How to Stick With Minimalism During the Holiday Shopping Season

One of the busiest shopping holidays is nearly upon us, with near-constant speculation about who has the best deals on this year's hottest gifts. While the average person isn't among the hoards of Black Friday shoppers receiving their five minutes of fame battling over XBox bundles and HDTVs, witnessing this spectacle can zap the holiday spirit from even the most festive person. After all, the holidays are intended to be a season of gratitude and giving; images of crazed consumers trampling one another for trinkets tend to dilute these sentiments.

"To me, the meaning of the holidays is to be thankful for what we have and be close to family," says Dan Nainan, a former Intel engineer and current comedian and actor in New York City. "I used to be so stressed out like everyone else, fighting over parking spaces, worried about getting trampled to death on Black Friday," he says. One year, Nainan and his family decided not to buy gifts for one another. "It reduced so much stress," he says, and since then he hasn't purchased anything for anyone.

This response to the holiday season may seem extreme to some, but to those leaning toward a more minimalistic lifestyle, it offers a deep sigh of relief during a season where stress and anxiety can be suffocating. Minimalism represents a budding movement that, while meaning different things to different people, often results in fewer possessions and more time to focus on what the individual deems most important. While some embrace Nainan's approach of opting out of gift exchanges altogether, others choose instead to take a more mindful approach to holiday spending.

"The benefit of conscious gift giving is that the gift becomes more thoughtful, useful and less wasteful," says Emmy Trinh, designer for Emmy Trinh Jewelry. Trinh embraced minimalism after moving from a 3,100 square foot home to an 800 square foot apartment. "I realized how much superfluous crap I acquired over the years and was disgusted with myself," she admits.

Cait Flanders, blogger at BlondeOnABudget.ca, has been exploring minimalism over the past several years, whittling down her possessions and even launching a budgeting planner influenced by the lifestyle, called Mindful Budgeting. When it comes to the holidays, Flanders says she loves giving gifts but wants to be sure the product will be used and valued before purchasing. "I'll typically buy my niece and nephew books, games or puzzles we can do together," she says. "Or I'll ask their mom what they actually need and get them that."

Still, the holidays can influence even the strongest minimalists to buy more than they would during other times of the year. William Irwin, a professor of philosophy and author of "The Free Market Existentialist: Capitalism Without Consumerism," says he doesn't feel right about imposing his beliefs onto his children during the holidays. "My minimalism takes a bit of a holiday during the holiday season," he admits. "My wife and I are pretty minimalist in our gift exchange, but my wife tends to spend quite a bit on toys for the kids, and I'm complicit in my silence about it."

Gail Leicht, author of "The Skinny on…" series of travel guides, agrees. "I end up spending a lot of money on other people because, what can you do, it's what they want," she says. "I can't expect others to be minimalists just because I am one."

Philanthropic gifting can serve as a gateway to help family and friends understand minimalism, especially during the holiday season. Ramon Khan, blogger at LiveSimplyNatural.com, pleaded with his family to stop buying him gifts. "It was hard for them to break the tradition," he says, "but then I got the idea of giving our dedicated gift funds to families in need." Khan says this idea was key to getting his family to quit buying unnecessary items for each other and use their money toward a greater cause.

Dana Claudat, feng shui master and founder of the Tao of Dana, favors philanthropic gifting as well. "Gift certificates, especially for Kiva, give friends and family a chance to help people directly and feel empowered in the process." Kiva is a non-profit organization that connects independent lenders with people in need of loans to attend school, start businesses, build infrastructure and more.

Gifts that offer experiences are also growing in popularity among minimalists and average shoppers alike. "There's a ton of research that shows that the long-term gratification of experiences trumps material goods in a huge way," Claudat continues. "I've given people tickets to concerts and events, home organizing sessions, digital books and courses they've expressed interest in."

