The inauguration is almost here and that means there's lots of stuff to buy. All of the campaign buttons and bumper stickers we stocked up on during election season are now re-worked with the Obama family's faces and the famous January 20, 2009, date. So I went shopping and found a few neat places to load up on inauguration gear:

You might remember hearing about Political Americana, a small shop that I featured in a post about campaign gear. The shop, which sits at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street, is loaded with merchandise with inauguration insignias, including baseball caps for $14.99, tote bags for $19.99 and shot glasses for $5.99. The day will be a frigid one so you can pick up a thick fleece scarf with President-Elect Obama's sunrise campaign symbol and his signature for $14.99. That can cover up the Obama necktie you can snag with the words "56th Inauguration, January 20, 2009" for $9.99. Some of the sillier items include a $7.99 Mush Bush doll, featuring a likeness of President Bush's head made out of smushy material, a finger puppet of Obama that also sticks on the fridge for $9.99 and an Obama bobble head for $29.95.

Just down the street from Political Americana you'll find a good selection of inauguration gear at the newly renovated National Museum of American History. You'll find paper dolls of the Obama family for $7.99, glass paperweights of Obama's face and the American flag for $12 and organic cotton T-shirts in black with Obama's name and the date of the inauguration for $15 or a sweatshirt for $25.

The Culture Shop, a Washington store that sells mostly fair trade items, has a small selection of Obama gear, including a greeting card set of the Obama family with a message of hope inside the cards for $12. The store is also selling a T-shirt featuring Shepard Fairey's pop art collage of the president-elect's face for $19.95.

Many of you recommended CafePress.com as a place for campaign gear. Now the site has a load of inauguration items. You can pick one of their many designs, including "Obama Mama," "Barack Is How I Roll" and "Yes We Can" and have it added to everything from T-shirts to a throw pillows. The site also has a very artsy commemorative Rolling Stone inauguration T-shirt for $15.

What kinds of inauguration gear are you buying? Where are you getting your memorabilia?

Sometimes the best part about visiting one of our region's great museums is taking a swing through its gift shop. That's exactly what I did on a Sunday afternoon visit to the National Museum of American History, which recently re-opened after a two-year renovation. The museum has a large, wide-open gift shop on the main floor, one of three stores in the place. It has all the typical Washington souvenirs like key chains and T-shirts, but also features some interesting finds. The main store, which was moved from the basement to the main floor in the renovation, is representative of all what the museum is about, according to a spokeswoman. Everything in it is tied to the collection in some way.

Near the center of the shop is a display of Ralphie bags, designed exclusively for the museum shop by Washingtonians Crislyn Lumia and Maureen Shore-Brown, bag designers who launched their business in 2006. The small handbags, which feature interesting patterns and handles, range in price from $45 to $60.

You can also find replicas of the diamond-and-pearl-heavy jewelry collection of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Among the pieces are $90 bracelets, $75 chandelier earrings and an $80 inauguration ball-worthy necklace. The store also sells Kennedy's signature triple strand pearl necklace for $150. The actual necklace that the First Lady wore is on display in the museum.

You'll also find a nice choice of silk scarves, including a delicate pink and white cherry blossom design for $45.

A back corner of the museum also has a large collection of vintage signs. These heavy steel reproductions of advertisements were largely seen in the early 1900s. You can pick up a railroad crossing sign, a Harley Davidson ad, a Route 66 sign and Smiley's Rest Stop plaque for $25 to $30.

The museum also has a large toy section where you can fill a small bag with shiny colorful marbles for $6, find freeze-dried ice cream for $5 and a pair of Ruby slippers similar to those worn by Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" for $22. You can also find character T-shirts featuring some of Jim Henson's creations for $11.99 and a metal "I love Kermit" lunch box for $15.

The shop also features a large selection of books on politics and history, as well as mementos of the upcoming inauguration and the Obama family. It has the largest selection of Star-Spangled Banner merchandise, according to a museum spokeswoman.

What have you found at local museum shops? Who has the most unique items?

It's hard to say good-bye to an old friend, kinda like seeing your favorite store close. That's exactly what we've been doing for the last year. Saying good-bye to old friends like Linens 'n Things, The Sharper Image and The Bombay Company. Some retailers like Circuit City said they're just closing some stores to try to stay open, but the outlook is not good. I'll sorely miss Linens 'n Things, where you could get a decent set of sheets for under $50 and nice-looking bathroom and kitchen gear. I outfitted my first house with items from Linens 'n Things.

