Throughout my entire life, the winter holidays have been made extra special thanks to my mother’s fanaticism for decorating the house and setting traditions. I always felt like we had the best family traditions as we grew up, and I never knew if it was just stuff that my parents made up as they grew their family or if it was stuff they took from their own families. I’ve gathered since then, though, that they forged their own traditions. And I think that’s what made it even more authentic and magical.

Considering the house was always littered with shipping boxes by the time it was 8:00 a.m. on Christmas morning, it’s going to be quite a weird sight this year when we have far less cardboard strewn across the fireplace room. And that all stems from us growing older and knowing that sometimes it’s easier for everyone to gift money or just one or two gifts to each other.

We used to be a family of excess, always spending on whatever we wanted at the time. And I think it put a little bit of stress financially on my parents and then my brother and I after we left the house. But in the past year or two, we’ve all experienced financial revivals, thanks to being able to knock out large amounts of debt.

And so now we find ourselves much more focused on the family time, the memories we make playing cards or talking about our futures, than ever before. I think that’s truly invaluable, and it’s why spending less around the winter holidays is such an underrated thing in American culture.

So, despite the fact that we’ll see far fewer shipping boxes scattered around this year, I think we’re all looking forward to it more than any other year thanks to the stress we’ve eliminated around the holidays. If only other families could see these things and what the correlation is, I think so many people would be happier than they currently find themselves. The whole idea of giving and getting gifts is meant to create a sense of a “rush” when you open something, and it’s the peak of consumerism when you really sit down and consider why we do it in the first place.

So, I encourage you to think about spending your time or money elsewhere than material things around these holidays, as experiences are infinitely better than something that you won’t use in just a year.

Since the last few years, I’ve become extremely interested in subscription based companies that send products straight to your doorstep for a recurring monthly fee. In practice, it’s one of the most genius ideas ever. As for “convenience”, that’s something too subjective for me to comment on. It’s up to you as a consumer to decide what is convenient for you and what isn’t worth it. For me, going to the store to get something is always cheaper, even if a little inconvenient.

Nonetheless, I’ve become a big fan of streaming services for media, since those actually do save you tons of money while also being readily accessible on demand, whenever you need it. Since it’s not a physical product, it’s something that makes more sense for me to be subscription based.

But one thing has gotten me quite interested in physical products, and it’s my overall health. I’d rather not contribute my money to big name grocery stores for my health products, especially since they don’t seem to sell a lot of the vegan items I look for whenever I’m out shopping to renew my conditioner, body soap, and even toothpaste.

That’s why I’m also interested in going to a subscription based toothbrush company. It seems to be far more sustainable and less plastic is used, all for roughly the same price (or just a little more). I don’t normally buy into these companies when sending shipping boxes to my home, but for my health I think I can make an exception.

And what makes these so successful is the perceived value involved. When you get a new electric toothbrush with refillable heads every three months, it seems incredible that you paid the price you did for such a thing when quality electric toothbrushes can cost upwards of $50 to $100.

Just as well, the convenience of not having to remind yourself to buy new toothbrushes every three months is pretty huge. I’ve always been bad about changing out toothbrushes whether I’m sick or the bristles have become bad.

So, just like any subscription-based product, toothbrushes are taking off and doing extremely well in American culture. People love to have money withdrawn from their account for them so that they don’t have to actively make a purchase or go out to get something if the shipping boxes can be delivered to their door. And to be honest, you can’t blame consumers who do this, since the vast majority have subscribed to something similar in this age.

I’m at the point in my life where having kids is expected soon, both from the standpoints of my family and from society. The problem with this, though, is that outside perspectives should never matter in making the choice to have kids. What’s unfortunate is that so many people out there succumb to societal or familial pressure and end up having children for the wrong reasons or at the wrong time. Ultimately, this impacts the way those children are raised and treated along the way.

So, my partner and I have discussed many times how much we’re excited at the prospect of having children, yet also how excited we would be to forego that process altogether and travel instead. I think more people need to have this conversation before having kids. If anything, they’ll respect their decision to have kids much more than they would have if they never questioned it. And even better, they would have much more confidence moving forward and have agency in their choice to have children.

