If you plan on hosting a #graduation party this year, get creative! Try filling a piñata with assorted fun-sized treats and rolled-up dollar-bill “diplomas,” says Fun Squared, or bake up a batch of “smart cookies.” Good gifts include a do-it-yourself laundry starter kit for college (laundry bag, detergent and quarters), or a new wallet with a gift card inside. Make a cash bouquet or garland to help get the grad off on the right foot, or fold bills into mini tassel caps. Anything that helps ease the graduate into adult life (and helps avoid crippling debt) will be appreciated.
Author: Jordank
Editorial Coordinator
Get the Kids to Declutter on Their Summer Vacation
School’s out (for the summer)! And if you have kids, that means you’ll be looking for something to keep them busy for six or eight hours on most weekdays. Summer camp, a family vacation and other diversions are great options, but they can’t fill every one of those hours fast enough. This summer, get your kids involved in a good #decluttering.
You can already hear the collective groan you might hear as you suggest such a chore. But if you organize and incentivize the task, you might find that it gets done faster and more completely — and then everyone can really enjoy the summer fun.
Set a goal; the Making Lemonade blog suggests a summertime target of reducing stuff by one-third. Kids tend to accumulate lots of toys, clothing and other junk that they outgrow quickly, leading to overstuffed closets and drawers, so extra stuff should be easy to weed out. Put each of them in in charge of choosing what to keep.
Find a rainy day or quiet weekend to have everyone pitch in and declutter their personal spaces, or simply set a deadline. As an incentive, put a garage or yard sale on the calendar; anything that the kids are able to declutter and sell will mean extra money in their pockets — money they can spend on whatever they wish.
Toys can present an especially challenging decluttering task, says Simply Well Balanced. Sort them into categories — building toys, stuffed animals, craft supplies, etc. — and ask your child to keep only a limited number of favorites. Those few items will go back to the closets and shelves, and the rest will be bagged and boxed for sale or #donation. Anything broken or unusable can go directly into the trash.
After you hold your sale and distribute the proceeds, you can box up the leftover clothing, toys and other household items and schedule a ClothingDonations.org pickup. A driver will stop by on the appointed day, load up your stuff and leave a donation receipt for tax purposes. That lightly used merchandise will then be resold to fund veterans’ programs.
This, in itself, can be a lesson in personal responsibility for younger children, decluttering coach Gari Julius Weilbacher told WHYY. “It’s wonderful to teach kids from a young age about making meaningful donations. Involving kids in packing up the books, toys and clothes that they are no longer using can engage them in the process.”
Observe Etiquette When Visiting Gravesites
If you wish to pay your respects to those who gave their lives in service this Memorial Day, remember to “display noble discipline” when visiting gravesites, says the Deseret News. Don’t allow children to run or play on markers, and leave the pets at home unless the pet has special significance to the deceased. Don’t play loud music, and phone ahead if you would like to include a quiet picnic as part of your observance or check any rules about what decorations can and can’t be displayed. “It can be a fine line between reverence and revelry,” the story says.
Rolling Thunder Heads to D.C.
Since 1988, Vietnam veterans who are also motorcycle enthusiasts have staged a Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, D.C., to call attention to the many POW/MIAs who are still unaccounted for from the conflict. Thousands of bikers now participate in the “Ride for Freedom” every year; beginning tomorrow, this year’s Rolling Thunder XXXII will be a three-day event that features a 185-mile ride from central New Jersey, a candlelight vigil, a barbeque, a wreath presentation, guest speakers, a musical tribute and more.
Parades Nationwide Mark Memorial Day
Memorial Day parades have become a grand tradition in towns and cities throughout the country, with local veterans’ organizations and active military often participating. To see one of the biggest, visit the nation’s capital, says Punchbowl; the event regularly attracts more than a quarter-million people and features marching bands, floats and hundreds of veterans who served in conflicts from World War II to the present. New York and Chicago also host huge events every year, as do Littleneck-Douglaston, N.Y., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.