I could hear my mailman struggling to get a certain envelope through my mail slot recently. It was the credit card bill and I knew it was bad when it finally landed like a brick on the floor.

So my husband and I sat down and analyzed every line of our credit card statement. What we discovered was about $200 in monthly expenses that we could do without. Everything from a Netflix subscription that barely gets used to more than $100 a month in dry cleaning. While Shop To It is a blog about the act of purchasing, it has evolved into a blog about the act of making the smartest purchases. Together as blogger and reader we've debated everything from the best grocery deals and the true savings at warehouse shopping clubs to the best places to board our pets and who has the best deals on photo processing.

This first blog post of the year will hopefully be another great debate on the art of figuring out the must-haves and the nice-to-haves. Here are a few tips on what I learned from my own experience of trimming the nice-to-haves:

Tip #1: Analyze every line of your most recent credit card statement. Make a list of all the items that appear there every month. I'm talking about things like gym memberships, movie rental subscriptions and dry cleaning.

Tip #2: Set some rules for yourself before you start slashing some of those monthly expenses. Our children's activities, like my daughter's weekly art class, were hands off.

Tip #3: Ask yourself which of those monthly expenses are key to your survival and which are just a waste. You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget about expenses that just live with you without being too obvious. For example, my husband and I realized we don't take advantage of our Netflix membership enough. Our $10 a month subscription was cut, which will save us $120 in 2009. I cut the e-mail and Internet service on my cell phone, saving $30 a month or $360 a year.

Tip #4: Pinpoint the stores on your credit card statement where you're spending the most money. Go on a fast from those stores for a few weeks. I'm banned from Target during January because I'm one of those people who walks in with the intention of just buying toilet paper but ends up with $100 worth of additional items.

Tip #5: Shop around for cheaper services. It's so easy to just stick with a retailer because it's part of your routine. For years we've used the same dry cleaner for its convenience but I called others near our house and found a place that charges $1 less per shirt and $5 less per suit. (My motivation to find a cheaper dry cleaner was not only driven by saving some dough but by my husband's suggestion that I start ironing his shirts.) Also, call your phone company and cable provider to see if you can get a cheaper rate. You may have signed up for a premium package during a promotion period and not even realize that you're paying for channels or phone coverage that you never use.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to continue cutting our monthly expenses. The goal is to eliminate at least $20 per month. That could mean buying more generic products than name-brand. Or stopping myself from adding a magazine to my pile of groceries at the check-out line. And asking myself if I really need that 10th tube of lipstick. What are your New Year's resolutions? What have you done to cut your monthly expenses?

Shop To It readers are savvy shoppers and I know this from all the comments that have been posted to this blog over the last year. Some of the most interesting have come from my monthly posts on updating different rooms of your home for as little money as possible. And many of you have graciously shared your own war stories on updating kitchens, bathrooms, closets and home offices. Here are some of the best tips:

Tip #1: When it comes to re-doing the kitchen, consider soapstone for the countertops. Grachel K writes that it absorbs and radiates heat so you can put a hot pot on it. The reader also recommends industrial-grade vinyl tile as a cheap kitchen floor alternative.

Tip #2: Install a few sturdy, attractive, reasonably priced kitchen cabinets for the "public" part of the kitchen and store everything else in a big walk-in pantry, writes Rebecca.

Tip #3: Replace a double-basin kitchen sink for a single, deep sink to maximize counter space, writes stodge.

Tip #4: Make sure you spend your money on the stuff that really matters to you in the kitchen and go cheap with the rest, writes Laura.

Tip #5: Understand what does not work in the current kitchen and find a fix for it, writes Brian.

Tip #6: You can get the best deals on kitchen and bathroom necessities by shopping carefully online, many readers say.

Tip #7: Use Verastone for the bathroom sink countertop. Reader B says it looks like granite or silestone but was about 30 percent cheaper when ordered online.

Tip #8: Mike Sorce writes that he spent less than $1,300 on a complete bathroom update by careful shopping and sourcing trades people from Craigslist. He adds that his wife found a Corian countertop with a built-in sink on Craigslist for $200.

Tip #9: If you're handy, consider doing most of a bathroom update on your own and hire a plumber and electrician for the hard stuff, writes ATB.

