We all have them—Grandmother’s chair, Dad’s hat collection, Mom’s china.

We didn’t buy them, we don’t really want them, and we don’t use them. What we do it dust them, store them, and wonder how to dispose of them. Well, I heard a plan that works for me ,and I hope it helps you too.

Before I tell you about the plan, though, let me tell you a story I heard. There was a man who seemed stuck in his life. A career coach quizzed him and found out he was having trouble letting go of where he was and what he had in his life.

For example, he had inherited some furniture from his family. Since he had no use for it, he stored it—for 17 years he stored the furniture and paid $170 a month to do so. The career coach told him, “Man, do you realize how much money you have spent storing that furniture? Do you realize you could go on eBay and buy the same things if you ever truly wanted to use them?”

That man is not so different from many of us. It’s time to let go of the past and all the stuff that ties us to it. Sooooo here’s the idea. Take a photo of the treasured item. Print out the photo, if you wish, and put it in a scrapbook. Then sell the stuff, take the money, and do something you want to do with it.

Hey, I’m right there with you. I have some inherited things that are not being used. I’ve decided to take pictures and then sell the items and use the money to support my Type 1 diabetic granddaughter’s efforts to raise money for the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk. Everybody wins!

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Here we are almost to the beginning of summer. Have you made any plans yet for how your family will vacation? Is it going to be a “staycation” this year?

If so, how will you relax while staying in your home? How will you avoid the temptation to work? Have you thought about camping? If so, make your campground reservations now for the best spots in the campground. To help you, there is a list of camping equipment, ideas, and needs in Simply Fun for Families available from Heritage Builders. It’s worth the price of the book.

If you are staying home and sleeping in your own beds, then think about some fun things within a 50-mile radius of your home that your family could do together. Is there an observatory where the kids could peer through a telescope? Is there a park or zoo you don’t get to nearly often enough? Is there a sporting event—even a minor league or city league game—your family would enjoy attending? Is there a street fair planned that would provide fun for a day or two? Some towns have outdoor theater or movies during the summer. Just make sure they are age appropriate. Throw out a blanket, spread out snacks, and enjoy.

Fourth of July celebrations are always fun. Plan now to attend and who you will go with. Fireworks are always fun especially if several families with kids get together for the event.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure it breaks the routine of daily living. Make sure you do some things that you “never have the time to do.” Invite family and friends to enjoy your staycation with you. Be creative and have a happy, refreshing time. Right now, just get busy with the planning. Plan together, it’s more fun for everyone when you do.

For that camping list and tons of other creative ideas for fun, see Gwen’s book Simply Fun for Families available from Heritage Builders. 

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I’ve been working on a book with an author about men’s health, and one of the big health concerns for all of us should be the food additives in our food.

Something like 80 percent or what we eat is processed food loaded with sodium, preservatives and food coloring. It is put in our food to make it more appealing, to cause us to be addicted to it (you can’t just eat one), and sometimes for the manufacturers convenience in manufacturing the food.

Think about the recent controversy with “pink slime.” And we have just learned that commercial bread—that staple of all diets—is loaded with sodium.

In addition to being terrible for your health, processed food is expensive. For example,  you can buy a 10-ounce bag of popped, salted puffs (not popcorn) for $6.99. You can buy three microwave bags of popcorn for $2.50. You can buy a bag of kernels to pop yourself for $2.50. That’s enough popcorn to fill a washtub. The raw kernels have no additives, but they do have fiber. The microwave bag has salt and partially hydrogenated palm oil—trans fat.

So use your head. Which one of the three is the best buy for cost and nutrition? It’s that way for most products in the store. Processed food is not best for you. If you want fresh fruits and vegetables in season, shop farmers markets and roadside stands. Those purchases are direct from producer to consumers, and while we might wonder what has been put on the fields to fertilize the plants, at least we know nothing has been added at some packager’s and manufacturer’s site.

Think, think, think about what your family is eating. There is a reason for obesity in this country and it is that most of what is in the grocery store has been enhanced to make you eat more and more and more of it. Yes, processed foods are convenient, but is convenience worth the price of diabetes and other obesity-related diseases?

And if your family learns to eat more raw fruit and vegetables, how much more convenient could the food be. Simply wash it and feed it. Fruits and vegetables should be the main part of our diet. Add a little meat, a little dairy product for calcium—but watch out for cheese as it is loaded with fat and salt—some nuts and whole grains, and you have the nearly perfect diet.

Easy as . . . well, I was going to say pie, but pie is not an essential nutrient in our diets.