Don’t let me get on a tangent, though. While I’m still at a crossroads with my partner on this decision (we almost always agree on the topic, whether we’ve been swayed one way or another), there are still times when I think about how much fun it would be to do little projects or play little games with our future child.

In fact, there would be no shortage of things to do with our kids since we always talk about the what ifs. I know we’ve mentioned on several occasions how we’d enjoy doing some arts and crafts with a rough bunch of shipping supplies, art tools, paint, and canvases. It wouldn’t take much, yet it would be something that our child would remember for a long time while also being educational and growth-oriented in developing their creativity and wonder of the world.

So, I guess you can say we get jealous of others who have toddlers that they get to play with. And even though the thought crosses our minds regarding how much we really would like to spend time building or painting things with things that save us money like shipping supplies, we’re reminded of all the money we’d be able to save to do other things in life if we chose to not have a child.

All in all, I’m just happy that we are choosing to make this a decision we dwell on for awhile, as there’s really no rush at all to deciding one way or another. If it feels right at a specific time, we’ll know. Whether that “right” feeling means we want children or not remains to be seen.

Like many things in life, the video game industry (and gaming as a hobby) is constantly adapting to new demands and competitors, which ultimately pushes gaming in a better direction than it was before. Without competition, cutting edge technology, and innovative ideas, it would become a stale hobby that wouldn’t last long. Luckily for gamers like me, that’s not the case and won’t ever need to be so long as developers are thinking outside the box and constantly pushing boundaries.

Within the last decade, there’s been a major shift in thinking when it comes to physical game copies versus digital game downloads.

I distinctly remember back in early college when games were beginning to be available for digital preorder and download, and a lot of my friends (as well as I) thought that physical copies were superior simply because you could own the copy itself as well as the box it came in and anything else accompanying the box art. There was something ritualistic about ripping open the shipping supplies and getting to play your brand new game that the digital experience just couldn’t provide.

Fast forward to today, however, and I’m pretty sure a lot of gamers have warmed up to the idea of digital downloads. Perhaps people no longer want to worry about getting their game at release since physical copies require going to a store and you have to worry about how many copies they’ve got available. Just as well, losing your disc or cartridge means you no longer own that game. But when you buy a game online with an online account, you’ll always “own” that game and it’ll never not work for you when you boot it up. Even better, there aren’t any shipping supplies to worry about throwing away or causing excess plastic to be used since everything is digital and stored on your hardware.

The cool thing about digital vs. physical is that neither one has to upend the other. Both can exist in perfect harmony, since some players like showing off their collection of games and prefer having everything they own in a physical format whereas others enjoy the idea of never worrying about the condition of their cartridge or game since it’s all digital. No matter which you prefer for your games, you can at least appreciate that you have an option on how you prefer your game to be stored and played.

When it comes to decorating your house for the fall and winter holidays, there are a lot of different accepted tricks of the trade that you’re likely quite familiar with. Most people don’t just decide to decorate their entire house out of the blue if they haven’t done it before. Rather, they’ve been doing it for years and have learned the do’s and don’ts of decorating for the holidays.

Today, we wanted to remind you of some lesser used items that can make all the difference in your festive endeavors to end the year right. A few are basic shipping supplies, items that almost everyone has lying around in their drawers. Others are simply materials that get overlooked in favor of other more expensive options.

Nonetheless, if you’re looking to try something new, save time and money while decorating, and have it all come out looking exactly as you envisioned, you’re in the right place. Read on!

Zip ties.

Honestly, this is my number one item year in and year out, no matter if it’s for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, or just summer seasonal decor. Zip ties get the job done without fail, and they’re incredibly easy to use and to remove, and they’re very affordable and abundant, at that.

Don’t forget to buy a pack of these whenever you’re low. Zip ties serve many more uses outside of putting up wreaths or garland or other materials. There’s a reason they’re everywhere.

Box cutter.

I’m not sure about you, but I like to use cardboard and other shipping supplies when I’m decorating my home for the holidays. First off, a boxcutter can get cardboard panels much more specified than ripping it, something you don’t ever want to do if you’re looking for uniformity. Just make sure to hold the box cutter away from your body and cut away as well. There are some safety mechanisms in most box cutters, but you don’t want to risk something if you don’t have to, right?

Command hooks.

