Correspondence: Sincerely, domestic.

Week two of tackling the art of domesticity. After my first post, I asked some friends about what they thought I should learn before abandoning dorm life for the off-campus frontier. Among some of the funny, painfully true responses they came up with – correspondence made the list. An important aspect of owning a home is your address. No other abode in the world has it! The best use of an address, in my eyes, is communicating through my favorite method of communication: snail mail. Whether you're creating invitations, thank you cards, or just keeping up through the written word - the art of mail is an understated knack that I hope to pick up.

I love the postal system for many reasons:

1. It’s personal & thoughtful. Anything you receive in the mail (minus junk mail) was sent specifically to you. That means somebody was thinking of you and thought highly enough of you to spend 44 cents to mail you something that took them time to compose. (By the way, if you’re not sure how much a stamp costs, visit my friends at www.howmuchisastamp.com, it’s hilarious.)
2. Stationary is one of my favorite things to buy!
3. The notion of a mailman placing letters intended for you is much more charming than that of an internet server, delivering e-mail after e-mail to an address that isn’t really your name.
4. I am a summer camp counselor! Mailing is how I received birthday wishes, sent notes of encouragement to my pals working at other camps, and got news on how my family was doing. In those months at camp – an envelope with your name on it meant a brighter day! Also, now that’s how I keep up with my little campers.
5. If my friends know two things about me, it’s that I love coffee & hate cell phones. Cell phones demand your time & they want a response NOW. I’m a more relaxed personality. Mail craves your reply, but is patient.

All in all, it’s a lovely concept in my eyes.

Three things that I wanted to explore while learning the art of correspondence were appropriate greetings and farewells, unconventional mailing tactics, and how to make crafty stationary rather than buying it. 

Greetings & Closings:

Library Online: this link is a great resource for the dos and don’ts of addressing people of title. For example, how should I write a letter to the former president of the United States, the pope, an Indian chief or an earl?

Write Express: this link is a great resource for a very understated aspect of the letter: the closing. What if you confused a businessman by closing with “Love, Geraldine” or puzzled someone that you care for by ending with a cold “Regards, Jack”… picking your final written words is nearly as important as the content of the letter. This resource has so many to choose from! My favorites from the list are:

• All best, always,
• Cheers,
• Health & Happiness,
• Warmly,

And my favorite:

• Truly,

Unconventional Mailing Tactics:

• Sending inflated bouncy balls with the message written on it
• Sending whole fruit with the message on it (watermelon or cantaloupe work great – but the postage can get pricey!)
• Mailing a beach ball, not inflated. The message is readable once the receiver blows it up.

Also, I dabbled in making some crafty, personalized stationary for a pal who just moved and has a new address. It’s sort of a house-warming gift. Playing around with monograms, computer shortcuts, and even knitting made for a fun, personal process.  I’ll post pictures once my camera starts acting properly!

I encourage you to take seven and a half minutes to write a letter this week. Some might consider mailing things old-fashioned, but it's a guaranteed way to make somebody's day!