For more helpful information about raising kids and family life, read Gwen Ellis’ Simply Fun for Families, published by Heritage Builders. 

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I’ve noticed an alarming trend.

At least it’s alarming to me in light of the obesity epidemic we are facing in this country—obesity that is often accompanied by Type 2 diabetes.

It used to be when I went to the grocery store, the junk food was more or less out of sight down the aisles. Perhaps there would be a display of soft drinks out near the entrance once in a while, but that was about all.

Now when I go into a grocery store, I can hardly get in for displays cramming the entryway. There are seasonal displays—Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, Super Bowl, Halloween, and on and on. And, have you noticed how many of our holidays demand the purchase of candy and other high-calorie sweets? What is going on?

Well, I think it’s all about money. Manufacturers of what I call “non-foods”—because these foods have so little nutrition in them—are going to respond to market demands. They’re in the food production business to make money. So they pump out every imaginable kind of chip, fizzy soft drink, pastry, candy, ice cream and on and on.

And do you know that manufacturers have figured out that we are so dumb as consumers that when they slap a “health food” label on something we will buy it without even investigating what’s in it? Even seemingly harmless “health food” items can be loaded with sugar. Gatorade has enough sugar in one bottle that you would have to exercise at least two hours to use up all that sugar. Some protein bars are little more than candy bars. And we, the gullible consumers, are more than willing to respond and load up our carts with items that are killers of our health. I am appalled when I watch young children chowing down on empty calories. We’re killing ourselves and our kids with this stuff.

Do we have the strength to walk past the bags and packages and bottles of non-foods and push our way to the back of the store where we can find live food? Live food is the kind that will spoil in a couple of days to a couple of weeks in a cooler. Live food has to be updated regularly to provide the best nutrition. Live food is what we need to grow healthy bodies and minds.

I’m deeply concerned about what manufacturers of all this junk are doing to our culture and to our health. Boycott them! Don’t buy their junk food! Demand fresh, living food and be a true consumer of it.

What you will gain is health for yourself and your family. What you will lose are multiple co-pays to doctors and prescriptions. Teach your kids that a ripe peach or an orange not only tastes better, but is better for them.

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A fun game you can play with your family while also thinking up ways to reuse, repurpose, and rethink everything you are about to throw away. It goes something like this:

What can you do with an old boot?

1. If it’s leather you can cut round circles of leather to glue to the bottom of the legs of chairs and other furniture to protect hardwood floors.

2. If it’s a kid’s rain boot (some of them are adorable with frog eyes), plant a flower in it and put it in the flower garden in an unexpected spot.

3. Cowboy boots can be drilled through the sole, fitted with lamp rods held in place by filling the boot with plaster of Paris. Then thread a lamp wire through the rod, wire a lamp socket to the top and find some lamp shades to complete your western theme for a pair of lamps.

Bet you can think of even more ways to use an old boot. Do this with every item you are about to throw away.

Plastic gallon milk containers can be cut to make funnels or scoops or even bird feeders. I use chopsticks as plant stakes. I was looking for something to hold my pens and pencils on my desk and remembered a flower vase that was my mom’s. It’s old and has a big chip on it, but the flared shaped of the top makes it perfect for keeping pens and pencils corralled, and it’s a little bit of Mom that I can have near me every day. The cardboard cores of toilet paper and paper towels are in great demand for preschool craft classes as are cardboard egg cartons.

Would love to hear your ideas.

For more ideas for having fun, saving time, and saving money, buy Simply Fun for Families, which is available from all commercial sources and Heritage Builders.

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It’s that time again—time to get ready for tax day.

Ugh! Well, it doesn’t have to be as bad as some folks make it. For one thing, start now, a few weeks before the filing date. Gather together all your forms indicating your income this past year. Don’t forget to include any interest earned. Put them all together under a clip and add a sticky note labeling them.

Next, gather all your contributions. You should have a place to put all your contribution receipts throughout the year. I use a three-ring binder with dividers that I put together myself. You can use a sheet protector pocket as a place to store your contributions receipts. That way these receipts will be at hand when you are ready to file. Gather forms that show any interest you have paid on your house. Next gather any expense items that can be deducted from your taxes—medical, car license, child care, etc., and clip and label them.

If you’re taking your taxes to an accountant, basically when you have it all organized, that’s all you need to do. After you’ve gathered everything, put it all in an envelope and hand it to the accountant. Just do it soon. If you are doing it yourself, get started. Take a weekend when you are not at a job and get it done. Don’t wait until the last minute. No one needs that kind of stress.

