How to lose fifty pounds in one day for charity and this week's winter stores report

Goodbye!

Aaahhhh, I‘m fifty pounds lighter! No, it’s not a miracle diet, I had a good old fashioned house purge. We do this a couple of times a year, once over the summer and again before the end of the year. Clothes, housewares, books, sports equipment- whatever needs to go.  

It always upsets me how much we find to donate. For a family that tries to not purchase anything they don’t really need, we accumulate a lot of stuff. I really hate clutter so out of the house it goes and hopefully to someone who can use it.

 

We donate to the local Salvation Army because the store serves our area, which means our stuff helps our community. We itemize our deductions on our tax forms so we can deduct our donations. If you itemize, I hope you deduct your donations, too. To get the deduction we are entitled to, I make a detailed list of the donation. You can take a deduction for every item, so don’t generalize. Rather than guessing the value of one bag of clothes, take inventory of the bag and add up the value of each item. You will be surprised at the value of what you are donating.  

The Salvation Army has a guide to help you identify the value of your donations:

http://www.use.salvationarmy.org/USE/www_usn20.nsf/vw-sublinks/33CE09196410A2148825770B0054FF7A?openDocument

Claiming the value of our donations does not affect the charity and is part of our money management plan. It is a win for both of us! To be able to deduct charitable donations for 2013, you must donate by December 31, which is easy to forget in the busyness of the holidays. Don't forget to get a signed receipt from the store as you will need it if you are ever audited.

We find donating to charity is a lot simpler than having a yard sale and will put just as much money back into our pockets, while at the same time helping those in need. Plus, I don't have to haul everything that didn't sell back into the house, which in itself is priceless.

Here is this week’s Winter Stores report.

Eaten from the stores this week:

Breakfasts: cranberry muffins, apple muffins, jams

Lunches: Leftover roasted root veggies, peanut noodles ( scallions, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots), pumpkin bread (pumpkin puree, apple sauce)

Supper: Home fries, coleslaw (cabbage), butternut squash puree, vegetable stock (potato peelings, kale, cabbage, carrots) corn on the cob (3), English muffin pizzas ( pasta sauce), vegetable bean soup (kale, carrots, turnip, stock, sun dried tomatoes, dehydrated zucchini),  eggplant parmesan,  pasta sauce.

Inventory Remaining

Fresh (harvested)

Sweet peppers (2), Hot peppers (7) Cherry Tomatoes  (1oz),Potatoes (1lb),1 cup pumpkin puree*, 1 leek*, peanuts.

Fresh (in the ground)

Carrots (whole bed),Turnips (3),Cabbage, green and red  (8),Scallions, Broccoli, Curly Kale, Red Russian Kale, Cauliflower (4), Brussels Sprouts, Rutabaga (3)

Frozen vegetables and fruit

Bag roasted tomatoes (5), Corn on the Cob (5 ears)* Bag of 5 peeled and cored apples (5), 1lb Rhubarb* (2), Quart bag blueberries * (2), 1Lb Strawberries* (2), 4oz Meyer Lemon Curd (3), 1.5 cups Kousa berry puree, 16oz Cranberries (1.5)*

*Locally grown

Dry

16oz jar zucchini, 24oz jar tomatoes

Frozen Meals

4oz pesto (3), 1 Pint green tomato curry sauce (5), Eggplant Parmesan (7 meals), Quart tomato sauce (2) Lentil curry (1)

Canned

Jams (unopened)

8oz Strawberry (5), 16oz Blueberry (3), 8oz Rhubarb cinnamon (7), 16oz Meyer Lemon Marmalade (7), 8oz Meyer Lemon Marmalade (1), 16oz Blackcurrant (4), 8oz Blackcurrant (1)

Other (unopened)

16oz Apple Sauce (16), 16oz Dill pickles (4), 16oz Corn Relish (3)

Frozen Baked Items

Cranberry muffins (7)

I've decided to add to the list any local produce I buy and do not use right away as this adds to the stores and the reality is, I'm still freezing meals for later use.

Are you eating from your stores yet?

Sue