How to Make Someone’s Day for Only $1(ish)!!

By Jacquie, Effective Living, Healthy Relationships

Can you remember the last time you opened your mailbox and were surprised to find a handwritten envelope addressed to you with a personal note inside?

How did it make you feel? Did your heart leap with excitement, even just a little bit?

I’ve always had a thing for snail mail.

Back in the 90s before I had ever heard of email, and the tiny communication magic box hadn’t been invented yet (it really wasn’t that long ago, y’all — can you imagine life without your phone now?!), I was a hardcore letter-writer. Besides the telephone, that’s all there was (though sometimes I got real fancy and even sent a fax!!).

Of course, my idea of what made for a good letter is quite another matter…

Take for example this delightful excerpt from a letter to one of my childhood besties:

“Hello Eileen!! This pen don’t work too good. I’ll get another one. I will write with green now. It’s my favorite color. It is 9:01pm. I stopped talking to you on the phone about 42 minutes ago. I ate 2 pieces of cake and I drank some punch and then I went on the couch and then I was bored so I decided to write you a letter. I am writing messy but that’s O.K. …. Right now the washing machine is running. I am staring at the Christmas tree because it’s right in front of me….”

Oh, yes.

But wait, it gets better:

“We are driving…That’s why this is messy. We passed a big truck, a little car and a normal truck. We are passing a green field by the hills There is the big house….Now is gone. We are beside a cornfield. Now we are by a little wheat field. A truck is beside the road. It is black. They are having car troubles. I know because the hood is up and 2 guys are staring in it. I think it will rain. The sky is very dark. It lightninged. It thundered too…”

True story.

Definitely missed my true calling as a non-fiction writer! ;)

My intentions were good, but it didn’t register in my 10-year-old brain that in fact no one cared about these mundane facts of life (though these letters were very politely received at the time, I didn’t find this out till later)!

I sent out many letters of this nature, and somehow they ended up in my possession again, because I understandably treasured them more than they did!

And yes, I still have all those zillions of pages of letters in my snail mail tote (sorry, Minimal Mom, I can’t let them go!!). As dreadful as they were, it provides a snapshot into my quirky childhood brain that still cracks me up.

But even though I didn’t get it quite right, my heart was in the right place — I wanted to stay connected to my friends and make an effort to make their day brighter by letting them know I was thinking of them and they were important to me.

Thankfully I have learned over the years how to do that better and I would like to state my case for bringing back the handwritten letter in a digital world that is spinning at a more dizzying pace than ever before.

A Case for the Handwritten Letter

I recently did a poll in The Minimal Mom Members Group asking:
On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel about getting a handwritten letter or card in the mail from a friend or family member?
10 = IT TOTALLY MAKES MY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
1 = It’s no more exciting than a utility bill

Of the 178 responses:

121 people responded IT TOTALLY MAKES MY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
55 were somewhere in the middle
2 people didn’t find it anymore exciting than a bill

This is by no means a scientific study, but that means that for less than $1 (or whatever stamps cost where you live) and just a little time and effort, you can significantly brighten the day of approximately 68% of the population, and bring a certain degree of joy to another 31%. Only 1% don’t really care.

That seems like a pretty easy way to bring joy into someone’s life, don’t you think??!

It’s so easy to get sucked into the consumerism mindset that to show we care, we need to spend money and give gifts.

Don’t get me wrong, gifts are great — especially for someone whose love language is gifts!!

But when it really comes down to it, I think what we all really want deep down is to know that we’ve made a difference in someone’s life and that they appreciate us. Often it’s the little things that have the greatest impact.

Reasons we don’t write letters anymore

I also asked the survey participants who aren’t in the habit of sending snail mail to give reasons why they don’t. These include…

It’s A LOT of work.
There are so many steps involved.
I’m not organized enough to have all the supplies, addresses, etc.
I don’t make the time for it.
I’m too busy.
I don’t want to add to someone else’s clutter.
Texting & emailing are quicker.
I wish people happy birthday on Facebook instead.
Postage & cards are expensive.
I feel the need to write a huge letter that’s long & eloquent.
I have no letter-writing skills & blank cards are overwhelming.
I make it too complicated.
Arthritis in my hands makes it difficult to write.
I prefer to see people in person.
I forget.
It doesn’t excite me to receive them but I feel guilty getting rid of them and don’t want to do that to other people.

These are all are valid points.

But may I be so bold as to say that if we have time to scroll through social media or watch YouTube, and if we can afford to buy ourselves a coffee, we have the time and we have the money — it’s just a matter of making it a priority!

