My Reasons to Give Thanks

There are so many ways to give thanks and I hope to express that in this post. This post will serve multiple purposes. One, I want to say what I am thankful for. I used to be such a negative Nancy but I think I am finally coming out of that darkness and I want to share that. Two, although it is too late to convince you not to go shopping on Black Friday, I am going to attempt to explain why it is just a bad idea.

Like I said, I’ve always been kind of a negative person, especially when it comes to the human race. Humans are selfish, careless and sometimes we are just down right mean. Learning about the perils of the environment gave me another reason to be discouraged. During my journey learning about environmental issues, such as Styrofoam actively poisons people, yet it is still openly available in any store or how the litter that we carelessly toss away, whether to the side of the road or in the dumpster then it some how makes its way to the oceans or to the intestines of an innocent animals, I have learned things that make me positive.

I Give Thanks for Upcycling

Upcycling is my motivation, inspiration and hope for this planet and for my life. Yes, we are the most wasteful species on this planet by far, but we can also be the most creative. It doesn’t have to be trash or waste, it can become something else entirely. Instead going out to buy a hummingbird feeder, we can make a hummingbird feeder almost entirely out of ‘trash’, consisting of a Pepsi bottle and spoons.

Or these totally adorable penguin Christmas ornaments made from lightbulbs.

Or these super easy gift wrap bows made from used wrapping paper.

I could literally go on and on all day and night, which I already did stay up way too late looking at this stuff, but I can’t help because it gives me hope.

This video gives me hope.

These kids have nothing besides the trash we carelessly sent over because we had so much STUFF, stuff we consider ourselves too good for and they made something so beautiful and magical out of it.

I Give Thanks For This Journey

I am so thankful for the journey because I can’t imagine any other way.  Some day, I hope it will become more than just a hobby and become my full blown living. I want to live and breathe it. If not, I am incredibly blessed to be apart of this movement in some small way.

I Give Thanks For Family and Friends

Also, I am also thankful for friends and family, who have supported me along this journey and put up with my negativity for so long. Their love, along with God’s little whispers of encouragement, got me further than anything I could have done on my own.

As far as Black Friday, I find that day to be deplorable and this picture pretty much says it all for me.

Consequences of Materialism

There are so many reasons I don’t participate in Black Friday. For me, there is nothing worse to be doing after a day of giving thanks than to go and beat people down to get to whatever sale first. People, even sales associates, have died because of this event. Tragically, when a 61-year-old man collapsed in 2011, fellow Target shoppers stepped over his body and continued searching for deals. The man later died at the hospital.

I get extremely discouraged around this time of the year, but luckily REI gave me a break. They close for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. This is unheard of in the retail industry. Other stores are blaming the corporate greed on their customers:

In a press release, Macy’s passed the blame to customers to explain why they open doors early. “In response to interest from customers who prefer to start their shopping early, most Macy’s stores will open at 8pm on Thanksgiving evening, consistent with many other retailers,” the store claimed. J.C. Penney likewise insisted it had no choice. “Last year, we opened much later than the competition and our stores saw a lot of frustrated customers tap our doors wanting to shop,” said company spokeswoman Daphne Avila. “This year, we decided we weren’t going to let those opportunities pass us by.”

REI is accountable and this year they show their thanks for the outdoors. They have an #optoutside initiative to encourage people to spend time with nature, where they can also spend time with their friends and family.

Workers often have to work long shifts, it’s one of the most stressful, tiring shifts of the year for many store employees. Two years ago, a Target employee was so tired she fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a canal after working a midnight shift.

Is Black Friday Worth it?

People either hate, love or at least accept this holiday because of the great deals. The thing is there are plenty of reason not to participate on this day. Environmental and moral reasons aside, research shows that the deals aren’t as good as the stores claim. According to studies, stores have been repeating the same deals since 2012.  Stores start deals weeks before Thanksgiving and carry them out through after Christmas. Similar deals are offered online. People often overspend or impulse buy and they buy more without actually using those purchases.

Do You Really Need It?

So, weigh your pros and cons, but give it a second thought. Do you really need that new waffle maker or that second rate computer, just because it’s cheap? Does your daughter really need her 50th Barbie just because its on sale? You can spend your time with your family, trampled and left to die on the store floor or you can be a little more creative, #optoutside or spend the day scouring the internet for a better deal.

If you do decide to partake in this event, please be kind to the workers. Despite what CEOs think, there would be no store without them, therefore there would be no deals. They have put in long hours, gave up time with their families to serve your needs, so please show them respect.

No matter your choice, I wish you a blessed holiday.

Holiday Planner for a Stress Free Christmas

The holidays are a magical time full of traditions and the joys of the season, but it’s also one of the busiest times of the year. Between family get-togethers, parties hosted by friends, the baking, cooking and shopping there is just so much to keep track of. A holiday planner is a great place to store all the information you need to keep your holidays running smoothly so you can just worry about enjoying the festivities, which will also help reduce waste.

This holiday planner bundle has 25 plus pages calendars, menu planners, budget trackers, gift trackers, holiday activities, and more for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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