If you haven’t set up a system for keeping track of your financial information throughout the year, as soon as your taxes are in the mail, set up something to help you keep track. As I said, I have a simple three-ring binder with dividers for each investment company I use, for medical receipts, for contributions, anything you might need. I replace investment reports monthly when the paperwork arrives. I know, lots of people don’t use paper anymore. Just keep current whatever means you use to track your financial information.

Hey, who knows? Maybe you’ll get a refund. That’s definitely the upside of getting your taxes done.

For lots more money-saving ideas that can then be reinvested in family fun, read Simple Fun for Families by Gwen Ellis and published by Heritage Builders. It’s available on Amazon.com.

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There are some places in saving money where I do not cut corners.

I do not cut corners on anything related to the computer. I have had “friends of friends” who supposedly knew something about computers and software come in and thoroughly mess up my computer. I now have a tech specialist who is reasonable in his rates, thorough in his knowledge, and careful about his work.

I do not cut corners on the cost of my grandchildren’s shoes. While there are many children’s shoes in thrift shops, I buy only those they might wear occasionally such as dress shoes, rain boots, or slippers and those in new or almost new condition. I don’t buy their everyday shoes—the ones they wear most of the time for school, play, etc.—second hand, not even on EBay. Their feet are too important to risk to used shoes that have formed to another child’s foot.

I don’t cut corners on products I buy for my animals. I don’t cut costs on vaccinations for animals either. Vet bills are to be avoided at all costs and prevention is the name of the game.

I don’t cut corners on trips to the dentist for routine cleaning (although I sometimes wish I could). Again, prevention is the name of the game.

I don’t cut corners on trips to the doctor and I follow the advice given and take the recommended prescriptions.

I don’t cut corners on having my car serviced. If you want to keep the car you have—thus avoiding car payments or increased car payments—be regular in the servicing of your car.

I’m sure there are other places I don’t cut corners, but these are the main ones.

What are the areas where you refuse to cut corners on costs because in the end you waste money?

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Before there was a proliferation of TV shows on home decorating—particularly on a budget—a friend and I were doing it and writing about it.

This week I want to tell you about a great source of decorator fabric on a budget. What I have learned is that companies pay designers to design some gorgeous shower curtains—you know the outer fabric curtains, not some plastic version. A shower curtain is about 70 inches square and thrift shops sell them for around $5. That’s a lot of designer fabric for $5, and most fabric off the bolt would be 60 inches wide at the most.

I have done two very successful projects using beautiful shower curtains. One was for my daughter-in-law’s house. I bought a leaf-patterned fabric shower curtain. The background was white and the leaves were beige, silver, and a spring green. The design was very modern. I made two huge pillow covers for the sofa and some smaller pillows for a window seat. The fabric became the color palette for the entire room. The shower curtain was brand new so it cost $9.

Recently I’ve done another project using a shower curtain. This curtain is a shimmery brown color with embroidered outlines of flowers in turquoise blue, pale yellow, and black. Very up-to-date looking and very smart. This one had a small tear a couple of inches from the bottom.

Here’s what happened. I have a closet in my office where I store supplies and my grandchildren’s toys. The closet had floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The tracks were worn out and made it very difficult to slide the doors. I decided—when we had nearly pulled the doors to pieces to get them open—that it was time to get rid of them. They were a danger to the kids. I took them off (heavy), advertised them for free on Craig’s List, and they were gone within a couple of hours.

I decided to cover the opening with a curtain rather than replacing the doors for $350 right now. The shower curtain was just the width of the opening, but it was too short. When I found the shower curtain, I also found another big piece of fabric in a tiny all-over woven pattern in the same turquoise and brown colors. Since it is now fashionable to sew contrasting fabrics on the bottom of drapes, I decided to sew a panel on the bottom of the shower curtain. I cut off the damaged part of the curtain and attached the extension. Looks great!

Now I had to figure out how to hang the thing. I had left the 12 buttonholes that all shower curtains have. I bought a spring-tension shower curtain rod and pushed it up into the space at the top where the door track had been. Back to the thrift shop for some way to attach the curtain to the rod. I found a bag with three sets of shower curtain hooks in it.

One looked like bamboo hooks. One had imitation seashells (very nice, but not exactly what I wanted). The third set looked like tiny tiles or squares of limestone. They were perfect. In about three minutes, I had threaded the hooks through the buttonholes and slipped the hook over the rod. Just perfect.

The end result is a stunning looking door/wall hanging/curtain that the kids can easily push aside to get their toys and I can stop fighting the worn out track. Think about some ways you might use those gorgeous shower curtain fabrics in your home.

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I love having fresh flowers in my house, but as I’m sure you know, fresh flowers can be expensive, especially since you have them a short time and throw them out.