I’m not saying this to create more guilt or add to your list of things you should do. It’s definitely not for everyone and life is kinda nuts for many of us, especially right now.

I just see the potential of what a difference we could make in our world if we could start a snail mail revolution and make the world a little brighter, one person at a time.

If you’re convinced that it’s worth the effort, but not sure how to go about it, here are some ways to get started!

How to make it happen!

It’s true, sending mail definitely takes more effort than sending a text or email (or whatever the kids do these days…I can’t keep up), and it can be difficult to know what to say if you’re not used to the “formality” of handwriting a letter or note.

So let’s take away at least some of the barriers….

Set yourself up for success!

Make it easier by gathering all your supplies now. Keep them in the same place so they’re ready to go!

This can include:

Stamps
Envelopes
Cards — They don’t have to be expensive or fancy, thrift stores are often overloaded with greeting cards. Just pick out a few favorites whenever you come across them.
Paper — Also doesn’t have to be fancy. Even just plain lined paper will do.
Pens — Colorful pens are delightful, but of course, optional!
Stickers — Optional for sure, but sometimes they’re just fun!
Address book — I may be a bit old-fashioned, but I still keep track of everyone’s addresses in a real book. Whenever I come across a new address or someone has moved, I add it right away, so I never have to go searching for the right one. But of course, any kind of system will work as long as you’re consistent at keeping it updated.

Keep it simple

Letter-writing has a different purpose today than it did in the past. While it used to be one of the only ways to keep each other up-to-date with the events of our lives, most of our friends and family get to experience our lives now in real time, regardless of how far apart we live.

So it might seem like there’s not much to say, since there really aren’t many updates they don’t already know by the time we sit down to write.

Don’t worry about following proper letter-writing etiquette or adding extra fluff. Just get to the point.

It can be as simple as letting them know…

You’re thinking about them.
Something specific that you appreciate about them.
That you’re thankful that they are in your life.
That you’re praying for them.
Something to encourage them in a difficult time.
How happy you were to run into them at the grocery store the other day because you haven’t seen each other in like 3 months because of the quarantining situation :)

I know, sometimes the simplest things are the most difficult to write. With so many ways to communicate quickly, we can easily stay in touch without ever actually saying the things that matter the most.

I recently sent a simple card to a new friend to let her know that I really enjoyed our visits and thanked her for being a bright light in this chaotic world. That’s it.

She texted me that I had made her cry (in a good way!). And it’s still on her fridge. Worth the effort? You bet!

Make it FUN (and even a bit silly)!!

While I do still send regular cards, I also like to be a bit goofy (okay, a lot). Life is just too short to be serious all the time.

If you’re looking to jazz it up a bit with your snail mail, here are a few unique ideas to make it fun!

Magazine Scraps

Now I realize I’m a bit of a nerd and keeping a collection of fun words from magazines and junk mail is not a normal-person hobby (and not very minimalism-friendly), but you don’t have to stockpile them for this to work!

Just grab a magazine or newspaper and chop out a few words that stand out as inspiration, glue them on a piece of paper, and write your letter around that. If you have too much time on your hands, you can make the entire letter from the scraps, but it’s more realistic to choose a few key words and write in the words in between!

Chop It Up

If your recipient has a good sense of humor, write your letter and then chop it into strips! So in order to read your message they have to do a bit of detective work. If you want to be really mean, write on both sides (sorry, Bonnie!!)

I sent this to a cousin a few weeks ago and got this in reply on my front door….

Puzzle Letter

What could be more fun than a jigsaw puzzle with a message! So simple and so fun! Puzzles abound at thrift stores, so just pick one up for a buck or two, put it together, flip it over and write your message! You can mail these at a bit of an extra cost, but it’s a fun way to surprise friends and family that live nearby, even if you see them often :)

Make Your Own Puzzle

Take the puzzle idea but draw your own on a large Bristol board or even just a plain sheet of paper! Write your message, chop it into puzzle pieces and divide them into several envelopes. Send them a few days apart to keep the recipient in suspense as they wait for the whole message to arrive!

(If you want to know the story behind this one, Dawn talks about it in this video — she had NO idea it was me!! ;)

Or watch it on YouTube here!

If drawing your own puzzle pieces seems intimidating, print out this puzzle on a regular sheet of paper, write your message on the other side and cut it out along the lines :)

You can also just chop it into triangles or random shapes like this:

Let’s spread the love!

