Disposing of Leftover Supplies

 There will always be some sort of clean up involved in making gifts. Whether it's tossing the wrapping a craft kit came in, straightening up the kitchen after baking, or figuring out what to do with the rest of the yarn, there will be something. What can you do with the leftovers?

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Having less mess in the first place is a good start. When possible, look for supplies with less packaging material. Make a half-recipe instead of a whole if it will make too much. Buy a smaller skein of yarn or a smaller cut of fabric (but do make sure you have enough to finish the project!). The twelve-pack of paint might be cheaper per tube than the six-pack, but if you're not going to use the other colors, you haven't really saved money. 

But you will usually have something left over. Maybe you made a birthday cake that only called for egg whites--but you can add the yolks to your breakfast eggs, or freeze them to use in future recipes. Lots of food leftovers like this can be frozen: diced vegetables for soups or roasts, berries for pies, cookies that are already baked or the dough itself until you're ready to bake it. Small amount of yarn left over from a bigger project are great for making smaller ones like hats, gloves, and scarves. They can also be combined to make something larger, like a multi-colored blanket. 

A variety of hats made from remnants of larger products

The random and varied colors make beautiful stripes.

The same goes for fabric scraps. I keep my partially-used fabric in a basket, using bits at a time for things like purse pockets or strip-quilted pot holders until there's just a bit left. Then I either cut it down into a charm square or into a strip three inches wide and add it to my coil of strips...

My current collection

...And the charm squares can be used for various projects, while the strip coil eventually becomes a jelly roll quilt.

I almost have enough for a second quilt!

A block of wood you used half of can probably be used again. A used piece of embroidery stabilizer can be torn in half, flipped around, and sewn together to make a big enough piece for a second embroidery piece. When you finish a project, take a look at the pieces left over. Can they be used again--and how annoying will it be to store them? If there are good useable pieces but you don't want to store them, you might be able to donate them--more on that in a moment. 

And when you do get down to just scraps, it's time to dispose of them. Some can be recycled in curbside recycling, like paper, plastic, and metal items. Check with your waste disposal because there might be restrictions about the specific types of material. For example, shiny papers might not be accepted. Flimsier plastic like the kind plastic bags are made from shouldn't go in most curbside recycling, but grocery stores often have collection bins for it. Fabric, yarn, and similar items can be bagged, labeled as "scraps," and given to Goodwill and other places to be sold to fabric recyclers.

There, it will be shredded for use as rags or furniture stuffing.

Or you can make your own stuffing.

Leftover pieces of wood from woodcrafting that are too small to be used can be used for kindling or might be suitable for yard waste, provided the wood is free of dangerous chemicals. Yard waste or composting is also excellent for food scraps like egg shells, used coffee grounds (they attract worms and repel slugs and snails), and food-soiled paper like the paper towel you used to smear butter on the side of a baking dish. Check with your local waste management as the rules vary.

DONATE

Maybe you have half a yard of fabric, a stack of craft paper, a few spools of ribbon, or a large jar of beads left after a project, maybe you were given craft supplies that aren't useful to you, or maybe you just changed your mind about pursuing a particular craft. Either way, you find yourself with supplies you don't have a use for and don't want gathering dust. You can donate those. Lots of secondhand stores take craft supplies, and so do crafting guilds. For example, a crochet guild near me takes donated yarn to make items for charity. Schools, especially for younger grades, often like art supplies; as do daycares, Sunday schools, after-school clubs, summer camps, and Scout groups. Some will even be willing to come to you to pick up the items. Groups like BuyNothing are a great way to offload your wares: you can list what you want to give away and people will come pick it up from your door.

If you don't want to donate the raw materials, you can make items to donate. My knitting guild donates cold-weather items to various groups every December, often made from yarn that was donated to us. Some guilds will work together on a big project like a giant quilt, and raffle it off for a charity event. I like to knit, but I already have blankets, and don't really like to use hats or scarves, but I can knit things to give others. I've also made toys for my church's Angel Tree--groups like are a good place to donate decorative or useful handmade items, for that extra special touch to a gift for someone in need. 

One surprising place that often accepts handmade gifts is food banks. Not all will, but many like to have items for their clients to "shop" from so their clients can give birthday or holiday gifts. Along the same lines, some food banks are able to accept homemade and homegrown food. Always check before you bring the food, because the rules vary.

...OR SELL

There's nothing wrong with making some money. If you have a large amount of craft supplies and want to see if they'll fetch a nice price online or at a yard sale, go for it. I find that eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist have about equal success for selling craft supplies. I give any item I list a time limit of a month or two, and if it hasn't sold in that time, I donate it. I personally wouldn't do a yard sale just for craft supplies, but if I happened to be about to have a yard sale, I'd check my supply stash to see if I wanted to try to get rid of some of it. 

My knitting guild has a fun strategy: anyone who wants to can bring leftover craft supplies to show, and anyone who wants to buy it pays what she feels is a fair price, and the money goes to our charity fund. We've been able to give quite a bit local charities this way.

MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Very small bits of craft material can be made into something completely different. A bit of yarn or strip of fabric makes a nice string to wrap a present. Scraps from various types of projects, especially if they're in fun colors, look nice in a vase, jar, or ornament. The last bit of paper from making cards could be used for origami, or to make a gift tag. 

Don't keep leftovers forever and certainly don't horde them. Just give them a bit of thought before you get rid of them. Some things will be destined for the landfill, but more than you might expect can be used for something else, or recycled.

Sending Gifts Near and Far

 It's nearly the holiday season in 2020. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be able to have my usual Christmas Eve party with my extended family this year, which means I need to figure out a way to still distribute the presents I want to give. Every year there are a few cousins I don't see in person, but this year none of us will be gathering together. So...how do you make sure someone gets a present when you can't get together?

DROP-OFFS

There might be a variety of reasons beyond a pandemic that prevents you from conducting a normal visit or family event. If you live close, you can still arrange a time to drop off a gift. I'm already plotting out a map for a day's drive around my area dropping off Christmas cookies to my extended family. 

Things to consider when dropping off a gift: will your recipient be home at the time, and is a visit expected? Can you safely leave the gift--does it risk be stolen or ruined by the elements (e.g.; a plant that could freeze)? If your recipient lives in a gated community or apartment building with secure access, will you be able to get in? Is there parking nearby, or adequate mass transit to get you there and back? Do you need to plan for tolls, parking fees, or bus tickets? Does it make more sense to drop off a gift at your recipient's work or another location instead of the home? And finally, a fun one: is there something interesting you can do nearby? My last stop for delivering Christmas cookies this year is near a zoo!

MAILING OPTIONS

I prefer to mail packages through the post office--I find their services the most cost-effective and reliable. Other people prefer UPS, Fedex, or another shipping company. Regardless of how you send a gift, you need to remember a few things. 

First, what are the delivery estimates? Every late November or early December, USPS posts a list of dates which are the last days to send packages for guaranteed delivery by December 25, based on factors like whether the package is going overseas or whether you choose expedited shipping. For packages staying in the same country, I like to send at least a week beforehand, but you can find overnight shipping services with all the package delivery companies--it'll just cost a lot more. If you're sending to another country, especially one in another hemisphere, you'll need to allow more time for things to get to their destinations.

Second, will the present survive the trip? Delicate items need to be packed carefully, with bubble wrap or newspaper or something similar to cushion them on their journeys. Perishable items need to get where they're going before they spoil--some shipping companies allow a few pounds of dry ice in shipments; check their websites for specifics. And make sure you've properly sealed the shipping box! It would be awful if the box popped open during transit.

Third, are the shipping charges within your budget? Planning ahead is helpful here. As long as the gift isn't something that will spoil for a while, if you have it ready several days before you want your recipient to get it, you can send it the slowest (that is, the cheapest) option. If you don't want a surprise amount when it comes time to pay, then flat rate boxes are your friends--and often cheaper than sending the same item priced by weight. Shipping companies offer various insurance plans, too; consider if you want those when mailing. Some are included automatically, some are extra. Either way, keep your receipt and tracking number until you know the gift has arrived safely.

Fourth, is it allowed? Some areas don't allow certain items in the mail. Alcohol is the go-to example; you can't mail it to specific states or countries. When sending agricultural items like home-grown fruits and vegetables or seeds (homegrown or storebought), you'll need to check if there are restrictions meant to curb invasive species and pests. Restrictions like this are more commonly an issue when sending packages from one country to another, but they can also exist within the same country, especially if the country covers a wide geographical area.

And finally, make sure you've written the address clearly. If you're concerned about your handwriting, you can type the address, print it out, and tape that paper to the package; or ask someone with neater handwriting to write it for you (also good if you want it to be a surprise and don't want your recipient to recognize your handwriting). If you're worried about the address getting smeared or otherwise rendered illegible, you can also put a slip of paper inside the box with the address. If the shipping company ends up having to open the package to look for clues of where it goes, your paper will be right there to help the gift get back on track.

COMBINED AND COORDINATED EFFORTS

My brother and I live two thousand miles apart, not exactly an easy drive. But my sister-in-law came up with a convenient way to save on shipping costs: buy online, pick up in store. If they want to get us something, they find it at a business that has an online store, pay for online, and arrange for pick up at the location near me, specifying my name as the pick up person. Then I just go to the pick up desk and collect it. Super easy! In another instance, I moved out of state, and as a going-away present was given a zoo membership in the new state. The family who gave it to me bought it through the zoo's website and printed out the proof of purchase, which I took with me to the zoo on my first visit, and then was given a membership card.

The business doesn't necessarily have to be huge for this to work. Once, my brother wanted to get our dad a gift card to his favorite restaurant, which only has one location run by a husband and wife. I live near it, he's two thousand miles away. My brother called the restaurant, explained the situation, paid for the gift card via credit card over the phone, and I picked it up the next time I was in the area. Considering other restaurants in the past have wanted to charge shipping costs nearly equal to the gift card itself, having the local person pick it up is far more cost-effective! And with the ability to pay over the phone or online, there's no need to remember to pay anyone back. If you're not sure whether paying over the phone or online is an option, call the business and ask. You'd be surprised how much can be done remotely--my best friend was able to pay the adoption fee for a kitten in an animal shelter across the country over the phone, and her friend picked up the cat that day.

