Monthly Archives:

December 2014

Battle of the Bulge, Budget-Style: Holiday Eating Tips!

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Hello again, savvy savers! For this weeks Battle of the Bulge, budget-Style, I wanted to share a few of the ways I plan to stick to my diet this Christmas!

Whether you love or dread the holidays, one thing for sure is: it’s hard to stick to your diet. A plate, or three, lovingly heaped with turkey, gravy, buttery mashed potatoes and all the trimmings can blow any progress you’ve made in the previous months. Couple this with the various request of my baking skills… get togethers, church fairs, work banquets, and the like! Treats are everywhere! 

Before your grumpy cat face overtakes your entire mood, fear not for there are many things you can do to stick to your diet and still enjoy a Thanksgiving meal! 

Here are some “ho ho ho” help to get you through the holidays as an Eater:

  • You know the old wives tale, to never to go food shopping on an empty stomach, right? The same applies to the holidays! Never sit down to a holiday meal on an empty stomach. Eat a high protein snack beforehand, such as a 1/2 cup of almonds and a piece of string cheese, or a small apple, and drink a full glass of water to alleviate overeating at the table.
  • If you’re invited over to someone’s home, bring along a tray of veggies, and low fat dip, so that you’ll have something healthy to snack on; low fat cream cheese and two teaspoons of Greek vinaigrette make an awesome option.
  • If you are a turkey day traditionalist, and feel Thanksgiving cannot go on if the substitution of any family favorites commences, foods,then commit to limiting how much you eat, plan to eat one plate and that’s it.
  • The Golden Rule: Portion control is key here. A serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards; mashed potatoes (1/2 cup) about the size of 1/2 a baseball; use a spoon to measure out gravy instead of pouring it on, etc.
  • Commit to 20 minutes of exercise, even on Thanksgiving. Take a twenty minute walk with family members or friends in between courses. If the weather permits, play a game of touch football in the backyard. Just stay active!
  • Try to avoid empty calories. Stay clear of sugary sodas, punches, and mixed drinks or even better, water.

If You’re Doing the Cooking

  • Serve twice the number of non-starchy vegetables dishes as you will gravy, turkey, or calorie-laden dishes; think salads, crudites, butternut squash soup,etc. 
  • Limit the amount of courses you serve this year. By limiting the number of dishes, you will stress less, and spend more time enjoying the holiday, food-free! 
  • Make your mashed potatoes low fat by using skim or almond milk, think sour cream over butter. Also; consider making creamed cauliflower instead! 
  • Instead of the array of desserts, pies,tarts, and the traditionally fair served every year, why not make an angel food cake and top it with berries and low fat whipped cream, or perhaps a low-fat, budget-friendly berry trifle instead.

I hope these tips help to keep you, and your waste, on the thin and narrow this Thanksgiving!

Love and best wishes, 

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December Gardening Tips

 

Winter. It’s right around the corner. With so many of us living in the midst of cold, blustery weather, the need for keeping our favorite, festive holiday plants in top shape is soon to be a pressing need for many of us in the northern hemisphere. With this in mind, here are a few of my favorite December Gardening Tips!

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Tips for caring for the living, cut, or bulged Christmas tree varieties:

  • Be sure to select trees with firm needles; individual needles should bend rather than snap. Also, inspect the stump; the cut end of a fresher tree should remain moist and have sticky sap.
  • When you get the tree home, cut 2 inches off the base of the trunk.
  • Always be sure to submerge a freshly cut tree stump into a bucket of water; trees can absorb 1 gallon of water in the first 24 hours.
  • Check the water level in your tree stand twice a day for the first week. Add water as needed. Each day, trees can drink roughly 1 quart of water for every inch of trunk diameter.
  • If your tree dries out, the wound likely healed over and stopped absorbing water. Make a fresh cut on the stump and it can absorb water again.
  • When decorating fresh cut trees indoors, avoid placing fresh evergreens on wood surfaces; sap from branches can damage the finish. 
  • When Christmas is over, recycle your tree yourself; cut off branches, and use as insulation over perennials. 
  • For those with enclosed, bulged trees, such are one of our four-holiday trees, as seen above, be sure to keep in an enclosed bucket, which can be encased in a decorative tin or basket, and watered 1 gallon weekly.  I chose a shorter, Aspen Pine, which will be planted after the holidays outdoors! 

