Weekly Organization Challenge - Week #12 - Coupon Binder

I totally missed posting Week 11 last week which was to clean your windows - inside and out.  I was in the middle of Spring Cleaning with Ask Anna which had also included some window cleaning so I didn't even think about it.  My windows are mostly done -I have not done the outside yet but considering the fact that there is snow on the ground AND I can't reach them, even on a ladder, which means my husband has to do them, I guess it is understandable.  (He takes out the screens and storm windows and I wash those while he gives me streak free windows!!)

So, lets move right no to week #12 which is building a Coupon Binder.  Just a week or so ago I wrote a post about Meal Planning (which was also a weekly challenge) and I included what I do for couponing in that post.

As a little bit of a review, though, I've tried it all.  Couponing is an awesome thing, if you do it wisely.  I've heard recently about the new show "Extreme Couponing" and how people literally have grocery stores in the basement and I have to ask myself, is that really wise?  Will they use that stuff up?  I know that some people are "addicted" to coupons and they get everything (Like cat treats) that they don't need and than give the stuff away to charity because they got it for free or next to free.  I, honestly, don't have time for that . .. . my time is precious for other things, not spending 40+ hours a week on coupons and shopping :-)

After trying tons of things from all kinds of coupon holders to SavingsAngel.com (which really is an awesome site - it just took more time than I was willing to give) I have settled on my coupon binder with the baseball card inserts. 

My binder is just a standard "Mead 5" zippered three ring binder.  I like the zippered feature because nothing falls out.  It has this nifty little mesh pocket where I keep pens and my calculator so that I always have them.  I order the whole set throughCoupon Magic Organizer a couple of years ago and got several different kinds of pockets.

I even keep my scissors for cutting coupons in this pocket so I always know where they are at when I need them.

I use this single "slanted" pocket holder in the front to hold my grocery list while I'm shopping and than I also use one at the front of my coupon inserts to hold coupons I need to file.

Than, I use the three slotted holders for the coupons for the week.  The bottom slot is the ones I pulled to use, than as I shop, I slide the ones I actually need to have at the checkout into the top slot and the ones I don't end up using into the middle slot. 

It is hard to tell but there are three long slots on each page (the coupons you see are actually coupons needing to be filed)

This set came with tabs but they did not work for me.  I found that by dividing my coupons by aisle in the grocery store it has saved me tons of time!  When I'm in the "ethnic/pasta" aisle and see something either on a special deal or "clearanced", I can just jump to that section and see if I have a coupon instead of leafing through pages of coupons to find one I need.  I also only put one coupon in a slot - even when I have doubles.  I want to see everything AND if it is a tall coupon, I don't fold it, I just let it cover up another slot.

Yes, because I have tabs that correspond with each aisle in the store, I have a lot of sections but I can't even explain in words how much easier this is to use for me!

See that tall TP coupon - it is so nice to NOT fold coupons - just slide them in and let them take up their space!

Another thing I don't do is that I don't buy 5 or 6 papers on a Sunday.  Sometimes we are lucky to remember to get one!  I've found that I really don't need that many coupons because I don't shop like that.  Instead I just use the one coupon I have to get what I need.  Printing coupons is great, just make sure and weigh the cost of ink and paper into what you are saving.  My printers uses ink like it is water so printing coupons was costing me upwards of $80.00 a month (the cost of replacing ink).  Now, I can go 2-3 months without replacing ink.  If you have a printer that will do "grayscale" - use it (mine does not thus, it uses a lot of ink!) 

I know that most "savers" really push the idea of buying and bulking up on your pantry.  But, I read a post at The High Heeled Housewife that really hit home.  Instead of always buying in bulk, write your menu for the week and ONLY buy the items you need.  I think you'll find you spend less money than you realize.  I know when I was doing SavingsAngel full force, yes I was getting tons of stuff but I was also spending $150.00 a week.  When I quit that and went back to only buying what I need, I spent $70.00 the first week.  Amazing, isn't it? 

For more ideas on couponing this week make sure and check out A Bowl Full of Lemons.

