Packing for Israel - what worked and what didn't

This is us riding a camel.  Yep, that's why we packed for comfort and adventure more than for style. I'm the one on the back. 

I've been back from my Israel trip for two weeks now and things are starting to get back to normal.  Let me just say WOW.  It was a great trip.  I'll tell you all about it later, but first I promised a follow up on my Israel Travel - what to pack? blog post letting you know what worked out and what didn't.  My friend, Tamara, has agreed to add her own comments and photos at the end of my Israel posts.  She had special packing considerations as she is far more interested in photography than I am and took special gear for that while I just took a camera I could carry in my pocket.

To recap: we packed for a two week bus tour trip taking place at the end of April. We packed for changeable Spring weather, multiple planned activities and varied terrain as well as modest attire for the various religious sites we planned to visit.  The only restrictions we had was the 50 lb checked baggage and 17 lb carry-on baggage limit for the airline.  Our tour bus had plenty of room for luggage in the compartments underneath so there were no restrictions set by the tour company Friendship Tours.  However, neither of us wanted to haul around 67 lbs of luggage or have to rummage through that many items to find what we wanted on our vacation so we tried to pack as lightly as possible without being too sparse.

I think we would both agree that you should plan to leave 1/4 or more of your suitcase empty going over because you will bring back more than you take over. Additionally, unless you plan to neatly fold your dirty clothes on the return trip, your items will take up more space. I had about 30 lbs combined going over and added probably 5 lbs or more coming back.  Tamara had a little more going over with all her camera equipment and she bought more books than I did so had a bit more returning.  All in all, I think we did quite well as we were among the lightest packers in our group.

You can review my earlier post to see what I brought, but I'll try to remind you as I go.

My Eddie Bauer suitcase and day pack both worked very well as did the Tupperware Eco Tumblers. The suitcase and day pack were both the right size and the cups were perfect for refilling quickly and being easy to empty and wash out and easy to drink from. You can drink the tap water all over Israel, but some of the hotels had softened or strange tasting water so we ended up buying bottled water part of the time.  Our bus driver had cold bottles of water in a cooler available for $1 each all the time which was very convenient--bring a lot of singles.  The only slight annoyance with the suitcase was that with two main compartments, two luggage locks are required.  We did have an issue with someone tampering with our luggage locks at one hotel while we were out for the day (we know because Tamara's lock is alphabetical and she sets a secret code word when she leaves for the day--very clever). They didn't get into the locked suitcases so we do highly recommend locking up before you leave the room.

My shoe selection worked quite well.  I was happy to have both the supper comfy leather Clarks and the super lightweight blue Easy Spirit slip-ons so that I had a change from day to day. Sturdy shoes were a must for all the uneven cobbles and rocky trails and stairs.  I think I could have substituted one pair of Teva style sandals that fasten on for the purple Crocs AND the black water shoes. Tevas would have worked for staying on in the water at the Dead Sea and splashing through Hezekiah's tunnel in Jerusalem without coming off and could have worked to change into at the end of the day, as pool shoes and with a casual skirt.  I did use the Crocs sandals as bedroom slippers too.  A pair that fastened on would not have been as convenient for that.  I do truly wish that I had also included a pair of slightly dressier sandals for going down to dinner at night.

At Tell Dan.  This was the type of terrain we were hiking over sometimes.  You can see why sturdy shoes are needed.

 

My outerwear worked very well.  We did have rain one day and it was cool and windy several days so the rain/wind shell was needed.  I thought maybe the fluffy fleece would be too hot, but it turned out I needed that too.  It does get cool sometimes in late April in parts of Israel.  I think maybe a slightly less fluffy workout/running jacket like Tamara brought would have been better and would have packed up smaller.  However, I did fold up my fleece and use it as a pillow on the airplane and at the airport so it served an extra purpose.  I also bought a lightweight black cardigan sweater and used it quite a bit.  My Tilley hat worked beautifully as always.  I think our tour group would probably be divided in half if you asked them whether a hat was necessary or not.  Even with a hat and daily sunscreen my skin freckled from the sun. We were outdoors a lot.  I'm sure almost everyone was wishing for a hat the day we baked in the sun outdoors at the tank museum or the day we hiked down Masada.

