many uses for a scrap piece of brown paper: sending a parcel, endless creative projects with children, wrapping presents up...  In our extended family, it is certainly a habit that has crept through the generations - my mother, sister and me are all made fun of (in an affectionate way) by our partners for our stock-piling tendencies (from tinned food, to toiletries to stationery...)  The habit has become a bit less eccentric down the generations, but it is certainly a principle that has been instilled in us: "waste not, want not."

That brings me to a related topic: gift wrapping.  I always used to be a little disappointed by the fact that my husband did not see it as necessary to wrap up my birthday gifts (and sometimes even Christmas ones).  I can see that it could be seen as a great waste to wrap up a present in expensive gift-wrap which is only going to be ripped off days later and then thrown in the bin!  But the element of surprise by the recipient, and the pleasure in the effort put in by the giver, is down to the presentation.  Over the years, we seem to have met somewhere in the middle on this issue by finding creative ways of wrapping: using materials or blankets to hide presents, or baskets or bags that will be re-used, or discarded boxes screaming to be used again.  I suppose that the difference may be a gender thing. I am always reluctant to stereotype in this way, but many women seem to have this appreciation for gifts and pretty things, in a way that many men just cannot see the purpose of.  So when he gives me a non-wrapped present, Chris reminds me that we should consider the environment, and I remind him of the joys of receiving a genuine surprise!

3 for 2...

The dangerous world of bargains:  I heard on the news today that only 40% of people who have loyalty cards actually benefit from them.  It is easy to get sucked into offers - or yet another card to squash into your wallet - all because if you are getting something for free, then why not?  My husband always laughs at me when I don't automatically tune into these bargains, and I do get some funny looks from shop assistants when I don't want to add an enormous bar of chocolate for £1 to my shopping basket!

Don't get me wrong: sometimes offers can be very helpful and really worth it.  But I don't understand this obsession with making sure that you don't lose out on any bargain however pointless and without thinking it through!  My step-father in law has stacks of cereals and various other food stuffs in every nook and cranny - above the cupboards, in the utility room - everywhere!

It does annoy me that marketing companies lure in people - many of whom can't really afford the items they are buying - into buying something extra, convincing them that "they really need it".  I could really start ranting about car hire insurance deals, appliance insurance, shoe polish for a particular pair of shoes.... but best not to!

I suppose what I would really like to see is more ethical companies and stores selling goods of good quality and produced in an eco-friendly manner, and less mindless persuasion for people to buy more than they need just to increase the profits of multi-national companies.

I promise a more light-hearted post next week about brown paper and packaging!

Keeping children occupied for free

Where are my glasses?  The monster ate them!  This was the response my children gave me once we had got into the car after a fun morning fruit-picking.

Now the children are back at school, I have had time to reflect back on the holiday period and on how my challenge has been going.  Generally, I find the holidays a good time to stay away from spending as entertaining the little ones keeps me busy, and I have no time to even think about self-indulgence!  So apart from a bargain that I could not resist - a picture of a beautiful beach in West Dorset where we have just returned from our summer break (£10 for a nicely framed A3 sized photograph!) - I have kept away from treating myself!

Instead, my mind has been busy working out ways to keep my 3 smashers busy for 6 weeks!  Some holidays I find run relatively smoothly, with them happy working on creative craft projects they've dreamt, as well as running around the garden, parks and the beach.  This summer was not one of those!  This was one of those holidays where I was kept challenged with groans and whines of "what are we doing today?" and so fruit picking and lunch at the cafe in the nearby garden centre was one of the first outings that proved successful!  The middle section of the back seat our the car lifts up as a storage space, and this rapidly became a monster which ate everything (including my C.D.'s and driving glasses!)  This is a sign of a good day out!  Very simple - a couple of punnets and plenty of fruitful raspberries canes and they were off...

Fruit Picking

The other great successes  of the summer mainly seemed to involve water: from crabbing off the harbour wall to fishing for minnows in a river to fossil hunting on the beach.  What more could two boys ask for than rocks to chuck on the beach to discover whether there is a fossil in the middle?  My husband and daughter meanwhile were busy collecting crabs while I looked for pretty little pebbles!  Chesil Beach is a great place for pebbles, my kids spent hours sorting the little pebbles into colours - whites, blacks, reds, speckled... and then off for a break by racing the waves and getting completely soaked!

Waves on Chesil Beach

All with very little money spent and lovely memories to keep...