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Archives for August 2011

Update: Summer Reading 2011

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As the summer winds down and the summer activities come to an end, it is time to finish up that summer reading. Some of the programs have ended, but not all of them. Though my children have earned some prizes, we are still waiting for others to arrive. Here is an update of our summer reading adventures:

Barnes and Noble

My son participated since the program is geared for children in 1st-6th grade. He read his 8 books and traded his reading journal for Clifford Makes the Team. Besides choosing his book, my son and daughters enjoyed playing with the Thomas & Friends trains and accessories. This reading program offered a great prize that turned into a nice morning activity in air conditioning which helped us beat the heat. 🙂

It’s not too late to earn your free book. Barnes and Noble’s Imagination’s Destination Summer Reading Program continues until September 6, 2011. You still have a little time to finish. Keep plugging away one word at a time.

 Borders

All three of my children completed the 10 books, and we filled out our Double-Dog Dare Challenge forms. However, all the Border, Border Express, and Waldenbooks stores in our area have closed, so we did not earn any prizes through this program. If you are close to one of the remaining stores that are closing, then you can still snag a free book by September 5, 2011.

Half Price Books

Another program we did not complete was the Feed your Brain Summer Reading Program. There are no Half Price Books locations in our neck of the woods. If you are close to one of these locations, then I hope you were able to finish in time. This program ended early on August 7, 2011.

TD Bank

Though we have completed our reading log, we have not yet opened our Young Saver accounts at TD Bank. Since posting of this summer reading program, TD Bank moved into our area. Yippee! I have until September 30, 2011 to open their accounts for their $10 deposits.

If you are near a TD Bank, your children or grandchildren still have until September 30, 2011 to complete their reading logs.

H-E-Buddy Summer Reading Club

Love this reading program! My kids finished their 10 books each. I filled out their forms and mailed them in. We are waiting for our prizes to arrive. In years past, we have received a t-shirt, pencil, bookmark, and certificate. I will post a summer reading finale when all the prizes have been received.

This great program is continuing. To get the prizes, you will need to have the summer reading form postmarked by October 1, 2011.

Local Library

In gathering all the information about the other programs, I forgot to encourage you to check your local library. Sorry about that! Of all the reading programs, our local library definitely had the best program. The Friends of the Library scheduled special programs throughout the summer where your reading log was your ticket to the event. As you reached milestones on your reading log, you could request your rewards.

This year, our library offered two options for summer reading:

    • Option 1: Read by number of hours
    • Option 2: Read by number of books

I was very thankful for the options this year with a young reader. The requirements for the program were to choose one of the options for each reader. So, I chose the hours for my son, the young reader, and the books for my girls. We all completed our goals.

The rewards were based on 3 levels. As you completed a level, you could request your reward. Since there were 3 levels and my children worked to complete all three levels, I waited until our summer reading was complete and then requested our rewards:

Level 1: 10 Hours or 40 Books
Chick-fil-A® Icedream ® coupon

Level 2: 5 More Hours (15 total) or 20 More Books (60 total)
Holographic ruler
Chick-fil-A® Kids Meal coupon

Level 3: 5 More Hours (20 total) or 20 More Books (80 total)
Reading medal
Free pass to a Recreation District park
Ticket voucher to a minor league baseball game

Our summer has been busy completing our summer reading programs. The generous rewards from these programs help this mom focus on setting a goal and reaching it. The joy my children receive when earning their rewards is worth all the time and energy spent investing in their future. Though the summer is winding down, it is not over yet. Keep using time wisely as you complete your summer reading!

Question: What was your family’s favorite summer reading program?

August 8, 2011: Publix and Bi-Lo Shopping Results

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After creating my menu from the ingredients I have on hand, I am ready to go shopping. Yes, I shop after I know what I plan to make for the week. I know that this sounds backwards, but this system really saves me money, energy, and time.

With my freezer, pantry, and refrigerator housing all the ingredients for my weekly menu plan, I am free to shop the sales at the stores. I am looking for items that are on sale at their rock bottom price, and then using any available coupons to maximize those savings.

