The Bullet List {Michelle With Someday Crafts}

I am so excited about the subject today’s author chose, it just goes to show you the kind of woman she is.  Michelle is genuinely nice, thoughtful and super humble.  I say humble because when I had a chance to meet her recently she didn’t give herself nearly enough credit.  Just reading the about page and this list make me want to get to know her better, and be her neighbor .  She is just amazing.

Her blog Someday Crafts is easy enough to describe, I will just tell you what I overheard someone say about it recently at a conference.  “Instead of looking at a thousand craft blogs, I just go to Someday Crafts, she always finds the best ones.”  What started out as a place to document crafts she would like to do “someday”, is now a source people turn to when they need inspiration.  Michelle and her team filter through tons of posts a day, only to bring you the best and most unique ideas they have seen.  She also has a fun Giveaway directory, and weekly link ups that everyone can join in on.

Her list is something I want to work on so I was thrilled when I saw it.  I was reading a blog that directed me to an article that talks about how “we’ve lost our sense of community…no one just drops by anyone’s house for tea, or cookies, and then sits and chats away the afternoon talking about ‘nothing and everything’.  We’re all too busy for real life and the living, breathing person next to us.”  This rang so true to me.  And Michelle’s list is a fabulous place to start!

Michelle Johnnie

Ways To Unify a Neighborhood

• When a new neighbor moves in, take them a “Welcome” basket (or at least some cookies). I love this “Welcome” by Just A Girl.
• Organize a babysitting co-op so the adult couples can have a date night. If there are six couples who want to participate, each couple watches all the kids one Friday night while the other five go on a date (not necessarily as a group.) Rotate who watches the kids and who gets the dates. Five free date nights, one babysitting night! Sounds great!
• A potluck can be planned for any occasion. Rotate a monthly potluck. During the summer, have “open BBQ” night where people bring their meat or veggies to grill.
• Have themed parties and celebrate less popular holidays together. The favorite party our family hosted was this Redneck party! We’ve also had Chinese New Year, Cinco DeMayo, Cajun Night and St. Patty’s Cabbage and Corned Beef. Dance parties are a blast!!!
• Hold a kids’ parade. Have the kids decorate their bikes, big wheels, wagons and scooters! Let them ride up and down the street around the Fourth of July while the adults watch! If you live on a busy street, find a nearby church or school parking lot in which to hold the parade.
• Organize a neighborhood watch. If you know all your neighbors, you can recognize suspicious activity much more easily!
• During the summer, buy popsicles on sale and hand them out to all the kids that ride their bikes past your house! Offer them to adults/families that walk past!
• Organize service projects. You can either work on big projects in the neighborhood (like re-roofing a house, lanscaping, or cleaning up leaves) or serve somewhere in the community together! You can also do neighborhood garage sales to attract more buyers and get rid of junk!
• Share the responsibilities of teaching a pre-school. Depending on the age of the kids in the group, hold a mini pre-school at each others’ houses once or twice a week for the school year. Teach letters and numbers, do arts and craft projects and play! Rotate and save money!
• Put a bench, porch swing or chairs on your front porch or in your front yard. Spend time talking to people as they pass. Wave to cars as they pass. Spend time outside in your front yard (not just your backyard.)
• Invite a neighborhood family over for Sunday dinner. Play a board game or share a spiritual activity.
• If you live where it snows, shovel each others’ walks and driveways! Neighbors love that!
• Combine your leaf piles into one giant leaf pile and go crazy!
• Before school starts, organize a back-to-school fashion show. Each kid brings one or two new outfits to model to the rest of the neighborhood kids!
• Share your tools and expensive items with each other. If you have spray gun, share it with the people who are painting. Or offer to share your chainsaw with the neighbor who just had a tree die!

There are hundreds of activities and fun things neighborhoods can do to be unified. The most important activity of all is JUST TO TALK TO EACH OTHER! If there is someone you don’t know, go knock on their door! Remember to invite to them the activities whether they come or not!

The other point I want to make is that most people don’t care if you do NOT have the nicest, biggest, cleanest, most elaborately decorated house. Our house is 95 years old, in the midst of remodeling and NEVER spotless, but neighbors are often over visiting and having fun. During some of our parties, we have had sheetrock in our dining room. People love to feel important and included. Most people don’t care about appearance of others (only themselves).

I don’t know about you, but I am so having a redneck party!  It takes all the pressure off!  Now it is your turn, have you done anything fun to bring your neighborhood together?