Coupon Organization

  Okay, so I know other people have posted on this same topic, but it's such a vital tip for me that I thought I'd stress the point once again.  Coupons.  They. Are. Worth. It.

I am not an organized person.  I try to be.  Really I do.  But it's just not a natural thing for me.  My mom is the opposite.  She is naturally very organized and planned out.  I want to be more like my mom :)

When I started doing coupons, I was a mess.  In my typical non-organized fashion I would get the occasional printed/in the mail coupon and stick it in a drawer somewhere to be forgotten until after it expired.  After I started seeing how my mom was saving SO much money by using coupons (and having FUN doing it too), I decided I really needed to figure out this whole coupon thing.  So I signed up for our local (biased rag) paper and began receiving LOTS of coupons.  I put them all in a bag, took them to my mother's house and said, "how do I organize these?"  She showed me how she

 keeps a shoebox with categories and just puts the coupon in the correct category.  So I tried

 that.  But there was a problem.  My mom does not usually go shopping with small children.  I do.  I decided I needed a different system after the 3rd or 4th time my box of coupons got dumped (not totally my kids' fault, I dumped it accidentally too).  Do you know how stupid I probably looked grabbing at my own personal confetti shower while trying to keep my kids entertained/contained?

So I started looking around online to see how other people keep themselves organized.  This is what I finally decided on:

As you can see, I got a three-ring binder and a BUNCH of sport card pages (from ebay 4 cheap :-)  I can have all my store cards in the front, along with a pouch for a pad of paper, scissors, pens, calculator, receipts, pacifiers that have fallen on the floor, etc.  Then, when I shop, I just flip to the right category and can see all my coupons clearly laid out.  If I have more than one of the same coupon, they all go into the same pocket.  The pocket in the front of the binder works perfectly for store flyers.  Plus, it doesn't take long for me to clip/file coupons this way!  Bliss!  It saves me time & has already been dropped several times without losing anything out of it.  It took a couple of hours for me to set it up, but now that I have it - it is WONDERFUL!  A coupon binder works great for me!

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips/tricks, head over to We Are That Family.

His/Her Jars

I don't remember where exactly we got the idea, but my husband and I have used this for quite a while now.
We got two containers like these:

(picture credit)
Then we labeled them HIS and HERS. We each got a bunch of slips of paper and wrote down things we like to do together or like done for us. For example, taking a walk together, getting a foot massage, watching a movie, a really good kiss, praying together, etc.
We put our slips into our respective jars. Each week we get a slip out of the OTHER person's jar and try to do whatever it says for the other person as many times as we can during the week. Like if my card reads "a foot massage" I will try to give my hubby a foot massage as often as I can during that week.
It's fun to focus on something different each week and find out what your spouse really likes. It's also a way for us to remember to keep romance at the forefront of our busy lives. His/Her Jars - it works for us!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Diaper Deal/Steal

Check this out!



I ordered 2 extra large cases of Huggies, size 5 diapers from Diapers.com @ $36.99 ea.

Then I got FREE two-day shipping & $10 off. (Want the same deal? You can use the code Booksnboys to get $10 off your first order of $49 or more. Shipping is always Free and 2 day over $49. Disclosure: I also get $1.00 off at no additional cost to you. Thanks!)

Total - $63.98 (makes it 24 cents a diaper. Same as Costco)

Also included with my order is a free 1 year subscription to Parenting Magazine. Now, I'm not a big fan of Parenting - they're kind of preachy about their opinions. So I was reading the fine print on the offer and it said if you mail your proof-of-payment and this refund form to Parenting, they will refund you $14.97 - the one year subscription price. Make sure you print your receipt and the rebate form. (The rebate form can be found in your shopping cart, after you add at least 1 item, in the box that says, "Parenting subscription included with your first order of $15 or more.")

So - $63.98-$14.97 refund = $49.01

Making Will's size 5 diapers 19 cents each!!!!
Not only that - the diapers were delivered the DAY AFTER I ordered them! (There is also a coupon book to use with my next order.)

:) :) :)

I LOVE getting deals like that! That totally works for me!
Hope that helps some of you score some CHEAP diapers!

Easy, Handmade Baby Gifts

Today's edition of Works for Me Wednesday sponsored by Rocks in My Dryer is about baby gifts.
Now I don't know about you, but I go to a LOT of baby showers. And it is customary to bring a gift to every shower. Averaging $10 a shower (for a cheap gift) gets expensive fast. What to do?
Well, I picked up a hobby I learned when I was a kid. Crocheting. Add a little older-and-wiser mathematical knowledge and voila!





Easy, unique, and special baby blankets! With some mathematical help from my handsome husband, I created the crochet pattern for these blankets and I think they turn out pretty well! (The pink and blue blankets pictured are for a set of twins :)
Plus, they are soft, cuddly, machine wash/dryable, and they make babies happy! As evidenced by Evan modeling for me:



Sweet and special - hey that works for me!

Frugal & Fun Decorating

I figured since it's Wednesday and I am blogging I would participate in the Works for Me Wednesday from Rocks In My Dryer.
Today Will, Evan, and I cleaned and vacuumed the house. Bleck! The only fun part of cleaning is my boys "helping" me and being done cleaning :)
After we cleaned up, we decorated a wall in Will's room. Check it out:


1 dog calendar from Michaels = 25 cents
Time to cut and hang pictures = 30 minutes
Little boy's face when he saw all the "woof, woofs" in his room = priceless



I only used 8 out of the 12 pictures in the calendar, so Will and I are going to cut out and paste the rest onto cardboard to make valentines :)
I am thinking that this summer at garage sales I will look for 8 frames that I can hang in his room and just switch the pictures out as he gets older and his interests change.