Additional Gardening Tips for December:

  • Amaryllis bulbs. Place amaryllis bulbs in pots for blooms for two weeks prior to blooming. Leave the bulb shoulders protruding above the soil; planting too deeply can rot the bulb. Water when the soil is dry weekly, and stake with a bamboo skewer when blooms become weighted. 
  • Poinsettias. If you are anything like myself, then each year on Black Friday when I purchase these potted beauties, my main objective is to keep them alive! To ensure your plants stay vibrant, always display poinsettias away from heat sources or cold drafts; keep the soil consistently moist, but not soggy. When poinsettias end their bloom, cut back all leaves, and allow to remain dormant, watering weekly, and these plants will bloom again come the following fall!
  • Ice: When ice forms on tree and shrub branches, don’t try to break it off and instead let the ice melt naturally.
  • Vegetable Gardens: Be sure to cover all bare soil in vegetable beds before the new year; affordable, green ways to do so use pine needles or leaf mulch. 
  • Fruit Trees: Be sure to gather any remaining fruits or nuts on trees or the ground beneath them, composting this debris; this cleaning will help to reduce pests and diseases next year.

Friends, I hope these tips would be of aid to all of my fellow gardeners this month. And if you have tips for keeping winter favorites thriving, I’d love to hear all about them below!

 

Greener Living Tip: Recycle Your Packaging Materials for Holiday Shipping!

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Hello again, savvy savers! For this weeks Greener Living Series Post, I wanted to share with you a way that I have found to save on shipping costs for my various online businesses, as well as to keep items out of my local landfill, and that is by recycling, and ultimately reusing my protective shipping materials! As some of you may know, I work from home as a clerical assistant, in the legal field. When not working this position, I devote time to several other online business ventures, including my ETSY Shop, my Amazon and Ebay sellers accounts, and my soon-to-be-restarted Scentsy consultant business.

Often times more than not, I require protective packaging for the various packages I send, and one way I find to underwrite my shipping costs is to reuse the protective materials that come from Amazon, by way of personal purchases and product reviews. I save my protective materials, bubble wrap, pillows, and peanuts, in baskets to use while shipping, and this far this year have saved over $35.00 doing so; previously I would have purchased my bubble wrap at the Dollar Tree, and my other materials annually during back-to-school sales, with coupons at Office Depot. I also save boxes that are not heavily marked or marred during shipping to be reused as well!

Beyond this, I always print out labels to attach to the inside of my packages, letting my customer base know I recycle my packaging materials! I have actually received several emails from customers thanking me for doing so, as they will also be reusing the materials again themselves! As I look at it, I am saving its from landfills, saving on shipping costs, being frugal, and living a greener lifestyle! This is a win-win in my book!

What’s even better, these tips can be used this holiday season, to both keep your shipping materials greener, but also at a lower price point, too!

Here’s to greener living!

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Battle-Of-The-Bulge, Budget Style: Lose Weight With Housework!

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Hello again, savvy savers!  Today I am 31 years young, I am 5’6”, and weigh 198 lbs; I am down one pound since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today this changes! Spring has sprung, and so shall I! I have taken up yoga, and have started working out with a pedometer on as well!

For this weeks Battle-of-the-Bulge, Budget Style post, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite ways to exercise, and that is with basic, everyday housework! Consider the amount of time you spend each week completing the following, and you will see how much extra pounds you will be able to shed!

