Drain excess grease from fried food on brown paper bags
. Bags work better than paper towels.
Cut bags into handy-sized sheets for easy access.
**Thanks To Recipe Goldmine** Quirky Glamour Fact
In 1913 mascara was made by combining
petroleum jelly and coal dust.
Beauty Tip Drinking 8 oz. of water a day can have a huge
affect on how young you look. Water intake helps
Minimize dark circles under your eyes. Water helps
hydrate skin and helps to keep it looking supple and moist.
Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2"
with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving. Beauty Tip Using a washcloth when washing your face is one of the
most inexpensive and effective way to care for your skin.
Thin washcloths are the best. The texture of the washcloth
stimulates the surface of your skin and skin cells under your
skin.
Beauty Tip
For healthy hair avoid shampoo that contain wax. Wax harms
damages hair. Most shampoos that you buy in stores contain
wax. Shampoo’s sold in professional salons usually do not contain
wax but will cost you a little more money.
To create a smudge resistant eyeshadow base,
apply a neutral concealer first to your lids and then
follow up with a light shade over the lid area.
Taxes One of the best things you can do to gain a tax deduction ask for receipts! **Are you getting rid of something that doesn't fit? Updated your wardrobe? Updated your furniture? IF it's in good shape DONATE it! Call your local thrift store i.e., Salvation Army and Donate it you have the right to ask for a detailed receipt for your donations! Save this and claim it from your taxes! **Local Non Profit Clubs and Organizations~ PTO/PTA, Local Little League collecting donations? We've all seen them some times they come door to door, etc Instead of giving them "spare change" that you won't miss write them a check! Even $20 helps to buy safe equipment for the kids and you can claim it off your taxes! Save your canceled check as a receipt! Don't know where to save it at? Get a shoe box and label it! Stick it with your other receipts, important papers, stick it under the bed! Just save everything! You'll thank yourself that you did it when tax season rolls around! Yard Sale Tips: How To Organize A Garage Sale
by Cynthia Townley Ewer, Editor
OrganizedHome.Com
Tag sale, yard sale, garage sale--whatever you call it, the yard sale
is part and parcel of the American way of life. On sunny weekend
mornings, slow-moving cars ("I brake for yard sales!") circle
suburban neighborhoods as their occupants hunt baby toys and French-
fry makers, auto parts and cocktail shakers. Bargain-hunting is the
game as the cars--and the goods--travel the yard sale circuit.
If you're in active declutter mode, the next stop is your house. A
yard sale can clear your clutter and score some cash, but it helps to
have a road map. These tried and tested pointers will ensure a
smooth and successful sale.
Want more help? Print a free yard sale checklist. It'll help focus
and organize garage sale preparation. Now, on to the fun:
Gather your inventory
Your yard sale inventory is living right under your nose. The first
step is to find it. In the weeks before your sale, scour closets and
cupboards, bookcases and basement for yard sale finds.
How to decide? Some home managers ask these questions: "Have I
cooked with it, worn it, displayed it, used it or read it within the
last year?" Others apply a percentage rule: a firm 10 to 20 percent
of all books, videos, clothing, or bric-a-brac must go.
Consider finding a clutter buddy. When it comes to culling clutter,
two heads are better than one--and a two-family yard sale will get
twice the traffic. Back one another up, and dare to clear your
clutter to the bone.
Once an item's marked for sale, be stern! Store your yard sale
inventory in black plastic garbage bags or boxes with lids. No fair
reading, looking or cooking; there is no appeal, no mercy and no
second chance. Give that wedding-gift sandwich squasher an emotional
divorce. It's no longer junk or stuff, it's inventory!
Do your homework
Yard sales have their own etiquette and economy. It's smart to bone
up on both. Read the yard sale ads, and spend a morning or two
visiting neighborhood sales. Note price ranges on clothing,
kitchenware and books. There's no sense labeling two boxes of
kitchen utensils at 50 cents if a quarter is the going rate.
