This page will serve as a catch-all for the myriad of ideas that I've had over the years. I wanted a page to just throw all of the extra things that don't fit into any other categories. Maybe you will find something useful on this page. Happy reading.
Gift Basket Ideas Here are several of my ideas for assembling themed gift baskets. They don't take a lot of money, and you can add your own creative touches to make them extra special. Of course they all include a candle or two:-) For the person who loves to bake: Put measuring spoons or cups, a wooden spoon, rubber scraper, cookie cutters, some handmade soy candles in yummy baked scents like, apple crisp, banana nut bread, blueberry cobbler, cinnamon buns, gingerbread or pecan pie, in a large stainless steel mixing bowl, lined with a dish towel. For the Gardener: In a large hand-painted flowerpot or planter lined with "Easter grass", put decorative garden stakes, seed packets, bulbs, hand tools, gloves, a handmade soy jar candle in a floral fragrance, like daffodil fields, gardenia, honeysuckle, lilac or sunflower and a coordinating scented lotion. For the college-bound graduate: In a large plastic shower caddy or laundry basket put several of the following items: Travel size bottle of shampoo & conditioner, a scented body lotion, laundry detergent, hand towels and wash cloths, packets of instant soup, Pop Tarts, granola bars, hot chocolate, fruit snacks, a dorm-safe candle warmer and scented wickless soy candle, a day planner/address book (with your address and phone number), pens, pencils, notebooks, desk essentials, a roll of quarters for laundry, a phone or gasoline card. For the family who loves to "go to the cabin": In a kid's sand pail with shovels, put some 6 oz. tin soy candles in ocean breeze or juniper breeze fragrances, matches, single pot coffee packets, a bottle of sunscreen, insect repellent, fishing lures/bobbers, fruit snacks, granola bars, small games, puzzles & activity books. For the coffee lover: Different types of flavored and unflavored coffees, handpainted ceramic coffee mugs, a wickless candle warmer plus wickless soy candles in coffee and  cappuccino scents, some fancy chocolates or cookies, all packed in a wicker basket. For the pet person: In a large wicker basket lined with a towel or small blanket, put several pet items such as pet treats and toys, a portable pet water dish, an ID tag kit, pet brush, plus a wickless candle warmer and scented wickless soy candle, and a coupon (hand written on paper, or print on your computer) for "pet sitting" services from you.  For the family with a new baby: In a diaper pail or baby bath tub lined with a receiving blanket, put several new baby items, such as diapers, baby wipes, onesies, booties, bibs, teething ring, pacifier, a soy candle in baby powder scent , a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant, and a coupon (hand written on paper, or print on your computer) for baby sitting services from you. For the friends moving into a new house: In a large plastic storage tote, put several packets of cocoa, tea and single serving coffee, instant soup and pasta meals, an assortment of useful paper products such as paper cups, plates, facial tissue, toilet tissue, dinner napkins and paper towels. Add some kitchen and bathroom hand towels with coordinating scented soy candles. For example a Sunflower scented candle with a sunflower motif kitchen towel set, an Apple Crisp scented candle with apple motif towels, and some bathroom towels with a candle in Fresh Linen or Ocean Breeze scent. Don't forget to add a candle snuffer and some matches or a butane lighter. You could even add a gift certificate to a local pizza delivery place for that first meal in the new house. For the friend who travels a lot, or is about to take a trip: In a canvas tote bag, put several of the following items: tissue packs; moist towelettes or baby wipes; some travel tin scented soy candles with matches; chewing gum for high elevations; a travel mug or sport bottle; a phone card; a travel size bottle of hand lotion; trail mix, mixed nuts, yogurt raisins, etc.; maps or guide books; a pen and stationary set; and a good book or magazine. It will be the perfect travel bag, and will remind your friend of you on his or her trip. I found anonline e-course on constructing gift baskets that is a must-read. It is sent to you in 8 emails, and contains a lot of great information. I personally recommend it for anyone who wants to know how to make a beautiful gift basket. Go to this website: http://www.giftbasketwholesalesupply.com/, and sign up for their newsletter ~ Basket Biz Cafe ~ and receive the "How to Make Beautiful Gift Baskets" E-Course FREE!	