Search Results for “pets” – Page 11

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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Wednesday Ways to Save: Craigslist Freebies!

Hello again, savvy savers! For this weeks Wednesday Ways To Save, I wanted to remind you all to daily check your local Craigslist group, from their Free Pages! I have found numerous items on these freebie listing, including a couch, DVD’s, yard toys, pets, and more!

To see if there are any deals in your area:

Go to Craigslist.org
Under the homepage, create an account.
Then go back to your home page, and select your Country.
Then select your State.
Then select the city or areas closet to where you live.
Under the middle “For Sale” column, you will see a hyperlink for Free, and then select this link.
Browse away!

A few tips once you have found a great Free Item:

When you have found an item you are interested, click the reply button and type a message.
Always be sure to keep your initial messages short and direct; ask only if the item is available, and then say thank you.
Once the giver has responded stating that the item is available, be sure to set up a time to meet for item pick-up.
Always select pick-up locations that are in public, during daytime hours, and try to take someone with you, safety first!
The most important part of this process, be sure to arrive ahead of time, and do not stand a giver up. It’s poor Craigslist etiquette!

I would also advise checking nearby groups, too! I have been able to find items such as a free piano, not in my city, but within an hours drive, and even with the cost of a U-Haul for three hours, it far outweighed the initial cost of the item; this one haul alone I saved $2,400.00 over the appraisal price of the item! Also, be sure to favorite/add the free site link to your favorite web browser tool bar, so you can check daily to snag any awesome deals in your area!

Here’s to saving,

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February No-Spend Month Challenge: Day 11 (Clean Off Your Counter-tops)

Hello again, savvy savers! So for the Day 11 challenge, I want to discuss kitchen counter tops.

For me, the kitchen is the heartbeat of our home, but too often our kitchen counters are cluttered, disorganized, and undervalued! This lack of prime household real estate, in my opinion, could be much better utilizes the day-to-day activities of a home. So, today I challenge you to incompletely clean off your counter-tops. This should be no longer than a 1-hour project!

A points I would like to add as a caveat to this challenge:

You may be thinking, is that really more convenient? Yes, is it. While leaving tools, crocks, and small appliances on the counters seems easier, this allows for your tools and appliances to be subjected to spatters of food, grime, bacteria, staph, and other contaminants. We place dishes in cabinets to prevent this same scenario, why not for your small appliances?
Will it take more than two seconds to pull out a toaster? How long does it take to plug-in?
Also consider the idea that an appliance regularly used for 1-3 minutes daily, remains plugged-in constantly, and so small appliances are a power phantom source!
Also worth noting, the appliance most likely to cause house fires, according to the National Home Owners Association, toasters!
You may also be thinking, will my cabinets be able to hold these items? Yes, I believe so. Divide cabinets by need, cook and food prep, dishes, and the like, and if items will not fit, and they have not been used within six months, consider donating or selling these items!
Larger appliances, such as stand mixers, can also usually be stored in larger, vertical below counter cabinets, as well.
Mid-size appliances such as bread machine, blender, immersion blender, and rice cooker can easily fit into most cabinets.

So how should you go about this? Follow these steps:

Declutter your cabinets: Clear out your cupboards of anything that you don’t use on a regular basis. Make room in your dining room, basement, or stockpile area for seasonal items, such as punch bowls and holiday dishes. Purge, recycle, sell, or donate items that have not been used in a year.
Zone your cabinets: I have a zone for coffee, baking, and pets; keep like items together. Creating zones in your kitchen helps to keep your cabinets organized, helps you to know where to store things, and helps you work more efficiently in the day-to-day running of your home.
Create Nook Spaces For All Other Items: Anything random, left over, and not able to be placed into cabinets, think of creative, upcycled ways to display and store these items.
Keep Counters Cleared: Nightly, as part of your bedtime home routine, simply take the items misplaced on your counters, and go put them away.

The process of minimizing your kitchen, clearing off your counters, and creating new home work stations is not an overnight process. It takes work. You will probably be able to clear off your counters in an hour, give or take the existing items you have on hand, but the real time will come into maintaining this standard– unless you work at keeping order in your kitchen, you will never have order in your kitchen.

This project will pay out great dividends in the long run, I promise! Know I’m pulling for you today!

Be sure to check back in tonight for my daily recap!

Here’s to saving,

Challenge Links:

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February No-Spend Month Challenge: Day 9 (Establishing Cleaning Routines & Decluttering Zones)

Hello again, savvy savers! Happy Monday! I hope you all are well rested, work-minded, and in the mood for cleaning and organization this week!

As you know, this last week, we focused the first part of the week on pantry organization, organizing food swap days, creating meals based on pantry staples, and then switched focus to alternative pantry re-stocking methods, and this morning ee are going to scrub, dust, sort, purge, evaluate, and hopefully make a profit in the process! No matter is you rent, lease, or own there is work to be done! No matter if your home is showcase worthy or disaster-adjacent, there is something can can be done to better your home this coming week!