Tip #10: When it comes to keeping closets clutter free, several readers live by the rule "one in, one out," which means that when a new item is purchased and brought into the closet, something old must go.

Tip #11: Install a shelf 8 inches off the floor in an entrance hall closet, leaving enough room for a vacuum cleaner. "It is out of the way but easy to get to and there is the shelf to hold all the stuff that accumulates on the floor of the closet," writes charlie1.

Tip #12: A functional home office should include a good file cabinet, a printer stand with a drawer for paper and a big basket on the bottom shelf for cables, routers, etc., writes Olney.

Tip #13: Leslie adds that you don't need a traditional desk, which can be pretty costly. She uses two height adjustable tables placed end to end.

What are some of the most important lessons you've learned when it comes to shopping for home project supplies? Have any shopping dilemmas? E-mail me at shoptoit@washingtonpost.com.

I recently wrote about the hunt for The Perfect Gift. We all want to give it and get it, but that doesn't always happen. So we sometimes have to schlepp back to the store to make the dreaded return. Stores say they have customer-friendly return policies. Even still, we have anxiety about returns.

Stores are adjusting their return policies this holiday season as a way to provide good customer service in a down economy, reports the National Retail Federation. The organization surveyed 82 loss prevention executives and more than half said their companies' return policies would be more lenient. The names of the companies were not revealed but in my informal survey of about a dozen stores, only Sears said it would extend its return policy to 120 days for items purchased between Nov. 16 and Dec. 23. You'll have 90 days to return electronics, software or mattresses. This is nothing new for the store, however. Sears has been giving these holiday extensions for several years, said a spokeswoman.

Here are a few tips for making returns a happier experience:

Tip #1: Carefully unwrap, don't destroy. The packaging of the gift that is. This should be repeated to children with every gift they open. If the gift giver isn't in front of you to hand you the gift receipt, it may be somewhere within the box and can easily end up in the trash. A gift return will go a lot smoother if you have a receipt.

Tip #2: Run, don't walk to the store if you do plan to return, even if you have a receipt. Stores have time limits for making returns and the deadline will creep up on you sooner than you think. Be especially mindful of Amazon.com's return policy: You have 30 days within delivery to return an item. So you'll have to factor in time for the package to make its way through snail mail back to the company.

Tip #3: Look around the store before making a beeline to the returns desk. You never know if something else will grab your attention. That gift could actually turn into something you really want or need.

Tip #4: Go straight to customer service to make a return. Most of the big stores like Target and Walmart will only make returns at their customer service desks so don't waste time waiting in line for a cashier.

Tip #5: Don't assume that all stores have companywide return policies. Many retailers give their individual stores discretion over returns, especially those that come in without receipts. Nordstrom, which is known in the industry for its excellent customer service, doesn't even have a formal return policy. Every return is handled on a case by case basis, said a spokeswoman. So if you're not happy with the way your return is being handled, ask for a manager.

Tip #6: A receipt-less gift return will likely result in a store credit in the amount of the item's worth at that point in time. If you're certain feelings won't get hurt, ask the gift giver for a receipt. 'Tis better to receive a gift that you really can use rather than a store credit for $2.36.

What have you learned from returning gifts? In your experience, which stores have the best return policies and which have the worst? Do you ever tell the gift giver that you returned their gift? (I say don't.)

There are three words that send shivers down my spine: The Perfect Gift. It's what we seek to give. But how do we define the perfect gift? And better yet, where do we find it? Is the perfect gift one in which the recipient starts crying tears of joy? Or is it the gift that cost you practically nothing and still manages to put a smile on their face? It's a hard question to answer and one I tackle every holiday season.

As the recipient, we crave the perfect gift for obvious reasons. As the sender, we want to give the perfect gift so we can be remembered, as well as enjoy that moment of making somebody truly happy. Anyone with kids in their lives knows the sweetness of seeing that unbridled enthusiasm when they open exactly what they wanted. And we definitely don't want to waste our money on things that will end up in the trash or on Craig's List.

At this time of year stores are convinced they have the perfect gift. And Web sites like PersonalShopper.com attempt to help you find the perfect gift by asking you a few questions about the recipient. Out spits a list of ideas. I experimented with one of these sites recently and the result was a list of very bizarre ideas that were completely unuseable. I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law, who I stated in the questionnaire loves music, isn't going to be all that thrilled with a Michael Jackson poster.

