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Thanks for hanging in there waiting for me to come back! I wasn’t planning on being away from Kitchen Stewardship for an entire week (yikes!), but we stayed an extra day with my husband’s family over the weekend, had time to literally unpack and re-pack, then went to my family’s a day earlier than planned. My mother, bless her heart, has dial-up, and she still manages to read my stuff loyally. I about went insane trying to check my email and write one little tweet. It’s good to be back!
I hope you who celebrate Christ’s birthday had a wonderful time with your families and found ways to keep it holy. I managed to accomplish two of my three “keep Christ in Christmas” goals from this post. We did not do a special family prayer service with Scripture, but we did complete our Jesse Tree, have a very special dinner by candlelight, and had a high quality family prayer time. That was what I could do that day.
I stayed focused at Mass on being prayerful and keeping my temper, even through two screaming fits, crayons everywhere, and one trip to the basement to take my 18-month-old, who is in diapers, to the potty. After 10 minutes of asking, she actually went. Go figure!
I have a ton I’ve been wanting to share with you. I’ve written a lot in my head the past week, so hopefully my cranial hard drive has retained at least most of it. 
Christmas: A Time of Good Cheer and Bad Waste
My Christmas was defined by joyful family time, watching my kids have a ball opening gifts (the act of opening for the 18-month-old and the glee in the piles of new stuff for the 4-year-old, who is now old enough to say, “Clothes? That’s just what I didn’t want!”), and, unfortunately, the wounded distress call my green side sends out when I witness the waste of a family gathering.
Those gifts my children opened, in spite of my continued wish list plea of “more wood, less plastic” and “Fewer batteries and buttons, more kid-driven thinking toys,” were populated mostly by plastic, batteries and buttons. And when my mom tries to stick with my list, her gifts pale in comparison to the lighted, jumping, singing toys from the in-laws. It’s a tough balance. What to do?
Simple Living 101
We’re going to learn a lesson in simplicity the next few months as we “set” our house to try to sell it. We’re paring down the toys considerably, and even Mommy has to get rid of many of her kitchen gadgets temporarily so our cute little house looks more cute and less little. I’m kind of excited to teach the children to take better care of their toys when they only have ONE box of crayons each, and to see how much easier the cleaning up part of our day is with so much less stuff.
I’m both petrified and eager to find out if we like having less stuff. That would mean we should get rid of a bunch of things, which is difficult and painful for a pack rat like me. “But what if we need it later?” is a classic Kimball mantra.
I’m going to have to be careful not to throw my eco-consciousness out the window and create more waste in trying to get rid of things than I have saved in my meticulous recycling and saving/reusing over the past many years. It’s tempting to be eco-forgetful when tackling the big projects, like cleaning out the junk room…or opening Christmas presents.
Christmas Waste: How Green is Katie?
Although it’s a lot easier to just trash everything equally, I am green enough that I picked through three garbage bags of wrappings, and sorted out two bags of wrapping paper (that I’m not positive we can recycle), one bag of tissue, newspaper, and cardboard (that I know we can recycle) and two grocery bags of plastic, including a good portion of my in-laws’ plastic storage container cupboard. I gave them glass dishes with the condition that she let me take at least an equal number of plastic, microwave-pock-marked plastic dishes and recycle them. Yes, I am that green.
I didn’t grab the plastic plates from breakfast and try to rinse and reuse or recycle them, though. Sometimes family harmony is more important than landfills overflowing, so I just swallow, cringe inwardly, and turn a blind eye. (But I snuck real plates out for my family the second morning at breakfast! I’m such a rebel!) I don’t even want to know what happened to any extra baked potatoes from dinner…
Weird Gifts I Got for Christmas
First, a laugh for you. What would you do if you opened a gift from your mother-in-law and saw this:
I didn’t want to offend her in case there was something behind the gift other than what I could see, so I grinned sheepishly and looked around, stammering, “Is there something I’m missing…–Is there a story behind this?”
