Using Time Wisely

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Archives for 2012

Swag Bucks: Beginner’s Guide

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Photograph Credit: Swag Bucks

Photograph Credit: Swag Bucks

As you follow me on Facebook (which you do, right?), you might have seen my Swag Bucks updates. I cheer when I hit 450 Swag Bucks because I can redeem them for a $5 Amazon gift card.

Could you use a few gifts cards to help you prepare for birthdays, Christmas, and anniversaries? If so, then try Swag Bucks.

What is Swag Bucks?

The web site Swagbucks.com is a search engine. Similar to Yahoo!, Google, Bing, Metacrawler, and Dogpile, Swag Bucks offers a search box where you type in your desired topic (e.g., using time wisely) and a list of web sites with those keywords fills the page.

When you search through Swagbucks.com, you may receive Swag Bucks (or points) for searching. The Swag Bucks range in amounts. I have received anywhere from 2 to 80 points for a search. Some days I will win Swag Bucks four different times while other days I might win once. The more often you search, the more chances you have to win Swag Bucks.

How do I Sign Up for Swag Bucks?

To begin earning Swag Bucks, you need to register for a free account:

1. Click on this link.

2. Fill in the “Start a new account” fields.

3. Select “next.”

4. Continue to fill in the fields.

5. Enter the CAPTCHA letters to verify you are a person.

6. Check the “I have read and agree to the official rules and terms” box.

7. Select Register.

When your registration is complete, you will receive 30 Swag Bucks to get you started. Now when you need to search, go to swagbucks.com and type in your request. When you click “search,” watch to see if you receive Swag Bucks.

Next week, we will build on how to increase your Swag Bucks in the intermediate post. Until next Saturday, keep using time wisely by searching the Internet through Swag Bucks and stretching your dollars. Happy savings!

Question: What is the highest number of Swag Bucks you have earned from a single search? Please add you answer to the comments.

Note: This post includes affiliate links. Click here for my full disclosure policy.

More Swag Bucks Posts:

Lowe’s Build and Grow: Castle

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Photograph Credit: Lowe’s

Where the Home Depot Kids Workshop is held on the first Saturday of the month, the Lowe’s Build and Grow clinics occur on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. This next project comes with stickers, cutouts, and a working drawbridge. How cool is this?

What: Castle
When: Saturday, January 14, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Where: Your local Lowe’s home improvement store

Since the stores receive a limited supply of projects, register your attendance at your local Lowe’s and arrive no later than 10:15 a.m. to the event. For other tips and details on the Lowe’s Build and Grow clinics, refer to my detailed post here.

Photograph Credit: Lowe’s

After this Saturday’s event, the next Lowe’s Build and Grow project will be on Saturday, January 28, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The project is a Build-a-saurus, complete with both realistic and cartoon stickers.

You can register for both the January 14 and 28 events through Lowe’s web site.

Enjoy your family activities this weekend!

Grocery Shopping: Giving Groceries a Home – Part 3 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Emily Connell)

This past week was a slim grocery shopping week for our family. Factoring in my messy coupon binders with the slower sales this week, I opted to grab Fabuloso, yogurt, and tea bags on my way home Tuesday night.

Other than hamburger buns, strawberries, and milk picked up from Aldi earlier this week, my grocery shopping has been minimal.

Even with a small grocery shopping trip, I still follow the same process to continue using time wisely.

In the Giving Your Groceries a Home series, we have unloaded our savings, organized our cold items, and organized our grocery items.

After putting away the groceries, I have reusable bags, plastic bags, and boxes cluttering my kitchen as well as debris on the counters from the packaging materials and any cleaners or hygiene items. With the food items in their designated locations, I focus on preparing for future savings.

Preparing for Future Savings

1. Put away the grocery holders. I use the word “holders” to include bags and boxes. By the end of this process, the bags are on the floor and the counters. If they have not been used as train cars, then the boxes are also on the floor. 🙂

    • Reusable bags. I fold them up and place them on top of my diaper bag.
    • Plastic bags. Gathering these bags together, I place them in an oblong sleeve that my mom made especially for me. My sunflower-patterned sleeve is kept inside my pantry door and clipped to my upper spice rack.
    • Boxes. When my children finish playing with the boxes, I stack them together by the garage door.

On my next trip out to the garage, I take my boxes to the recycling container and the reusable bags to the trunk of my vehicle.

2. Remove items from counters. Taking the remaining items from the shopping trip, I divide them into the upstairs and the downstairs placement.

    • Downstairs Placement. At this time, I will leave the kitchen to put these items away.
    • Upstairs Placement. The products that belong upstairs, I add to the “to go upstairs” pile of items.