Swag Bucks

Have you heard about Swag bucks? 

As my blog slowly evolves, one of the areas I hope to talk about more is simple money saving ideas that I've tried and work (or don't work) for me.  As a single income family, any little item can make a difference.

I've been hearing about Swag bucks for ages but never really tried it until about the middle of February.  I just signed up for it (it's free) and used it to search anytime I want to find anything.  At first I did not set up the tool bar but, after about a week, I went ahead and added it. I found I search a lot more with the tool bar than without it. 

It is not a perfect search site by any means - Google or Bing are far better when it comes to specific things but, what I've learned is to search through Swag Bucks first and than go to something better if I can't find what I need.  Over the course of 8 weeks, I've earned almost 1000 swagbucks and I really don't search a whole lot either.

What can you spend these "bucks" on?? All kinds of stuff but what interests me most are the Amazon gift cards - you can get $5.00 for around 450 bucks and a $25.00 gift card to travelocity for hotel credit which is only around 370 bucks. 

Cha-Ching!  Another way to save money.  The amazon gift cards I can use towards gifts for Christmas and birthdays and the hotel credit - well, my husband and I like to get away 2-3 weekends a year so what a great way to help out on the cost!

I won't lie, if you sign up under me, I get referral credit so . . if you haven't tried it out yet, just click

HERE

and I should get credit!!!

Than, send it out to your friends and earn your own credit too!

Do you have a favorite site that helps you earn rewards that are good enough to use? 

Happenings in this House

That's it folks :-)  Yep, it has been a busy week and the camera did not come out much.  Don't you just love our dog?  She needs two pillows for her head, apparently!!! 

So what has kept us busy?  My husband started his new job on Thursday - something we did not plan for at all.  We had thought he might start this coming Monday but when he went to orientation on Wednesday they wanted him to start training on Thursday.  He is working for S. Abraham and Sons - which delivers wholesale grocery items to gas stations and convenience stores.  So far he really is enjoying the work and has liked the people that are training him (which is a plus since you ride together for 10-14 hours!).  This is a job that starts early though - right now he is getting up by about 2:15 so that he can be ready to leave on route by 3:45.  The 50 minutes commute makes that a little rough but he just goes to bed early (so no one call us after 8:00!!! ha!) So far that is the one big adjustment.  We don't know yet what his "route" will be - but when he was hired he was told that he would be going to Chicago and into Wisconsin so he would be gone overnight.  Until he is done training we really won't know what he will normally have to do - but for now, we are getting used to a new "normal" which includes him being home on the weekends. 

I hope each of you had a wonderful week too :-)  We have some fun things planned this next week so there should be more pictures!

Creative Memory Spotlight! (And the winner announced!!)

Lets take care of business first!  The winner of teh great scrapbooking packet is:

The person who made the 8th comment is : Boxingchris - who said:

"This would be an awesome win! I would use it to to scrap book our fun with my niece and nephew coming to visit from CA for 2 weeks this summer!"

So - I just need to know where to send this wonderful giveaway :-)  Let me know within the next 48 hours otherwise . . . I'll pick a new winner on Monday. 

And, for those of you that would like to shop  . ..

Mother's day is coming up quickly so I wanted to share a couple of ideas that you can put together for your mother or have your kids do for grandma! 


First, Simply Said Mom Book - She's given you the best gifts ever; life, faith, security, wisdom... It's time to give back and tell her how you feel.

Make it simple. Make it matter. A Simply Said Book is a fantastically quick way to share your hopes, sentiments and memories with someone you love. We give you the format to fill in the blanks with your photos and feelings to create a unique tribute. Its love and honor in under an hour.

This book retails for $15.00


Another version of this book comes from Nancy O'dell - Help a child give a gift Mom will love forever. Simple, insightful questions open up adorable possibilities. "What does your Mommy do while you are at school?" Let's all find out.

Make it simple. Make it matter. A Simply Said Book is a fantastically quick way to share your hopes, sentiments and memories with someone you love. We give you the format to fill in the blanks with your photos and feelings to create a unique tribute. Its love and honor in under an hour.