Check with your municipality and homeowners' association. Some
jurisdictions require a permit, or limit the number and timing of
yard sales. Know the rules!
Set a date
Choose your day, and plan a one-day sale, maximum. In yard sales, as
in life, there is a point of diminishing returns. Sitting around at
4:00 p.m. watching the last few pieces of mismatched food storage
containers stare down the '70's era macramé hanging isn't worth the
last few pennies that may--or may not--come your way.
Have a strategy for sale's end. Many charities will pick up all
unsold items. Call and schedule a 3 p.m. pickup for sale day, or be
prepared to box the leftovers for delivery to a thrift store donation
site. Whatever you do, don't let the survivors back in the house!
If you can't sell this stuff at a garage sale, what do you want with
it, anyway?
Make like Madison Avenue: Advertise!
You've sorted your stuff and scoped out the field. Now it's time to
play retailer. First rule: advertise, advertise, advertise.
The secret to a successful yard sale is foot traffic. The more folks
who walk through your sale, the more you'll sell. Lots of cars
parked on your street tell yard-sale cruisers where to find you. If
business is brisk, buyers won't leave your premises without that
lighted beer sign, for fear that someone else will snatch it right
up. The more, the merrier; your muffin-tin change sorter will
overflow.
Do spring a few dollars for a newspaper ad. Many local papers offer
special garage sale rates, or free signs to yard sale advertisers.
Watch your wording! Mention furniture, baby items, garden tools or
other desirable items you have to offer, but don't waste ad dollars
on "miscellaneous". "Miscellaneous" is every yard sale's middle
name.
If you want to keep pre-dawn bargain hunters from banging on your
door at 5 a.m., include the phrase "No earlybirds!" in your ad. A
creative use of "Earlybirds pay double!" will discourage all but the
most fanatic yard salers--and make them pay for the privilege.
Use your computer (or your kids) to make signs, lots of signs. Use
neon posterboard and deep-black markers. Make the directions BIG.
If you can't see your signs from a block away, neither can your
customers. If you live tucked deep in a twisted spiral of
subdivision streets, place sign at each and every corner between your
house and the nearest main road. Make it easy for buyers to find
you.
Prep and price
Assess your inventory. Does it look garage-sale drab? A little
elbow grease can yield big bucks. Run dusty dishes and filmy
glassware through the dishwasher. A quick spritz of automotive vinyl
protectant makes small appliances and plastic items shine like new.
Clean, fresh-smelling clothing hung on hangers commands a higher
price than stained and rumpled items tossed into boxes.
Pay attention to packaging. Plastic food storage bags group
children's game pieces, display jewelry, and hold hardware bits and
pieces.
To price, or not to price? Experience comes down in favor of pricing
every item. Yes, haggling is part of the yard sale scene, but for
those with shyer natures, a price sticker saves a lot of energy.
Buyers are more apt to buy when they know the price is in their
ballpark. As for you, the middle of a crowded carport is no place to
have to come up with a price for every spoon and trivet.
Use masking tape or small adhesive stickers to label your wares. Be
creative! Bundling is an old retailer's trick, and one well suited
to the yard-sale seller. One tag end of shelf paper won't bring a
nickel, but bundle all 12 or 14 roll ends from your last kitchen
clean-out, and the whole box will go for $1.50. Got five small
bookcases to sell? Price them at $10 each, but offer the whole lot
for $40 and watch them waddle out the door.
Abide by your area's yard sale price guidelines. Yes, I know what
you paid for that shiatsu massage wand (the one that leaves big,
round, black-and-blue bruises), and I know what Macy's sells them
for. Yard sales have their own economy. The goal is to get rid of
stuff. Your shoppers know the going prices as well as you do.
Set up shop
Where will you hold your sale? Yard, garage or driveway, make sure
your site can be seen from the road, and plan to haul a few big items
out front, for good measure. It's best to work from a stripped site,
so remove everything that's not for sale from the driveway, garage or
carport. If you can't, drape the not-for-sale items with sheets or
tarps. That way, you won't have to explain that the garden tools are
not for sale for a full seven hundred and thirty-two times.