My mother-in-law answered, “Well, you seem to make all your cleaners, so I can’t get you soap, and I hear you even make your own deodorant, [a classic stocking stuffer at their house, where Santa continues to come and fill them for everyone age 1-70] so I didn’t really know what to get you, other than an ingredient.”
This is why I dearly love my mother-in-law, in spite of our philosophical differences on material things/material waste. She does her ultimate best to give people gifts they will appreciate. Who else would receive white vinegar for Christmas and be happy about it? Yep, I’m pretty weird.
I also still received Bath and Body Works antibacterial soap and sanitizer in my stocking (so you can tell MIL doesn’t read Kitchen Stewardship, right?). I used to just use the stuff when I received it as a gift, figuring if I gave it away, it was going in the water system anyway, so I might as well just use it up. But I used to get quite a bit of Bath and Body Works soap. Last Christmas, I made a commitment to never use it again, no matter what. I like to be a bit of a rebel, and that kind of thing keeps me honest and makes me happy.
I took back last year’s loot, and I’m going to have to do the same this year. If you received antibacterial soap, I’d encourage you to do the same. Bath and Body Works, thankfully, sells the Cleanwell line of natural antibacterial soaps now. That’s about the only thing in the store I could make use of, since the shampoos and lotions all have synthetic fragrances and parabens and funky ingredients. Cleanwell is more expensive than the BBW brand soap, so I’m glad I got a few items that I can trade in for one Cleanwell! I don’t really want to give Bath and Body Works my own money, as we don’t have a very good working relationship.
What did you get for Christmas to help you be greener, healthier, or more prayerful? Do share! Anything you need to bring back? Opinions on rechargeable batteries? (Are they worth it?)
Coming Soon…3 Ways to Avoid Throwing away your Christmas cards and free toy storage for all those new thingys with lots of pieces.
…And a Monday Mission – on Friday!
Be sure to get in the Skoy Cloth Giveaway before Monday at midnight – these little gems are a unique find and worth an entry!
Do you know what’s coming at KS in 2010? Lots of neat series, some new recipes, and updates from Sally Fallon on soaking grains. Read it all here.
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If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Hungry for more? Related posts:
- Simple, Frugal Homemade Gifts for Kids: Books on CD, Playdough Kits, Bathtime Fun
- Simple Homemade Gifts: Healthy Salad Dressings and More
- Katie’s Gadget Wish List to Give and Receive this Christmas
- Advent Daily Dose: We Wish You a Holy Christmas (List)
- Advent Daily Dose: Christmas FOOD Brings us Together
So glad to know there are other weirdo’s out there!
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Let’s see…we got lots of books (my mom gave me a couple organic cooking/living ones that I’ll be reviewing next year), batteries, gift cards…mostly we got money, which we’ll be using to fulfill our wish list. Number one on mine is a dehydrator! We’re also using some for herbal tea, better computers (parts, my husband can build them), making our own vanilla, more water kefir supplies, etc. We got another set of nice glass bottles for water kefir the other day.
I cringed at the wrapping paper but didn’t do a thing. I didn’t wrap the gift I gave my husband at all. He “wrapped” mine in our daughter’s quilt.
We used gift bags for all the gifts we wrapped so that people could keep and reuse them…DH adamantly refused to use wrapping paper because he said it wasted time and paper. Nice to have him on board, right?
Hope you have a nice New Year’s!
Kate´s last blog ..Baby-led Solids
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Katie Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 7:14 am
Kate,
Katie
Awesome stash! I’m jealous that your dh is anti-wrapping paper. Mine just loves tearing it open as much as the kids.
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I got a bread cookbook (artisan bread in 5), loaf pans, and pizza stone. My goal for 2010 is to not buy bread anymore. It might take some planning. And maybe some convincing on the part of the Texan, but I look forward to trying.
