December 2014

$0.10 DIY Plug-In Oil Cartridges Refill Tutorial!

Good evening, savvy savers! For this weeks Wednesdays Ways To Save, I want to share with you one of my favorite money-saving tips, how to refill your own plug-in air fresheners! This tip is very near and dear to my heart, as of late I have been able to purchase several new Febreze and Glade Customizables Units, and as much as I love free units, the new trend in “customizable, dual cartridges,” only means one thing to me, spending double the exorbitant amount I already delve out to keep my home smelling fresh!

Keep in mind, using this tip you will be able to fill each cartridge for only $0.10! This is a 75% savings over store-bought deals! This tip will work with any brand cartridge including Glade, Febreze, Yankee Candle, Bath and Body Works, as well as Glade brand diffusers! I purchase my oils from the Dollar Tree, as the larger bottles come in 20 ounce sizes, and as I only need 2 ounces each cartridge, I can refill each cartridge on a dime, for a dime!

Materials:

A plug-in of your choice, with an empty bulb.
An you like; I purchase my oils at the Dollar Tree!
3 Tablespoons Water
A butter knife, or tweezers, to pry off the cap on the plug-in bulb
A tea bag
A paper towel
A small funnel or piece of wax paper
A medicine droppers; most pharmacies will give you free droppers, if needed.
The cap that came with the original cartridge

Directions:

Remove the cap from the plug-in bulb then clean it out with warm water; a butter knife, or case knife works well.
Wrap your cartridge with a tea bag, and place them in a paper towel, to absorb the older residual oil, for one hour.
After an hour, discard your tea bag (which can be hung in a closet to freshener the air for up to one week; this will also remove moisture in closets as well).
Take your cartridge and put about 20 drops of your favorite essential oil into the plug-in bulb, using a medicine dropper.
Put 3 Tablespoons of water into the bulb, using a small funnel or wax paper strip, with the oil, being careful not to let the mixture overflow out of the bulb.
Put the wick back in the bulb. Be sure it snaps back into to place.
Place the original cap back on the bulb, or carefully place it in a sandwich bag, for 1 hour to let the scent completely refill the internal wick.
Plug your refilled cartridge in.
Enjoy!

Here’s to saving in the New Year,

After Christmas Sales Tips!

Hello again, savvy savers! The holidays are almost over, and you know what that means, After-Christmas sales!

For anyone on a budget, after-Christmas sales are a perfect opportunity to get all the gifts that Santa forgot to bring, staples for next years get-togethers, school functions, and the like, often at 50 to 70% off. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales which seek to mark the beginning of holiday shopping, the real savvy savers know that the true sales come after Old St. Nick!

However, not all bargains are made equally, and when your budget is tight and every penny counts.

Use these tips to spend as little as possible while getting the best and final bang for your buck this holiday season:

Look for luxury. The day after Christmas will find luxury home good, small appliances, linens, and coats drastically reduced; be sure to not return policies for these sales!
Plan A Strategy. After-Christmas sales are a great time to buy basics, especially for work. Stores are trying to clear out darker colors to make way for spring pastels. Before heading out to the store, look online for coupons, deals, apps, and try to match these deals with holiday gift cards.
Think Big. This is a good time to buy big ticket items, if that is what you really need, but it also a good time to go shopping at bigger stores. End-of-year deals on TVs, stereos, and tablets will be at low, low prices starting today for the next week!
Be Realistic. A bargain is only a bargain if you really needed it. Otherwise, it is just money you spent unnecessarily, and coupled with long lines and grumpy gooses abound, being realistic will be your lifesaver today! Keep this motto in mind!
Check online. Many stores, such as Overstock and Amazon, have started offering after-Christmas deals on Christmas Day itself. Check online to get an idea how the price will drop in your neck of the woods.
The Have-To-Have Items. Stores want to entice shoppers to come in to their shops in the hopes that you will see something you just “have to have” and spend more than you intended. Allow yourself one splurge item, and then go about your jolly way!
Newspapers. You will find significantly better coupons in your local sales circulars the day after Christmas than online for items such as holiday-themed paper products, ornaments, and the like. Be sure to buy the Friday edition that precedes Christmas, as well as the one for the day after Christmas.

As well, there will be numerous deals at local retailers, especially discount and drugstores, for everyday goods. Be sure to price match, coupon shop, and throw as many app deals as possible into the mix. While looking for these end of season deals, he sure to look for the following:

Winter Clothing; coats, robes, slippers, and pajamas will go as low at 90% off at many retailers, such as Sears!
Toys and Small Gifts; consider stocking up for gift closet staples for Easter and Mothers Day, especially on spa and gift sets.
Decorations; Christmas trees, lights, decor, wrapping paper and more will all be 50 to 75% off within a few weeks after Christmas.
Fitness Products; retailers will start capitalizing on the public’s needs for weight loss resolutions, and online retailers will capitalize on these items! Look for hot deals on yoga balls, yoga mats, treadmills, kettle bells, and the like!
Food; After Christmas is prime time to scoop up some serious deals in the grocery aisles. Baking supplies, wine, cheese and seasonal flavors of products are all on the way out, for as such as 90% off at discount stores such as Dollar General, Family Dollar, Big Lots, and even the Dollar Tree.
Consumer Electronics; Retailers want to stock store shelves with new 2015 models on the way, so they want to unload last year’s models and free up shelf space. Look out for great deals on washer and dryer sets, TV’s, gaming equipment, headphones, ear buds, and vacuums!

So, there are a few tips for after Christmas sales, shopping, and strategies!

Here’s to saving,

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Free Last Minute Holiday Decorating Ideas!