Set out your wares. Tables, even a slab of plywood board resting on
sawhorse, make it easy to browse. Hang clothing from ropes or chains
attached to the ceiling. Display books, spines up, in shallow boxes
for easy shopping. When possible, use signs to identify
merchandise: full-size sheets, infants' clothing. Lay a heavy-duty
extension cord to operate radios and television, and test electrical
appliances.
Prepare your yard as if it were Halloween night. Remove anything
that can be tripped over, including the dog, who should live
elsewhere for the duration of the sale. Check the garage floor and
driveway for slippery spots or hidden hazards. Tape down extension
cords or cables.
Are you ready to make change? A muffin tin makes a good change
holder. Be prepared with at least $20 in small bills and change.
Assess your inventory with an eye to safety. Examine children's toys
for breakage and hazards. If in doubt, throw it out. Old lamps with
frayed cords or small appliances that give off a burned smell belong
in the trash, not on your tables. Protect other families like you
protect your own.
Ready, set, sell
It's sale day. You've posted your signs at the crack of dawn and
your wares lie waiting. Now's the time to play salesman. Don't sit
there like a lump in a lawn chair! Get up and talk to people. Be
excited and enthusiastic. Comment on cute children, bumper stickers
and T-shirt slogans. Be bubbly and vivacious and share lots of
information about that wonderful set of bed linens that you love and
adore but no longer match your color scheme. Not only will you
create enthusiasm and make sales, you'll meet neighbors you never
knew you had, so it's smart to put your best foot forward.
Plan for at least two staffers for every yard sale, and more is
better. One person acts as "background", shuffling cash, bringing
coffee, keeping an active eye on everything. A cashier sits at the
front with muffin tin or cash box. Leave the selling to the most
enthusiastic salesperson.
Offer free coffee, and give your children a taste of private
enterprise, entrusting them with a donut concession. If people are
eating, they're staying--and if they're staying, they're buying.
That's the point!
After the sale is over
Wrap up your sale when you said you would. A yard sale is a lot of
work, and you're still not finished. Dispose of the leftovers,
either to the charity pick-up or by boxing and delivering the items
yourself.
Be considerate of your neighbors and next week's yard sale
enthusiasts. Remove all signs, and return your sale site to normal.
Then go count your proceeds--and take the family out to dinner.
You've earned it!
Drain excess grease from fried food on brown paper bags
. Bags work better than paper towels.
Cut bags into handy-sized sheets for easy access.
**Thanks To Recipe Goldmine**
. Bags work better than paper towels.
Cut bags into handy-sized sheets for easy access.
**Thanks To Recipe Goldmine**
Quirky Glamour Fact
In 1913 mascara was made by combining
petroleum jelly and coal dust.
Beauty Tip
Drinking 8 oz. of water a day can have a huge
affect on how young you look. Water intake helps
Minimize dark circles under your eyes. Water helps
hydrate skin and helps to keep it looking supple and moist.
Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2"
with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2"
with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.
Beauty Tip
Using a washcloth when washing your face is one of the
most inexpensive and effective way to care for your skin.
Thin washcloths are the best. The texture of the washcloth
stimulates the surface of your skin and skin cells under your
skin.
Beauty Tip
For healthy hair avoid shampoo that contain wax. Wax harms
damages hair. Most shampoos that you buy in stores contain
wax. Shampoo’s sold in professional salons usually do not contain
wax but will cost you a little more money.
To create a smudge resistant eyeshadow base,
apply a neutral concealer first to your lids and then
follow up with a light shade over the lid area.
by Cynthia Townley Ewer, Editor
OrganizedHome.
