While pondering what to write about this week, I visited one of my favorite websites and discovered November 18th was Use Less Stuff Day. This brought back memories of how my sister would have her kids select toys to donate to charity before Christmas. I then got thinking about how we can celebrate Use Less Stuff Day and make it a family tradition. The idea of a Reverse Advent Calendar came to mind.

What is a reverse advent calendar, you ask? A reverse advent calendar is where you give something away each day, instead of getting a yummy treat. Reverse advent calendars have been popular with food banks for several years, but there are ways you can use this idea to reduce the stuff in your house.

Calendar Types

1. Family Members - Assign a day to each family member to donate an item. There are no wrong items. One person can donate a book and another can donate measuring cups.

2. Specific Items - This style of calendar can be child-specific or can include the entire family, for children include items such as toys, books, games, and clothes. If you want to include the family add items such as home décor, toiletries, and DVDs.

3. Select a Charity - As a family select a charity and build a calendar based on their wish list.

4. Kindness Calendar - If you are one of those lucky families that live with less create a Kindness Calendar. Include acts of kindness such as mail a letter to your grandparents, bake cookies for a neighbor, talk to someone new at school

Expert Tips

1. Work as a family to make the calendar and create a special area for the donations.

2. Choose a time of day for the donation to be made; allow the donor time to speak about the item and why they selected it.

3. If possible, deliver the collected items on Christmas Eve.

4. Reverse advent calendars are a great idea for the workplace as well.