You don’t need me to tell you that things are kinda crazy right now. People are battling loneliness, isolation, depression… There’s just so much hard stuff and uncertainty.

In her book “Choosing Gratitude,” Nance Leigh DeMoss says, “Spoken words of praise and thanks have power to dissipate that spirit of heaviness that sometimes weighs us down and clings to us like a wet blanket. And they have power to do the same for others.”

I suspect written words of praise and thanks have the power to do the same.

So whether you’re in a good place, or even if you’re struggling right now, I want to encourage you to think of just one person you could reach out to with a surprise in the mail. And then do it! At very least you could brighten their day, or it could do so much more.

I bet that not only will you make someone else’s day, but you’ll find a little more joy in your own heart too :)

Will you share your snail mail stories with us? We’d love to hear them!

Yours truly,

Jacquie is a Virtual Assistant and a professional pianist who has a keen interest in nutrition, fitness and simple living (and sending snail mail, of course ;)

You might also like…

How to Cultivate a Heart of Gratitude in Your Kids & Printable Thank You Notes
$4 DIY Sponge Paint Pattern Wallpaper
Free Printable Guided Christmas Wish Lists for Kids!
The 3 Time Management Tips That Saved My Life

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The Minimal Mom Private Facebook Group

By Dawn, Dawn's House, The Minimal Mom

Looking for support on the decluttering, simplifying & minimizing journey? Need some extra encouragement to reach your goals?? This might be for you!!

First,

I’m honored that you’re here! It would be MY PRIVILEGE to help & support you. I know it isn’t easy, but simplifying our home is the most worthwhile thing I’ve ever done for my family and for myself.

Below, I’ll share more details about what you can expect from the group. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below (often others have the same question!) and I’ll get back to you!

All my love,

Dawn

THE MINIMAL MOM PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP MEMBERSHIP

WHAT: This is a private Facebook group that can be joined by paying a monthly membership fee

COST: $11/month (cancel anytime!)

BENEFITS:
– Support for those going through the simplifying & decluttering process
– Daily posts by myself with encouragement, tips & behind the scenes (Diana & Tom will pop in as well :)
– Weekly group challenges with prizes
– The ability to share your progress & wins (we CAN’T WAIT to celebrate with you!)
– The opportunity to ask questions specific to your process (post pictures, or just describe the dilemma and we’ll all offer ideas & support)
– Twice monthly Facebook live Q&A sessions (usually 9:00am CST on Saturdays — replays available for those unable to view live). Questions may be submitted prior to the session or during it.
– Weekly highlight emails so you know that you didn’t miss anything important :)

WHO:
This is best suited for:
– MESSY PEOPLE!!! Ok, you don’t have to be messy, but if no other “program” has worked for you, I think we could be friends :)
– In Process: Those currently going through the decluttering process looking for support & community from like-minded friends
– Through the Woods: Those who have gone through the process and would like to share what they’ve learned by supporting & encouraging others.
– Supporters: Anyone who would like to support our channel (whether they use the group or not :)

FAITH ASPECT:
While this isn’t a faith-based group, we want to be upfront that we may mention our Christian faith from time to time. We want this to be a safe place for friends of all faith walks to discuss how their beliefs impact the decisions they’re making and motivation for simplifying. If this would turn you off, it may not be the right fit!

Join the Waiting List:

Our membership group is now closed, so complete this short form to join the waiting list and we will notify you when a space opens up:

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**Note: This is an ongoing monthly membership for $11/month (cancel anytime), but we continually do different games, challenges, book studies & areas of focus to keep momentum going & get a TON done!

AND, with the support of this INCREDIBLE community behind you, we know you’ll be successful — even if you’ve failed at simplifying and decluttering in the past!

I truly can’t say enough good things about this kind and encouraging group. If you need someone to cheer you on and provide support, we’re here for YOU!.

Cancel Anytime! Join, take a look around. If you like it, keep it. If not, cancel ANYTIME! No hard feelings ;)

March Madness Book Study & Decluttering Calendar

Book: Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Begins: Monday, March 1, 2021
For: Members of The Minimal Mom Membership Group
What: Over the course of 4 weeks, we’ll go through the book Essentialism together and also have weekly decluttering goals with the March Madness Calendar Challenge!

We’ll hold you accountable, cheer you on, have prizes and celebrate your victories with you — it’s going to be awesome!

**While you’re welcome to buy the book, many libraries have it so you may want to see if you can borrow it!**

Click HERE to join the waiting list.