Veggie Virginia´s last blog ..Kale
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Katie Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 7:12 am
VV – You are going to love your stone! I don’t know what I’d do w/o mine! I’m looking into the Artisan Bread in 5, too…
Katie
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Katie Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 7:13 am
VV – You’re going to love your stone – not just for pizzas! I don’t know what I’d do w/o mine. I’m looking into Artisan in 5, too…
Katie
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My family doesn’t even try to give me gifts anymore – just checks. Which works perfectly fine with me! As for the plastic, beeping toys, I put them away and once I make sure the kids haven’t noticed their absence, I take them to consignment. I had better luck this year when I posted a Christmas wish list on Amazon.
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Oh my word! What a kindred spirit I have found in you reading this post! First off we are putting our house on the market and are slimming our material goods too! I have already taken several trips to give/donate items and plan on many more.
Also we received klean kanteens for everyone in the family when we are not using glasses, the gifts for our family were wrapped in cloth from my ever growing (pack-rat) collection, I received “items” in our staple bags (cloth this year by request) that I don’t really use anymore or in the process of using up so I’m not throwing them away. As hard as it is for us to transition it is harder for family members who are not transitioning along with us.
I hope your house sells quickly and that you don’t lose your mind trying to keep it clean for viewings. Keeping the kitchen sink shining is my goal!
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Katie Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 7:16 am
Lynnette,
Katie
What fun! And I thought I was posting driveling ramblings…
PS – Yes, not losing my mind would be good. Shiny sinks it is!
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We love our rechargeable batteries! I now keep a list of items I’ve put them in with the charger/extras so I know where to retrieve them should I need some for a different purpose (and to make sure I don’t lose any or accidentally give them away!).
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Katie Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 7:17 am
Frances,
Katie
I will need a list when we get enough, that’s a great idea!
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First, I’m so grateful for family that mostly actually respects my wish for non-beeping toys!
I will have to forward dh you post. He was giving me a ton of grief about going through the wrapping paper and seperating out what was recyclable…and then bringing it back to our house (2.5 hours away) to recycle! My parent’s town does not have recycling service of any kind and I simply can’t throw things away knowing I can recycle them so I always take one of my reusable bags with me and collect everything and bring it back. Easier since I finally got my mother off bottled water!
I did the rechargable battery thing, but have a hard time keeping up with them. I like Frances’ suggestion and think I will try that.
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Re simplifying kids stuff: one summer we took a bunch of our 7 kids’ toys (collected from places where they didn’t belong) and bagged them up to put in the basement. Two or three years later we tossed the bags in preparation for moving. Those toys were never missed!
And my two favorite gifts this year: a set of 3 stainless steel water bottles from our oldest daughter and a bunch of dried rosemary from a friend’s garden (haven’t seen her in a couple years and she still remembered my interest in herbs ).
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My parents are great when it comes to gift giving. They gave my children gift cards to the sporting goods store where one son bought a bat for upcoming baseball season and another son bought a bike since he was busted up beyond repair (we’ve repaired it 7 times!). They gave us cash, which we applied towards my son’s medical debt so I can hurry up and quit my part time job and be a SAHM mom once again!
We couldn’t recycle wrapping paper around here, but I did my best to wrap presents in gift bags from previous years and I put up new bags that were given to us via presents into next year’s stash of bags! I think next year, I”m going used bag route or towels or something rather than shipping paper which is what I wrapped some gifts in.
Paula´s last blog ..Craziest Photo of Me Evah! 2/365
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Our gift to my family was a sampler pack of gourmet popcorn from a small female run business we know the owners of. Yay for consumables and supporting our friends business! My mom gave me pencil color drawings of my dogs and my brother got a drawing of his house. Since this was the first year of all siblings being married off there were a lot of flashback family picture cards and ornaments. Our ‘big gift’ was that my husband and I each ’snagged’ an old bicycle from our respective parents garages. We did have to get one a new tire but otherwise a great reuse. My husband got a hair cut kit and a good flashlight for walking the dogs and hurricanes. I mostly wrapped everything with giftbags from past years and they all got folded back up for future use. Stockings had fruit, snacks and goodies for house decorating->We did the traditional family gingerbread house decorating but I pared it down to people sharing half size cakes to limit waste there. We still *gulp* managed probably two trashbags at my house and countless at my sisters house where I had less control. It was fun and we’ll do better next year!