Here is a simple guide as to how many calories you can earn by completing each chose for 15 minutes:

  • Carpet sweeping, sweeping floors: 39 calories
  • Mopping: 43 calories
  • Multiple household tasks all at once, light effort: 26 calories
  • Dusting: 26 calories
  • Washing dishes, While standing: 22 calories
  • Vacuuming: 43 calories
  • Butchering/Freezer Cooking Prep: 85 calories
  • Cooking and Canning: 17 calories
  • Serving food: 26 calories
  • Feeding animals: 26 calories
  • Putting away groceries: 26 calories
  • Carrying groceries upstairs: 111 calories
  • Food shopping: 22 calories
  • Ironing: 22 calories
  • Doing laundry: 17 calories
  • Putting away clothes: 22 calories
  • Making the bed: 17 calories
  • Moving furniture: 85 calories
  • Scrubbing floors: 48 calories
  • Sweeping garage, sidewalk, and outside of house: 51 calories
  • Watering plants: 26 calories
  • Playing with children: 26 calories
  • Carrying small children: 34 calories
  • Elderly & Disabled Adult Care: 51 calories
  • Playing with pets: 26 calories
  • Bathing pets, while standing or kneeling: 43 calories

Here’s to better health,

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Saving On The Go With A Cup Of Joe: How I Am Saving $1,344 by Cutting Cable!

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Hello again, savvy savers! For this weeks Saving to go, With A Cup of Joe Series, I want to discuss one of the biggest topics floating around my home as of late, and that is that I cut my cable and home phone services last month, for good! You may wonder why the sudden decision? Well, here is the long and short of the decision:

  • I called Comcast Customer Service two weeks ago, to scale back my service package, as my family and I did not watch most of the channels, and it had been months since I used the home phone service.
  • Customer Service was very uncooperative.
  • I was placed on hold for 76 minutes.
  • The representative returned to the phone and said that they were not going to let me lower my plan, and they were doing me a favor in doing so.
  • In that moment, I spoke up and said, CUT IT OFF!

So, within hours I had pulled cords, taken off adapters, removed boxes, and had returned all of the companies apparatuses pertaining to the home phone and cable to the local Comcast office. On the way home from this errand, it dawned on me… I needed to tell my husband when he got home, and how would I do that? How shall I tell him that the Saints and the Whodat Nation will no longer be on television? Simple, we would be saving money, and lot of it!

So, in the four hours until my husband came home, here’s the plan I came up with:

  • By cutting cable and home phone service, I would save $1344.00 annually.
  • I would be able to watch as many of the shows my family enjoyed, minus sports channels using Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime; I am already a member of all three.
  • I would be able to put the money I would spent on cable to pay for season tickets to my husbands Alma Mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.
  • I would no longer pay for channels we didn’t watch.

The plan sounded rock solid! My husband took it rather well, and after a month of cutting my services here are some other insights I can share with how anyone can make this switch as well:

1. Investigate internet service providers:

When I made the rash decision to drop my cable bundled deal, I did not take into consideration that my internet plan would now cost me more per month; my monthly internet plan went from $45.00 per month to $58.00 a month. As I work from home, the internet, unlike a home phone, is a necessity (we have cell service for our main phone services), and though I am looking at other options, currently Comcast is my only service provider in my area, and so I am okay with the charge. If you live in an area with several providers, please call your current company’s customer retention department and try to make a deal!

2. Choose a video streaming service:

We were already members of Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. We chose to retain all services, especially Amazon Prime because along with video streaming, free two-day shipping, and the Kindle Lending Library were also included in the $79 yearly fee; we pay for our Amazon Prime membership out of our annual tax returns, and so it doesn’t come out of the monthly pot, per se. As for my Netflix and Hulu Plus services, I use Ibotta, Checkout51, and Shopmium (using code GMYMMYPT) to pay for these services, and so there are no additional costs out-of-pocket for our family, as well; if you are like me and have a small but loyal following list of weekly or seasonal shows, than go with Hulu Plus, it’s been my favorite go-to for the past season!

3. Meet My New Friend, Roku:

Roku is a small, plug-and-play device which allows users to stream videos via your subscription service straight to your TV; the service also includes additional free programming as well. We purchased our unit through Amazon, using earned survey gift cards, for only $48.00, refurbished! This service is really awesome! The unit I purchased is here!  Our Roku is currently being used with our living room television, as we moved our PS4 to our den, as the gaming system already came prepared with downloadable streaming apps; for those without gaming systems, Roku is the way to go!

