What not to buy at Target....

 Yahoo has done it again... Another of their lists! This time its of things to buy or not to buy at my FAVORITE store Target! Yahoo made some really good points so let me give you their buy and don't buy lists.

Don't Buy-
1. Furniture
2. Movies and Music
3. Exercise equipment
4. Shower curtains and some toys

Do Buy-
1. The Kindle
2. Green Cleaning Products
3. Groceries
4. Cosmetics

  I agree for the most part with the things NOT to buy at Target. Although they are a mass retail company they shouldn't be expected to be at the forefront as far as furniture and exercise equipment. As far as shower curtains and toys. It depends on the item and coupons to me. But with movies and music I think that you can find some truly great sales! Think about all of their $5 movies!
  Yahoo's list of things TO BUY are a little askew. Why a Kindle at the top of their list!? Here is my list:

1. Household cleaning items (with coupons!)
2. Clothes and Shoes- GREAT quality, great prices, and super cute clothes!!!
3. Hygiene/Cosmetics- this is with coupons also. But between coupons and sales you can SCORE BIG!!
4. Groceries- on sale and with coupons

I LOVE Target! I can go in with $10 to spend or $100 and I always feel like I got my moneys worth. I know that when I match sales and coupons for my trip I can have a HUGE amount of savings and feel even more satisfied with the money spent! Good luck Target Shoppers :)

Operation Christmas Child

This is a fantastic charity that is also known as the Shoebox Ministry. Through the organization children from 2-14 are able to get gifts and necessities at Christmas time. If you are a couponer like me then you may want to begin shopping now! You can put together 1 or 30 but each one will be a great gift for a child who otherwise couldn't or wouldn't have anything. With the school sales going on you can get GREAT buys on art supplies and even clothes... Shop the dollar store for other items and use coupons with sales for free tooth paste, toothbrushes, and bar soaps. I believe 100% that our small contributions can make a HUGE impact on an impoverished child in another country! If you need more information contact me and I would be delighted to explain more! :)



http://www.samaritanspurse.org/pdf/PackABoxwithLabels.pdf

Making a Home Schedule

   
Whether you are a stay-at-home-mom, a working parent, single, a student or a mixture of some of these like our family a schedule is a huge help! Between my hubby's ever changing work schedule, our daughters activities, school, outings, family affairs, date night, dinner and house work... It's can become so overwhelming that you feel lost! I know the feeling. Most of our days are full to the brim and now that school is back in session its gotten that much busier. I am an organization freak. I feel like if I have everything organized and planned I have a method for the madness. Here is how we are able to better plan our weeks out...

1st of all have a calender at the ready; this can be a planner, and wall calender, one on your cell phone, or even the computer. The main point is it needs to be something that you will check daily. This calender should have birthday's, anniversaries, upcoming events, and weekly occurrences (such as church, clubs, etc.).

2nd plan out your meals ahead of time. If Thursday's your daughter has a music lesson and your son has soccer you will want to have an easier meal planned ahead of time so that McDonald's doesn't become your go to. Also working a menu ahead helps with special occasions. The biggest thing for our family is the knowing! We know what we are having for the next week or week and a half which is great!! Also I am able to better make meals from our pantry and make a grocery list based on exactly what we need. We are able to save quite a bit on groceries because of planning ahead and coupon shopping. We aim to spend $70 a week on groceries at the very most! (We have anywhere from 4-7 people eating at each meal) It may sound crazy but we are frugal and make our food money stretch a lot with coupons.

3rd know schedules. School schedules, activities, work, etc. You will much more easily be able to work a reasonable Master schedule when you factor in all the smaller ones.

4th write down what areas of your home need to be cleaned and how often. In our home I clean top to bottom twice a week. With a dog and kids not to mention the adults our house needs a good cleaning at least that often. Then there are touch ups on areas throughout the week. And monthly maintenance, which includes; closet and drawer organization, base boards, taking inventory of our personal care and food items, and a donation bag to name a few.

Fifth your bill and pay days. Have a current bill schedule and work pay to add to your monthly schedules.

Now that you have all of the above mentioned items your ready to make your schedule. I use my phone to plan out my week. I have our bill due dates, pay days, and a loose schedule all planned into the calender on my phone. In addition I have our uncoming events and anything else I might need to remember. My day looks something like this during the week:

6am- Wake up and Exercise
6:45- Wake up girls and get ready
7:20- Take Adeline to school
8:15- Back home begin daily chores
              cleaning done
              laundry (Monday/Thursday)
11- Reading and Art time with Sarai
12pm- Lunch
12:30- Nap time (Blog work)
2:15- Pick up Adeline from School
3- Homework time and Snack
4- Play time
6- Dinner
7-Bath
8- Quiet time (reading)
9-Bed time for the kids (work time for me)

    Leave room for unexpected items... And don't beat yourself up if you don't get to everything everyday! Take it one day at a time and make sure to spend lots of time loving the kids :)!

Birthday Wishes

Every year we try to do small things to make our children's birthday. I LOVE the window we have at the top of the stairs (on our second story) its perfect for decorating! A little ribbon, a birthday sign and some construction paper... And you have a great thing for a little girl to wake up to on her birthday! :) Each year its different but always a suprise. It's always great to have a early birthday wish especially when she's having to get up and ready for school really early!

What do you do for your kids special day?