The kindness of strangers

I apologize that I haven't been posting very regularly, real-life has gotten in the way. What is always a busy season has become even more so with a crash of the economy and fear of lay-offs after January 1. It is a scary time, not just for me but everyone, however I hope the true story below will help you to remember that even in bad times, the kindness of strangers will win in the long run.

I live in a small quaint neighborhood. Wide tree lined streets, children playing in their front yards, dogs barking, neighbors being neighbors. In many ways it is an idyllic neighborhood.

One of the wonderful features of my neighborhood is a throw-back to my own childhood, the ice cream man. Back in the early spring the ice-cream man began to drive through our neighborhood each afternoon. Carousel style music from his van would fill the air and watching the excitement on the kid's faces is always magical.

The sweet simplicity of the ice-cream man was shattered on Wednesday, December 3rd, when less than a block from his home he was robbed and murdered.

Murdered for the small amounts of cash he had in his vehicle.

In the subsequent days after this senseless murder the carousel music went silent, but the cries of his family and our community have been overwhelming.

I never knew the Ice Cream Man, nor did the majority of our community.... we never knew him by name, we only knew him as a kind man who was working to bring back a simpler time, a time when the ice cream man was greeted by the squeals of children, sadly the senseless murder has also silenced those squeals.

In the days following the murder we learned a lot more about the Ice Cream Man. His name was Fresnel Atilus, a 32 year old, out of work construction worker. Mr. Atilus was a Haitian immigrant who, when he lost his job in construction, began selling ice-cream to support his wife and six-children.

From all accounts, all Mr. Atilus was trying to do was realise the American dream and support his family, a seventh child is on the way.

Although I never knew him, I was and still am heartbroken over Mr. Atilus murder. I didn't sleep the night of his murder, I just couldn't stop thinking about how this man had been gunned down for the money you would find on an ice-cream truck.

When I arose the next morning I decided I could be sad and do nothing, or be sad and do something, but what?

When I got to work, I sat down at my keyboard and began to write. I wrote an email to my friends and business associates, I told them how I never knew Mr. Atilus but how he affected my life. In a simple email I told his story. I asked my friends and associates to send me money, after all Christmas is just around the corner, there is a family with no father, a wife with no husband and six (seven) children who had been robbed of the magic an ice-cream man can make in your life.

I sent my email to about 60 people. Immediately I began to get emails back telling me a check would be in the mail that day. This past Monday, because of the kindness of strangers, I was able to drop off almost $2000 from people who never knew Fresnel Atilus. I am still getting checks. I received checks from people I don't even know, people who were sent the email from friends of theirs.

Many other people have stepped forward to help this family as well. A furniture store brought new mattresses and a dining room table, sadly the family had been sleeping on the floor. Toys and clothes have been donated by people throughout our community and a Fund was set up through a local bank to help the family with financial needs.

As sad as it is to think about someone being murdered for the money found on an ice-cream truck, the light of hope can be found through the kindness of strangers. My small contribution was minimal, but together many small contributions can, and will, make a difference for the family of the Ice-Cream Man, Fresnel Atilus.

My favorite new product.

A friend recently turned me on to this product and I LOVE it! Fabuloso is an all purpose cleaner that you can find in most big box stores. It cleans ANYTHING and leaves a wonderful fresh smell. I use the Ocean Paradise scent.

Try Fabuloso, I can't recommend it enough!

Fabuloso helps make Home Made Easy.

Change of plans

Last week I was telling you all how excited I was for Thanksgiving, I teased about my beautiful tablescape and the meal I was cooking. CHANGE OF PLANS!

The original plan was dinner at my house for 12, no big deal. As the week went on, the neighbors and I started talking and several people didn't have anywhere to go. Others had family coming in that they didn't want to be trapped with and with this in mind we decided to all have Thanksgiving together. One problem, 30 people.

Only one house in the neighborhood was large enough for all of us, so we moved the entire Thanksgiving celebration across the street.

We divided up the tasks for the meal and I was responsible for a vegetable and dessert. My life just got much easier!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving and really enjoyed our time together, but I must admit I was disappointed as I enjoy cooking the meal and doing the tablescape, but alas neither was necessary.

I did want to share with you what I had planned for the tablescape and apologize that there are no photos, but like I said, it never happened.