Then you have the online wishlists, which are the adult version of a letter to Santa. Amazon.com will let you generate a list for yourself and then e-mail it to whomever you want. Or they can "stumble upon it" by searching Amazon.com for your name or e-mail address. I reluctantly made one for my 5-year-old daughter this year because I knew her grandparents and aunts and uncle would be asking me what she wanted for Christmas. And... OK, I made one for myself too. I'll admit, it's great to get the perfect gift but the older you get, the more awkward it is to tell your family what they can get you for Christmas. Note to family: I will be perfectly happy with whatever you give me. I'll even cry if you want me to. Especially if I get that new laptop that I want.

So how do you generate gift ideas? How do you define the perfect gift? What's the best gift you ever received and what's the best gift you ever gave?

One day I will have windows that don't leak frigid air in the winter and hot damp air in the summer. One day I will have windows that don't require a ladder and extra life insurance to clean. One day I will have windows that slide up and down with ease. Replacing the windows in your home is a big financial endeavor and one I will likely undertake in my lifetime. I tapped the expertise of Celia Kuperszmid-Lehrman, deputy home editor at Consumer Reports magazine, who shed some light on when and how to shop for windows for the home.

Tip #1: Know when it's time to replace the windows. A few clues are whether you have single glazed or double glazed windows. You can tell by looking at the window and seeing if there are two pieces of glass together or one. You'll want to get rid of the single glazed. Vinyl windows bought in the 1970s are good candidates for replacement as well. "Some of those may be showing signs of age because they weren't as good at making the vinyl stiff," Kuperszmid-Lehrman said.

Tip #2: Don't replace the windows thinking you'll immediately start saving money on your heating bill. It should be considered an investment with long-term rewards, says Kuperszmid-Lehrman. The more immediate difference will be less noise coming in and an easier time opening, closing and possibly washing the windows.

Tip #3: Go with standard size windows. Custom sizes will add 15 percent to your bill, which for an average house can range from $7,000 to $20,000. Also consider a partial replacement, which means the frame around the window can be salvaged and just the actual window is replaced. You can also save money by only doing a few windows at a time. Start with the ones that are in the worst shape and in the draftiest part of the house, which is usually on the north side, according to Kuperszmid-Lehrman.

Tip #4: Don't cheap out on the installation. "This is one of those products where the person who installs it is nearly as important as the product," Kuperszmid-Lehrman says. Window installers should go through some of the same measures as any other contractor you hire. Check their references and see if they have had any complaints filed at the Better Business Bureau. Get multiple bids, with details of what they propose to do. Brush up on some of the installation lingo by getting a copy of the installation instructions for the windows you've picked out. Then you can ask lots of questions about how the windows will be installed and whether the contractor plans to deviate from those instructions at all.

Tip #5: Go with a factory-approved installer. That way, if there is a problem during the installation, you're not dealing with finger pointing between the window manufacturer and the installer. You can find a certified installer through the American Window and Door Institute and Installation Masters, two organizations that have certification programs.

Tip #6: If you're replacing the windows because they seem drafty, try caulking around them and the storm windows first. That, along with some weather-stripping solutions, could solve the drafty problem. "Do it in one of the rooms that's the leakiest," says Kuperszmid-Lehrman. Investing in storm windows and getting some of the windows repaired could also plug up the leaks.

Tip #7: Get new windows installed in the winter. Many people hesitate to do it in cold weather because they envision their house being open to the elements. Window installers may be have some deals and discounts during the cold months.

Have you had your windows replaced recently? What lessons did you learn? Where did you find the best deals?

Attention all present and future Wegmans fans. I have good news straight from a company spokeswoman. Alexandria may be one of the next locations for the beloved grocery store.

The new location, if approved, will be part of a mixed-use project at Telegraph Road and Beulah Street near the Fort Belvoir military base, according to Jo Natale, Wegmans' spokeswoman. The company has already signed a letter of intent for the store location and still has to sign a lease and wait for various jurisdictional approvals. "And as such, I can't speculate on an opening date," Natale said in an e-mail. Stay tuned Wegmans lovers.

This is good news for those of you who live inside the Beltway and are jealous of those who live farther out and get to shop at Wegmans in Fairfax, Woodbridge, Sterling or Gainesville. Readers in my last blog about Wegmans begged for a more urban location. Like stalkeyedfly who wrote, "PLEASE, Wegmans -- we need a grocery store in Penn Quarter. Do you know how happy I'd be if you opened one here?"

