Favorite Things....Ebates

In my inbox today was one of my favorite emails...
"Your big fat payment from Ebates"
I love rebates and money in my pocket that didn't take more energy from me other than what I expend already. 
Ebates is one of those awesome resources. 
Shopping on line.
Stop first at Ebates.
Sometimes you will find codes for deals for your store...BONUS!
Find your online store/website on their site and click on the link. 
They open the shopping window. 
You shop.  You pay and close the deal.  Ebates takes note and processes your r"Ebate" payment for you. 
They pay out 4 times a year. 
Who doesn't like a BIG FAT PAYMENT, especially one that doesn't require you to copy the receipt, clip the UPC code, fill out the form and pop it all in the mail box. 

Favorite Things....Recycle Bank

Recyclebank is..........
Awesome, great, best thing since sliced bread....well maybe I wouldn't go that far.
But pretty terrific.  And definitely one of my favorite tools these days. 

I wouldn't say I am a tree hugger. 
I don't get all crazy if I see recyclables in the dumpster, BUT I do like to do my part.
When God put Adam and Eve in the garden they were instructed to care for it.
I just see recycling as my part of being a good steward of God's Creation. 

So, after we were married and had child #1 aka Fun Girl, maybe after child #2 aka Hockey Player I started wanting to recycle more.  We did the aluminum cans.  (Hello--Money there!! and the kids were all over the change and so was I).  I started saving newspapers and dropping them off at the local grocery store. 

Hubby wasn't a big fan of having "trash" around. 
I bought trash cans to sort.
Not really buying it.

Child #3 aka Little Princess entered the world.

SHE. DID. NOT. LIKE. sleeping in her bed. 

Forget about napping there.

She liked the sling. 

She liked touching me. 

She liked being near me. 

She was a Momma's girl! 

Ahhhh, how sweet.  How wonderful....
Yeah, but every once in a while it is nice to NOT BE TOUCHED! 
The only other place she was willing to nap was in the car seat in a moving vehicle!

So I started brain storming.  I was all past the first - second child we gonna do this by the book to get her to sleep in her bed.  It was survival.  It was what ever will work for the now planning time.

So I created a schedule. 
A schedule of activities that needed/could be needed to be done every week. 
Each activity was assigned a day.

Do you see where I am going with this??
We went for a daily drive every day during nap time.  Oh yeah!!
Once a week we went to the library that had a drive through and on the way was the local recycling facility.  Oh yeah!!
How could Hubby complain about recycling that was dumped every week? ! ?
Hockey Player and Fun Girl would help to dump the containers, that is if they hadn't fallen asleep. 

If they were still awake, then we might stop at the park before going home.   It was amazing during that time period, how many errands I could come up with that required me to be out every day.  Of course, that was before the gas prices went up.  We won't discuss how un-ecological I was to be out driving every day of the week.  Because the choice was to save gas or sanity. 

Sanity won out!

Then Little Princess grew a bit more and the daily napping trips were no more.
By then I was recycling and Hubby was not impressed. 
Somewhere in there I had to give up my weekly trip to the library with a drive thru.  That is such an amazing perk for a library to have if you have nappers in the car.  With this trip gone, I had no where to drop off my recycling.  I couldn't justify the gas anymore.
Sad sigh!

The recycling stopped. 
Couple more kids added... #4 and #5 and I am thinking we are going to have to get a second dumpster.  A notice comes in the paper.  A new trial service is being offered through our trash company. 
RECYCLEBANK !
The best part, they supply the container.
No wait, the really BEST Part:
NO SORTING
Yep you read that right. 
NO SORTING!
You just toss all your recycling in the bin. 
Amazing.
No bins, no pile up.
How could Hubby refuse?
He humored me.
I signed up. 
Initially it was like $4 a month.
Points are earned based on weight.
Points are cashed in for rewards...coupons, gift cards, ecards
That first year, I pulled in rewards worth more than we spent!
Hubby was sold.
Of course, the first year on deals like that are pretty awesome. 
But honestly, I still pull out some pretty good rewards each year. 
Now, I accumulate gift cards to use for just that gifts. 
Hello Christmas shopping without the shopping.

As time has passed, they have, also, opened up their site to those who don't use them for curb side recycling.  You can download apps and track your own recycling and earn points.  There are educational opportunities, videos and activities that may be completed to earn additional points.  This has been helpful when trying to teach my children about the various environmental actions they can take to be more Eco-minded.  I want my kids to recycle.  But I, also, want them to take note that turning off the water and lights when not in use are important actions as well.  They enjoy the games, activities, as do I, and they definitely enjoy the benefits of the rewards it brings home.   For Dad's Bud last year, he needed to complete some environmental tasks for his Cub Scouts awards. It was great to sit down with him at the computer and take him through various videos and tutorials about Recycle Bank itself and ways we could care for our planet and environment and all from the comfort of our home.  No running the car across town to ask questions. 

Free Samples of Finish Quantum Dish Washer Detergent

Free samples of Finish Quantum Dish Washer Detergent

Favorite things....Swagbucks

Favorite Things Tuesdays. 