All of my pants worked well and washed easily in the sink and dried fairly quickly.  Three pairs were sufficient to wear each twice and then wash.  I did get some compliments on the grey Mountain Hardware Yuma pants.  I will note that things didn't exactly dry overnight as I expected.  When you hang them in an unventilated hotel bathroom over the tub to drip dry, there is not enough air circulation to dry them completely overnight.  Once they were no longer dripping, they could be moved to hangers in the closet or to a travel clothes line in another location to finish drying.  Plan for a full 24 hours of dry time unless you are very careful about rolling them up in towels to get the excess moisture out and hanging them in the bedroom and not the bathroom.

The quick dry running shirts also worked perfectly and also took more than overnight to dry in the unventilated bathroom.  Some of the people in the group had button up travel shirts that looked a bit dressier than my t-shirts and also seemed to wash and wear extremely well.  Looking back I should have brought more scarves than just the one melon colored one pictured.  It got a lot of use and another color or print or two would have been nice to have. Some of the ladies in the group brought more than one and that was a smart move to change up the look of outfits without adding much packing weight. I used mine as a shoulder cover for some religious sites, as a fashion accessory, to keep sun off the back of my neck, and also just as a scarf to keep warm.

For swimwear, Tamara and I both agree we should have each brought two suits.  Putting on a wet suit is not fun.  I was happy to have both the rash guard shirt and the board shorts to put over my suit, but I never wore the surf leggings.

Floating in the Dead Sea

My one nice outfit was perfect except for the fact that I definitely should have brought at least one more skirt and a dress.  After a long day sight-seeing outdoors, a shower and a change of clothes was very welcome.  Many of the other ladies had the forethought to bring some nicer clothes to change into for dinner.  My plain, packable, black sheath dress would have been perfect to wear several nights with a change of jewelry or scarf to change the look and wouldn't have taken up much room in my suitcase.  Most of our hotels only had free wifi in the lobby and lounge areas so many members of our group ended up finding each other there after dinner and socializing.

As far as miscellaneous gear, my Eagle Creek shoulder bag worked well.  I think next time I buy one, I'll get one without a flap and maybe slightly larger and with a water bottle pouch on one side, but this one has served me well for a long time.  We had headsets so our guide could talk to us all as a group without shouting and I clipped mine to my bag instead of wearing it around my neck and that worked perfectly.

Next time I think I'll trade in my money belt for one that goes around the neck and has shielding.  I got this one for safety, but I think if I got one with a no-cut strap it would work just as well.  This one worked better before I got the passport book with the extra pages which makes it bulkier.

I did use the umbrella one day and it stayed in my bag on the bus when it was not needed.

The blue patterned fold up Rume Tote Bag was great.  Tamara had one as well and we'd pack what we needed to take with us for the day, but leave it on the bus in those.  We also used mine for a beach bag. Out of curiosity I weighed mine on my postal scale and it weighs 2.2 oz and holds up to 50 lbs of stuff.

What I definitely did not need from the photo above was all those snacks.  There is plenty of food in Israel and we had full buffet breakfasts and dinners at our hotel and stopped somewhere for lunch each day.  I really didn't even want snacks, but had I wanted them they were available for purchase in many places.  Many from our group enjoyed a treat of various flavors of Magnum ice cream bars that are available all over Israel on hot days and fresh, oblong shaped, sesame bagels available from street vendors. I should have just taken a few snacks for the layover time at the airport and not the pound of snacks I hauled all around Israel and ended up bring back home with me again.

The little green REI brand blow up pillow pictured on top above was a complete waste of space.  The valve didn't work and it wouldn't hold air.

Sesame bagels - the vendor will put ground hyssop and salt or zaatar seasoning in the bottom of the plastic bag for you to dip your fresh bread into

Here we are on the shore of the Sea of Galilee with our tour group headsets on

The Trek and Travel Laundry leaves pictured above were pretty much worthless. They didn't seem to do anything. I ended up washing my clothes with the Dr Bronners Liquid Soap I brought to wash out my water cups with.  It worked just fine.

