Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Sharing some of my stockpile pics:

 

As I have mentioned before, I have only been couponing since October of 2008.  I have not really been stockpiling all that long.  But what little bit of time I have been doing it, this is what I’ve stockpiled.   First is the bookcase/what-not stand or whatever it is that  I have in my dining room.  It is not very big, It measures in at 5 ft tall 23 inches wide and has a depth of only 12 inches.  I’m throwing these measurements at you to show you that you don’t need an extra room or a basement to take advantage of stockpiling.  On the first shelf there are 10 jars of salsa and 7 bottles of syrup.  The second shelf holds 10 jars of mustard, 9 bottles of bbq sauce, 2 bottles of worcestershire sauce, and 3 bottles of Lawry’s marinade.

stockpile 001

The third shelf holds 13 jars of peanut butter, 3 boxes of oats, and 9 bottles of A1 steak sauce.  The fourth shelf contains 4 jars Ragu pasta sauce, 9 bottles of Ranch dressing, and 11 bottles of misc. dressing.stockpile 002

And I don’t think you can see them all, but the last shelf holds 17 more jars of Ragu.

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Here are some more pictures.  This is my coffee stash.  This is 9 1/2  big cans that I store in a cabinet under my coffee pot.

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This is in the bottom of another kitchen cabinet.  This contains all of my ketchup, miracle whip, and DH’s and DS’s hot sauce and buffalo wing sauce.

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This is 9 boxes of my cereal stash.  I have 4 more on the bottom shelf in this small closet in the kitchen.  I gave away 10 or so boxes last night.  I won’t be buying any more cereal!!  When we didn’t have cereal the kids were always complaining that they never get to eat cereal.  Since I’ve started couponing, we stocked up PLENTY, they would open a box, get out a bowl & then they’re done with it!!  So, I gave away all the boxes “they wanted” .   

stockpile 006

This is part of my cleaning supplies.  There are 10 bottles of pourable Lysol,  6 bottles toilet bowl cleaner, 3 containers of clorox & Lysol wipes.  These are all under my bathroom sink.  Again, this is a small space, but it will hold quite a bit.stockpile 013

This is 2 shelves that holds my laundry supplies that I’m currently using, and the rest of my cleaning products stockpile.  It’s a mess right now but it holds 2 furniture polishes, 12 Lysol spray cleaners, 5 air sanitizers/fresheners 4 boxes of Kleenex, 3 bottles of Spray & Wash, and 4 boxes of Bounce dryer sheets. 

stockpile 011

I am fortunate to have a pretty good size bathroom closet, but there is only one shelf in it right now.  Eventually, DH is going to add more shelves so I can put all of my cleaning supplies/laundry supplies in there as well.  Right now, this is what I have in there:  I have 2 “wall pocket planters” (I think that’s what they’re called.  They hold 18 packs of razors (all free) and toothbrushes,(all free) the metal basket holds 11 cans of his/hers shaving cream, ($0.19 each) there’s 6  bottles of body wash, (2 of them were $1 each, and the rest was less than a $1 or free) 3 of the John Frieda shampoos,

stockpile 014

on the right hand side I have the bar soaps, ($0.35 a pack) misc. hair care products, 7 bottles of shampoo (all $1 or less) and feminine products.  This side is looking kind of scarce right now. 

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Here’s my toilet paper stash 12 packs cottonelle, $0.25 each and 10 (6 double roll packs) of Northern @ $0.50 each 

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This is the his/hers deodorant stash 27 in all (all free except for the Old Spice DH’s favorite, and it was dirt cheap!

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And this is what’s left of the toothpaste stash. (also all free) There are 12 tubes in this box.   I have given away oodles of free toothpaste and deodorant

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This is my puny looking laundry detergent stash.  I have this in a tote that I slide under my utility sink in the laundry room. 

stockpile 023

So you see, you don’t need a bunch of money or a whole room or a basement to start stockpiling.  Find various unused or underused areas throughout your house/apt. where you could stash a little here and there. 

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

COUPONING 101…CAN I REALLY SAVE MONEY BY USING COUPONS?

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I have had several friends ask me that question over and over again. The answer is YES YOU CAN!!

I have only been couponing since October 2008 (you can read about that here) and I have learned sooo much from fellow couponers that I thought it was time to pay it forward and teach others some of the things that I have learned. I know there are already thousands of “couponing 101’s” out there, and when I was starting out I probably read all of them. But each blog that I read had some very good information. So my hope is that maybe this blog post will also be helpful to someone in some way. (Please note that I have backdated these lessons so that I can try and keep them all together. I really didn’t post these in January…lol…just wasn’t sure how else to do it.) So here is my take on the “Couponing 101” lessons:

LESSON #1: WHERE DO I START?