After eschewing over 20 years-worth of belongings for four suitcases of essentials, Cindy McCain says minimalism has allowed her to pursue her passion for travel and share this passion with her children during the holidays. "Last December I flew my children to London where we spent Christmas Eve in Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland sipping mulled wine, and Christmas at Westminster Abbey singing at the morning service," says McCain, an educator and blogger at A MoveToMorocco.com. "They said it was a Christmas they will never forget."

McCain's gift is indeed unforgettable, though its magnitude is not necessary for loved ones to cherish the moment. "Last year was the first year my whole family embraced a minimalist Christmas," Flanders says. "We woke up, cooked a big breakfast together, then spent a couple hours at the beach with our dogs." Flanders acknowledges this as a big departure from previous years, when it was all about spending money on stuff and unwrapping presents. "It was so refreshing to not have our day focused around gifts, and instead just spend time together."

Indeed, time may represent the best of both words this holiday season: it's likely at the top of wish lists for family and friends, and it's free. As Joshua Fields Millburn of the popular blog minimalists.com says, "The best present is presence."

Kendal Perez is a spokeswoman for CouponSherpa.com, a popular source for online, in-store and mobile coupons. She also blogs at Hassle-Free Savings and enjoys yoga, decluttering, craft brew and obsessing over her dogs.

'Tis the season for good etiquette

(BPT) - In today’s fast paced, eat-on-the-run world, it seems very few of us make time for a regular sit down meal at the dinner table. That’s until the holidays roll around, when the pressure’s on to be perfect. Before you read any further, ask yourself — are you confident with your table manners, or do you have to take your cues by watching others?
“Etiquette has truly become a lost art,” says manners coach, Dubravka Vujinovic. “People are busy on their cell phones or watching television and they’ve lost sight that having a family meal is a great way to connect family members. Manners should be important at every meal, whether you are sitting down to a formal dinner or a casual afternoon get-together.”
Vujinovic is one of the etiquette coaches at dinnerware giant Replacements, Ltd. Throughout the holidays, the company hears from folks looking for a crash course in social graces. It doesn’t matter if you’re the guest, or the host — ‘tis the season for good manners and proper etiquette.
Set the perfect table
Remember: forks go to the left, spoons and knives to the right, with the sharp side of the knife turned toward the dinner plate. Place utensils in the order they will be used according to the courses you plan to serve.
Very importantly, don’t set the table with implements you don’t plan to use. “If you aren’t serving soup or salad, then you don’t want an extra spoon or fork in your place setting. Not only will these extra pieces get in the way and create extra clean up, it may be confusing for your guests,” Vujinovic says.
The bread plate goes to the left of the dinner plate, water glasses and other beverages to the right. Water glasses should be the only glass filled before your guests arrive. Wait to fill iced tea, wine and other drinks until after your guests are seated.
Don’t panic if you’re not sure about the proper place setting for each meal. Vujinovic says you can find “cheat sheets” or place setting guides on Replacements’ website, under the “neat things” tab.
Be a gracious guest
Always pass food around the table counterclockwise to the right without serving yourself first. Pass the salt and pepper as a set, even if you are only asked for one.
Ladies should always blot their lips before sitting down to the table, to keep from getting lipstick stains on linen napkins or glassware.
If you’re not sure which utensil to use with each course, start on the outside and work toward the plate.
And don’t forget…
Remember, the host/hostess always sits last. This person will let you know when it’s OK to begin eating by offering a blessing or statement or perhaps passing a dish.
Don’t cut more than one or two bites of food at a time and never butter an entire roll or piece of bread. Rather, pinch off one or two small pieces and butter those first.
If you need to excuse yourself temporarily, place your napkin on your chair to indicate you are coming back. Signify you are finished with your meal by placing your napkin to the left the dinner plate and your fork and knife side by side diagonally across your plate with the sharp side of the knife blade facing inward and the fork times down.
Perhaps most importantly, don’t bring your cell phone to the table.
Vujinovic emphasizes good manners transcends all ages.
“I think it’s very important to start teaching your children proper manners even at a young age,” Vujinovic says. “As I’ve noticed with my own children, kids are very open-minded when it comes to learning, so if you introduce them to etiquette now, this will become habit and stay with them throughout their lives.”
Should you cause a major holiday fumble by accidently breaking a piece of the host’s dinnerware, you should certainly offer to replace the piece. If you don’t know the name of the pattern or manufacturer, you’re in luck — Replacements offers a free identification service.
Still hungry for more tips? Vujinovic says you can find additional etiquette dos and don’ts here

