Are you in the process of moving? I feel for you my man (or woman), I really do. There is no doubt in my small mind that moving has to be one of the more stressful things to deal with, at least in a privileged, first-world country where we don’t have very many real problems. Moving is hard because you have to pack up your entire life into a bunch of cardboard boxes and try to find places to fit them into random trucks, trailers, vans, and whatever else you might be moving with. Not only does it take a lot of time and energy to try to pack up everything in your house, moving can also get pretty expensive when you factor in the cost of gas, moving companies, other random purchases that always come up, and it is especially costly when you factor in the opportunity cost, since you’re spending time packing up your stuff rather than at work and making money. That’s why, for as much of my life as possible, I have completely avoided moving to a new place or out of my home unless I really have to. However, since I’m so old (I turned 69 last month), I have done my fair share of moving and you would not believe the stories I have. Since I am so knowledgeable in this area, I wanted to take the time to come up with a few tips and tricks for moving novices like you who may have absolutely no clue what they’re doing. 

The first tip I have for you is to try to not do it all by yourself. Even if you live alone in your small studio apartment, moving by yourself is too much of a daunting task to put yourself through. I highly suggest that you request for family or friends to come help you move, because you’ll find that the moving goes way quicker and hopefully you won’t feel as lonely or whatever. If you can’t find any friends or family that want to come help, or you don’t have either of those things, then I feel really bad for you.

Like seriously, that is really sad, and I hope you can make some better friends wherever you’re moving too. Another tip when packing is to pack things in the opposite of the order you’d need them. For example, the first things you want to pack are the things that you use the list amount on a daily basis. So this would be things like old books, clothes, or appliances that you aren’t currently using and just have sitting in a closet or something. The benefit of this is that you can start packing without completely upending your life, and you will have an easier time unpacking because all the stuff you use regularly will be right on the top of the cardboard boxes you are using.

A final tip I have for you is to make a moving budget. Like I said earlier, moving can get really expensive if you are not careful and you may find yourself spending way more than what you were planning on. That’s why it is important to carefully set aside money for moving and stick to that budget. I wish you luck with your move and hope this was helpful!

Baking has been the chosen pastime and hobby for many people over hundreds of years. While people started out simply baking to survive and not starve, things have changed quite a bit thanks to the development of better agricultural structures and more economically advanced societies. Nowadays, no one really needs to bake to survive. In fact, most people avoid baking altogether because it can be strenuous and is not really necessary for most people to do in their everyday lives. However, baking has always been a huge passion of mine for as long as I can remember. It was something that I started doing at a very young age with my mom. Not only was it a crucial part of my development and my relational well being regarding my mother, but baking offered me an opportunity to really get involved with something productive from a very young age. 

Baking is great because it can be something you do with your loved ones and the people who are close to you. I used to help my mom out in the kitchen many days when she would be busy baking, because she spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals and whatnot. I started out doing more menial tasks like stirring or mixing that did not involve much competency in the baking world. However, as I got more used to being in the kitchen, my mom would let me take on more responsibilities like adding ingredients, measuring, shaping, and all sorts of other things that I feel too lazy to try to mention in this article. I also did a fair share of eating when I was in the kitchen. Whether there was spare candy left in candy boxes, cookie dough, cake batter, fruits, nuts, and the like – I was always snacking my way through the bake. My mom would jokingly scold me, but she pretty well did the same exact thing as me so she couldn’t be too mad.

We baked all different kinds of pastries and cookies, cakes and pies, and other sweet or savory treats. There were always specific occasions in which we would bake particular treats, especially around the holidays. We always baked a cake that was shaped like a lamb to have on Easter, as this was a tradition for my mom when she was growing up. The lamb would be made of white cake and covered in white buttercream with coconut shavings. It was seriously a real treat to have every year, but was definitely hard to make. My least favorite part of baking was always the cleaning up – I hated trying to wipe down the counters, and throwing away all the unused ingredients and candy boxes was sometimes a pain in the neck. But it was worth it in the end to be able to have some delicately crafted and baked good that we could then share with the people around us.

The best part of baking is definitely getting to eat whatever you make afterwards. It is a supreme display of instant gratification – eating cookies that are hot out of the oven and feeling them melt in your mouth is probably one of the best experiences a human can enjoy. It is also nice to have something that you can bring to your friends, neighbors, family, or community so that other people can enjoy the fruits (or cookies) of your labor as well.

Now I know what you are probably thinking right now; I am not ready to read another article that simply tells me how I am living my life wrong but does not offer me any guidance on how to change it. Well, you’re in luck. I have a lot to say when it comes to the world of eCommerce and consumer products. I think there are several things that everyone should be aware of when buying things online. In addition, I think it is important to know which products you should be buying online compared to which ones you should buy in a brick and mortar store. Hopefully this article will give you some insight into the world of eCommerce as well as be a guide to how you can change your buying and spending habits when it comes to shopping online.

First of all, it is important for me to tell you that the world did not always used to be this way. I remember back to when the internet was in its infancy stages, and buying things online was almost unheard of on a regular basis. In fact, most things were bought in person or over the phone (if you ever saw those infomercials then you know what I am talking about). Nowadays, almost everything can be bought online. No matter where you look on the internet, there is always someone trying to sell you something at every turn you take. Google now constantly tracks our data and monitors the things we look at, making it easier for consumers to be targeted by ad campaigns. However, I firmly believe that there are some things nowadays that are truly better to buy online. The internet has its downfalls and all of its negative effects, but if one looks at the optimistic side of things, they can see the internet as a cheap and convenient way to purchase some of the things they love most about life.