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Katie Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 12:46 am
Patty,
Katie
What an excellent, eco-friendly, thrifty Christmas! It makes me reminisce for Little House books a bit.
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Christmas Eve we managed to go to an afternoon Mass, then sat down to dinner. The fast is observed here in Slovakia during the day. In the evening we burn incense (the church kind), the father goes around the house sprinking it with blessed water, and then we sit down to dinner. The first part of Luke is read, and then each person opens a walnut (predict health for the next year), has money under their plate, shares an apple among the family, eats a clove of garlic (to make you healthy for the next year), and eats oplatky (sweet thin wafers) with honey. Different areas have different traditions, but in dh’s family dinner is cream of lentil soup with prunes (sounds wierd but is good) potato salad and fish.
Then we open presents. This year our kids both got a book and a wooden toy (from us). I originally wrapped my husband’s gift in fabric, but when he heard he was horrified. So, we did have wrapping paper (some reused gift bags too), much to my chagrin. While my family has the same sort of toy ideas, my in-law family doesn’t, but fortunately there are too many grandchildren (20) to give everyone something, so each child gets one more present Christmas day. I’ve managed to give the anti-plastic impression to the others, judging by the wooden toy each recieved. There was an inordinate amount of wrapping paper, but it got recycled at least.
oops…didn’t mean to write a book.
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Katie Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 1:08 am
Naomi,
I’m so glad you shared — Katie
I just loved reading about the Slovak traditions! I have fond memories of having Oplatky, too, as a traditional Polish Catholic Church. What beautiful traditions! That’s the kind of thing I want for my children, but I don’t have any cultural traditions that we actually did on Christmas to start with. This year we had loaded baked potatoes and leftover chili on Christmas Eve, but I don’t know if that will make a good “every year we did this” memory!
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Barb from Allendale Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 2:04 am
Katie, if you have baked loaded potatoes and leftover chili again next Christmas Eve, it will have become a tradition. We don’t have any cultural traditions either, but 20 years ago my DH hurriedly put browned hamburger and spaghetti sauce together as Sloppy Joes before the kids went trick-or-treating. This past October those grownup kids still at home walked in sniffing the air. “She did make Sloppy Joes!” (I took over when dad was on second shift.) It’s a tradition.
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Naomi Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 3:40 am
We’re in the process of building our own family traditions. The Slovak traditions are from my husband, but we incorporate my Canadian family traditions too, that randomly started. Christmas morning is (soaked) pancakes with all the trimmings, and on boxing day we had a turkey for his family – new to them! New Years Eve we wanted to make sushi (my father is Japanese and New Years is big there) and forgot the day of. Next tear!
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I love reading what everyone got for Christmas! I borrowed Artisan in 5 from the library and it was amazing! We have been making our own homemade bread for almost a year now (I have only bought 2 loves since last March) and I think the secret is finding a recipe you can do without thinking about. Also, we use rechargable energizer batteries for our camera and really like them.
We got mostly money which we put into our house that we just bought in August (new rugs!!) and lots of clothes for the little man. Hubbie gave me some new pyrex!
The wrapping paper kills me at least my dad and brothers opt for newspaper and mil passes a bag for the bows to be reused. But I reused Christmas cards from last year and made gift tags that I was quite proud of!
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My favorite “weird” gift this year was a compost bucket! (I’d been using an old plastic storage container which was pretty hideous.) The best part was that I never would have expected it from my SIL!!
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Patty Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Sarah W,
That is awesome. I got outdoor compost bins from the husband last year. I picked up my own kitchen bin this year on clearance at TJMaxx because I too was using and old plastic container. Maybe we are getting through to our relatives!
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