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Archives for February 2011

My Organized Nightstand Drawer

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As I went to put away some prescription samples, I found there was no more room in my nightstand drawer. When this happens, I must clean it out. I cannot  just stuff the extra items in a drawer and close it. Leaving an area unorganized bothers me until I  take the time to clean it out and make room for the needed items.  In this case, I  cleaned out the drawer immediately.

To organize my nightstand drawer, I followed these steps:

  • I made three piles: (1) items to keep, (2) items to toss, and (3) items to give away.
  • Then I placed the items to keep back in the drawer and had plenty of room.
  • The items to toss included expired medication, which I disposed of, and empty boxes from used medications, which I threw away.
  • The items to be given away were placed in a bag to be distributed later.

Now there was plenty of room for the prescription samples. I placed these in the nightstand drawer and surveyed my clean, neat, and organized drawer.

Does disorder bother you, too? Like me, do you organize as you put items away, or do you need to set a schedule to organize?

Credit Report: Reporting Agencies

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Before I proceed any further, I need to clarify that this series on how I file my important paperwork is not meant to suggest that I am a financial adviser or authority.

I will share what I have learned along the way from researching these different topics, but I am not suggesting that your file should be a duplicate of my file. This organizational system is just a suggestion for filing away your important papers to save time when needing to locate a document.

With that said, I will begin with the documents in Box 1. The first pocket houses our credit reports. These reports are obtained from the three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

You DO NOT have to pay for your credit reports. I choose to request my reports by phone (1-877-322-8228). I like to have the paper version sent to me. This is my preference. If you prefer to request your reports online, the website is www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Here is an excerpt from their website:

You may request your free credit report online, request your report by phone or request your report through the mail. Free credit reports requested online are viewable immediately upon authentication of identity. Free credit reports requested by phone or mail will be processed within 15 days of receiving your request.

This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report.

We guard your privacy. Please be aware of how you arrived at this site. To ensure that you are visiting the legitimate site, type https://www.annualcreditreport.com directly into the address bar on your browser. You will never receive an email directly from the Annual Credit Report Request Service. For further information please read the Security Policy.

For companies that advertise a free credit report with their service like freecreditreport.com, you are paying for the monitoring service. I do not use a monitoring service since I check our credit reports every four months. I will share next week the schedule I follow when requesting our reports. I do not request them all at the same time because I want to keep an eye on our reports all year. Feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to share my experience or point you in the direction where I would research an answer to your question.

Homemade Baby Wipes

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When I was expecting our first born, a very dear friend granted me this recipe for Homemade Baby Wipes. Having made hundreds of batches, I know this recipe has saved our family hundreds of dollars.

The wipes are very gentle. All three of my children have skin sensitivities, but none of them suffered from on-going diaper rash. I continue to use these wipes when I am at home. I found that they dry out in the small wipe holders that I carry in the diaper bag.

For the diaper bag, I purchase Huggies wipes. Our pediatrician highly recommends the Huggies brand since all items are fragrance free. I still remember the first diaper place on both my son and my oldest daughter. The nurses used Pampers diapers available at the hospital, and both of my children had bright red bottoms for the first few days. Once switching to Huggies, I had no more skin irritation issues.

Though I am loyal to Huggies brand, I choose to use the cheaper homemade wipes at home. When I make the wipes, I follow the recipe and allow it to cool for a few hours. I then fold the wipes in about 3-inch accordion-style folds and place them in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. As the wipes in the wipe warmer run low, I use the folded wipes to refill. Though I prefer to use the wipe warmer, the homemade wipes can be dispensed from the center of the container at any time.

My container has the wipe recipe fully taped on the outside. So when the container gets wet, the recipe will still be intact. As I give expecting parents the gift of Homemade Baby Wipes, I also use packing tape to fully adhere the recipe to the air-tight container.

This gift has been a continuous money saver for me. Does anyone have a different recipe for homemade wipes that work for you? Do you have any other money saving tips for baby wipes?

My Top 5 Preschool Board Games

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My husband and I were raised by families who loved to play games. My family’s game nights included our immediate family. We had our favorite games, but we did not seek to invite others. Our family spent the time playing together.

On the other hand, my husband’s family hosted games nights at their home regularly. In fact, I attended a number of game nights at my in-laws’ house before and after our marriage. Holiday celebrations evolve around game playing at their home. So, our kids have learned to appreciate and enjoy games.

Since our children are young, we play preschool games since they do not require reading. At this time, my top 5 preschool games are:

5.            Chutes and Ladders
4.            CandyLand
3.            Parcheesi
2.            The Lady Bug Game
1.            SORRY!

During sessions of play, my son has learned to count, take turns, consider his options, and recently, strategize. Game playing is a tool to teach while giving that child individual attention. My daughter is learning to take turns and to finish the game she started.

Do you enjoy spending time playing games at your house? What are your favorite preschool games? I’m always interested in new, fun games to play.

Grocery Store Sales Dates

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One way to save money on your grocery budget is to shop the sales at your local grocery store(s). I typically shop at 2 to 3 stores; although some weeks I shop at all 3, other weeks 1 or 2, and busy weeks possibly none.

The key is to know your stores’ sales dates. Some stores run their sales Sunday to Saturday, others Wednesday to Tuesday, and I’ve also seen Thursday to Wednesday. In my area of the southeast, the grocery stores run their weekly sales Wednesday to Tuesday with additional 3-day sales, running concurrently with the weekly sales, Sunday through Tuesday.

Since I know my stores’ sales schedule, I know that shopping Monday or Tuesday is my best option. By shopping on these two days, I can take advantage of all the store sales and have all the coupons from the Sunday paper to help lower my out-of-pocket costs.

A great day for me at the grocery store is viewing my receipt to find that I saved more than I spent. I will continue to share how I strive to feed my family of 5 without breaking the bank.