Frugal Living - gift wrapping

We have some birthdays coming up and pretty soon I will really be focusing on finishing up our Christmas preparations (I start preparing for Christmas and the years birthdays with the after Christmas sales....but that is a post for a later date).  So, I thought I would write today about how we save money with wrapping our gifts.  I like the packages to look nice, but I find spending large amounts of money on wrapping that will just be ripped off and thrown away to be throwing away good money that could be spent on the gift itself instead.
So here are a few tips on how I save money wrapping my gifts.

Save the Gift Bags & Bows
When a gift we receive comes wrapped in a gift bag we save it.  I have a tub in our storage unit that is designated for gift wrapping.  We do the same with the bows.  Of course my husband took a little convincing in this area, especially when you can get bows for really cheap with the after Christmas clearance.  However, as long as its not ripped, torn, or has somehow lost its presentable appearance we reuse.  This has saved us sooo much money!  It also saves on the amount of trash we have from gift giving events.  On the rare occasion that I do need to restock, I go to the dollar store or buy at the after Christmas clearance sales. 

If it isn't ripped, Save the Tissue Paper
Gifts are supposed to be special, so I do have my limits on how far I will go to save a penny.  But if it isn't ripped I don't see a point in throwing tissue paper out just to go and buy more.  I smooth it out and fold it up.  Then off to the tub it goes.  The ripped tissue paper is great for kids projects that they will be ripping it up for anyway.

Shred Used Gift Wrap and Use as a Filler for Gift Baskets
I haven't personally tried this one, but I am making a lot of gift baskets for Christmas gifts this year so I definitely will be.  I found the idea on pinterest  Find the idea here

Turn Old Cards Into Gift Tags
I really got tired of throwing out all the cards we have been given, so I experimented with turning them into gift tags.  I used to cut out the pictures and sayings to use to make new cards, but with two young children I haven't had the time to do that.  To make the gift tag you take a card (preferably with no writing behind the picture you want to use).

Cut out the picture(s) you want to use with plain scissors or the ones with the nice edges.  In this case I used the plain scissors.

This one I will leave as is.

But you can also glue the pictures to scrapbook paper.  Add some scrapbook stickers or glitter.  Then cut out.  For this I used a scissor with a pretty edge.

In this case, I got 4 gift tags from the one card.

Kids and Chores

Not that long ago I was a very burned out mom and my kids were constantly looking for that special time.  I just didn't have the time to give it to them.  I was always cleaning up everyone else's mess - not my idea of fun!  I was stressed out because I wasn't able to do projects or anything to encourage learning.  And I was hearing a lot of "It's your job to pick up my mess" (from my 4 year old).  I could talk to her about it as much as I wanted but she saw that Mommy was always picking up after Daddy.  In her 4 year old mind it meant why should I pick up when Daddy doesn't have to.  She doesn't understand how hard Daddy works all week even though we have tried to explain that to her.
So the Colonel and I talked about it and he agreed to a chore chart.  Each one of us has one, including my almost 2 year old.  For the kids I found pictures online, laminated them and gave them a magnetic background (sorry no pictures of that part).  I bought a roll of magnet and laminate from Michaels with one of their 40% off coupons. 
I used the tile whiteboards and gave each one of us their own color.  I got these on sale for 50% off at Michaels.  Then I took some Scrapbooking stickers that I already had and put our names and "to do" and "done" on each one.

We also used a chalkboard tile to make a menu board.  I used scrapbook stickers to add the quote "Do not put off today what your future self will not want to do tomorrow."

Now everyone knows clearly what is expected of them, they learn how to take care of their own things and Mommy can enjoy life a little more too.  We set up specific times that we do our chores.  For example, we have the kids pick up their toys before we go out in the afternoon.  This way its all done so when they come in and are tired we avoid a fight and they can just relax.  How do you handle chores in your house?

To All that are reading the Colonels Corner

We are sorry for the delay.  The Colonel was delayed this week out on the road and has not had time as of yet to get to the next steps of becoming a truck driver up.  We have opened a small store that we will continue to add to and will also be reviewing some of the items we have up there for all of you that stop by to read. So please feel free to browse the Truckers Family Corner Store.

