Annnnnnd that’s all the posting for the Christmas season. Have a great holiday. Things will resume around here on Monday, December 28.

Well folks, I’m going to be going to Portland, Oregon for a week-long vacation. Hurrah! I love Portland!

Blogging will resume again on Monday, September 28. Have a great week.

SavvyHousekeeping is mentioned in the current issues of Sunset Magazine. They used some of my musings on their article on raising chickens. Sweet! I am obviously a fan of the magazine.

On Monday, May 11, I will have been writing Savvy Housekeeping for six months. So happy half-year birthday, blog.

I am celebrating this milestone by … going on vacation. Not from the blog. My real life vacation just happened to correspond with its birthday. I am going to Puerto Rico for a week. Normal blogging will resume on May 19th. Adios!

Thanks to Cathy at Cathy’s Kitchen Journey for giving SavvyHousekeeping its very own Lemonade Award. I display it with pride:

Now the rules are as follows:
- Add the logo in your blog.
- Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
- Nominate 10 other (refreshing…like lemonade) blogs of your choice.
- Don’t forget to add links to those blogs in yours.
- Also leave a message for your nominees in their blogs, informing them about the award.

In no particular order:

1. FatFree Vegan Kitchen
2. Angry Chicken
3. Everything and Nothing
4. needle book
5. 80 Breakfasts
6. Smart Kitty
7. The Glass Doorknob
8. CraftyPod
9. Chocolate & Zucchini
10. Orangette

I believe in New Year’s Resolutions. They work for me, I think, because they are a way of planning the year. It’s a way of helping myself get to where I want to be at the end of the year, not a way to punish myself if I don’t make it. So here’s a few I’m making for 2009:

1. Save at least 10% of our income, although 20% would be better

2. Save another $2000 to go on vacation in April

3. Cut down on eating out and stick to our food budget

4. Finish remodeling the guest bathroom

5. Put crown molding in the bedroom

6. Remodel the big bathroom

7. Paint the outside of the house

8. Install a mantel over the fireplace

10. Landscape the front yard

Looks like we’re going to be busy…

What are your resolutions for 2009?

Below is my favorite Christmas song, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, sung by Judy Garland. This was my favorite part of Meet Me in St. Louis, which is an awesome film if you haven’t seen it. The lyrics seem especially relevant this year, what with the recession and all.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be
out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yule-tide gay
Next year all our troubles will be
miles away
Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who were dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon, we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Listen here.

Savvy:

1. the maintenance of a house or domestic establishment or household affairs..
2. ongoing routine, procedures, operations, and management.

The way I see it, savvy housekeeping gets down to a few components:

Frugality – It’s not so much that frugality is about saving money as much as it is about using resources to their fullest. Being frugal means finding ways to pay less for things, recycling and reusing what you have, and doing projects yourself instead of paying someone else to do it.

Efficiency – Increasing efficiency in a house means setting up systems that streamline chores and do the work for you. Whether it’s installing an energy efficient dishwasher or organizing your closet, the idea is to make life simpler overall.

Prettiness – A nice house is pleasant to be in. Whether it’s the flowers on the table or a freshly scrubbed sink, it’s that extra oomph that makes a home a home.

When I’m doing anything related to my house, these are the values I apply to it. I believe in DIY (do-it-yourself) projects, gardening, and cooking. I believe in spending as little as possible on housekeeping so I can put my money toward more interesting endeavors. I don’t like repetitive chores or time wasters and I try to avoid them.
I have a dream that someday my house will run like an elegant machine that is efficient, clean, inexpensive, and nice to look at. Here are some things that are helping me get closer.