What did work very well were the inexpensive 1 oz bottles I bought from REI pictured above. I thought they might leak, but they didn't. I just labeled them with my label maker.

Our hotels did not have wash cloths.  Bring one of your own if you want one.

A couple of other things I should have brought were some more of those little Wisp toss out mini toothbrushes you can find in the toothpaste aisle most places.  Those were perfect for brushing in the lavatory in the airplane or any rest stop as they are tiny and have the toothpaste on them already.  I should have also remembered to bring chewing gum.

One thing to be sure and not forget is plenty of hand wipes and/or hand sanitizer.

This particular natural sanitizer has a fabulously light and fresh thyme scent

The proper electrical adapters to use for Israel are the ones with round prongs.  However, bring both the one for small round prongs and the one with slightly larger round prongs.  There doesn't seem to be a standard fit.

I also brought a pedometer which was interesting.  We covered about 5 miles per day on foot.

Almost everyone in the group also brought a small notebook or journal and a Bible in print form or electronic form.

Tamara and I each brought our Badger Balm Sore Muscle Rub which was well used on the trip and worked it's magic.  She even shared with a lady who took a tumble on the slippery pavement and she was surprised to find that she didn't even bruise from her spill.

As far as the drawing supplies I brought to sketch with, I should have taken less.  There simply wasn't time for much sketching.  I should have just made due with a few pencils and small sketch pad.  I didn't need to haul the pastels around as I only got one chance to use them.

See of Galilee sketch

Tamara's Notes:

Let's talk shoes!  Initially, I was convinced I could easily get away with two pair for the two weeks:  My trusty worn-in Keens and a pair of simple Tevas.  Both can be worn for hiking as well as in water so they would be great backups for one another.  However, after researching the Dead Sea I grew concerning about the uneven salt floor being rough on the sides of my feet and I didn't want to potentially ruin my favorite Keens so, the day before I flew out to meet up with Sue, I rushed around in search of "water socks".   Bass Pro Shop was the only store in this small Alabama town where I currently reside that had them in stock.  I was so happy with my little last-ditch $12 purchase!  Well, as Sue can attest, as soon as I stepped out onto the tiles of our  Dead Sea hotel, I almost bit it! After the third slip I gave up all pride and proceeded to shuffle along behind Sue like a little old granny.  They worked great once I finally made it down to the Dead Sea but took several days to dry.  They went out to the trash the day I returned home after my loving husband pointed out that no one should be tempted to break an ankle in them.  Turns out that I simply didn't need shoes in the Sea Dead.  There was a ramp with rails one could use when entering and exiting the water and  salt was bumpy yet smooth and felt quite good on my bare feet which hardly touched the bottom anyway.  It was so amazing to simply lift one's feet and start gently bobbing around as though you were sitting in a lounge chair.  Phenomenal ab workout!

The one redeeming quality about my water socks is they looked kind of cool in this photo.  Sue had no slippage issues with her pair from Walmart.

 

My wonderful-umpteen-dozen-miles-tested-so-comfortable-I-forget-to-take-them-off Keen Arroyos whose slits on the side do no go all the way to the footbed so I didn't even have any issues with rocks in my sandals.  On this particular day I wore socks as the morning was quite chilly as we explored Jerusalem.

Now, as far I'm concerned, no discussion of shoes and Israel is complete without mentioning Naot sandals.  This was a personal quest for me as I had acquired my first pair down in the Keys several years ago and had worn them right out of the store without ever getting a blister.  The option of a removable (hence replaceable) cork footbed that molds to your feet simply seals the deal.  Oh! And they look great too!  Sue did all the research and we were able to squeeze in a quick visit to a store about a third of a mile from our hotel in Tiberius.  While, Sue and our other friend, did not find anything in this particular store to suit their fancy, I once again walked out wearing a new favorite (on sale!) pair and proceeded to wear them off and on for a week around Jerusalem.  I would not recommend them for trail walking but they are fantastic on cobbles and stairs. Unfortunately, this created a fiasco with our co-travelers who now wanted to their own Cinderella Naot moment and Sue was hounded about store locations and hours for the rest of the trip but the timing never worked out in our other locations. This, however, is not a huge problem as Zappos carries a large selection of Naot. I highly recommend the styles that have the removable orthopedic footbeds.