4 Delicious Pumpkin Recipes for Breakfast

All things FALL, By Jacquie, Recipe Box

After making all that pumpkin puree a few days ago, I naturally started thinking of other things I could do with it and came up with these delicious breakfast ideas.

And given that Dawn is becoming known as The Pumpkin Cake Lady because of her Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake, I might as well carry on with the pumpkin theme. ‘Tis the season, after all! ;)

Pumpkin Pancakes

In a medium bowl, cream together:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 banana, mashed
2 eggs

Then add:
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
dash salt

Mix together and add about 1 cup milk or water to desired consistency.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and melt 1 Tbsp. oil.

Drop 1/4 cup batter and cook until the outside turns golden brown. Flip and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with real maple syrup and/or fresh fruit and yogurt :)

Makes about a dozen pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes (GLUTEN-FREE Version)

In a medium bowl, cream together:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 banana, mashed
2 eggs**

Then add:
2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
dash salt

Mix together and add about 1 cup milk (or milk alternative) or water to desired consistency.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and melt 1 Tbsp. oil.

Drop 1/4 cup batter and cook until the outside turns golden brown. Flip and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

**Make it egg-free by substituting with chia seeds: Mix 2 Tbsp. chia seeds in 1/2 cup warm water and let sit for 5 minutes, or until thickened.

Serve with real maple syrup and/or fresh fruit and yogurt :)

Makes about a dozen pancakes

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Similar to my Butternut Squash Smoothie, you can enjoy this delicious drink all year. Bump up the protein by adding a scoop of your favorite protein powder.

Blend together:
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 banana
1 cup milk or milk alternative
1-2 Tbsp. honey or real maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
generous pinch nutmeg
slightly smaller pinch cloves

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Serves 2

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

In a small saucepan combine:
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup rolled oats
dash salt

Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer. Stir occasionally, until you reach desired consistency, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in:
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 nutmeg

Optional toppings to sprinkle on top:
pecans
raisins
maple syrup
coconut

Serves 2-3

Pumpkin Overnight Oats

These overnight oats are like pumpkin pie in a jar! Making this recipe the night before gives you a quick and healthy breakfast on the go. This will keep several days in the fridge, so you can prepare for a few days at a time.

Mix together in a small bowl:
1/2 cup milk (or milk alternative)
1/3 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)
1/3 cup pumpkin
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Then add:
2/3 cup rolled oats
1 Tbsp. chia seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Divide into two small glass jars and top with pecans, coconut and/or raisins, or anything you like.

Allow jars to sit in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight and they’re ready to go!

Serves 2

So there you have it, four ideas for adding a bit of pumpkin to your morning. :)

Enjoy!

Jacquie is a Virtual Assistant and a professional pianist who has a keen interest in nutrition, fitness and simple living.

Find it on Amazon:

Here are some other ideas to use up your pumpkin…

The Best Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake Recipe! Mixes up in 5 min!
Quick & Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake
Pinterest Recipe Win: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

or if you want to learn how to make it from scratch…
How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree

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Follow-up Foster Care Q&A

By Dawn, The Minimal Mom

I know we don’t “have” to answer these questions, but believe they are motivated out of genuine care and concern for our family and the foster kids who will potentially enter our home– we appreciate this and are happy to do so!

Questions from our latest video:

In our video today we talked about the need to get our house ready for the home study for our foster care license. We’ve recently been assigned a case worker who will be visiting our house this coming Thursday.

He isn’t able to come inside our home, but wants to meet us and talk through the licensing process.

Here are the questions that came up:
– Should we really consider foster care if Tom isn’t on board
– WHERE will foster children sleep?
– What ages will we consider?
– Do we have any plans to finish the boys’ room & get Gage out of a CRIB??? ;)

Here are our answers:

*If you can’t see the video right above here it may be because you have an ad blocker! :)

We genuinely appreciate your support and care for our family. We know this is not going to be “easy”, but also believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s what our family is called to.

THANK YOU and we love you!

Dawn & Tom

Some of our most popular posts right now!

The Best Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake Recipe! Mixes up in 5 min!
Super Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe
Transitioning baby from co-sleeping to crib: It was easier than we thought!
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How to Make Your Own PUMPKIN PUREE — Especially Helpful When the Stores are Out!

All things FALL, By Jacquie, Effective Living, Recipe Box

Everyone must be making Dawn’s famous Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake these days — it seems that stores everywhere are out of canned pumpkin!