  

Make money from everything! ALWAYS FREE OPPORTUNITY: EXPOSED: Mom From Nigeria Makes $12,500/Month From Home And You Won't Believe How She Does It!

Make money from everything! ALWAYS FREE OPPORTUNITY: EXPOSED: Mom From Nigeria Makes $12,500/Month From Home And You Won't Believe How She Does It!

Single Mom Uses Fiverr to Design the Perfect Career

Sue,  is a single mother of two and a voiceover artist with nearly five years of commercial radio experience. Here she is to share her story of how she managed to use Fiverr® to design the perfect career. 

How I got started on Fiverr.
 
December 2014 was a tough time.I’m a single mom, and I found myself without a job or income right at Christmas time. It was really challenging to figure out what to do next, especially given the tough job market at the time. 
As I had previously worked in radio as an announcer and news reader, I started looking for freelance voiceover work. I really needed a job that was flexible and ideally where I could work from home, so freelancing seemed like a great idea until I could find permanent work. I got some equipment, made a demo at a local studio, and registered at a few different freelance sites where I found some voiceover work advertised. 
I found Fiverr at that time as well, but I couldn’t understand why people would do voiceover work for just $5.00. But after quite a few frustrating weeks spending hours a day auditioning and applying for jobs at the other sites with only a little success, I decided to look into Fiverr more. I saw it was possible to make more than $5 from a job by adding Extras, such as providing high-quality files and adding music, so I decided to create a Gig®. 
After a week or so, I got my first order. Even though it was only a $5 job, it was really encouraging, so I did some research on how to best optimize my Gig. Adding a video made a huge difference, and soon orders were trickling in.

Growing my business

Once I got a few reviews, there were more and more orders, including some larger jobs, and after a few months, I was able to use the money I’d made from Fiverr to upgrade my equipment. I was then able to adjust my rates, which made the work I was doing more worthwhile, and I started to really think about doing this as a career. After a few more months, I regularly had 10 or more orders in my queue, and I often had to extend my delivery time to a week or more when I got big jobs worth a few hundred dollars.
I found that even though the rates per job may be less on Fiverr than on other sites, I don’t have the hassle of wasting hours every day auditioning and applying for jobs, sometimes competing with hundreds of other freelancers. On Fiverr, the work comes to me, which is just brilliant! A lot of my income and work now comes through Fiverr, which I love!

 I’m also a buyer

I’ve worked with lots of other great Fiverr freelancers along the way. I’ve used audio and video Gigs from Fiverr sellers Toutou123 and Landongrace. I’ve used Alysmcdonough for amazingly quick transcription work and Luiscesarmx for virtual assistant and research work. I also found a gem of a graphic designer in Rachidhue, who I am now using for all my creative work, such as a logo and brand development package for a new side project I am setting up.
A year ago, I almost wrote off Fiverr, but now it is pretty much a part of my day-to-day life, and I have Fiverr to thank for getting me back on my feet and having the opportunity to work from home and be there for my kids. This is just priceless.
If you’d like to share your story about how Fiverr has impacted your life, please send it to us by email at community@fiverr.com.