My old pair with new footbeds ordered online through Zappos.  My old footbeds wore out after 5 years.  Naot recommends changing footbeds every 2 years.

The new pair:

Moving on....I bought a Lowepro 16L hatchback camera backpack for this trip and it totally rocked.  It's light weight, with comfortable straps and has a removal padded camera storage box so that it can transition into a great day pack.  It fit nicely under the seat on the plane and I even used it as a footrest in the airport without worrying about damaging my equipment.  For me it's the perfect carryon as I was still able to fit my Nikon D5100 with a 24-70 lens and also a telephoto lens along with a change of clothing, a pashmina in case I needed a light wrap, my ziplock toiletries bag, a book, passport wallet and a snack, glasses case and water bottle.  (My spare shoes also fit in the side pockets when we hiked the water tunnel)  If I'd brought one, I could've fit my tablet in the front tablet pocket as well.  It's the bomdiggidy.  The only thing I had to readjust were the extra straps hitting my legs.  Minor detail.

The Lowepro in action descending the steep "Snake Path" at Masada

What else worked great on this trip?

• My iPhone without any special plans.  Just turned off cellular and roaming and utilized the free wifi on the bus (slow but useful) or at the hotels.
• A lightweight battery operated fan. (Mine is a $6 O2Cool from Target) If I have a little breeze I can typically cope with whatever temperature/stuffiness we may experience in a hotel.  It proved its worth our first night at Sea of Galilee.  It was very warm as the air conditioner unit wasn't fully operational and a gazillion gnat-like bugs would cover the walls if you left the balcony door open.
• The tiny packable Sea to Summit Lite Line Clothesline :
  
  Laundry Day for Tamara at the Ramada in Jerusalem
  
  
• My choices in clothing:  one fleece, one skirt, several quick dry shirts, one cardigan, a pair of  well-loved zip-off outdoors pants, a pair of capris, a pair of Columbia cotton travel pants.  Packed mostly blue hued shirts though and would add a little variety next time. I agree with Sue that a travel dress would be a great addition.  I would still choose a blue one :-D
• Pashmina in a zip locked bag (Sue's awesome idea to keep threads from being snagged in transit)  We wore these at several of the holy sites.
• My telephoto lens!  Sue's husband almost had me convinced to leave it behind but why squabble over a mere 1.3 pounds when you have opportunities to get up close to goats without  getting attack by guard dogs or having anything awkward to declare to customs?
• My Cloudz neck pillow!  It snaps to my backpack and has those little beads of styrofoam inside.  We enjoyed quite a few naps together.
• Extra plastic baggies (my Keens reeked after two weeks and 60+ miles)
• The P.T. Pod microfiber towel that my husband asked us to try out.  Weighs just a few ounces, folds into its own built in bag and takes up very little space.  Oh, and it works!  Used it several times including after merrily dowsing myself in a waterfall at En Gedi.

What didn't work? (aside from the blasted water socks) What would I do differently?

Be prepared and bring your own jacket. Not everyone can pull off sharing like these two brothers.

• Two swimsuits!  (I heartily agree with Sue about the unsuitable nature of cold wet swimwear)
• Sue's Tupperware water cups rocked while my new collapsible Akanpa water bottle tried to drown me as I attempted to gulp down water on Masada.  It will now be relegated to camping equipment and not for everyday travel.  It also continually felt gritty on the outside despite repeated cleanings  Again, something that won't phase us camping but bugged me at night and  in airports.  By all means though find a water bottle you like as there are stations or at least water fountains in the airports where they encourage refills and most of the tap water in the Israeli hotels tasted fine.  The one exception would be the Ramada in Jerusalem  (and that uber nasty sludge fountain we tried near the Roosevelt Park in DC--Blech!!)
• Another insight:  the surge protector power adaptors will NOT charge camera batteries regardless of how they appear to be charging!  Good thing I travel with three batteries.  Also, travel with both fat and skinny simple two pin Type C power adapters since the outlets vary. 
• A light pullover sweater would have been welcome and would have looked nice.  Mornings in Jerusalem were quite chilly and, in spots, windy

That's about it.  No big regrets.  Lots of fabulous memories!