While it may not be as quick as opening a can, when you learn how to make your own pumpkin puree from scratch, you may never go back! And your bundt cake (or whatever pumpkin-y goodness you’re whipping up) will be even more delicious!

All you need is:

1 pie pumpkin (the cute small ones, not the kind you use for jack-o-lanterns)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.
Wash your pumpkin and cut in half lengthwise from top to bottom on both sides. Don’t try to cut through the stem.

3. Pull pumpkin apart from the bottom.

4. Scoop out the seeds and cut off the stem.

5. Lay both halves face down on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Bake for 45-60 minutes until you can pierce in several places with a fork.

7. Once the pumpkin has cooled a bit, scoop it out and put it in a food processor. If it’s on the larger side you may need to do several batches.

8. Process until smooth (about 1-3 minutes, depending on how smooth you like it).

9. Ready to use!

Storage

Stores in the fridge for about a week or freeze in jars for later (just leave some room at the top so the jars don’t crack! :)

Use in your favorite pumpkin recipes like…

The Best Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake Recipe! Mixes up in 5 min!
Quick & Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake
Pinterest Recipe Win: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

or my delicious Pumpkin Pancakes (recipe coming soon!!).

You can also substitute pumpkin for the butternut squash in my Butternut Squash Spice Smoothie recipe, just add a little extra honey since pumpkin isn’t quite as sweet.

If you’ve found this helpful, please share with your family & friends who may also be lamenting the lack of canned pumpkin! :)

Happy baking!

Jacquie is a Virtual Assistant (convenient during a pandemic situation) and a professional pianist (not so convenient) who has a keen interest in nutrition, fitness and simple living.

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Minimal Mom Homeschool Update (Year 1, Week 1)

By Dawn, Effective Living, The Minimal Mom

Tom and I made the decision to homeschool last year, prior to our world getting turned upside down. Facilitating public school at home was frustrating for all of us and I couldn’t imagine another year of that!

If you’re helping your kids with school at home I pray extra grace and patience over you and your household– it was NOT easy!!

Homeschool Update

What you’ll find in this post:

How I tried to get the year started off in a creative way
Curriculums we’re using
Our weekly schedule & how much time I plan to spend on schooling each day
My low expectations for the year ;)
Tom’s role in homeschooling

I have to say, that so far, switching from public school to homeschooling four kids has been fairly stressful. There has been a lot for ME to learn about how curriculums work and selecting the right one for each child. I can see how it gets easier over time (and maybe even fun)…but I’m definitely not there yet and that’s ok!

Video Update of Homeschooling

If it seems like I don’t care right now: I do care a lot about our children’s education, but I care more about preserving all of our sanity!

Main curriculum we’re using

We’re using Gather Round for our main curriculum (is that the right term??? :) I chose it because we can teach all of the kids at the same time. I just print off a workbook specific to their level.

We’re about 7 lessons into the Earth Science unit and so far I like it. I have absolutely nothing to compare it to, so my endorsement means nothing at this point! But, it has been straight forward and easy to use, so I appreciate that.

Adeline (5th grade) said that some of her workbook pages felt a little easy for her. And while it includes reading skills in the pre-reader notebook, it seemed a little advanced for Gage (kindergarten). But, overall, I think it will be easy to make adjustments as needed.

Math Curriculum

For Maggie and Adeline (4th and 5th grade) we’re using Masterbooks. We’re ordered the workbooks that corresponded with there current grades and they seem to be about right with where they were at coming from public school.

With Gage & Corbin (K and 2nd grade) we’re using Math U See. Some love it and I’ve heard others say that it wasn’t right for their child. I like that it comes with a DVD with lessons since I’ve never taught math before. We’ll give it a try and see how it goes!

Reading Curriculum

This is perhaps what I’m most excited about! My friend Janet introduced me to EZ Reading. She is an educational therapist, dyslexia expert and homeschooling mom and helped design this curriculum. It is meant to be fun and engaging and stress free.

I’ve just started to watch the instructional videos (which are very helpful and make it super easy to understand), and feel very empowered and capable to teach Gage how to read and to help Corbin build on the skills he’s already learned.

Tom’s Role in our Homeschooling Day

In my perfect world, since Tom works from home, too, I would have him teach math and help with field trips. My only hesitation right now is him having proper expectations with the kids (and I know I’m not alone in this ;).

In his perfect world, he would teach something once, a light bulb would go off over the child’s head, they would smile and happily complete their problem with no further instruction. Wouldn’t that be awesome if it really worked that way!?!

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