Highlights From This Weeks Grocery Trip

 

Target:

2 Five Star 1 Subject Notebooks for $0.89 each (Target coupons for $1 off of 2 Mead Five Star products, Coupon from the Sunday Paper for $1 off of 2 Mead Five Star products)

Walmart:

2 lbs of Minute White Rice for $3.98 (only $0.60 more than the 1 lb box)

Market Basket:

 Classico Alfredo Sauce 2/$4 

Dollar Tree ($1 each)

Flash cards (all types: color, shape, first word, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)

The washcloths that expand in water (we stocked up on these with birthdays coming up and they make great stocking stuffers.  The kids love these!)

Lisa Frank Sticker Packs (400 stickers each!)

Running the Household

It seems like whenever we finally get things running smoothly, something comes along and it's time to reevaluate and reorganize.  That is what is going on now.  I am looking at some better ways to organize some areas of constant clutter - mainly my flyers and pre-cut coupons for grocery shopping and my pile of projects to get done.  If I can get these areas organized I just might be able to see my desk more often!  This is good because too much clutter around me prevents me from really relaxing, creating a lot of unnecessary stress.

Princess is getting older.  She will be starting dance lessons this year and going to school next year.  This means I need to make sure that she knows everything she needs to know to start kindergarten.  I am also working on expanding Buddy's vocabulary and teaching him general things that toddlers learn (colors, shapes, etc.).  My plan is to work in an hour for those days when we don't have a scheduled activity to work on these skills.  That means planning and prepping, which I like to have done so it isn't adding stress.  I'm still thinking about my organization system for this, but it will depend on how big these projects get.

Next would be the fun parts of life, like planning my sons birthday and working on Christmas.  I've been working on gifts since the after Christmas sales to help get the best prices on things and to give me time to make what needs to be made.  But will be focusing more intently on that soon.  Our Elf on the Shelf will be prepping for his appearance.   And there are the fun activities to be planned for our advent calendar. It was so much fun for the kids and I last year.  So many good memories were made!

Then there are the household and cooking related parts of life.  Trying to reduce chemicals and additives from our diet and eating a bit healthier means more time devoted to planning and cooking, maybe even a bit of canning but we will see.  And the chores seems to be an ongoing battle for this household.  Teaching my toddler to start doing chores, getting my preschooler to do her chores without a constant battle, and making sure my trucker has all his needs met (and pitches in a bit when he can).  Fortunately my trucker is extremely dedicated to this family and is willing to show the kids that everyone needs to pitch in around the house.  We do try to finish as much as we can during the "Mommy Days" as my kids call them so that on the "Daddy Days" we can focus on our family time.

As I figure it all out and find ways to make it work, I will update you.

How do you organize and handle all the many parts of keeping a family going so that it all runs smoothly??  I'm always open to new ideas!

Great Huggies Deal And High Value Mattel Cars Coupon

I just received the Babies R Us flier in the mail for our local store.  July 26-August 15 they are running some great deals on Huggies diapers and wipes.
$20 off of any 2 Huggies value boxes of diapers (104 count or higher)
$3 off all Huggies value boxes of wipes (448 count or higher)

In addition to these awesome deals, if you have a toys r us/babies r us rewards card  you can apply for a V.I.B. (Very Important Baby).  It is a gift card that you can add to at any time (but can only be used on diapers, formula, baby wipes, and baby foods).  The added bonus of this card is what ever is put on this card Babies R Us will add 10% to (up to an annual amount of $200 I believe).

Coupons.com is also running Huggies coupons right now.

Save $1.50 on any 1 package of Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers (allowed to print 2)
Save $0.50 on any 1 package of Huggies Baby Wipes 40 count or higher
Both of these coupons expire August 6, 2013.

I personally prefer the snug and dry and they contain more diapers per box than the other kinds of Huggies diapers, helping my dollar go that much further.

Coupons.com is also running a coupon for $4.00 off of the purchase of 1 Mattel Vehicle 2 pack featuring Disney Pixar Cars Characters.  Expires August 12, 2013 (again can print 2)  Buddy is currently very into Cars so these will make great birthday and Christmas gifts!

See You Tomorrow

We won't be posting anything today.  Rough night with my toddler (well several really), I've got a check-up for myself today.  Taking a day to take it easy and spend some time with my family.  See you tomorrow  :-)