Tag sale, yard sale, garage sale--whatever you call it, the yard sale
is part and parcel of the American way of life. On sunny weekend
mornings, slow-moving cars ("I brake for yard sales!") circle
suburban neighborhoods as their occupants hunt baby toys and French-
fry makers, auto parts and cocktail shakers. Bargain-hunting is the
game as the cars--and the goods--travel the yard sale circuit.
If you're in active declutter mode, the next stop is your house. A
yard sale can clear your clutter and score some cash, but it helps to
have a road map. These tried and tested pointers will ensure a
smooth and successful sale.
Want more help? Print a free yard sale checklist. It'll help focus
and organize garage sale preparation. Now, on to the fun:
Gather your inventory
Your yard sale inventory is living right under your nose. The first
step is to find it. In the weeks before your sale, scour closets and
cupboards, bookcases and basement for yard sale finds.
How to decide? Some home managers ask these questions: "Have I
cooked with it, worn it, displayed it, used it or read it within the
last year?" Others apply a percentage rule: a firm 10 to 20 percent
of all books, videos, clothing, or bric-a-brac must go.
Consider finding a clutter buddy. When it comes to culling clutter,
two heads are better than one--and a two-family yard sale will get
twice the traffic. Back one another up, and dare to clear your
clutter to the bone.
Once an item's marked for sale, be stern! Store your yard sale
inventory in black plastic garbage bags or boxes with lids. No fair
reading, looking or cooking; there is no appeal, no mercy and no
second chance. Give that wedding-gift sandwich squasher an emotional
divorce. It's no longer junk or stuff, it's inventory!
Do your homework
Yard sales have their own etiquette and economy. It's smart to bone
up on both. Read the yard sale ads, and spend a morning or two
visiting neighborhood sales. Note price ranges on clothing,
kitchenware and books. There's no sense labeling two boxes of
kitchen utensils at 50 cents if a quarter is the going rate.
Check with your municipality and homeowners' association. Some
jurisdictions require a permit, or limit the number and timing of
yard sales. Know the rules!
Set a date
Choose your day, and plan a one-day sale, maximum. In yard sales, as
in life, there is a point of diminishing returns. Sitting around at
4:00 p.m. watching the last few pieces of mismatched food storage
containers stare down the '70's era macramé hanging isn't worth the
last few pennies that may--or may not--come your way.
Have a strategy for sale's end. Many charities will pick up all
unsold items. Call and schedule a 3 p.m. pickup for sale day, or be
prepared to box the leftovers for delivery to a thrift store donation
site. Whatever you do, don't let the survivors back in the house!
If you can't sell this stuff at a garage sale, what do you want with
it, anyway?
Make like Madison Avenue: Advertise!
You've sorted your stuff and scoped out the field. Now it's time to
play retailer. First rule: advertise, advertise, advertise.
The secret to a successful yard sale is foot traffic. The more folks
who walk through your sale, the more you'll sell. Lots of cars
parked on your street tell yard-sale cruisers where to find you. If
business is brisk, buyers won't leave your premises without that
lighted beer sign, for fear that someone else will snatch it right
up. The more, the merrier; your muffin-tin change sorter will
overflow.
Do spring a few dollars for a newspaper ad. Many local papers offer
special garage sale rates, or free signs to yard sale advertisers.
Watch your wording! Mention furniture, baby items, garden tools or
other desirable items you have to offer, but don't waste ad dollars
on "miscellaneous"
name.
If you want to keep pre-dawn bargain hunters from banging on your
door at 5 a.m., include the phrase "No earlybirds!" in your ad. A
creative use of "Earlybirds pay double!" will discourage all but the
most fanatic yard salers--and make them pay for the privilege.
Use your computer (or your kids) to make signs, lots of signs. Use
neon posterboard and deep-black markers. Make the directions BIG.
If you can't see your signs from a block away, neither can your
customers. If you live tucked deep in a twisted spiral of
subdivision streets, place sign at each and every corner between your
house and the nearest main road. Make it easy for buyers to find
you.