With the Holidays approaching, I am appreciating my Swagbucks even more. 

How do you search the internet? Google?  Bing? 

Switchover to Swagbucks and start earning..well, Swagbucks.

What do you do with Swagbucks?

You can redeem them for all sorts of prizes.

My favorites:
Gift card codes for Amazon
Gift cards for Starbucks
and cash in my Paypal account.

I stash the gift cards, for gifts of course! 

And it is super cool to need to order something on Amazon and have part if not all of it paid for by banking the gift codes for Amazon.  Those unexpected expenses all taken care of, Thank you Lord!

And well, I like getting extra cash, (in Paypal) just for doing what I am doing anyhow. 

It is easy to do.

You can load the tool bar and search from there.

I occassionally do the polls for an extra swagbuck. 

I print coupons from their site and earn points when I redeem the coupons.

There are referral perks as well.

When someone you refer signs up through your link, you earn swagbucks when they earn swagbucks.
Up to 1000 Swagbucks per referral!

Talk about earning those gift cards even faster!

If you are thinking you just might need to give this a try, please consider signing up under my referral link or by clicking Sign up on the widget on the right side of my blog!

Happy Searching and Earning!

So I settled in for a re-read of my dear friend, Wendy's email.  I knew what she was writing was good, but with all the distractions and interruptions around here I have been unable to soak in the words and really get more than a quick cursory read.  So I had exactly 2 minutes without interruptions.  Just long enough for me to read it, and exclaim in my heart and mind with a WOW!  Good stuff.  I truly mean 2 minutes, because since I finished reading it and decided it must be blogged, I have had 3 commercial breaks courtesy of my children.  All which must be focused upon and addressed.  But this is good stuff.  Stuff I have chatted in part with various family members over the last couple of days. Then I went to Amazon.  I found the Kindle addition for 1.99.  I have the Kindle app on my ITouch.   Now, to find the time to read it, like I said early, 2 minutes is sometimes all I get.  Frankly, that is rarity in of itself.  Cause the only time they seem to not come looking for me is when I am working on chores.  Then I have to go find them.  Funny how that works. 

Her email.

Happy New Years. I have been reading "Just Walk Across the Room - Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith" by Bill Hybels. This is an easy read. In a recent chapter, it reminds me again the role that I am suppose to play.
"Don't we often think that we are supposed to get a seeker to cross the finish line, seal the deal, and check the salvation box? Isn't the whole goal here to see people, come to faith in Christ? ... I believe many people begin their spiritual quest at a negative ten and that my role is to facilitate their movement to a negative eight....Two points on the spectrum, and a result that is still in negative territory It used to discourage me, but at some point I began to accept the fact that the role I am supposed to play is ... well, the role I'm supposed to play. ... I have a hoe, and I'm suppose to break up some really hard soil in someone's heart so that the next person to come along might have some influence in planning a seed or two along those rows. We can't ordain the role we get to play, and we certainly can't predict the time frame of someone coming to faith. It's easy to get cynical when sowing seed, but if you will just persevere, the potential is colossal."



Thank you Wendy for sharing!

Super Cheap Gum at Walgreens!

At Walgreens today picking up a script I had transferred over. Was also turning in my "check" for $25 when you transfer a prescription to Walgreens.
Stopped in the candy aisle to see what sales they had on gum.
I don't like to pay for gum, so I stock up when I can get it free or almost free.

Eclipse Breeze is on "clearance" sale for 69 cents a pack.
Walgreens March coupon book at the front of the store has a coupon for $1 off 2 packs of Eclipse.
19 cents a pack of gum. About what I paid for gum when I was a kid. Now those were the days. I can even remember getting Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie rolls for 3 cents.
How I loved finding pennies on the ground when walking home from school.

Laundry Soap Directions

Hmmm, maybe someone will want to know how.
So here are my dear friend's laundry soap directions !

*1/2 bar of Fels Naptha soap (or 1 whole bar of Ivory soap)
*1 cup Borax
*1 cup Washing Soda
*1 TBS. GlycerinGrate the soap.

Heat on stove in 8 cups of water until melted. Simmer a few minutes to make sure the soap is thoroughly melted. Stir in remaining ingredients until all are dissolved. Add enough cold water to make 2 gallons. (I use a 3 gallon bucket to add the hot and cold mixture and then use a funnel to pour final product into a 2 gallon laundry jug).You will need to shake the jug before each use.

Laundry and more Laundry and Laundry Soap !!

On my summer to-do list, attempt to make my own laundry soap.

Dear friend of mine has been doing so for months.
I wouldn't dare take it on during the school year. Afraid of what I might get myself into it.
It was a PIECE OF CAKE !!
A few bumps and spills along the way, but so easy.
A late night trip to Wal-mart to get supplies, and a desperate phone call to friend..did I mention LATE... But she was sweet and told me where everything was and described the boxes.