Valley of Elah where David slew Goliath

Quick DIY eyeglass holders

If you sew at all you probably have some small pieces of fleece in your stash of scraps. And if you have more than one person in your house you probably also have eyeglasses and sunglasses stashed in purses, cars, drawers and closets without cases.

Years ago I used up some of my fleece scraps making these very quick eyeglass holders. We still have them and still use them all the time.  I forget how many I made, but I made them in various sizes to hold different size glasses.  Those wrap around type sunglasses really need a big case, but reading glasses only require a slim little case.

I also had some scraps of flannel so I cut some small squares of it with pinking shears, to keep it from fraying, and added an extra, shorter piece of fabric when I sewed the edges of the case together to make a pocket for the little flannel cleaning cloth.

How To: Make a window fan shade

My son has one of those half moon shaped windows in his room. Custom blinds for these things are very expensive. The best option I found was something called a Redi Shade you can buy at Lowes or other places for 20 something dollars and cut to size, but it comes in basic white and needs to be stuck down with velcro. This window is better uncovered in winter so that light and warmth come into the room, but in summer the sun just beats in due to a western exposure. I wanted something I can remove in winter and replace in summer without dealing with adhesive velcro strips.

This window is 22 inches high and 46 inches wide so it's not a perfect semi-circle. And the arch is something like 6 ft so I knew I needed a long piece of paper to make a fan for it. Rolls of wall paper were not wide enough. I went to a teaching supply store and got a roll of 48 inch by 12 ft paper that is used to cover bulletin boards. This one has a cloud design, but they had many colors and patterns. This cost about $8.50. It also comes in different sized rolls both larger and smaller.

At a building supply store I bought two wooden slats 1 1/2 inches wide by 2 ft long for $1 each and painted them to match. These attach to the ends of the fan to weigh it down and hold it in place in the window. These were cut to just under 22 inches and I drilled a hole in one end for a ribbon to go through later.

The roll of paper is long and wants to roll back up so you need to weigh it down to work with it. I cut 5 inches off the width so that when folded in half it would be just under the 22 inches (height of the window).

 

I found I couldn't work on a tabletop to fold the 12 foot roll in half (so that the finished fan would be double sided) because it kept wanting to roll up. I needed a long stretch of floor to work. 

Live and learn: it would have been MUCH easier to work with a single thickness instead of double. Also, I should have used double sided tape and sealed all three open edges before trying to fold it into a fan. If I did it again I would definitely not fold it, but only use one layer of paper.

I used my quilting ruler and a bone folder to impress guide lines every 2 inches so that I could fold it evenly. This took a long time! I didn't want to use a pencil since I wanted this to be double sided.

I used white glue to stick the wooden slats to the ends of the fan.

I used a hole punch and stick on hole reinforcements to make a path to string ribbon through to gather the fan. The ribbon also went through the holes that I drilled in the wooden slats.

Have you seen these?

I guess I'm behind the times, but I didn't know about these little things until we had an energy audit done by the gas company recently. They are little foam pads that you place inside the outlets on your exterior walls to insulate them. I just purchased a pack of 6 for $1.97 at Lowes. The energy auditor said they would pay for themselves in no time with energy savings. Find them with the weather striping and insulating supplies at your hardware store. They also have them to fit light switch plates.