This week, I purchased a few sale items. Here are my shopping results:

Photograph Credit: Publix

Publix

2 packages Quaker Chewy Granola Bars (on sale buy one get one free) – $1.40 each

1 Suave shampoo (22 oz.) – $2.19

1 Suave conditioner (22 oz.) – $2.19

2 Dean’s Dips (12 oz.) – $1.95 each

2 Elmer’s Glue (4 oz.) – $.33 each

Krazy Glue – $1.40

Subtotal:  $13.14

Minus the following coupons:

2 – $.55 Publix coupons for a Suave product

2 – Manufacturer coupons for a free Suave product up to $2.99 (took off $2.19 each)

2 – $1 Publix coupons for Dean’s Dip

1 – Manufacturer coupon for $1 off 2 containers of Dean’s Dip

New subtotal: $4.66

Tax: $0.39

Total: $5.05 – With the sale prices and coupons, I purchased $20.40 worth of product for $5.05 which is a savings of 75%.

By stacking coupons, which means using a store coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon on the same item, I was able to maximize my savings to more than the purchase price of the Suave products. Since I had 2 coupons for a free Suave item from the manufacturer, the 2 bottles of Suave where free. But, I also used the Publix store coupons (from the green advantage flyer), so the extra $1.10 of savings was taken off the end total since I had other items that were not free. I did not “make money” in cash, but I gained “overage” to save on other items purchased.

Photography Credit: Bi-Lo

Bi-Lo

2 packages Hillshire Farm sausage links (14 oz.) – $2.50 each (used buy one get one free rain check from previous week)

1 Southern Home Peanuts Fruit Snacks (6 ct.) – $1.79

2 Southern Home Cheese Sticks (11.5 oz.) – free (used rain check from a previous meal deal where these were free, but the store was out. On this visit, the cashier took the rain check, but did not ring up the two items – per his manager.)

Subtotal: 11.77 (plus the price of the cheese sticks)

Minus the following coupons:

1 – Publix coupon $1 off 2 packages of Hillshire Farm links

My Bi-Lo accepts competitor store coupons. Publix is a qualified competitor. Therefore, I used a Publix coupon and stacked it with a manufacturer coupon to maximize my savings.

2 – Manufacturer $.60 coupons for Hillshire Farm links which doubled to $1.20 off for each

My Publix doubles manufacturer coupons up to $.50, but my Bi-Lo doubles manufacturer coupons up to $.60. Since I had a rain check (savings) + store coupon (Publix) + manufacturer coupons + double the manufacturer saving, I had a great result from stacking the savings.

1 – Bi-Lo coupon for free Peanuts fruit snacks from previous customer survey (took off $1.79)

Total: $.68 (tax was $0) – I purchased a minimum of $11.77 worth of product for $.68 which is a savings of 94%.

These savings are due to a slow week of sales and cashing in rain checks and free product coupons. Now, I cannot make one meal out of this shopping trip, but I did not need to. I have plenty of food in my stockpile. By shopping the sales, I am able to stay stocked and maximize my savings.

This is not “extreme couponing” where I am purchasing tons of products I do not need and spending days working my deals. I do spend about 1-2 hours preparing for my shopping trips, but for me, the savings are worth using time wisely.

Question: Do you shop before or after making your menu plan?  

Hurry Up to Waste Time

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (a_s_h.)

Confession time . . .  I get clumsy when I am in a hurry. It’s true! You would think that I would learn to either schedule a few extra minutes or forget that “one more thing” I can squeeze into 5 extra minutes. But, no, I have not learned.

Just this week, I finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes and decided to do “one more thing” before leaving the house. That “one more thing” was sweetening the brewed pitcher of tea, simple task with no complicated steps.

However, I got in a hurry.

As I poured the full sugar scoop into the pitcher, I hit the edge and dropped the scoop into the tea. My “one more thing” then turned into a project. To correct my error, I had to use a few more minutes of my time to:

  • Retrieve the scoop,
  • Wash the scoop,
  • Dry the scoop, and
  • Continue to add sugar to the tea pitcher.

By the time I finished sweetening the tea, I had spent more than 5 minutes. The extra time was gone, and I had exerted more energy than needed. In my effort to maximize my time, I hurried up and wasted time.

Though I will probably repeat this mistake again, I hope to remind myself to slow down and relax during the extra minutes rather than wasting precious time and energy. Using time wisely is a constant set of choices. With good intentions, I still often fail, learn from those mistakes, and choose a better option next time.