Choosing the right Christmas tree

 

Now, grandchildren cut mini-trees they choose for their own rooms. And that means the search for the flawless family Christmas tree is a top priority for many. "One holiday at a time", members of the Eels family said collectively as they were getting ready to take their Christmas tree home. "I think it's a good atmosphere and it's a good experience for people to come out and pick their tree". "Well the Christmas trees will take pretty dry weather, they don't like really wet weather that could cause problems", Wiggins says. 

Holiday traditions can make anyone feel a little sappy, especially if you decide to cut down your own Christmas tree. Arena, who is Extension's state expert on Christmas and pecan trees, encourages people to purchase Christmas trees at local farms. "It's going to the next holiday, end of Thanksgiving, and now you get to see the lights come on on the tree". "It's like a large extended family, because we get to see everyone, every year". Then, families can take the voucher to any of the Lewis and Clark National Forest offices to receive the free permit. Trees can't be taller than 15 feet and should be cut as close to the ground as possible. "What's happened is the drought has done has kept the trees smaller than they have in the past", Illingworth said. 

They also say not to run extension cords underneath rugs or overload outlets. James and Chris Kohls visited the lot to buy their first Jackson Christmas tree after moving from Minnesota. Martin says he doesn't expect the Christmas tree sales to slow down. "They don't have to water it, they don't have to go out and get it. They just bring it up from the garage or basement", says Thomas Harman of the American Christmas Tree Association. "I love the smell, I don't care if they're messy, I will clean it up", stressed Schams. "I feel like it's kind of fun to be a part of picking out the tree", said Edgar's stepdaughter Delainey Raedle. "We had an artificial tree once and it was awful and we will never do it again, for us it just didn't work". NYSE Post http://nysepost.com/choosing-the-right-christmas-tree-64449

Amazon releases first commercial for drone delivery service

The video, which indicated that the drone flight was real while the situation might be contrived, showed machinery at an Amazon warehouse lifting a package into the belly of a large drone that then took off vertically before flying airplane-style to its destination. 

The first drones capable of autonomous delivery were announced by Amazon back in 2013, but now the e-commerce giant has showcased footage of the finished product in action for the first time, hinting at what customers can expect, once the Prime Air service is up and running. His drone piece tells the story in the "not too distant future" of a little girl who gets her sneaker chewed up by the family dog and has it miraculously replaced by PrimeAir in the space of 30 minutes. 

Amazon says the drones weigh 55 pounds and can carry packages weighing up to 5 pounds. "We have more than a dozen prototypes that we've developed in our research and development labs". The drones fly under 400 feet and use sense-and-avoid technology to dodge potential obstacles. "'Detect and avoid' systems rely on software and given the current climate of hacking and data breaches, it is very important that co-ordinated efforts are made to ensure that systems are put in place which are given the highest level of assurance in terms of security", he said. 

More on Amazon's drone on IndustryWeek. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has strict criteria for commercial drone use and some American politicians have called for the setting up of a drone register. NYSE Post http://nysepost.com/amazon-releases-first-commercial-for-drone-delivery-service-64675

Diabetes Breakthrough: Blood Sugar Normalized and Patients Taken off All medication in 3 weeks

                               

Imagine not having to measure your blood sugar, prick your finger or watch what you eat anymore...

This is a new reality for tens of thousands of diabetics who used a few remarkably simple techniques pioneered by the doctors at the International Council for Truth in Medicine.

Patients are able to normalize blood sugar and be taken off all diabetes medication and injections in just 3 weeks. After testing these natural treatment methods on their own patients, they now want to share this secret with the world.

Pharmaceutical companies have been trying to shut these doctors down simply for revealing the truth about diabetes. Scientific studies have proven that type 2 diabetes can be reversed naturally - but this information has been hidden and suppressed for decades.

Diabetics can normalize blood sugar, and be taken off all medication and insulin injections completely naturally. Doctors at the International Council for Truth in Medicine are revealing the truth about diabetes in a shocking new online presentation.

>> Learn about their diabetes busting methods now.

http://globalgate.theictmd.hop.clickbank.net