The exterior walls of your home should be completely filled with insulation, but the outlet box itself takes up most of the wall space leaving very little insulation between it and the outside wall. Also, if you have sheet insulation instead of blow-in insulation in the exterior walls it's very likely the installer didn't get the little spaces around the outlet filled in very well. On a cold day feel the outlet cover and then the wall beside it. If there is even a little difference in the temperature you are loosing heat (or air conditioning) through the outlet. On the day we had our energy audit, despite the fact we have nice blown-in insulation in the walls, there was nearly a 10 degree difference in the temperature of the outlet and the wall right next to it. All these little "holes in the envelope" suck the warmth right out of your home through conductivity even if they aren't drafty. Most rooms have at least one outlet on every exterior wall. Some of my rooms have several.

These inexpensive foam pads can help quite a bit and only take a minute to install. Who doesn't want to save money on their heating and cooling bills for years to come?

Just remove the outlet cover with a regular screw driver, place the foam pad inside and replace the cover. You will normally just install these in exterior walls unless you know that wiring for interior wall outlets goes through an uninsulated attic space (through a garage or above attic insulation) which can conduct heat or cold temps through the conduits to your outlet.

While you are at it, be sure and check the insulation on your attic hatch. You can loose 10% of heat in your home through a non (or poorly) insulated attic hatch. That's a lot of money and it's an easy fix anyone can make for $5-10.

Organizing: Great way to save your paint

This is a tip I learned from my brother who is a house painter by trade. When he is done painting for a client he pours some of the the leftover paint into a plastic water bottle, puts a little water on top (for water based paints) to seal the paint and keep it from drying out and replaces the lid. His clients can easily pour off a little paint for touch ups. They love it.

I've done almost the same thing re-using a 50 oz Seventh Generation laundry soap bottle. The labels are easy to remove and I'm left with a sturdy bottle that will hold a little less than half a gallon. It has a wide mouth to make it easy to pour the paint in (I didn't even need a funnel) and to stir it later. It has a removable pour spout which should be very convenient when I need the paint again. Like most detergent bottles it has slits around the bottom of the pour spout so the excess paint will drain back into the bottle when it's poured. I poured in a little water to seal the top like my brother does.

Label the bottle very clearly. You can dab a little of the paint on so you can see the color just like they do at the paint store. Then be sure and label it with the brand of paint, the exact type of paint base it is and the exact formula for tinting the paint in case you ever need more. Be sure and get all those details right because one brand's Interior Satin will not be the same as another brand's and each brand has it's standard and premium and various other bases that are all different and will tint differently.

I can now store all those half-used up gallons of paint in less than half the space I did before and they are all ready when I need them.

A few things to do . . .

We recently purchased a new house with .4 acres in what I describe as a somewhat "jungly" condition. One of our neighbors mentioned that the previous owner rarely ever mowed.  We have our work cut out for us, but we are looking forward to making improvements. We've been living either in the desert or in an apartment for the last 7 years and haven't even owned a mower in that time, so this is a big change for us.

Here are some "before" photos of upcoming projects:

This is what I call  "the scary slope"  in front of the house. It's got various types of trees, a lot of crown vetch, an assortment of weeds, some junipers and who knows what else is hidden in there? The neighborhood cats enjoy stalking prey here and I'm scared to know what exactly lives in the mess a few yards from my front door. This photo was taken after my husband went after it with a machete. It was spilling out over the concrete making the sidewalk impassable.

This is the official garden area. This is after I spent an hour or more digging out buried tomato cages and pruning back some blackberry canes.  It's still a tangled mess that needs many more hours of work.  I plan to make a compost bin in one corner and a small salad/herb garden and flower cutting garden in the rest--nothing too ambitious.

I call this one the "hidden spruce."  Our yard slopes up in back so that this beautiful blue spruce could be seen from the back of the house nearly at eye level if the scrub oak wasn't in the way. It will be trimmed back a little. My husband already trimmed back some of the small branches.

And this is the front door with a patch of eroding dirt between the sidewalk and the garage and a patch of weeds on the other side. I'm thinking that a smallish conical tree with blue-green foliage on either side would be nice to set off the entrance. I also want to improve the curb appeal by sinking flagstones into the sod in front of the picture window to make a patio seating area to take advantage of the splendid mountain views from there.

The view.  No need to improve that.