Not about to attempt this with all the children around, I tucked them into bed.
Dear husband is not too keen on me doing this.
He was willing to let me try it out as an experiment though.
He thinks I have enough to do. Which I do, but as I discovered this evening. I was able to putz around in the kitchen cleaning. Measure out stuff, talk to daughter all while the pot did its thing on the stove. Doesn't need a whole lot of babysitting. My kind of project.

So I spent roughly $10-12 on supplies. I don't know for sure, cause I picked up a TON of fruit for the family. I can't just buy 7 peaches or 7 apples. That is only one for each of us and then I would be back at the store. Sooo, I have to guesstimate.

I have been saving my detergent bottles since I decided I would try this. I filled up what would have been about 2 months of laundry bottles. I calculated what I spent for each bottle of detergent at the store and that was $25. I am already ahead of the game here. I have enough supplies for 2 more batches. I will only have to buy more Ivory soap ($1/3bars at Wal-mart) to continue making more soap with the remaining ingredients. Oh the savings.

The Fun Mom did some math in her head and was like WOW !! at the savings. She also got excited about the recycling part. That made me want to chuckle. She told me, "you're saving on oil too, cause you are reusing the bottles." What a smart, eco-cookie she is. I am just glad she didn't start calculating how I could spend the savings on more clothes for her, for me to wash.

It didn't take more than half an hour. Clean up took half an hour. That's cause I didn't pay close enough to the instructions. It says STIR in the remaining ingredients. Umm, I dumped.
It foamed. Foamed some more, and I just stood there and watched like a dummy.
Fun Mom was quick to say, "The stove's never been cleaner." She is such a comedian.

She got to clean the pots. Why me? Cause there is dirty dishes in the sink and you can use the soap on the pots to wash them. Hee hee, one more eco-friendly aspect of our adventure. The other reason, cause I had more laundry to do. Have I mentioned, I do a lot of laundry. Flutter Nutter and Daddy's Buddy change clothes 2-3 or more times a day. I find clothes everywhere.
At least 15 loads a week, that doesn't include bed linens. So I am looking forward to the savings on detergent.

Earlier in the year, after my stash of liquid fabric softner ran out, I began using a tip from my sister in law. I use Vinegar now as fabric softner. Works pretty well. A lot cheaper as well. Clothes don't smell like vinegar. Just fresh and clean. I do occassionally need to use a dryer sheet, but not at all like I used to.
Off I go to get another load out of the dryer!!

We have A/C ! !

I am snug in my sweater as I sit in the basement. Dear N, got out of bed and told me he was cold! I told him to snuggle down in the covers. "I did, it doesn't help." Big Sis went and grabbed another blanket quick. Mind you, I keep it between 78 and 80 during the summer. Guess I will be raising it some at nighttime. We slept oh so good last night and snuggled deep in our covers. Wonder what it will do to our electric bill now that it is working so much better now? ? Good friends are such blessings. Thank you Zach, Thank you Michelle, for introducing us to Don. ((hugs)) all around. They saved us a bundle. I was prepared to write one big check. Turned out to be only $75 and lots of freon replaced. Blessings from God and his people!

Military Commissary Shoppers!

Awesome Schik Quatro deals to be had. While at the Commissary this morning I discovered many were marked $4 and $5. I had $4 Manufacture Coupns with me. FREE RAZORS and some for $1.
Kraft Cheese 2% is on sale 2/$4. After the Kraft $1/1 coupon, bags of shredded cheese for $1.
Country Time Lemonade is on sale for $1.50. Use your manufacture coupons $1.50/2. Like buy one get one free! ! 75 cents each.
Our commissary still had a lot of case lot deals. My favorite was the Dove bar soap. 14 bars for $9.49. I am lucky to find it on sale for a $1/bar and have a coupon. This bargain was 68 cents a bar. Only soap my crew uses!

The Grocery Challenge!!

So dear sweet Dara over at Dara's Deals has asked me join her in her challenge.
Why she couldn't wait a month I don't know... Here are my reasons why this is going to be soo hard.

*Cause my a/c went out and who wants to cook (Please don't remind me the temps dipped and it has been fabulously cool~ These are my excuses...oops I mean reasons..)

*Dear husband had a birthday and well he should get to eat what he wants

*We are going on a trip

*And drumroll here.....I have already spent money!

So we haggled on this deal. At first I was to spend no more than $200. Well, that might be a stretch for my hungry brood. Though I am stocked. We have agreed anything less than the $600-700 we spend is Fabulous. So I will shoot for $200 but be happy with any success. We comprised and also included a food budget of $100 for our trip. A short little sanity breath of fresh air kind of trip. Blink and you won't know we were gone.

So here's for accountability. Dear husband is humoring me, he hasn't said he is on board yet he hasn't said he isn't.

Since it was delightfully cool today. I baked 2 pumpkin pies, 1 birthday cake, 1 batch of happy tummy cupcakes, half a batch of cookies (there's more to cook tomorrow). I skipped the cranberry bread. Maybe tomorrow. Cupcakes are in freezer for when D needs some cake. He ate 2 1/2 without asking. He got another 1 plus the other 1/2 when we cut the birthday cake. So there's for eating out of the cupboards!