Prep and price
Assess your inventory. Does it look garage-sale drab? A little
elbow grease can yield big bucks. Run dusty dishes and filmy
glassware through the dishwasher. A quick spritz of automotive vinyl
protectant makes small appliances and plastic items shine like new.
Clean, fresh-smelling clothing hung on hangers commands a higher
price than stained and rumpled items tossed into boxes.
Pay attention to packaging. Plastic food storage bags group
children's game pieces, display jewelry, and hold hardware bits and
pieces.
To price, or not to price? Experience comes down in favor of pricing
every item. Yes, haggling is part of the yard sale scene, but for
those with shyer natures, a price sticker saves a lot of energy.
Buyers are more apt to buy when they know the price is in their
ballpark. As for you, the middle of a crowded carport is no place to
have to come up with a price for every spoon and trivet.
Use masking tape or small adhesive stickers to label your wares. Be
creative! Bundling is an old retailer's trick, and one well suited
to the yard-sale seller. One tag end of shelf paper won't bring a
nickel, but bundle all 12 or 14 roll ends from your last kitchen
clean-out, and the whole box will go for $1.50. Got five small
bookcases to sell? Price them at $10 each, but offer the whole lot
for $40 and watch them waddle out the door.
Abide by your area's yard sale price guidelines. Yes, I know what
you paid for that shiatsu massage wand (the one that leaves big,
round, black-and-blue bruises), and I know what Macy's sells them
for. Yard sales have their own economy. The goal is to get rid of
stuff. Your shoppers know the going prices as well as you do.
Set up shop
Where will you hold your sale? Yard, garage or driveway, make sure
your site can be seen from the road, and plan to haul a few big items
out front, for good measure. It's best to work from a stripped site,
so remove everything that's not for sale from the driveway, garage or
carport. If you can't, drape the not-for-sale items with sheets or
tarps. That way, you won't have to explain that the garden tools are
not for sale for a full seven hundred and thirty-two times.
Set out your wares. Tables, even a slab of plywood board resting on
sawhorse, make it easy to browse. Hang clothing from ropes or chains
attached to the ceiling. Display books, spines up, in shallow boxes
for easy shopping. When possible, use signs to identify
merchandise: full-size sheets, infants' clothing. Lay a heavy-duty
extension cord to operate radios and television, and test electrical
appliances.
Prepare your yard as if it were Halloween night. Remove anything
that can be tripped over, including the dog, who should live
elsewhere for the duration of the sale. Check the garage floor and
driveway for slippery spots or hidden hazards. Tape down extension
cords or cables.
Are you ready to make change? A muffin tin makes a good change
holder. Be prepared with at least $20 in small bills and change.
Assess your inventory with an eye to safety. Examine children's toys
for breakage and hazards. If in doubt, throw it out. Old lamps with
frayed cords or small appliances that give off a burned smell belong
in the trash, not on your tables. Protect other families like you
protect your own.
Ready, set, sell
It's sale day. You've posted your signs at the crack of dawn and
your wares lie waiting. Now's the time to play salesman. Don't sit
there like a lump in a lawn chair! Get up and talk to people. Be
excited and enthusiastic. Comment on cute children, bumper stickers
and T-shirt slogans. Be bubbly and vivacious and share lots of
information about that wonderful set of bed linens that you love and
adore but no longer match your color scheme. Not only will you
create enthusiasm and make sales, you'll meet neighbors you never
knew you had, so it's smart to put your best foot forward.
Plan for at least two staffers for every yard sale, and more is
better. One person acts as "background"
coffee, keeping an active eye on everything. A cashier sits at the
front with muffin tin or cash box. Leave the selling to the most
enthusiastic salesperson.
Offer free coffee, and give your children a taste of private
enterprise, entrusting them with a donut concession. If people are
eating, they're staying--and if they're staying, they're buying.
That's the point!
After the sale is over
Wrap up your sale when you said you would. A yard sale is a lot of
work, and you're still not finished. Dispose of the leftovers,
either to the charity pick-up or by boxing and delivering the items
yourself.
