Save Money with These Creative and Frugal Christmas Shopping Ideas!

Christmas shopping is in full swing and if you're like us, you don't want to spend your savings. One way to be green as a family is not to spend on unnecessary items. But you don't want to sacrifice the quality of your giving as well.  Below, are a few tips to saving money while adding genuine heart to your holiday giving. 

Be the Gift: Depending on your skill set, you can offer coupons for your services.  And if you feel that's too slight, offer a menu for them to choose from - or even consecutive services, like housecleaning, massage or hair cuts. You'll get to give a gift without spending any cash, your receiver gets to save money and you've not only given a service, but also your time, which is far more valuable.  It’s a win-win for both.  Another idea is to give a child in your life a gift certificate to spend the day together.  You can then spend that time going to a park, bike riding, or numerous other things that are light on the pocketbook but full of great memories.

Get Organized: Be organized about your Christmas shopping; write down who you need to buy for, and how much you’ll spend on each person.  Then, stick to that number.  Make a commitment to yourself that you won’t go over budget.  If you start shopping early, hunt for the deals, and incorporate creative giving, you’ll be able to get a lot more for that budget number too. 

Be a Deal Hunter: Does your family always go out to eat for Christmas?  Maybe you or someone else in your family could host a potluck instead.  Have to travel to see family?  How about driving or taking the bus instead of flying?  Or maybe you could fly out to see family after the holidays and get a cheaper ticket price.  Knowing the best tips for getting the cheapest flights can save you hundreds of dollars. 

Invest in Health: Without our health, we are nothing!  Invest in a the health of a loved one! Buy them a wholesale membership for a nutritional supplement or essential oils company - allowing them wholesale access to the therapeutic products the love and enjoy! 

Give Clean: Green families do well to pass on the gift of clean!  Create your own cleaning supplies for your loved ones, made of natural, organic ingredients, or buy direct from Bayes. The toxic ingredients in conventional household cleaners are wreaking havoc on our health, and it's time we take more control of our health (and the health of the environment) with organic cleaning supplies. Easy to make and more affordable to buy than you may think.

Christmas shopping doesn’t have to put a dent in your savings, and it doesn’t have to be a stressful event.  With a little planning and preparation, it can even be fun. 

From all of us at Bayes, happy holiday shopping! 

Give the Gift of An Eco Kitchen this Christmas!

If you've been worrying about what perfect gift to buy for your family or loved one, consider making
your kitchen more eco friendly!

Eco friendly kitchens allow for more sustainable practices to be in order, allowing your family a high quality kitchen experience with the added peace of mind that comes with knowing you are doing your part to keep the planet clean.

A great way to do this is to install granite counter tops. Have you heard about them? They are an incredibly affordable way to keep your kitchen green.  Here are the benefits:

-Durable
Granite is a great countertop material because it's incredibly durable. It's difficult to scratch it, allowing it to take a great deal of abuse from heavy cooking, entertaining, family, children and pets.
It's also ideal as it can handle high temperatures

-Style
Because granite is a natural substance formed over time, each piece has its own unique charm, color and patterning. This means, that no matter where you install your granite countertop,  you can be assured of it's one of a kind individuality. However, there are still enough similarities that will allow you to color match easily to any cabinet and hardware.

-Easy to Care For
Granite countertops are not only long lasting but also resistant to bacteria and easy to care for as well. To clean on a daily basis, you just need some gentle soap, warm water and a soft sponge.  For regular care and maintenance, you want to make sure you also condition the granite countertops as well. For this purpose, we at Bayes, have developed an organic granite counter top cleaner that will not only clean but condition and seal the counter tops for the best, most durable lasting finish.

Granite counter tops ad both style and usability to your home, not only bettering the quality of life you enjoy in the kitchen, but adds value to your home as well.

We hope you are as excited about gifting granite counter tops as we are.  As you consider what to give your loved ones this holiday season, we hope you will gift them the gift of a green home.

Happy Holiday Shopping!