So, today I am challenging you all to accomplish three tasks:

To tackle a one hour cleaning challenge: you will need to start by a visual de-cluttering and surface cleaning of your home.
To establish a three box donation, toss, and recycling hub in your home; set up three boxes that can be used this week for ending cluttering.
To establish an evening cleaning ritual.

So, to begin, you will need to procure from your home the following:

A large basket, bin, or box.
A clipboard with paper, or notepad.
A few pens, markers, or sharpies.
Three empty bags, bins, or boxes large enough to hold a load of laundry or like items.
A handful of sponges or rags.

So, Step 1, use a timer, and complete the 1-Hour Weekly Cleaning Start:

Bedrooms: Make beds, pick-up anything on your floor, remove laundry, dust night stands, vacuum/ dry mop.
Kitchen: Empty dishwasher and reload/ wash dishes and air dry dishes, take out trash, wipe down counter-tops, and sweep floors.
Bathrooms: Wipe out sinks, clean mirrors, wipe down and swish toilet, spray your shower with cleaner/ shower out, replace hand/ bath towels, and weep floors.
Living Room/Dens: Remove clutter, recycle magazine, clean fluff/adjust couch cushions, vacuum and dry mop floors.
Office: surface clean all desk areas, remove paper/mail clutter, vacuum/ dry mop out of room.

Step 2, establish a decluttering zone:

You will need five large boxes, bins, or bags.
Establish a 3 box de-cluttering system for this week; a donation, recycling, and trash box or bin.
Take your 4th box or bin, and establish a sales bin; this bin will hold items that can be listed for sale.
Using your 5th box, establish an upcycled area; this area will contain items which can be used to create new items in your home, in lieu of being discarded.

Step 3, Create an 30-minute evening cleaning ritual:

Pack lunches and snacks.
Set your home up for the next day; set the coffee maker, restock diaper bags, re-stock paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, napkin holder, wipes) in home, check briefcases and back backs for anything you might need the next day, pack gym bags, pre-harness pets for morning walks before bed/ being crated, and lay out morning outfits.
Clean your kitchen: Be sure to wipe down counters, load your dishwasher, sweep floor, lay out a clean dish towel, and remove trash.
Breakfast: Plan your morning meal: Lay out utensils/settings if needed, if pre-packaged options are on the menu, lay them out as well. You can also set-up clean, sanitized pet food/water dishes, placed in the fridge for the morning meals, too. Also, lay out your medications/vitamins.
Five minute pick-up: using a basket, take 5 minutes before bed, walk around your home, lightly straighten the house, and anything that is in the wrong room can be placed in your basket to be sorted as you go from room to room, so items can be put back in their proper places!
Create a to-do list for the next day.

Now, while this list seems extensive, depending on the size of your home, should only take a couple hours today, and in the long run should greatly help you not only today but in the future. This week is not only about creating long-lasting cleaning solutions in your home, but establishing routines that will help you not only keep your home cleaner and safer, but to shave the time it takes you to do so, in half!

Be sure to come back this evening for today’s cleaning recap!

Here’s to saving,

Challenge Links:

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How To Organize & Store Seed Packets!

Hello again, savvy savers! With Spring slowly winding up around us, many stores are drastically dropping the prices of seed packets (the Dollar Tree currently has seed packets for $0.05 per packet in my area),to cash in on pre-Spring sales, and this is the time to procure the majority of your garden seeds for the 2015 Spring Summer, and Later Summer/Fall Planting Seasons. So I thought this would be a great time to discuss one of my primary means to organize my seed packets at home! I use the binder method, similar to what I would use to combine coupons. I find that binding my seed packets makes for easier planting, storage, and accessibility.

Here’s how I do it:

Materials Needed:

A Spacious Binder; 3″ at a minimum.
Playing card sleeves; you can purchase there in packs of 10 at the Dollar Tree.
Currency Sleeves; you can purchase them cheaper than office supply store through Amazon for under $6.00.
Tab dividers and Page sleeves; optional.
Seed packets.
Freezer.

Instructions:

Taking a seed packet, fold the back 1.25 inches into itself, so that the fold of the packet falls just above the front banner of the packet; see photo above.
Place seed packets, with the name and homogeneous name of each seed facing up.
Divide seeds from flowers.
For a more organized binder, use tabs to divide seeds according to the months they should be planted; I follow my local Farmer’s Almanac which can be purchased at your local Dollar Tree.
For larger seed packets, a small piece of scotch tape can seal each slot.
Store your binder away from pets, on shelves, out of direct sunlight, moisture, or air fresheners.
For long-term storage, freeze your binder in a deep freeze; this maximizes seed life by as much as four years per packet.
Enjoy!

Here’s to being organized!