Be considerate of your neighbors and next week's yard sale
enthusiasts. Remove all signs, and return your sale site to normal.
Then go count your proceeds--and take the family out to dinner.
You've earned it!
With budgeting and meal planning
#1 one of the best things I have found to do is
invest in a decent size crock pot! Shop at your
local clubs, Sam's, etc. Buy the bigger roasts, etc.
You can cut them down and freeze half of them.
Throw half a roast in the crock pot in the morning
and it's done by dinner time! Don't feel like roast
anymore????????? pull it out and chop it up, mix with
your favorite bbq sauce slow cooked meats are the
best way to make a bbq! You can also cook meat balls
in sauce, etc like this, soups, the possibilities are
endless! The crock pot is a huge money saver compared
to nothing's defrosted or ready what do you want to order.
#2 Plant a Garden! Only plant what you'll use, not in
quantity but in what foods you decide to grow. Broccoli,
cauliflower, beans, etc are staples in most family meals
and freeze excellent with blanching! Blanching is 2 minutes
in boiling water before you freeze them. You don't have
to run out and purchase an expensive food saver, the
freezer bags at the grocery store work just as well you
just have to make sure you remove all the air from the
bags. Mason jars are not that expensive and can be
reused over the years just use new seals, plant tomatoes
and can them! check local good will/flea markets for a food
grinder! Put them threw the grinder, boil everything and
reduce reduce reduce!!!! Sterilize your mason jars (either boil
them with the seals and rings or a dishwasher works just as well.
Once you fill them, seal them up and put in boiling water for
approximately 5 minutes to maintain their seals for freshness.
#3 Grab your phone book and start looking up wholesale foods,
many places will sell to the public!!!!!! I buy all our
lunch meats and cheeses this way. Let me explain
how it saves you mega bucks....I went and bought a deli
ham (cooked ham 5 pounds whole, at the deli here it's
$4.99 to $6.99 a pound) I bought a "loaf" of salami I believe
they are roughly 5 lbs, I bought a Hot Ham Loaf (capicola)
I bought a 5 lb block of sliced American cheese, I bought
4 big cans of Chunked tomatoes, I bought 5 huge restaurant
size jars of spices and a 1 lbs bag of oregano ( of which didn't
look to legal) and my total bill was $77! For everything!!!!!
I sat down and figured it all out, what I would have paid at
the grocery store If I had boughten all the same items
there and I saved over $200!!!!!!!
#4 Don't have freezer space to freeze everything?
Check out Freecycle.org and sign up to join your local
areas! These are run through yahoo groups and it's a
wonderful way to get rid of things that are in good shape
that are just taking up space in your home or get things
that people offer and it's all free! I belong to 4 local
communities on freecycle for my area. Just for instance
this morning for my area alone there was a 19'' tv, a fridge,
tons of kid's clothes, a fax machine and a printer listed
already and it's only 9:49am! From this site I myself have
gotten clothes for kids, a coal furnace for my dad, an
electric stove for my gf when her house was flooded
( ugh what a mess that was). Really great experiences
with freecycle! But look around and don't be afraid to list
that your wanting a chest/upright freezer! People get
rid of things for all kinds of reasons...not enough room,
don't need it since the kids are grown and gone, etc!
#5 Local charities come knocking on your door looking
for donations? Do not give them the change in your
pockets!!!!!!
Write them a $10 check or what ever you can afford!
These groups are non profit meaning any donation
you can prove (hense the canceled check you just
wrote) is a TAX DEDUCTION!!!! Put it with all your
receipts for the year and claim it off your taxes!
Help out others and help yourself out!!!
#6 Do you rent a lot of movies? Running to and from
the video store eats up your time and gas! Not to
mention the cost is insane anymore! Sign up with
Netflicks or Blockbuster's programs. I have netflicks
and we have 3 movies at a time, no limit how many
we get per month and it's only $19.99 a month! Check
if there is a block buster in your area before anything
you can return those movies to the store and get a new
one should you decide you want one!