Sue

Reusable Shopping Bags

My husband did the grocery shopping yesterday. I forgot to send my reusable shopping bags with him. This is what he came home with:

24 plastic grocery bags for only $87.12 worth of groceries. They were floppy and a pain to unpack. I'm used to my strong, roomy, easy to fold and easy to carry totes. My totes can hold three times as much as a double bagged plastic bag. And now I have to remember to take these in to recycle. Regardless of the impact on the environment, these are a pain. I love my reusable totes. They even come in insulated versions:

They are easy to fold and stuff in one bag. Just grab and go. I put them right back in my car when I'm done using them so I'll have them the next time.

He also brought home several plastic produce bags. I like mine better. Aren't they cute? I made them with inexpensive tulle netting and cheap nylon cord. They are strong--I've been using them for a while and they can take even heavy loads. They are washable. They weigh very little. Produce doesn't tend to mold when you store it in these bags since they "breathe." The baggers at the store always want to know where I got them. I made them in different sizes. I gave some away for Christmas.


* Stores are making it easier to use reusable totes and grocery baggers actually like them!
* Most reusable totes cost $1 or less. Insulated versions are often around $2.
* My Whole Foods gives a $.05 discount for every reusable bag.
* My Trader Joes has a drawing every day for a $10 gift card for people who use reusable bags.
* When I lived in Korea, the stores charged about $.05-.10 for every bag they had to provide. Many municipalities in the US are considering doing the same.
* Americans use 84 BILLION plastic bags a year
* DECA reports that the price of plastic bags has gone up 84% in the last few years. That price gets passed on to the customers.
* DECA reports that 20,635,800 plastic bags were used by U.S. military commissary customers worldwide in 2007. If just 10% of those were replaced with reusable bags it would be a savings of $2 million a year. Imagine the savings if, say, Walmart customers used more reusuable bags!

Household Tip: Organizing Your Grocery Shopping Trip

I confess. I hate grocery shopping! I try to get in and out as fast as I can. I believe this tip has shaved 20 minutes off of my grocery run each week (over 17 hours per year). If you tend to do one main shopping trip each week, and shop at the same store most of the time, this will work wonders for you.

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1. Visit your store with pen and paper in hand and make a list of what type of items the store stocks on each aisle. Just note general categories and note the aisle numbers. For instance: #13 baking/canned beans, veg & fruits/soups

2. On the computer make a one page, aisle by aisle, blank shopping list that you can print off. In addition to the aisle by aisle list you'll have all those items that can be found around the perimeter of the store such as "seasonal/holiday," "deli/bakery," "produce," "meats," and "dairy." Put those on your list in the order that you come to them in the store. Leave extra space under each category that you buy a lot of items in. I have the biggest space under "produce."

3. If there is another store that you almost always visit on the same trip, make a category for that store on the end of your list.

4. Print copies of your list (scrap paper that has already been printed on one side is great for this) and attach one to your refrigerator each week. Instruct your family to mark down any items you need under the proper category on the list as you discover you need them. No more "I didn't know we were out of ketchup . . ."

5. When you get to the store you can glance quickly at what you need in each aisle or section of the store, you won't have to stop to mark things off your list. You can see which aisles you don't need to go down at all which saves a lot of time and frustration--especially if you shop with young children.

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Additional tips for your grocery trip:

* Plan weekly menus and mark all the items you will need down on your list--don't try to guess at the store.
* Sort coupons before you go.
* Wipe out your refrigerator shelves before you shop when they are at their emptiest for the week.
* Grab your reusable shopping bags, or better yet, put them back in your car after you unpack your groceries so you always have them handy.
* Will you need a cooler or insulated bags?

I'm Published!

I wrote an article for this awesome on-line newsletter called Home Jewelry Business Success Tips that I have been subscribing to for awhile. It's been an incredible resource for me as a jewelry designer. And now, my article "Banner Design Tips for your Online Jewelry Business" has been published in it. In my article I talk about the process I went through in designing a website banner and other graphics for my website and ultimately how I worked with a very knowledgeable designer for a very custom look.