To start off with, I’ll say that you should almost always buy computers online. What’s better to buy over the internet than another vessel in which you will use to buy more things off the internet? All jokes aside, many companies offer sweet discounts and promo codes when you shop online, and you have to be taking advantage of any discount you can get when buying something that pricey. Plus, your new computer will arrive at your home among various cardboard boxes and you do not even have to drive to the store to pick it up. Now that’s a deal! I started buying any of my new tech gadgets online and have seen a lot better deals and discounts come my way compared to when I was still shopping in stores.

Another product you should be buying online instead of in person is textbooks. If you are a college student and you have been buying your textbooks from your campus bookstore or something like that, I have bad news for you; you have been wasting so much time and money. Buying textbooks online is truly the best way to do it. I always have my textbooks delivered to my dorm room in cardboard boxes or packages that keep them safe and undamaged. Honestly, the internet may be the most influential thing when it comes to our economy.

Ever since I was little, I have always fully enjoyed baking as a pastime and hobby. I began my introduction to baking as a young boy, and oftentimes would help my mom in the kitchen with various baking endeavors and the like. My wonderful mother would let me help in small ways during the baking process. Whether it was opening the candy boxes, mixing some of the ingredients in, or setting timers on the kitchen timer to keep track of our various bakes, I always loved to be helping out in the kitchen. As I grew older, my mother and I continued our tradition of baking together most weekends, and I was trusted with more responsibilities like adding the sugar, eggs, beating, kneading, and all other sorts of baking things that one does in the kitchen.

It made my sisters a bit jealous of all the time I could spend with my mom, but they did not see baking as a hobby and a great pastime like I did. For my sisters baking was more of a chore than anything else. I do not see how anyone could see baking as a chore, it is one of my absolute favorite pastimes. Regardless, I definitely developed my passion for baking even more as I grew older. The great part of baking is that you can often bless other people with the finished product of your baking. I remember back to countless times of bringing cookies or brownies to church on Sundays on a small platter to have out in the church lobby next to the coffee and other odds and ends. It seemed like such a small way to serve others but it always brought me great joy to share my bakes with others and it feels very rewarding. People at church even began to expect baked goods from my mom and I every week, though I’m sure no one would have been mad if we decided to stop.

Nowadays I continue to bake in my own home, though I will always think back on my childhood baking with my mom with fond memories. During holidays when I go back to visit my parents, my mom and I like to do some extra special baking adventures to make up for lost time that we are away from the kitchen together. The kitchen counter will be cluttered with various baking ingredients, candy boxes, rolling pins, and mixing bowls, and we do a poor job keeping the flour contained into the baked goods, but we always have a good time together. 

Last Christmas, my mom and I made a huge assortment of baked goods for our friends and family. We made a large gingerbread house with loads of frosting, marshmallows, candies, and other treats that remained as a centerpiece on the dining room table for quite some time. It was hard work to prevent the little cousins from eating it, but eventually we caved and let them eat it in the end. We also spent time making a few delicious pies. My favorite pie has always been apple, but apple pie is not really something many people have around Christmas time. Either way, I always end up making apple pie regardless and many of my family have grown to enjoy it over other pies as well. We also make cherry pie and mixed berry pie if we have time.

2020 was a crazy year to say the least. I know from personal experience that the pandemic has changed a lot about our world and our society. Things that used to seem so normal are now a distant memory. Masks were required to be worn in all public places and this made going out in public a challenge at times. Consequently, people were spending a lot more time in their homes. This changed the way that people did their shopping. Before the pandemic, online shopping was becoming more and more popular with continued technological advancements. However, since so many stores and popular shopping spots were being closed down because of the pandemic, online shopping became the new thing for the year. I know for myself, I spent a lot of time indoors just playing video games and stuff like that. Unfortunately, the pandemic sent me home early from school and I was forced to finish my semester at home. After I finished my school work, I did not have much else to do. So like many others, I spent time online shopping and ordering stuff over the internet like the true gen-z that I am. 

If anything, 2020 was a perfect example of how easy it is to find and buy things online and get them at your door in cardboard boxes. Ecommerce companies were in a perfect position to capitalize on this. Some companies exist only as a middleman that will buy products from wholesalers online, then turn around and sell them in cardboard boxes or other packaging for a profit without ever even touching the product they are selling. There are some ethical and moral questions in play here when it comes to taking advantage of cheap labor and products just to make a quick buck, but these companies were greatly impacted by the COVID pandemic. One thing that was greatly increased with the pandemic was the use of Amazon. I know for me, I ordered a lot of products online from Amazon during the months of April and May of 2020. Not only is it easy to find almost anything on Amazon, they are a fairly trustworthy site with good customer service. Consequently, Amazon made a ridiculous amount of money over 2020. They did run into some supply issues, since Amazon works with other smaller companies that sell their products through the site. The problem Amazon ran into is that too many people were ordering certain products and they were not able to keep up with the demand.

The things that were out of stock always surprised me. Even something like a gaming computer, which I ordered in May of 2020, was out of stock for quite a few weeks. I had to wait a longer amount of time than I normally would have to get my computer. It was more difficult to work with the computer company from which I was ordering my computer, because their customer service was abysmal. I tried multiple times to reach the company through their support channels, but was mostly out of luck due to a high frequency of orders and calls.

After about 3 weeks or so of waiting and not being able to get a hold of the company, I decided to issue a refund through Amazon for my computer. Funnily enough, it was then that the company got a hold of me and told me they will be shipping my computer out the next day, with an additional discount for my troubles!