This book retails for $17.00. 

Aren't these great?  Make sure and get yours ordered soon so you have time to get it created before Mother's day.  These would also make a very creative Birthday Gift or even a Christmas Gift. 

To see these items and others - just check out my Website!

I greatly appreciate any orders that you send my way - so please pass this on to all of your friends, family and co-workers!

Show us your life Fridays - What are you Reading!

Over at Kelly's Korner, Kelly is hosting her weekly "Show us your Life" Friday post!  I haven't been doing these for various reasons ( or I just forget) but the topic of today is about what you are reading!  I love to read so of course I want to share.  I'm actually not reading as many books at once as I usually do - I often have up to 5 books going at a time (different books for different times of the day!!) but have wrapped a few up recently.  I'll share those and what I'm picking up next to read too.

So, first, I've shared a lot about this book lately including Wednesday Devotionals (catch up here!) - The Power of  a Positive Mom is a really great book that is built a few basic principles of how to be "that positive mom".  I've already taken away some core ideas from just the first few chapters.  It isn't about being "Super mom" but just helping you be the best you can be. This is the book I am currently using for my Bible Study.  It has a section at the end of each chapter with some verses to read as well as a challenge that coincides with that lesson.

For "fun" I just finished reading Falconer's Quest by T Davis Bunn.  It is book 5, the final book in the series "Heirs of Acadia".  It is a really well written series that focus' first on the life of the Langston family before introducing John Falconer.  Their lives intertwine throughout the series even as new characters are introduced.  Falconer's journey from becoming a believer through his trials and griefs to learning of real forgiveness and acceptance is told in an exciting tale.  I enjoy the way T Davis Bunn writes and was not disappointed.  This is a series I've read several times and always enjoy it.

In trying to accomplish some reading goals this year, I also have books I'm reading each month.  Right now I'm in the middle of "Falling Forward" by Sandi Patty.  If you were to ask me why I picked this pick it would be for one reason - I'm a huge Sandi Patty fan and always have been even through her tough years.  This book addresses those struggles she had but in a way that shows others how to be warned and be wary of things in their own lives.  I'm impressed with her honesty and openness about her life as well as her teaching.  I tend to read this book right before bed when there aren't as many distractions around so I can really think about what she is teaching in her writing.

Since I just finished my "fun" series I decided to pick from my book goal stack and read "Duggars: 20 and counting".  I'm intrigued by this family and just want to learn more about them.  I enjoy their show and am always impressed by the fact that they don't hide the spiritual things from the camera - they pray, talk about God, and talk about their daily faith.  I also want to learn her secrets on how she is raising such great kids :-)  So, this will be what I read at lunch time now and when I just feel like kicking back for a little bit during the little boys nap time.

Finally, my "no brainer" book right now is another Davis Bunn book called "All through the Night".  I've read this one before as well and remember it being a very good read - it is another story based upon forgiveness. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what others post for this today - I'm always looking for new books to add to my "want to read" list!

Creative Memories Giveaway - It's almost over!

Just wanted to remind you that the giveaway for:

ends Friday night at midnight!!!!!


Click HERE to enter!!

Tator Tot Casserole

This is one of those super simple, kid friendly recipes.  A good friend of mine told me about it because it is his favorite recipe so I decided to try it.  Little did I know that this was one of those recipes that Darryl also loved.  I'll be honest, it isn't my favorite meal but both the boys love it also so how can I not make it? 

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 slices of cheese (the kind that comes in the little wrappers for sandwiches . . .. )
1 bag of frozen Tatar tots

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook the ground beef and drain.  Mix in the cream of chicken soup.  Spread in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Lay the slices of cheese on top of the meat.  Cover with the bag of Tatar Tots.  Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until the Tatar Tots are browned and cooked through.  (I've found that sometimes I need to cook this longer; the Tatar tots seem to need a little longer to really brown.)

I often cut this recipe in half and make it in an 8x8 pan instead.  I find that it is more than enough to feed the four of us along with a vegetable and sometimes a salad.

Today I'm linking up over at:


and