Nicole

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

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!

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!

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!

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:

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.
Add the soap flakes and stir to dissolve, gently stir for one full minute.
Remove the mixture from the heat.
Add the castile soap, baking soda, glycerin, and essential oil.
Stir well for one full additional minute, making sure everything is dissolved.
Allow mixture to cool for twenty minutes.
Carefully pour into a reusable bottle with a spout, a pump jar, or mason jar.
Be sure to label your jar.
Place your jar under the cabinet and allow to settle for twenty-four hours.
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!

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:

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.
Affix one end of the wreath, leaving one end open.
Next, spray paint your clothespins over newspaper; I used green to resemble evergreen, but any color would work, too!
Once your clothespins are dry, usually around one hour, you are now ready to create your wreath.
To create the wreath, alternate foam berries and the clothespins to the wreath form.
Clothespins will be secure but able to freely open.
Be sure to leave one inch at the top of the wreath.
Close the remaining one once inch of the wreath closed, with pliers.
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.
Add your greeting cards, notes, and photos!
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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Does the Amount You Plan to Spend on a Gift Matter?

Hello again, savvy savers! With the holidays quickly approaching, I wanted to post about an email I received from a blog reader, asking whether the amount that you actually spend out-of-pocket on a gift should be given matter. In other words, does your savvy-saving methods of finding discounted or free holiday gifts, make your gifts worth any less in the eyes of the gift recipient, versus a gift that you paid the full price for?

So, here’s my thoughts:

It shouldn’t matter whether you spend $500, $50.00, or you get something free!
The money that you put into a gift is a non-issue; the thought behind your gift, the ability to match a gift to a recipient is what truly matters!
Being able to shop, using coupons, deals, and discounts requires planning, budgeting, and a great deal of time and energy, making your gift often times more valuable that thoughtless, last second retail store gifts!

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As well, I feel that if someone makes you feel uncomfortable in regards to a gift, perhaps you should not be offering them gifts this year! As a child, I was often told its improper to ask how much a gift costs, and to remove any tags from items, especially clothing, as no one should know how much you spent on a gift, or in the case that they spent less on your reciprocal gift, then should not be made to feel embarrassed, too!

As a savvy saver, I often come across gifts that stock my gift closet year round. Sometimes me gifts are discounted. Sometimes the gifts are review items. Sometimes the gifts are purchased with earned survey cards. Sometimes the gifts were freebie items. No one knows how much I spend on any item, and honestly no one should ever have to!

I purposely seek out steal-of-a-deal items so that my holiday shopping is completed by November 1st annually to beat out any holiday rushes, crowds, and chaos!

In fact, I have a weekly gift closet and holiday savings post were I explain that each year I set aside a holiday spending budget of under $400.00 a year, and I generally am able to purchase items in excess of $2,000 annually; this year I spend $287.19 for $2,134,91!

So for me… its the gift that counts, no more, no less!

What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you agree or disagree with me?

Here’s to saving,

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Organizational Ideas: Starbucks Frappuccino Spice Bottles!

Good morning, savvy savers! As we are currently in the midst of the holiday spending season, for this weeks Organizational Ideas, to save myself time, money, and effort in my home kitchen, my Starbucks Frappuccino Spice Bottles!

I have always loved the shape and size of these bottles, and while looking at a case of these beautifies my husband brought home last fall from Sam’s Club, I began to think of how much these bottles resembled the spice bottles I saw in Europe. Sure, the original design was marketed to be reminiscent of the old-timey milk jugs of the last century, but to me they called for a higher purpose! I simply boiled the bottles for one minutes in hot water, removed the labels with olive oil, air dried, and then filled with spices.

As you can see, I store a myriad of spices in my jars, from my cinnamon sticks, to my curry powder, and homemade taco seasoning. I have them lined up five across, and three deep, and without taking up much cabinet space, am able to accommodate all of my spice cooking needs!

This is one of my favorite upcycling projects in my home, and I hope you like it as well!

Here’s to being organized!

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