But still, I love flowers, and it’s one of the little luxuries I allow myself. When I moved to California, right into the middle of fields of flowers, I thought they would be cheap, but they cost as much here as anywhere.

Of course, I try to find a way to have fresh flowers that don’t cost too much. Here’s how:

• Seasonal flowers are less expensive than out-of-season or exotic varieties. Right now I have five bright yellow trumpets of daffodils on the ledge of the pass-through between my kitchen and living room. I usually place flower there where they can be viewed from anyplace on the main floor of the house.

• Sometimes a flowering plant is a good choice as it will last for weeks rather than days. Right now primroses in every color imaginable are available.

• I have a neighbor who buys lots of filler material—eucalyptus, baby’s breath and fern greens. These cost less than flowers. Then she buys two or three big blossoms like stargazer lilies. She sets the bouquet on a mirror and the effect is amazing.

• Force flowering branches into bloom by cutting some from your yard—or a friend’s yard. Lengths of forsythia, quince, apple, pussy willows, or witch hazel can be forced by putting them in water in the house. Within a week or so, the branches will bloom.

• Use interesting shaped branches or tufted grasses for a bouquet. Make sure that no one in your house is allergic to the type of grasses you bring in. Artfully arranged in a lovely vase, these natural materials have a charm all their own.

• Grow your own. I once had a flower garden that was 15 feet by 30 feet. I wanted a garden big enough to be able to cut flowers and yet the garden would still look full of flowers.

That garden had five peony bushes that were prolific—all at once. The garden would be full of lovely pink, white, and deep rose peonies and then they were gone. I learned to cut them when the buds looked like puffy marshmallows, but before they opened fully. By wrapping the bottom of the stems with wet paper towels and putting the flowers in plastic bags in the refrigerator, I could have peony flowers for weeks after they were finished in the garden. Within half an hour of being placed in a vase the buds would open into delightful flowers.

• Where do we get the idea that a dozen roses is the perfect gift? Since I no longer have a huge flower garden, I use a number of tiny crystal vases to display flowers. I put single blossoms of roses or whatever is available from the garden in them. If the garden can spare four or five blossoms, I put one in each vase with a tiny bit of greenery of some kind and line them up on the pass through. Or I place those tiny bouquets in unexpected places—beside the soap dish in the bathrooms is a favorite place.

• A spray of orchids may seem expensive, but it might last a month or more.

That gives you some starter ideas. I encourage you to bring flowers into your homes. It will lift your spirits and make winter seem a little shorter.

For more money-saving and fun ideas read Simply Fun for Families, a Heritage Builders book.

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We all know we should do it—save money, but before we realize what’s happened, we have spent it and there is nothing to save. Here are some painless ways to save:

1. Set a goal for your savings. Saving is a lot more fun and easier to do if you have a goal. It can be something as simple as a new garment or as elaborate as a cruise around the world. Of course, saving for retirement should always be a part of any saving plan. Retirement comes around more quickly than you can imagine.

2. Get an old-fashioned piggy bank and start dropping in coins. Or even more fun is to take a glass jar with a lid and cut a slit in the lid for the coins to fall through. Then tape pictures of your savings goal to the outside of the jar. The rules are:

• All found money goes into the jar—that includes money from the sofa, change or bills found in the washer or dryer, money you find on the street—even a penny.

• Put gift money in the jar. The little bits you receive for a birthday or Christmas or a birthday won’t buy much, but added to your savings toward your goal, it will make a difference.

• Any rebate money goes into the jar, or if it is a large amount, straight into your savings account.

• When your wallet is bulging with $1 bills, take a few out and save them.

• Maybe you want to decide to never spend quarters but to put them in the jar.

3. Set up an automatic bank transfer of funds into a savings account. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money. This fund too will build up before you know it—that is if you stay out of it. Develop a hands-off policy until you are ready to spend for your goal.

4. Figure out one or two areas where you know you are spending too much money for something that is not lasting and that certainly does not contribute toward your saving goal. For many of us that would be designer coffees. What if you gave up just one a month . . . or one a week? How much would have to put in your savings? What about taking your lunch to work rather than eating out? The money saved here will add up quickly toward your goal.

5. Once a month, add up all your savings and post the amount saved with a picture of the goal where you can see it. You might even want to say, “Only _____dollars to go.”

6. When you’ve reached your goal (whatever it is), take the money and spend it with joy. You’ve earned the right to a guilt-free purchase.

For more money-saving ideas that end in family fun, read Simply Fun for Families, available from Heritage Builders and on all book sale websites.

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