GON Reader Letter #1
Why Using the Self-Check Lanes at the Grocery Store Saves Me Time
When it comes to grocery shopping, I am someone who uses the self-check lanes even when I have a cart full for two reasons:
1. I shop for both my daughter and myself, so I need
to separate things.
2. I bag both orders by where the items need to go when I get home:
refrigerator -
kitchen
freezer - kitchen
freezer- garage
pantry-kitchen
canned good storage - garage
bathroom items
cleaning supplies
medications and over-the-counter items.
We are not preppers, but we live out of town and limit our shopping trips, so having a reserve of items we might run out of saves me from stressing.
This is not something I can expect a busy checker to do for me, thus why I stick to self-check lanes.
Best wishes to you!
-- Beverly Vollmer
GON Reader Letter #2
Resources I Used When I Was Downsizing
Hi Maria,
We downsized in 2018 and cut our square footage in half. I knew that was the plan early on and started slowly selling things online, that I knew I would not use. We used Facebook
MarketPlace, Nextdoor, Offerup, Poshmark, etc. I also gave away a lot of things through Buy Nothing on Facebook.
Once we were ready to move, I used MaxSold to hold an online auction of all my extra things. They came in and
organized everything into lots and took care of posting and bids. Most of the proceeds went to the cost of hiring them, but everything was gone quickly.
I still have a few things I moved that I really didn't need, so it is a work in process. I currently use a great
service called Ridwell. They pick up bi-weekly -Threads (clothes, shoes or any fabric recyclables), Film (grocery bags, ziplocks, bread bags etc.), batteries, light bulbs. They also offer special pick up each time. The next one includes holiday decorations. This is helping me look for things that need to go and I get them out regularly.
I love your emails and have been reading them for years. I am trying to be more organized and I use so many of your tips.
-- DeAnn Hickel, Ferndale, Washington
GON Reader Letter #3
My Version of Your "Accomplished List" Morphed into a Sort of Journal
Hi Maria,
A friend, who had multiple medications and lots of things she needed within arm’s reach, used a nice basket to hold all her nightstand items — great idea so I adopted it.
My basket looked good in the front but had a small hole in the back — turns out to be the perfect place to run my phone charging cord into the basket! Happy accident!
Also, m version
of your “accomplished list” (mentioned in your January 28, 2023 issue) morphed into a sort of journal. I was feeling at the end of the week that I was tired, but had nothing to show for it. So I started keeping track of what I did each day.
It has been very satisfying to see what I actually have done and
has been useful on more than one occasion when the question came up of when something actually happened.
You always write such good articles — thank you!
-- Gail
Miller