3. Wipe counters. With the counters clear, I take a clean cloth or sponge and wipe down my kitchen counters. When I enter my kitchen to prepare the next meal, I will start with clean counters.

Though this organizational system works for me, it may or may not work at your home. Using a system continues to save me money, energy, and time while using time wisely.

Consider your process. Does it work? If so, then continue. If not, try another option. You might be surprised to find one trick (not leaving the room until all is cleaned and organized) that maximizes your time and prevents distractions. Happy organizing!

Question: What do you do with your plastic grocery bags? Please add your answer to the comments.

Bite-sized Goals: January 2012

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Angie Torres)

Last week, I had the privilege of posting my review of Crystal Paine’s The Money Saving Mom’s Budget. Her book released yesterday, and I have begun the suggested project for January: set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.

Though Crystal focuses on financial goals, the steps in her process work for all types of goals. In using time wisely, I have chosen three goals in four different areas of my life.

I am purposing to carry out these bite-sized goals in January:

Tracy’s Physical Goals

1. Drink 1 glass of water per day.

2. Eat breakfast each morning.

3. Exercise for 20 minutes at least 3 times a week.

Tracy’s Family Goals

1. Plan at least one family outing/activity each week.

2. Spend 10 minutes with each child each day.

3. Allow children to help with a household task each week.

Tracy’s Financial Goals

1. Follow Crystal’s year-long plan to reach my goals.

2. Purchase dressers for my daughters’ room.

3. Purchase upgraded computers for hubby and me.

Tracy’s Business Goals

1. Write posts one week in advance.

2. Follow Blogelina’s daily/monthly tasks (coming in January).

3. Read two chapters of a blog-related book each month.

Each month I will check my progress, adjust the goals as needed, and report back to you. I do not expect perfection in following each of these goals. In fact, I know I will fail. When that happens, I will admit my shortcoming, pick myself up, and move forward. Without a plan or goal on which to keep my focus, I would travel aimlessly through life.

In purposing to aim for these goals and having you as my accountability partner, I am ready for the journey.  If you choose to follow along, please add your goals to the comments. We can encourage each other through the highs and lows. Happy planning!

Christmas Program: Directing a Children’s Play – Part 1 of 3

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My son - Shepherd 2 🙂

In the next three weeks, I will share the process and results of directing the children’s Christmas program at my son’s school. When I first mentioned this project, posted in My Upcoming 2011-2012 Events, I was scheduling time to read and search for a script.

Often, finding the content is the most time-consuming part of the event. Preparing a solid foundation and framework provides a home for the “guts” of the event. Since the details fall into place with a set structure, I focused two-thirds of my time on preparing for the program before rehearsals began.

My planning process for this free Christmas children’s program followed this progression:

Part 1 – Script, Set, Properties

Part 2 – Cast and Crew, Costumes, and Lighting

Part 3 – Rehearsals, Program, and Performance

Script

Finding a Christmas program that meets my criteria takes a few weeks. I spent about thirty minutes each day for over a week reading print scripts and searching online. After locating this play that had great form but needed some revisions, I began the approval process through the school and contacted my father-in-law for his assistance in adapting the play. Within a week, the adapted script was in final form with approval from the school. Yeah!

After formatting the script into scenes and adding in Christmas carols, I created the cast of characters page listing all the characters for which I needed actors. (Note: Most programs come with the cast of character’s page. However, the free program I used did not have this information included.)

With the revised script and prefatory pages complete, I was ready to prepare for the performance.

Set

With the script complete, I began sketching a preliminary set for our production. Knowing the entrances and exit options for our auditorium, I took pencil and paper and drew different sized boxes for the elements needed in the script. For example, the box representing the couch was longer than the box illustrating the benches for the church pews.

I then read the script from beginning to end mapping out the blocking (traffic patterns of the actors) making sure there were no conflicts.

When the plan worked, I compiled a list of items I needed to create the set.

Properties

Also known as props, the properties are the items used by actors throughout the program. From a magazine to a mortar and pestle, I added to the set list all the properties I needed to aid the actors in communicating the gospel message.

With the prop list complete with all the items needed for this production, I was ready for the next phase.

After planning the script, set design, and properties, I was ready to execute these plans with help. The next phase of preparation for the Christmas program required a crew (helpers to carry out the plan). Next week, I will share the cast and crew, costumes, and lighting developments.

This process takes time and preparation, but with the proper foundation, all the details come together. Are there changes? Absolutely! The changes can be made easily because you know the framework and can adjust within that framework.

Whether you are directing a children’s program, hosting a birthday party, or entertaining friends, planning will take you from beginning to end. If you don’t have a framework, then you will continue to make adjustments, and your participants will get confused. For any successful event, the key is using time wisely  to organize. Happy planning!