Ahhh, the ease of use with command hooks is so welcomed. There’s no more guessing and stressing about how you’re going to get something to hang from your concrete wall. Instead, just slap on a few command hooks and hang whatever it is you’ve been trying to put up. (Make sure to check what hooks can hold how much weight.) You’ll be surprised at how handy these are, and there’s a lot to be said about their adhesive being quite strong.

On a day to day basis, we all seem to ignore or gloss over commonplace things and items and concepts without truly recognizing their importance. It’s as if we have a filter over our brains that shuts us off to the items we know well enough, so that we’re always only looking for something new or interesting.

The first thing that comes to mind for this? Technology. It’s truly astounding how much of it is around us without actually being visible. Smart phones practically line every single pocket around the world, computers are in every building, and speakers and monitors riddle every room. This list doesn’t even include the numerous and random pieces of tech around kitchens, offices, and so forth.

But something that really sticks out to me on the daily is shipping boxes. For something so simple, cheap, and easily destructible, cardboard is quite honestly everywhere. I see it at work. I see it in my home. I see it in restaurants, outside along roads, and in stores wherever I shop.

One of the places I recently saw it was at a concert. The venue was quite small but the headlining band was actually a rather popular group. I was quite surprised that the venue was the size it was for the name of the band performing, but that wasn’t something I’d ever be upset about. The show lasted around 3 hours considering there was an opening act, too.

But the cardboard I saw around the place was just interesting to me. I saw a few boxes sitting up on the stage behind the bands’ gear, first off. This was something I don’t usually see at concerts, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Also, one place I saw other shipping boxes that wasn’t surprising was at the merch table. There were at least 20 different boxes containing shirts, stickers, albums, hats, and an assortment of other gear.

It’s just funny to me how often these sorts of things show up in your everyday life, yet half of the time or more you don’t actually pay attention to those everyday items. It’s not necessarily to say that you need to consider all sorts of commonplace things on the daily, but from time to time, it’s worth stopping and taking the time to appreciate the things that go unnoticed yet are used more than so many other things. Another one is plastic. Whether it’s containers, bottles, pens and other office supplies, or random things around your work office or home, plastic is absolutely everywhere.

Oftentimes, it’s nice to have heavier furniture or appliances simply so they don’t move around when they’re nudged, sat in, opened, and so forth. It can be bothersome to constantly fix where they’re sitting on your floor, and even then, you may worry about the safety of your hardwood flooring or nice tile. But you may come to dread such weight in appliances and furniture simply since moving it whenever you move in or out of somewhere can take forever while also put significant physical strain on you.

But typically you’ll almost always need someone else to come help you move something for your own safety. Our few solutions? They’re no different: be sure to have someone helping you, even if these methods only require one person to do the moving itself. Getting items underneath big items still requires someone else to tip a piece of furniture or an appliance on its side so that you can slide a shim or whatever beneath the object.

Check out these easy and cheap ways of moving your furniture when its just too heavy.

Lifting straps.

Furniture lifting straps are relatively uncommon, yet they’re some of the most genius things to assist lifting heavy items. Some straps hold onto your forearms inorder to quickly and easily get started on moving items, whereas others have a harness that goes around your midsection for even heavier items. We suggest that you start thinking about investing in these if you’re young enough to need them for the rest of your life or old enough to need them for the safety of your back.

Using basic packaging supplies.

Honestly, this is a pretty much free investment in moving heavy things. Excess cardboard boxes can be broken down into little buffer pads that allow you to drag heavy things across carpet, hardwood floor, and linoleum easily enough to not have to really lift the object off the ground. When the cardboard is flat and on the ground, it’s not hard to move things around by sliding them, and you don’t have to worry about the furniture damaging your floor.

And this is the reason why this method really shines. Protecting your floor means you won’t have to worry about the feet of the furniture or appliance dragging against whatever flooring you have down since the cardboard will be between the two. And a bonus? Such packaging supplies are absolutely cheap (or almost free) considering everyone has some laying around.

Moving blankets.

These are best for protecting furniture during the shifting caused by moving vehicles, but they can also double as a dragging blanket. Much like the use of cardboard, putting a furniture blanket beneath heavier items makes it easy to drag your furniture along flooring without damaging the flooring or the item. This method makes it much easier to actually drag heavy items in comparison to small shims that could accentally be thrown away.