• Plain white linen cloth
• Antique crocheted overlay
• Wrought Iron Candelabra that runs the length of my table
• Petite votives
• Assorted photos in frames of various sizes of family and friends who I am thankful for. The photos would be interspersed along the table and at varying heights.
• Cobalt blue linen place mats
• Solid white china
• Silver flatware
• Cobalt blue water glasses
• Long stem crystal wine glasses
• Blue and white plaid linen napkins with silver napkin rings
• Place cards were to be my special message to each guest. On a white card and written in silver ink the card would say "Leigh, I am thankful for your kindness." "Clint, I am thankful for your generosity." etc. etc.
• Each person was to also have "to go" bags. Using craft paper lunch bags and tied with festive ribbons, each person would have taken away their left-overs for the next day.

Oh well, it didn't happen this year. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your celebration was Home Made Easy.

Five Easy Budget Savers

The economy is in the tank and we are all struggling. I have been searching for as many cost savings tactics that I can successfully implement into my own household.

Today I share 5 easy cost-savings steps that you can put into effect in your own household to help get through these difficult times. I am always searching for more, so if you have any ideas, add them down in the comments section for others.

Dump the Dry-Cleaning

Until recently I was spending 40 - 50 dollars per week on dry-cleaning. I sent all of my work clothes out to be laundered. When the economic crunch hit, this was one of the first things I cut back on. Now, I am laundering all my work clothes at home. I have started ironing while I watch television and it isn't so bad. One of my biggest worries when I started doing my own laundry was wrinkles, I love heavy starch in my shirts and can't stand wrinkles. A friend told me about a great product, Downy Wrinkle Releaser, it really works and gives the clothes a nice fresh smell as well.

Weekly Savings $40

Yearly Savings: $2,080


Save Your Change

For years I have saved change. I don't ever spend it under any circumstance, I only spend bills. At the end of the day I have a large jar I put the change in. I average at least $1.00 per day in change. During the Spring I emptied the jar because it was full, imagine my surprise when I had $1,368.49 in change saved!

Weekly Savings $7

Yearly Savings $365

Internet Coupons

We all know about coupons in the newspaper, but in today's culture one of the most important marketing tools any company has is their website. Before I go to the grocery I make my shopping list and then check out websites. Product websites often feature coupons that you won't find anywhere else, check it out, on my last visit to the grocery I had $12 in Internet coupons, I am a single person household so I don't buy as frequently as most, you can do much better than $12.

Weekly Savings $12

Yearly Savings $624

Hang It

As a child I loved the smell of sheets that had been hung out to dry on the line. I have reinstated the clothes line tradition in my own backyard. I am fortunate this time of year it is still warm in south Florida, so I can hang year round, but whenever available I highly recommend it, a clothesline is a great cost cutter and it is good for the environment as well! As in the last hint, remember I am a single person household so my cost may be lower than yours, I usually do 5 loads of laundry per week total, I know people who do that many per day, but if you save just 50 cents per load, that comes to $2.50 per week.

Weekly Savings $2.50

Yearly Savings $130

Brown Bag It

One of the best cost savings tools you can do on a day to day basis is brown bag your lunch. I have started cooking roast and turkey breast that can be extended through the week, this helps keep lunch interesting and tasty. I can't brown bag it every day, but I am doing 4 days per week, I usually spend 8 - 12 dollars per day on lunch. Over 4 days at just $8 that is $32 per week, brown bag it and eat in a nearby park, you get some exercise walking to the park and save money in the process!

Weekly Savings $32

Yearly Savings (Based on 50 Weeks) $1600

Those are some easy cost cutting tools that have a big pay-off. Any idea how much we just saved with those 5 easy tips?

$4,799!!!

And that is how you live on a budget and reap the rewards, Home Made Easy!

Welcome

Welcome to Home Made Easy!

Before we begin let me say I do not profess to be a home expert. I am not a Martha Stewart, Vern Yip or even Doug Wilson. But I am pretty good around the house.

I live in a 1925 Spanish style home that I am renovating and have learned through trial and error how to get things done efficiently.

This blog is simply for fun and to pass along some of the ideas that I have. I try to do things cheaply but with a good outcome. I hope you will find the ideas in this blog to be easy to follow, fun and helpful.

If you have ideas, recipes, crafts or anything else that you think would be fun for me to include please let me know, I am always looking for ideas to make Home Made Easy.