Thoughts on living frugally and retiring early I have always wanted to retire early. By retire, I mean, quit my full time job and get a fun little part time job that makes me just enough money to live on. I recently learned that this is what is known as a "soft landing" retirement. This seems ideal to me. I like to have plenty to do to keep me busy, but I also like to be able to use my time the way I see fit. In order to get to this point, I will need to accomplish three things: 1) pay off the mortgage on the house, 2) save up enough money to last through retirement (ie. until both my husband and I die), and 3) choose a fun part-time occupation for my retirement. #1 is easy: I make a monthly payment on the mortgage, which is as much as I can comfortably make: the minimum plus about $250. If I continue to make this payment, our mortgage will be paid off in December of 2015. After that date #2 will kick into high gear. The amount that I was paying toward the mortgage, will then go into regular & retirement savings accounts. I don't want to divert it all to IRA savings because I plan on retiring early, and don't want to incur any early withdrawal penalties, if I need my money prior to turning 65. I also plan on living as long as possible, with a goal of at least 100 years old. That means I will need a lot of money for retirement, and a good plan to take care of myself and my husband in our old age. This amount is decreased though by #3, the fact that my husband and I plan on earning a little money to offset expenses in our retirement. In the meantime, I will work on increasing earnings and decreasing spending so that we can save more. As far as increasing earnings goes I have very little desire to get a job that pays more money, because that might mean I have to work harder. I don't think life is about working - especially if that work consists of doing menial tasks that don't seem to improve anyone's quality of life in any way. Maybe if I worked to find cures for deadly diseases I might feel differently, but I am an office assistant for a large corporation, so my goal is to do that for the least amount of my life as possible. Instead of working to move up the corporate ladder, I do odd jobs on the side in barter exchanges. I handmake gifts instead of buying them for others. I maintain a dance studio website in exchange for free dance lessons. I grow a vegetable garden in the summer to decrease grocery costs, and live healthier. These things make money by saving money. Here are some other things that we have done to save money: - Get rid of cable TV. This is really easy to do now that free digital TV is available with an antenna. We got rid of cable about 6 months ago, and haven't missed it a bit. We still rent DVDs sometimes, but we did that when we were paying for cable too. We are saving $60/month or a whopping $720/year by doing this. - Get a cheaper internet service. We were paying $49/month for Earthlink highspeed internet. Now we have a $10/month DSL service with AT&T. Granted its a special deal only available to new DSL customer who also have landline service with AT&T, but my point is - look around and see what deals are out there. DSL is a little slower than cable broadband was, but for the price difference, I hardly notice it. - Change to a prepaid cell phone. This idea isn't for everyone, but for us it made total sense. We were paying $65/month for a family plan with US Cellular. Every time I called them to see if we could get something cheaper, they tried to give us more minutes. I would point out that I had used 45 minutes in the past month, and my husband had used a mere 11 minutes, so clearly we didn't need more minutes. If you are like us, and only use your cell phones for brief calls home to ask your husband to preheat the oven, or to say that you are going to be late, then the prepaid cell phone is for you. We recycled our old cell phones, and got new ones with Virgin Mobile. The plan only requires us to top up (add money) $20 + tax on each phone every 90 days. Unused money accumulates, and can be used later. Depending on the plan, minutes cost about 10¢ to 25¢ each. Neither one of us ever needs to top up any more often than 90 days, which means that we spend $14/month on cell phone service, versus the $65 plus tax and "other fees" we were paying before. These three changes alone save us $1,800 per year! One other important thing you should do when you find a way to cut a cost - estimate your monthly savings and really SAVE it. Set up a monthly automatic deposit from your checking account to a savings account for that same amount. You'll never miss it, because you were using it to pay a bill before, but it you leave it in your checking account you will probably find something else to spend it on, and then you haven't really saved that money, have you?

All content, writings and photos on this website are the property of Margaret Palecek. Please do not share any of it without referencing me and this website. All rights reserved.© 2009 Margaret Palecek, Thumbwick Candles www.thumbwick.com.

This page was last updated on 10/05/09.