You can save money on gifts by shopping wisely and presenting them nicely. Here’s a perfect example: One time I found my mother in law’s favorite bath gel on clearance for $1.00 instead of the $8.00 it normally costs. I bought all they had left and then, for several holidays, I made nice gift baskets with new items from the dollar store, yard sales and the thrift store. She would never have known that the $30 value only cost me $5-$7 for each one! Of course, we put the money we would have spent toward paying off our credit cards instead of just spending it.
Listen to what they like, then keep your eye out for good deals at clearance aisles, thrift stores and yard sales. If someone collects something small, make up a nice little gift with several of those small things. Here’s a good example: My daughter collected penguins last year. We collected several over a few months and then made a nice box filled with penguins for her. She never knew and wouldn’t have cared that the cost was only a couple of dollars. It made a huge impression because it was something she liked.
Remember when shopping for gifts, it’s not so much how much you spend but how you present it. If you think about it, when you pay more for something at the store, what you’re often paying for is just the presentation.
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
Keep your thermostat at 78-82 in the summer and 60-65 in the winter. For most people, this is the other way around. If you currently keep it much lower than this, try changing it over a couple months so you can get used to it.
Move down to the coolest part or up to the warmest part of the house. In the summer move all your beds and/or the TV down to the basement. In the winter your upstairs room maybe the warmest so move up there. Don’t move everything twice a year. We have a bi-level house and immediately after moving in, we realized that even though a bi-level has bedrooms on both floors, it works better for us to live during the day all on one floor. We moved all of the sleeping arrangements downstairs, even though it meant that we used the downstairs family room for our bedroom.
In the summer, open windows in the opposite corners of the house to “draw” the air through first thing in the morning. Then close them later before the heat of the day hits.
Use fans instead of central air or even air conditioners. We don’t turn on the air conditioner unless it is more than 80° F (27° C)
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
by Maria Gracia Getting organized does not have to be an expensive task. You may think that you have to go out and purchase all sorts of organizing baskets, bins, holders and cabinets. In other words, you may think you have to spend lots of money to lead an organized life.But, the truth is, organizing is a PROCESS, not a PRODUCT. It takes skill, application and motivation. And yes, tools certainly help–but there are many frugal ways of getting and staying organized, without breaking the bank.
- DE-CLUTTER. Chances are, you have available storage space in your closets and cabinets. But, perhaps they’re currently filled with clutter.Empty them out this weekend, and dump or donate things you don’t need and no longer want.
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
by Maria GraciaIt starts off as small as a sticky note. Soon, it’s a pile of stuff. Then, just when you least expect it, you discover that the clutterbug is running amuck, all over your home and office.If you don’t watch out, you’ll get bit. The consequences are stress, lost time, lost productivity, embarrassment, arguments, depression and environmental chaos–just to name a few.
Swat that clutterbug now, and take back control!
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
There are times when it’s tempting to lie, steal or break one of the other 10 Commandments to get a good deal but, in living frugally, we all need to stick to being honest. This is not always easy to do, but I want to give some examples that may help you stay honest. Here are some common tactics that some people use that are unethical and sometimes illegal:
Stealing “Free” Merchandise - This one really irked me! We needed some labels for the business. UPS gives their customers free unlimited labels as needed for packing when shipping with UPS. We purchased labels from a lady on Ebay. When we received them, they arrived from the UPS shipping center. The lady told us that was her “other office”! What she did is take our money and then call UPS as if she were me and have them send me “free” labels. The gaul! I confronted her and reported it to UPS. I should have known it was a “too good to be true” deal! Incidentally, this particular lady had made tens of thousands of dollars on Ebay sales of UPS “free” labels. This is not only dishonorable, but illegal.
You need some pens because you are running short so you take a handful from a store that is giving them out. This is stealing. If you take one, that’s fine. Unless they tell you to take them all, it is tacky to take a large number of them. They’re offering them simply as a courtesy.
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
Just to let you know, I have revamped the Queen of KAOS at Home Blog at a new URL.
You can see it here
Time Management and Organization for Mom’s (and Dad’s) at Home
Some of the latest articles…
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 3:19 pm
by Maria Gracia Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your home? Start on a smaller scale instead and it will be a whole lot easier. For example, instead of starting with the entire house, commit to starting with one room.Follow these 11 steps, and you’re well on your way to an organized home:
- PICK A ROOM–ANY ROOM. Decide on what room to start on. Write it at the top of an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of paper. This will be your Action Sheet.
