COUPON RE-ORGANIZATION!

Posted by Lori~

We have all heard the saying “you have to spend money…to make money.”  Well, guess what—sometimes “you have to spend money…to SAVE money!”

My little shopper Mur-Man!  Already using coupons!

That’s right!  After much urging from Steve and spending too much time organizing my coupons into my small, over stuffed, heaping coupon organizer…I decided to do an upgrade.

Over-stuffed and TOO SMALL!

I spent $6.89 on this brand-new double sized coupon organizer at Walmart.  Already this system is working much better for me. 

The NEW ORGANIZER:  BIG AND BRAND NEW!

Other coupon users prefer using a binder with clear sheet protectors (similar to what people use for baseball trading cards).  This system works too, however I don’t like carrying a large school binder shopping with me—it just doesn’t work, but this does! 

Side-by-side there is NO comparrison

Don’t get me wrong—there are lots of ways to organize your coupons.  And you need to pick the method that works best for YOU! 

The following steps clearly outline how I organize my coupons in my brand-new coupon organizer:  The organizer features 12 compartments total—so that means 2 letters/tab with the exception of 2 tabs that have 3 letters (OPQ, XYZ).  Pretty easy—right?  Of course all tabs are labeled accordingly.

Even better--it came with pre-made labels!

As far as sorting the coupons within the compartments—I have tested several methods, but I have found what works best for me.  I sort my coupons by brand name.  For example Special K cereal would be sorted by S.  However—if the coupon is instructing you to purchase two General Mills cereals then I would sort by G. (I asked Ethne and she said she sorts her coupons by group of items such as 'cleaning supplies', 'snacks', and 'baby stuff', for example.)

Sorting by brand-name

I typically take one hour/week sorting and clipping coupons as well as going through my organizer to discard coupons that are past their expiration date.

The new organizer makes me feel MORE ORGANIZED!  FANTASTIC!

The moral of the story is—do what works best for you!  Remember…it takes time.  When I first started couponing I was overwhelmed and at times stressed, because I couldn’t figure it out!  But with time it works!

LET THE SAVINGS BEGIN!

MUR-MAN IS DONE SHOPPING!  These coupons wore me out!

EASY KID ACTIVITY: Caramel Pretzels!

Posted by Ethne~

Shaun is out-of-town this weekend and I’ll be spending the weekend with the girls –Thrifty Nana (my mom) too.  Typically we go shopping and do all of the things we love to do (which we did), but I wanted to have an activity that would be fun for 3-year-olds.  I don’t think I’m too far off when I say that 3-year-olds have enough energy to fuel a whole city, and the attention span of a knat.  Seriously!

Blur-city - slow down KD!

I called Lori up and asked if she could think of any activities I could do with the girls.  Sure as shootin’, all Lori had to do was call up Crafty Grandma (her mom) – and success!  Crafty G-ma suggested that we make a snack that has caramels melted onto pretzels.  Perfect!  And only three ingredients!

Crafty Grandma and Mur-Man!

I headed to my trusty Super Target to pick up the following items:

--Old Dutch mini pretzel twists

--Bag of dark chocolate M&M’s

--Several rolls of Rolo chocolate caramels

But wait!  I was shocked to discover that my ST didn’t have Rolo caramels (what?!?), so I picked up 3 rolls of Rolos at the gas station by my house.

Crafty G-ma was right – this is a good activity for little kids – it doesn’t take too much time or effort to do, and the girls could grasp the technique to actually HELP me cook, rather than just WATCH.

STEP ONE:  Pre-heat the oven to 350˚.

STEP TWO:  Lay pretzels onto a baking tray/cookie sheet that has been lined with waxed paper or parchment paper (for easy clean-up).

One for the tray, two for my mouth!

STEP THREE:  Place one Rolo on each pretzel.  If you can keep the Rolos out of the girls’ mouths, they loved this step, and could do it well!

One Rolo left!  Don't eat it Easy Mac!

STEP FOUR:  Place pretzel-caramel baking tray into the heated oven and bake for 5 minutes, until the chocolate and caramel have melted.

Time to melt!

STEP FIVE:  Take out of oven, place on protected surface, and push one or two M&M’s into the center of the warm, melty chocolate.  The girls got that the tray and caramels were hot, but they figured out how to push the M&M’s into the warm, gooey center with no trouble.  They thought this was great!

Only DARK CHOCOLATE M&M's will do!

Sneaking M&M's under the table - Thrifty Nana isn't fooled!

STEP SIX:  Allow caramels to cool completely.  (KD tried to sneak one and eat it before it was fully cooled and it dribbled all down her face and shirt.)

Yum-o!  Thanks Crafty Grandma!  As to this treat’s snack potential – the pretzels are small, so the girls are not eating too much candy, but they were completely satisfied with eating only 1 or 2.

Tomorrow – the girls can spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa D.  I need a rest!

A YEAR OF MUR-MAN!

Posted by Lori~


It’s amazing how quickly a child grows in their first year and it really is important to document their development.  This can be done quickly, efficiently, creatively, and most of all affordably.

I have seen so many ideas—two blogs I follow, Young House Love and Bower Power, both use photoshop to edit in the week.  Check it out!  I love this idea, and may steal it for baby number two.  But I would probably limit this to once a month.

We opted for the classic block month by month photo.  I love it! 




MUR-MAN'S FIRST TASTE OF CEREAL!

 



MUR-MAN'S STARTING TO MOVE AROUND!



Bottom line—MOMS AND DADS:  DON’T MISS OUT!  THEY GROW UP TOO FAST!  DOCUMENT!  DOCUMENT!  DOCUMENT!

CREATIVE TIP:  The monthly photo shoot was the inspiration for my son’s SUPER FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY invitation (more on that later).



Mur-Man's Super First Birthday Party Invitation!


THRIFTY TIP:  We researched, followed blogs, and found the BEST deal on photo calendars!  This made for a fabulous and thrifty Christmas gift for grandparents, god parents, and friends!