Question: What obstacles hinder you from using time wisely?

Event: Invitation Preference

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Tracy Hunter)

As I plan events, a key component is the invitation. For me, the invitation reveals more than just the announcement of the date, time, location, and event type. The invitation sets the stage for the event.

Invitation Types

1. Print. These invitations are cards delivered via mail or hand delivery. Some examples are:

    • professionally printed: formal wedding, business dinner, etc.
    • computer generated: concert tickets, ice cream social flyers, open house postcards
    • handwritten: preprinted cards with blanks for details for graduation, birthday, baby shower, etc.

2. E-mail. Whether directly sending an e-mail or using a free service, like Evite, these invitations are electronic announcements. Using a free service to create invitations, track those who are attending, and send reminders saves time and energy. The downside is a lack of originality.

3. Social Media. With the option of creating an event in Facebook, sending an invitation to many individuals at one time gets the word out quickly. For quick notice events or changes, this option might work. The standardized format for Facebook is easy to fill out; however, there is little to no personalization.

4. Phone call. These invitations are full of personality with the interaction between the parties. However, a few days later, the receiver, without having written down the information, will not have a record of the date, time, and location of the event.

5. Face-to-face contact. The face-to-face approach is another invitation full of personality. The receiver will gain the information for the event, but again, the record (hard copy of the details) may be forgotten, misunderstood, or confused.

With these types of invitations, there are pros and cons for each. The ones written can be lost or misplaced whereas the direct invitations may be forgotten, misunderstood, or distorted. So, how do you know what type of invitation to use? My answer is . . . whatever type works with your event. A dinner party with friends may work with an e-mail, social media, phone call, or face-to-face contact. Consider your event, your invitees, and using your time wisely.

Invitation Preferences

My preference is a print invitation. I like to see the invitation, refer to it, and take it with me to the event. A combination of invitations, e.g. a phone call with a Facebook chat or a face-to-face contact with a follow-up e-mail, will still provide the needed information without a formal print copy.

Now that I have shared my preference, it is your turn. What is your preference for receiving an invitation? Do you prefer print, e-mail, social media, phone call, face-to-face contact, another option, or a combination? Please share your preferences in the comments. I look forward to your response.

My Distraction: Food Storage Container Organization

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In going about my daily activities on Saturday afternoon, I got distracted by an organization project. Believe it or not, this scenario is very typical. Getting to organize and create a better functional space thrills me. I just ♥ to organize! My oldest daughter also enjoys organizing. Just watching her line up her shoes or Little People characters or the toy cars moves me. As she grows older, we are going to enjoy creating clean, organized spaces together. 🙂

The Distraction

On Friday afternoon, a shipping service delivered a brown box to our house. The box was brought in and left in the entryway. On Saturday afternoon, my husband brought the box into the living room and opened it. My new food storage containers had arrived.

Hence, my distraction! (I was able to snag this package from Wal-mart for $10. 🙂 We needed more containers, and this price was perfect.)

The Problem

Even before they were placed in the dishwasher, I needed a new home for them in my kitchen. Usually I keep all the plastic containers in the lower cabinets for my younger children to scatter and keep themselves entertained while I work in the kitchen. Though this system works for me, hubby gets frustrated with this arrangement. With his tall stature, the bending down to find the container and then the lid without knocking something over is too uncomfortable for him.

So, a new system was needed.

The Current Solution

To keep items in the cabinet below for my little ones’ enjoyment, I replaced the plastic containers with the water bottles, plastic pitchers, and sandwich keepers.

(Sorry, I took pictures after making the changes. I just got carried away with my organizing project before I remembered to take pictures.)

I then moved the food storage containers to the lowest shelf in the upper cabinets. Since the basket I was using to house the lids was too big for that cabinet, I replaced the basket with a cardboard box. I love using containers like baskets, boxes, etc. to keep similar items together.

This container organization works for me. I can take down the box, add or remove the lids, and replace it.

The Result

Yeah! Hubby is happy with the containers on a higher plane, I like the organized shelves with plastic containers for my children’s playtime, and we have new containers!

Though I got distracted by an organization project, I was able to alleviate some frustrations while using time wisely in maintaining my household.

Question: How are you improving your household organization?