LESSON #2: WHERE DO I GET MY COUPONS?

LESSON #3: ORGANIZE THOSE COUPONS

LESSON #4:  A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU START SHOPPING

LESSON #5:  NOW...LET'S GO SHOPPING!!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I’M BAAACK!!!!!!

 

I can’t believe it’s been 2 months since I’ve last posted.  For several reasons, I had to put this blog on the back burner for a while.  But…now that I’m back….I’ll start by posting a few grocery deals that I’ll be cashing in on this week:

 

Meijer:

ITEM: SALE PRICE MQ MBQ FINAL PRICE
King’s
Hawaiin bread (4 pk)                   
SALE PRICE 10/$10 GET 11th ITEM FREE $0.75/1 MQ (IP coupon)   FREE!
Country Crock 10/10
11th item free
$0.35 in 5/17 RP $1/2 FREE!
Aunt Millie’s bread 10/10 11th item free $0.35 in 5/10 RP   $0.30/loaf
Hunt’s Ketchup 10/10 11th item free $0.20/1 5/10 SS   $0.60 EACH
Reynold’s
wrap
aluminum foil
2/$5 $1/1 5/17 SS $1/2 $1.00 EACH
Kellogg’s cereal 4/$10 buy 4 get $3 off instantly @ register $1/1 6/7 RP   $3 for 4 boxes
Lysol products 1/2 off various Q’s in 4/26SS 5/3 SS
6/7 SS
  Very, Very cheap cleaning supplies!!
KEN’S SALAD DRESSING 10/10 11th item free $1/2 5/3 SS   $0.50 EACH

 

KROGER:

ITEM SALE PRICE MQ FINAL PRICE
Ground chuck $1.78/lb   $1.78/lb
Kroger milk $1.75/gallon   $1.75/gal.
Kraft singles $1.69 $1/1 IP print 2 $0.69/pk
Daisy sour cream 16 oz $1.69 $0.55
5/31 RP
$0.69
Hot, lean, or croissant pockets $1.77 $0.50/1
5/17 SS
$0.77 each

So, that’s all that I’ll be picking up at Meijer and Kroger this week.  What deals did you find?

Friday, April 10, 2009

Play Day!!

It's been a while since I've made any jewelry, and today while I was supposed to be cleaning/organizing my craft room, I got sidetracked and made these. Nothing fancy, but I had fun!


DENIM DAYS...although it's very hard to tell, this is made up of various shades of blue beads.




SUMMER SUNSET...made with citrine, peach colored moonstone, czech glass, and 2 small red glass beads. These are my favorite colors!!



Did I get any cleaning done? NOPE!! Do I care? NOPE!! It'll still be there when I get ready to have a go at it again. Life's too short...have yourself a "play day".


Do you like them? I'd love any feedback on them.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Meijer & Kroger Matchups 4/5 - 4/11

Making out my grocery list for the week and thought I'd share a few good deals with ya! This is by no means all that Kroger's and Meijer has on sale this week. This is just what we'll be picking up along with some meat, veggies, and a Sugardale boneless ham from Meijer for $1.79/lb.


MEIJER: (I am under the impression that you can stack Meijer's Mealbox Coupons (MBQ) with a Manufacturer Coupon (MQ). I guess I'll find out tomorrow whether our Meijer does that or not.)

  • Velveeta $4.49 - $1 MBQ = $3.49 - $0.55/1 MQ (dbld) = $2.49!
  • Campbell's cream of soups 4/$3 - $1/4 MBQ = 4/$2 - $1/2 IP (I printed 2 but I think this one has already reached it's print limit.) = FREE!
  • Ziploc bags 2/$4 - $1/2 MBQ = 2/$3 - (2) 0.40/1 MQ (dbld) = 0.70/each!
  • Johnsonville breakfast sausage 2/$4 - $1/1 MQ in 4-5-09 = $1 each! (I will be picking up 4 of the patties and 4 of the links on this trip.)
  • Milk $1.99
  • Bounty paper towels $1 each use $1 MQ from $120 P&G book = free I don't normally buy paper towels, but I won't turn down free ones.
  • Mott's applesauce 46-48 oz jar 4/$7 or $1.75 each - (2) 0.55/1 IP dbld - 1 MBQ = 0.50 for 2 jars.
  • Aunt Millie's bread 2/$3 - 0.35 MQ in recent insert (dbld) = 0.80/loaf

Kroger:

  • Folger's coffee $4.99 - $1 MQ in 4-5 insert...not sure right off which one it was, but it's there. = $3.99 (This is "MY" big score this week. I'll be picking up "at least" 6 cans!)
  • Kroger shredded cheese $1.29 - 0.45/1 kroger Q = 0.84 (I only have one of these Q's)
  • 10 lb bag potatoes $1.99
  • eggs 0.99/doz.

