On Doing the Next Best Thing

Perfection is a master that will never be pleased. Often, doing the very best thing or saving the maximum amount of money just doesn't happen. Either we don't think of something in time, or our circumstances prevent that singular best move. Doing the next best thing is a strategy that may be more valuable than chasing after perfection.

Thursday afternoon I was busy with many tasks. In addition to doing a bunch of holiday stuff and making yogurt, I was also baking a batch of bread and making dinner. Our main dish for dinner was a meatloaf. I actually did think ahead in one area and prepared a double-batch of meatloaf for an easy dinner later this month. However, I didn't plan well enough in advance to get both the meatloaf and the loaves of bread into the oven at the same time, thereby saving electricity and about 10 cents total. I could have used baking pans that would all fit in the oven's small space and timed the rising loaves of bread to be ready when the meatloaf was assembled. But in my slapdash, trying to get everything done, I just didn't plan it all out thoroughly. I did however do the next best thing. I got the meatloaf into the oven as the bread was coming out. This meant that I didn't need to reheat the oven twice in the day. My oven takes about 10-12 minutes to preheat, so I estimate that I saved about 4 cents by doing the next best thing.

I think there's a tendency to devalue low amounts of savings. However, if I save 4 cents every day by doing "the next best thing," I save $14.60 over the course of a year. Again, we might assume $14 is small change. But in my area, that $14.60 will buy a lot of food, such as a 25 lb bag of rice. In my thinking, there's no such thing as small change. All change adds up.

The effort spent chasing after that absolute best, whether it's being the most frugal or seeking perfection in some other area of our lives is not only exhausting, but it can be defeating when we fall short. I may even give up on trying if I can't ever reach my admittedly lofty goals. Knowing that I can still have a small win when the big win is out of my reach is reassurance that I am still heading in the right direction. After all, a small win (or 4 cents) is still a win. As the saying goes -- life is a marathon.

Silver and Gold Paint Pens for Simplified Gift Wrappings

a little silver ink dresses up plain brown paper

The first Christmas we had our cat, she seemed to enjoy the ribbons and bows on our wrapped presents a little more than she should. Not only did she chew on the bows, but she swallowed a fair amount of the plasticky ribbons. This just wasn't good for her. 

From then on, instead of adding ribbons or bows to our wrapped gifts, I simply drew designs (simplified versions of snowflakes, trees, hearts, teddy bears and snowmen) and name tags right onto the wrapping paper. I used markers mostly. The side benefit was I saved money by not buying disposable wrapping extras. As the years progressed, my budget improved, and I've been able to buy special silver and gold paint pens. The pens last for years and have been used on several different holiday projects. 

the pens can be used on many types of surfaces

Here, I've used the gold pen to personalize a couple of ornaments for our Christmas tree.

This year, I'm using the pens on the brown packing paper that I asked you for suggestions on how to reuse back in September. I'm also reusing some white tissue paper that was wrapped around an item that I ordered from a vendor online. The silver and gold seem to show up best when I make my lettering large, as I've done on the "Julia" package. (As you can see, I'm not that artistic, nor is my penmanship stellar. But that doesn't seem to matter terribly much.) 

Anyway, I have fun with it. And it's more economical than buying single use bows, ribbons, and gift tags.

Paint pens are available at art and craft supply stores, such as Michael's, Blick Art Materials (dickblick.com) and Etsy, or all-purpose retailers such as Amazon and Walmart.