#7 Check out CouponBug.com, or any other Coupon sites,
most are free and have the coupons that are for the sale
items in your local grocery stores! You print them off at home!
Dress Your Best
All kids love playing dress up, so we created a game that lets them practice their dressing skills and learn about the weather at the same time. It's simple fun and, depending on your kids' wardrobe, you can make it as elaborate or as a basic as you wish.
What you'll need:
Small suitcase or duffel bag
3 pieces of construction paper
Crayons or markers
Outfit for a snowy day (a hat, jacket, snow pants, mittens, boots)
Outfit for a rainy day (a rain hat, rain jacket, galoshes)
Outfit for a sunny summer day (a sun hat, T-shirt, shorts, sandals)
(Prepare three seasonal outfits for each participating child)
What you'll do:
- Have your children draw pictures of three different kinds of weather: a sunny day, a snowy day and a rainy day.
- While they're doing this, collect the various outfits and fill the suitcase with them.
- When the pictures are ready, start playing. Explain to your children that there is strange weather coming your way, and you want them to be ready. Shuffle the drawings and pick one. Hold the drawing up high and let them yell out what kind of weather it represents. Then it's time to get dressed! Little kids who still need help dressing should be able to pick out the right clothes for the game, but it may cause them too much stress to have to put the clothes on in a hurry.
- When the kids are dressed, take a look at their outfits. Will sandals really be the best choice for a rainy day? Is a baseball cap going to keep their ears warm enough in the winter?
- This game translates nicely to the real world. You may find yourself playing it before school every day!
Chores Can Be Fun!
If you feel guilty cleaning the house instead of playing with your kids, combine the two activities and turn chores into fun!
Let kids sort socks and roll each pair into a ball. Then let them toss the sock balls into a waiting laundry basket. For simple folding lessons, use pillowcases, face towels and washcloths.
Is your family room overflowing with toys? Label several boxes or shopping bags with categories such as "stuffed animals," "dolls," "trucks and cars," etc. Set the oven timer for five minutes and challenge kids to fill each box/bag. When the alarm sounds, see which one is the fullest.
Similarly, if tiny toys are scattered across the floor, ask kids to push a toy dump truck around the room for "collection day."
Ask kids to leave the room while you hide coins in the dustiest areas. Then arm them with dust rags and set them loose to see who can collect the most money. Kids are allowed to keep the money if they do a good job of dusting!
Many kids love to sweep. You can also scatter coins on the floor as an incentive. (Make sure they wash their hands when done.) To make it easier, buy a child-sized broom or cut a broom handle in half. Many dry-wipe brooms have handles that can be unscrewed to shorter lengths.
Ask kids to sort items in the kitchen. Give them the clean silverware from the dishwasher to put away. Have them sort the canned or boxed goods in the cupboard.
Need to clean the bathroom while keeping an eye on little ones? Fill a small washtub with soapy water and ask kids to wash dirty toys.
Super Story Time
Want an educational and inexpensive way to
entertain your children? Look no further than
your local library. Many public libraries offer
free storytelling, featuring books for children
of all ages. Some librarians incorporate puppets
and music into the program too. After story
time, flop down on the floor to read books together.
Then sign your child up for his very own library card
(a thrill in itself!) and check out a few tomes to take home.
Help your budding author put her words or illustrations
down on paper by creating a book of her own:
- Cut several sheets of paper to the size of your choice.
- Write your child's story on the pages (or have her write her own words if she's able).
- Use crayons, watercolors and markers to illustrate the book.
- Glue a piece of cardboard to the inside of the first and last page of the book to create a hard cover.
- To bind the book together, punch four to five evenly spaced holes down the left side of the pages. Knot one end of a brightly colored strip of ribbon or yarn, and thread it through the holes.
- Secure the ribbon or yarn in place by knotting the other side when finished.
- This will be a book you'll want to keep on your shelf for years to come!
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