Example: BEDROOM A
- CHOOSE AN ENTICING REWARD. Designate an appropriate reward to give yourself on the Dumping portion of the job. The reward concept serves as your motivation, so be sure to choose something that you’d really enjoy! Write this reward on your Action Sheet.
Example: Treat yourself to a massage or go out for a nice dinner — whatever it is that you love to do. Write it on your Action Sheet.
- SET A DEADLINE. Set a specific Dumping Completion Deadline for this one room. Write it on your Action Sheet.
Example: DUMPING DEADLINE: APRIL 30
- SCHEDULE TIME TO DUMP. Schedule 3 specific dumping dates (one hour for each). Hopefully this will be enough to complete the dumping portion of the job. Write it on your Action Sheet. Then, post the Action Sheet in a prominent place where you are certain to see it every day, like your bathroom mirror. It will serve as a reminder of your goal, deadline and pending reward.
Example: DUMPING DATES: APRIL 18 from 8-9A, APRIL 21 from 8-9A, APRIL 24 from 8-9A
- KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT. When the 1st dumping day arrives, keep that appointment, just as you would any other important appointment. Bring a bunch of large garbage bags. Play your favorite music in the background.
- TIME IT. Set a timer for 1 Hour — one that sounds off when the hour is up.
- SORT THROUGH IT. Pick up one item at a time, and start dumping. (If you come across items you want to give to charity, designate a special bag for those items) Whatever you are going to keep, just put to one side of the room.
- DO IT UNTIL THE TIME IS UP. Continue doing this until the timer goes off. If you prefer to continue, keep going. Otherwise, stop and follow the same procedures for your next two scheduled dates. Don’t let the garbage bags sit there. Make sure they are thrown out now (or donated), or on Garbage Day at the latest.
- CELEBRATE. Once you’ve managed to dump everything you don’t want or need in that one room, it’s time to celebrate. Take advantage of that reward you designated.
- KEEPING IT ORGANIZED. Now that everything in that room that you wanted dumped is gone, you’re ready to begin putting everything you are keeping back in an organized manner. Be very careful not to put anything else in this room that you don’t want.
- REPEAT. Repeat this process for each of the other rooms in your house.
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
What are you going to declutter this week?
If your tree or Christmas stuff is still up, time to take it down, even if it still looks nice.
Don’t forget to sort all of your tree ornaments nicely so that it will be easy to put up again next year. And declutter as you go.
Get rid of anything that you don’t like or has worn out.
I did this last year and I couldn’t believe how much more fun it was to put up this year and how nice it looked.
I choose to do a red, white and silver theme for this year, so it made it quite easy.
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 5:24 pm
by Maria GraciaA friend called me the other day and said: I really have to organize my basement and attic, one of these days.There’s that old, one of these days, phrase once again, rearing its ugly head. I’ll be honest with you. The only way that one of these days ever comes, is if you schedule it on your calendar, and keep that appointment with yourself when the day rolls around.
Here’s some of the advice I gave to my friend. Perhaps it will help you tackle the basement or attic organizing project.
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
Leslie from Rhode Island asks: Where do we begin to catch up on debt when we are behind three months on every day living such as mortgage, car payments, and utilities and IRS payments?
Jill: It is hard to give specific answers to your question without knowing more details about all of your finances. Here are some general suggestions about a couple of things that you mentioned. Some of these ideas may seem drastic, but if you are three months behind on everything including the IRS then you need to take a very honest and serious look at your spending habits.
In order to catch up on past due bills, you not only have to live within your income, you have to live below your income. It may be painful, but you have to figure out how to live below your income at least long enough to pay the past due bills and then to keep current on all of your bills.
If you can’t keep up with your mortgage, then no matter how much you love your home you may have to sell it for something less expensive. The same goes for your cars. You could try to get by with one car. That may not be as impossible as it sounds. My son and his wife both work and often only have one car. She found she could switch to evening hours at her job for a while until they could get another car. One spouse may have to take the other to work for a while. This may not be convenient, but declaring bankruptcy isn’t really handy either. Besides, if you declared bankruptcy and still spent more than your income, you’d end up with the same problem all over again. You could also sell you cars and get less expensive/used cars with smaller payments.
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posted by Jan Ferrante at 12:00 am
the reward.