4. Get a Leaf for local/sports channels:

I have also been able to purchase the Mohu Leaf,  a flat antenna mounted to our TV in our den, which picks up local stations in HD; this feature gave my husband sports channels, which is a plus! I used money from surveys to purchase a unit for $42.00!

5. Re-Think How You Watch TV:

Consider this, by cutting cable you may be cutting your package and the way you watch programming, but that just means you need to think outside the box. My family watches the same shows as before, just a day, perhaps two days later, for upper channels, and using the Leaf, the same as before. Also, I have began to explore programming online that I had not seen before, such as the Youtube Wigs series, watching shows using network apps such as Lifetime, MTV, Bravo, and the like! I now watch what I want to watch, as opposed to simple channel surfing! Its a win-win!

So, this past month I was able to save $112.00 a month, nearly three-quarters of my grocery budget! Was the process simple, no. Was the way we now watch tv easy, yes! Do I recommend this switch, absolutely! So, that’s just a new way I now save money at home!

Here’s to saving!

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DIY Gingerbread Dish Soap!

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Hello again, savvy savers! If you are anything like me, you may be finding yourself washing more and more dishes by hand this time of year. Everything from platters, heirloom dishes, vases, cloches, and the like always seem to be on my to-do list! With all this washing comes the use of a lot of dish washing soap needs, and so for this weeks Housewife Hacks, I wanted to share my recipe for Gingerbread Scented Dish Soap!

I can make this blend for under $0.50 per 1 pint jar, making this product seventy-five percent less than most commercial blends!

Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 bars grated soap, grated to 1/4 flakes
  • ¼ cup castile soap
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon non-GMO vegetable glycerin
  • 20 drops ginger essential oil
  • 10 drops clove oil

Directions:

  1. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.
  2. Add the soap flakes and stir to dissolve, gently stir for one full minute.
  3. Remove the mixture from the heat.
  4. Add the castile soap, baking soda, glycerin, and essential oil.
  5. Stir well for one full additional minute, making sure everything is dissolved.
  6. Allow mixture to cool for twenty minutes.
  7. Carefully pour into a reusable bottle with a spout, a pump jar, or mason jar.
  8. Be sure to label your jar.
  9. Place your jar under the cabinet and allow to settle for twenty-four hours.
  10. Please note, if your mixture is too thick, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until the mixture is the correct thickness. 
     
     
    Enjoy! 
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Clothespin Greeting Card Organizer Wreath!

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Hello again, savvy savers! Today finds us with another Organizational Ideas Post, and this time the Clothespin Greeting Card Organizer Wreath! This project, made exclusively with dollar Tree Materials, and around the house items you are sure to have on hand! This project is as simple as can be, and can be made for under $5.00!

Here’s how to make it:

Materials:

  • Metal Pliers
  • Metal Coat Hanger
  • Spray Paint
  • 1/2″ Ribbon
  • Faux Floral Foam Cranberries
  • Clothespins
  • Newspaper Sheet

Instructions:

  1. Using metal pliers or snips, deconstruct a metal coat hanger, and reconfigure it into a circle; you are aiming at 10″ in diameter to create a wreath form.
  2. Affix one end of the wreath, leaving one end open.
  3. Next, spray paint your clothespins over newspaper; I used green to resemble evergreen, but any color would work, too! 
  4. Once your clothespins are dry, usually around one hour, you are now ready to create your wreath.
  5. To create the wreath, alternate  foam berries and the clothespins to the wreath form.
  6. Clothespins will be secure but able to freely open.
  7. Be sure to leave one inch at the top of the wreath.
  8. Close the remaining one once inch of the wreath closed, with pliers.
  9. Affix a ribbon in front of the top closure; the ribbon will need both a bow, and a loop behind the ribbon, which will act as a hanging strip as well. 
  10. Add your greeting cards, notes, and photos! 
  11. Enjoy! 

Please note, I generally leave my cards attached to my wreaths annually, and store them, wrapped in recycled holiday tissue paper for the next holiday season! These wreaths are so versatile and could look awesome in so many areas, and would also make unique, affordable hostess gifts this holiday season, too!

Here’s to the season,

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