So...do you have your list made out yet? If so, what's your game plan for this week?

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GET MUCH FOR $10 ANYMORE?





I got all of this (plus 5 tubes of Johnson's lotion that's not pictured) for $10.68. PLUS: I got back $2.00 off of my next shopping trip from Kroger's so technically I only spent $8.68 today : )


I'll start with Kroger's first:

4 boxes Quaker oatmeal squares
2 lbs. grapes
2.5 lbs bananas
4 French's spicy brown mustard's (paid .29 each after cpns & got back $2 towards my next trip...how sweet is that!!)
2 big boxes Hungry Jack instant potatoes. (these are $2.99 each and there are blinkies above them for $1 off each)
6 packs (3 rolls of 12 in each pack) Rolaids
9 Johnson & Johnson buddies soaps

Total OOP $9.17

Wal-Mart:

10 Kraft salad dressings (priced at $1.58 each...used 10/$1.50 cpns...makes them 0.08 each)
6 packs Ortega taco seasonings (these were 0.47 each...used my 0.75/2 cpn that expired today which made them 0.19 for 2 or 0.38 for all 4)
5 Johnson's lotions (not pictured, they were left in the car during photo shoot)

Total OOP $1.51

So... now I can cross off salad dressing and mustard off of my stockpiling list.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Take A Look At My $3.00 Goodwill Find!!

Isn't she a beauty.... I'm not sure what her original purpose was, maybe a day planner or something, but I'm turning her into my coupon binder.



She's still a work in progress, and I'm sure it'll take a while to get her situated into what works for me. The binder part isn't quite 3" like alot of other couponers recommend using, (I'm thinking it's 1 1/2" to 2" but hopefully it'll work. If not, it'll go in a yard sale.) On the left in the very back is a place I can stick my store ads and 2 pen holders. Behind the zipper part, I've got my P&G $120 coupon book, and my Right At Home coupon book. And then there is the handy dandy calculator. The screen has some kind of spot on it, but it's fully functionable and readable, so no biggie for me. There are also slots for my shopper's cards on the right hand side of the calculator. I haven't put them in yet. On the right hand side of the binder, I added a pencil pouch from my sons torn mead binder. It holds my scissors, paperclips, etc. The pouch under it will hold ??? not sure yet, maybe rebate forms.

Then, when you flip the pencil pouch over, it has some more small pockets. Not sure what I'll use the top 2 for, but the bottom left one will hold the coupons that I'll take to the checkout, and the bottom right will hold coupons that need to be filed, or refiled. (blinkies, found coupons on shelves, etc.) And then there's my baseball card pages. The very first page is for my "free item" coupons. The 2nd page holds my kroger cpns. and the third page is for meijer coupons. I don't have tabbed dividers yet, but they are divided by the untabbed dividers, and I've written in pencil what each divider is for. So, when I get the tabbed ones, I'll pull the old ones out and stick the new ones in.


I currently have my categories set up like this:

freebie cpns
kroger cpns
meijer cpns
baking/mixes
beverages
canned goods
cereals/breakfast items
condiments
cleaning/laundry (which is separated by types of cleaners due to the amount of cpns)
dairy/meats (I put these together because they're close together in the store and it's easier for me that way)
frozen foods (separate pages for each category ex. breakfast, meats, veggies, desserts)
makeup
otc meds
paper/plastic
pasta/rice
personal hygiene(also separated by types because there's a cpn overload on these items, ex. oral care, razors, body washes, shampoos, etc)
pet
snacks
And then I added a couple of pages for Pillsbury products, because there's so many cpns for them and the last page is for produce and breads, I just combined those two because I never seem to get many cpns for those items.

This picture shows that pocket for the ads I talked about earlier. And my batteries died in my camera before I could take a picture of the back of the binder on the inside. There was another pocket similar to the one with the ads in it so I slipped a mini clipboard that I've had on my fridge for years right down in that pocket...presto, a grocery list holder. So, there you have it. Not too shabby for $3, wouldn't you agree? So for anyone looking for a binder pretty reasonable, try a Goodwill near you. You'd be surprised what they have. And the money goes to a good cause.
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