So what goes into a company's decision on store locations? How often have you seen an empty store front and thought to yourself, "Gosh, I wish they'd put a ____ there." It's not as easy as it may seem. Retailers plan their store locations five to seven years in advance, says Daniel Butler, vice president of retail operations for the National Retail Federation. They consider things like size, expected growth in the community and the kinds of customers a store will attract in a certain location.

Nordstrom, for example, looks for communities with certain income levels, according to Butler. Kohls often likes to be near a Walmart because it's had luck being near the discounter in the past.

"They have complementary but not competing inventory," explains Butler.

Certain local governments will also offer certain incentives for a store to be located in their community, such as tax breaks for creating a certain number of jobs.

You might wonder why the Wegmans in our area tend to be further out in the 'burbs. For an Arlington or Alexandria resident, Gainesville, Va., might as well be in Florida. It's all about size for Wegmans. Natale says the store is larger than most grocery stores, weighing in at 130,000 square feet. That's double the size of an average Giant, which measures about 55,000 to 60,000 square feet, according to a company spokesman.

"We're definitely interested [in a site closer to Washington], but it's very difficult, if not impossible, to find a site large enough and in the right location to accommodate a store our size, particularly in D.C.," wrote Natale.

Hmmm, a Wegmans fan, who happens to live in Arlington, can only dream of that Alexandria store. In the meantime I'll be schlepping.

Which stores do you wish were closer? How far are you willing to travel for your favorite places to shop?

I've been in one Secret Santa gift exchange in my life. It was an office-based event and I'll never forget the excitement of returning from lunch and seeing a neatly wrapped box sitting on my chair. It was more about the fun of receiving an anonymous gift than the actual gift, which I still use, by the way (kitchen towels with snowflakes on them). Secret Santa gift exchanges, in which a group of people pick a name from a hat and secretly buy that person a gift, usually with a set dollar amount, are now being touted as economical, "green" and more productive because people are spending less time shopping. So here are some tips on organizing a Secret Santa event for your family or friends:

Tip #1: Use online sources to help organize the Secret Santa exchange, especially if you have a family that won't be together to pick names and talk about rules. Sites like Elfster.com and SecretSanta.com will help organize the transaction and allow users to create wish lists. Elfster will even let users send anonymous messages to their recipients like "What's your shirt size?"

Tip #2: Encourage members of the gift exchange to set up wish lists. That way people get what they want or don't want. This is where being "green" comes into play: Those unwanted gifts won't end up in a landfill. "There's an old saying that it's the thought that counts. But really it's the thought and the gift that count," says Peter Imburg, founder of Elfster.

Tip #3: Set a realistic dollar limit for each gift and really enforce the rule of sticking to that amount. Families typically choose $75, according to Imburg, but make sure all family members are comfortable with that amount before the shopping begins.

Tip #4: Consider doing a theme-based Secret Santa exchange such as all handmade gifts or gifts of charitable donations. Another idea is to give the gift of time such as babysitting services or cooking dinner for the entire family.

Tip #5: If you have children in the gift exchange, Imburg recommends setting up their own Secret Santa. That way the children only draw each other's names and the adults in the family only draw their own names.

Tip #6: If there are small children in the family, get them a gift card with the amount that they're allowed to spend and take them to a store to buy their Secret Santa gift with the gift card. It teaches them about spending limits and eases any awkwardness in families that may have a couple with the only children in the family and not having to buy that branch of the family the most gifts.

Tip #7: Start getting your family prepared for a Secret Santa gift exchange the day after Christmas, Imburg says. That way people who buy gifts all year round are prepared. Plus, family members may be more willing to do a Secret Santa holiday within days of finishing the frenzy of the holiday season and all the shopping that goes along with it.

Tip #8: If you have a reluctant member of the family, don't force them to be in the Secret Santa exchange, Imburg says. Organize it for the rest of the family and the reluctant one will likely warm up to the idea after seeing it in action the first year.

Tip #9: Don't EVER deny Grandma from spoiling her grandkids on Christmas. Assure her that she can give them all gifts outside of the Secret Santa event.

Have you ever done a Secret Santa gift exchange in your family? Are you planning on this year? What are your tips for making it a fun experience? What other ways are you cutting back on your holiday shopping?