You can also coordinate within the same area. In a few weeks when I deliver Christmas cookies, my first stop is a cousin's house. There, I will leave cookies not only for him and his family, but also his dad and his sister, who both live quite a ways away in opposite directions. Going to both their houses would add three to four hours to my day! But he'll see them at Christmas, so he's happy to hang on to those presents for them. In return, I'm going to collect Christmas cookies he and his family have made, and deliver both sets to the rest of my stops that day. And that third family member who lives too far away to pack in to the drive? Both sets of Christmas cookies will fill out a flat rate box easily; they'll get mailed together.

DIRECT FROM THE SOURCE

If you find the perfect gift in a storefront and plan to give it to someone who lives hundreds or thousands of miles away, why not simply have it sent directly from the store to your recipient? It's going to be mailed anyway, so why mail it twice? You can usually specify that you don't want an invoice sent (seeing how much you spent can make recipients feel uncomfortable) and sometimes pay a bit extra for gift wrapping, too. Just be sure to warn your recipient that a package is arriving! 

This is especially a great option for gift recipients in other countries. It can take a while for a package to cross oceans and continents. If you're looking for a gift for someone far away, check local businesses to see if you can shorten the shipping time by purchasing from a store the next town over instead of half a world away.

A word of caution when ordering online: make sure you're purchasing from a legitimate and trusted website, and that your financial information is secure. A product might be an unusually low price on a website you've never heard of because it's being sold on a scam website, or isn't as advertised (e.g.; maybe it's a doll-size dress instead of an adult-sized one). Check your credit card, bank, Paypal, or similar statements for unauthorized use often, and report any instances of fraud. 

Whatever your plans this holiday season, have fun and stay safe! Here's hoping that this time next year will be far less stressful.

Gifts on a Budget: Things to Keep on Hand

Giving presents doesn't need to break the bank. Planning ahead lets you take advantage of sales, lower shipping prices, and is less stressful overall. Keeping some gift-related items around will help you be ready faster. Here are some ideas to get you started.

GREETING CARD SUPPLIES

Having ready access to rubber stamps, paint, markers, cardstock (or any paper) makes it easy to whip together a greeting card in minutes. They don't have to be fancy as long as they're from the heart.

It took longer to clean the stamps than to make the card.

And nothing says they need to be handmade. The most expensive of these cards were bought in a pack of six at a dollar store. Some are from thrift stores, some were sent by various organizations encouraging me to donate to their causes, and some are just the front half of cards I've received, with the personalized part torn off. I keep them with my postage stamps, ready for any time I want to drop someone a line, from condolences to congratulations. 

Most of the front halves are just the right size for postcards.

QUICK HOMEMADE GIFTS

What can you make quickly and easily? For me, it's baked goods. Knitting and sewing I can do too, but they take longer and require more concentration. So I make sure to keep baking staples on hand, and pounce on fun extras I see on sale.

Seasonally-colored icing and sprinkles go on sale after holidays and keep well,
and things like cookie cutters and other baking forms are abundant at secondhand stores.

Because I already have the supplies, it's not hard to make a quick batch of treats for a gift.

Some sprinkles, icing, or chocolate chips can quickly turn plain cookies into
 a festive Valentine plate, a Pokemon ball, a favorite animal, or a Minecraft piece.

They also add a nice touch to treats for celebrations like the end of Ramadan,
ready to mail when you can't celebrate in person during state-wide quarantines,.

What can you have on-hand? Do you have a flower patch that you can use for bouquets? Do you like to embroider or silk-screen, and can you keep some plain dish towels or shirts by the machine for quick designs? Do you like to make jewelry, and can you store beads or other supplies you see on good sales? Is there space in your freezer to store an extra casserole that you can either enjoy in a few weeks or give as a gift?

STOREBOUGHT (OR FREE) SAVINGS

If you see something useful on sale, especially clearance, and you have the funds, grab it. Even better for a budget, check groups like BuyNothing, where people give away things they no longer need for free. If you can hang on to a selection of things, you're ready for last-minute baby presents, birthdays, and lots more.

Especially nice when your kids get invited to things at the last minute,
hence my desire to store child-appropriate gifts

And for wrapping the gifts? You can often get away with free. Save gift bags and tissue, or scope out free sources like BuyNothing. Have a place to keep them, and you'll never to need to buy them.

There's also the old standby of newspaper as gift wrap
(mailed ads on newsprint are easier to come by nowadays),
or you can use children's coloring pages.

Don't go overboard: you don't need to be a hoarder. I don't keep more things than can fit in their designated spaces, and I don't let them overflow. And don't buy what you weren't already planning to: spending a ton of money, especially if your budget is tight, on paints is useless if you don't paint. But if you do have a bit of extra space in your home and your budget, it's really nice to take advantage of sales so you can be prepared.