Hello again, savvy savers! With the Holiday season right around the corner, it’s time to discuss ways to save for the upcoming holiday decorating season! You may be thinking, Winter already? Yes, already! With only 8 weeks until Christmas, now is the time to start saving things around the home for the decorations you will want to make this coming holiday season. I suggest this list, as I will be starting a craft-a-day project series for the month of December, and for those who collect these items now, you will be able to follow along with my series as well. What’s going to be the best part of this series? I am trying to create projects that are free, upcycled, or can be purchased at the Dollar Tree.

So, here are a few suggestions for free, last minute holiday decorations:

Glass bottles; various shapes and sizes.
Empty, clean milk jugs.
Pine cones.
Plastic grocery store bags.
Small, broken sticks from yard; 1-2 feet in length.
Scrap black paper.
Glass and Plastic Lidded Jars, cleaned and dried.
Small paper lunch sacks.
Wine bottles; empty, clean, and dried out.
Save wax melts, stored back in original cartons in red, orange, green, black, or brown shades.
Large and small metal cans; cleaned, dried, and with their labels soaked and removed.
Truvia boxes,

I hope this list gets you inspired for this Winter season!

Here’s to saving,

DIY Doll Hair Detangler Spray!

Calling all parents with adorable, cute little girls? If your child was anything like myself as a kid, then the quality of their dolls hair may not be the best on occasion, and to this I have a great, simple, affordable solution, doll hairspray!

Just take a spray bottle, add two tablespoons fabric softener to three cups cold water, shake well, and voila, doll hairspray!
This is a tried-and-true method for fixing any dolls hair. Please note, use a comb for most dolls hair, as I have found that many brushes, including the small plastic brushes that come with most toys, will pull doll hair loose from its track cap!

Enjoy!

Organizational Ideas: Holiday Greeting Card Organizer

Hello again, savvy savers! For this weeks Organizational Tips, I wanted to share the way I organize greeting cards.

I store my greeting cards in an accordion file folder! I label them according to use; family-themed cards, fall holiday cards, winter holiday cards, patriotic holiday cards, get well cards, condolence cards, and spiritually themed cards. I also reserve the last tab of the file for address labels, foil stamps, and the like. In addition, I purchase good quality accordion folders right after Labor Day annually at Office Depot, where various brands are drops upwards of 80% off; the file I have shown above was purchased for only $0.75!

I also find that throughout the year I can purchase cards for a song generally, and one of my favorite places to purchase cards is at General Dollar, where I can match Hallmark and American Greeting cards, everyday pierced at 2/$1.00 with manufacturer coupons. I try not to spend over $$0.25 a card; my stock-up pricing for greeting cards is $0.15 or less, per card.

Also note, that some greeting cards, with inserts or musical functions, tend to be thicker cards, so I double the elastic strap over my accordion file to ensure they stay properly closed as well.

This is a quick, easy way to organize your cards, in such a way that you can easily locate them, and fit their container neatly in most desk drawers!

Here’s to organizing!

Making More Out Of Monday Meals: DIY Brown Sugar!

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Weekly Reflections: Goals For The Week Ahead!

Hello again, savvy savers! I wanted to end my weekly posts by bring the week to a close with a post about the reflections on this past week.

Goals For The Coming Week:

Walk 1/2 mile daily.
Finish my Motivated Moms Planner Chores daily.
Read for 1 hour nightly; this week will be filled with Dickens, the Gospel of Luke, and the Gift of the Magi.
Prepare homemade cookies for my husband Daniel, AKA, Santa.
Listen to holiday music.
Give out “You’ve Been Jingled” Gifts to neighbors.
Face-time with family and friends!
See local lights as a family.
Watch a holiday movie daily.
Clean out my coupon binder, and start moving to my new method for organizing coupons and blog/videotape my progress for the blog; this will be done today as their are no coupon inserts nationally this weekend.
Sleep eight hours a night.
TTC; take vitamins, continue with yoga, etc.

Reflections For This Week:

This has been a very trying week for me personally, from family members being hospitalized, to co-workers leaving their work for me to finish, I have had to re-learn what it means to be a gracious steward this holiday season!

Though this is a work in progress, here are a few things I am personally working on:

Realizing that people will fall short of my expectations, and that this is okay! This is such a hard concept for me. I grew up with the idea of seeking to find good in others, hoping that if you care for others they will care for you, and then later realizing that this may not always be the case, is so hard!
Understanding that the opinions held by family members, in terms of myself, is not a true reflection of my truth;, understanding that everyone is seeking that sweet spot in life, a niche where they can flourish is an amazing concept, but should not come at the expense of others.
Being aware that selfish, communally awkward behavior in others is just icky; sometimes even holiday cards and gifts can come dripping with slights and issues, and should still be taken in stride!
Coming to terms with the idea that the disdain that others project on yourself, is a reflection on how they perceive themselves; recently a family member carelessly mentioned to me that “they did not sign-up for…this or that,” without thinking that in my world, I had not either. Understanding that its okay to emotionally say no and walk away from toxic family members is a work in progress for me.
Being Gracious. I am working on being able to be distant, yet gracious and graceful with others; its a work in progress.
Lastly, knowing that its still okay to send thank you cards for gifts received, even when friends and family refer to this act as passe and antiquated!

So, there’s a little bit of a peek into my semi-charmed little world this past week.

How have you all spent your week? How much have you accomplished? Where did you fall short? What areas of your life could have used a photoshopping glaze, instead of a keepin’ it real exterior? I’d love to hear about it!

Here’s to the holidays,

What are your goals for the week, I’d love to hear them below in a comment!

Happy Sunday!

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