I'm also trying to organize my boys' room, so I'd be happy to grab maybe an old bookcase, bins, etc. I also have an ongoing list of vintage items I'm collecting i.e; Pyrex Dished, Jade Tupperware, Vintage Avon bottles, kitsch-y items.

3. Stuff to Bring:

Along with your list of stuff, wear comfy shoes, bring a large bag, measuring tape, & a screw driver. You never know if a piece of furniture might not fit into your car, and screwing off a few legs on a chair could be what makes it fit!

Garage sales listings are everywhere! The first place to look, are newspapers. The Sunday paper has tons of listed garage sales and estate sales going around. Craigslist and Yard Sale Search have a plethora of places to jot down. Find the garage sales, plug them into mapquest.com, and plan your route for the day!

3. The Early Bird Catches The Worm:

Or buys the best stuff, but you get the picture. The earlier you arrive to the sale, the more likely you are to find the things that haven't been searched through. Furniture tends to sell early. On another note, if you're looking for the best deal, its best to buy at the end of the day because people don't feel like lugging the junk back into their home. They wanted to get rid of it in the first place! (but if you see something you like, don't wait... you'll run the risk of someone else buying it. Grab it while you can.)

 4. Bigger is better:

Except when it comes to dollar increments! Most people don't have a ton of change, so smaller dollar bills (singles, fives, quarters) will be well welcomed.

 5. You catch more bees with honey:

 Being friendly & good mannerisms is the key to haggling. Don't expect more than %15 off of the price (at most) for yard sale items. If you push too much, you could offend the vendor. Ask politely if they'd "possibly consider less for their item?".

Any tips you think I'm missing? What are you favorite things to garage sale for?

Let me know what you think of it!

  Lately, I've been so busy and overwhelmed with my home life, that I haven't had much of a chance to blog. I finally got a hold of organizing work & my household, so I feel like some weights have been lifted off of my shoulders. We've sadly decided not to move, but I'm excited to redecorate our apartment while we still shop for a house.


I've been wanting to organize our schedules and household for a while now. I was in the market for a good binder system, when I came across the "Family Facts" binders by Pam Socolow.


 When I visited her site, I realized she was no longer selling them, which is such a shame because I LOVED her recipe book :(. It was so well thought out and organized, I wanted to purchase her other books as well. The recipe book wasn't cheap, (I think about 40 dollars?) but I did some research, and found that amazon was selling her binders for upwards of 150 dollars! (Edit: At the time I could only find them super expensive, but I see that they are now available for 20.) I love her system, but who wants to spend that much on a calendar system? Especially one that's outdated?? After looking some more, I found the "Life" planner at walmart.com, and it was on clearance for 13.99. Total score! Not to mention free site to store shipping. The only downside is that the planner is outdated, from 2008. I know it sounds ludicrous to purchase a calendar system that's outdated, but all I really wanted were the organizing inserts anyway! I just run the inserts through my copier, so I'll never run out! Totally worth it.

So anyways, I recently started a binder system that has been super helpful! I purchased binders, and with the printouts from the "Life" binder, and printables on Microsoft Task Works, I was able to better organize our daily schedules.

First, I purchased 7 Binders, and labeled them as such:

♥ One for each of our family members. (I only did L,D,V)
♥ Finance
♥ Recipe / Meals
♥ Couponing
♥ Work

In each binder, I placed a folder, a small stack of loose leaf paper, & as follows:

Finance:
 I used the Monthly budget sheets from the binder I purchased, as well as the bill tracking form. I used the clear envelopes, & added manila folders for each bill to file. I have every credit card filed, as well as our bank statements, college funds etc.

Recipe Meals:
 I wrote down all of the potential meals in a list, & organized them by breakfast, lunch, dinner, & snack. When I sit to write our weekly meal plans, its easier to just pull it from this list. Pinterest is a HUGE help for this! I used print outs from MS. I also have a "gourmet" list for Whole foods & Trader joes Etc. of my favorite foods and snacks.

Couponing:
 Every Sunday I clip out our coupons, and organize them into clear baseball card sheets. I use dividers to organize them by category. TBH I think I may buy an accordion file instead. Couponing to be Debt Free has amazing ideas on how to coupon, as well as the Krazy Coupon Lady.

Work:
  I keep a printout from WS for passwords I use for emails, blogs, etc. I also used a Contact List printout inside. I use this binder to write notes I need for work etc.

Kids Binders (L&D):
 I use these binders to keep his school papers, as well as his Dr. well visit notes. At the end of the week, I take out all of his art work, and place it into a box until I have time to organize it the way I want. (I was thinking of doing this!)

My Binder:
  I keep a print out of a beauty products list, online password list, weekly activity sheet (Dates to send bills, Teachers & Dr. Appointments Etc.), chore list, and monthly calendars.

Every day I cross off and add things to my personal binder, & finance. I have never been this organized, but I can tell you our weeks have been much smoother because of it!

What do you do to keep your household running?

(**Any links provided were just ones that I used! No advertisements, just my own personal findings.)

After watching a few "Extreme Couponing" shows, I was both intrigued, & disgusted. Intrigued, by how neat it is to save so much money, and disgusted by the fact that some people just hoard a bunch of crap they don't need. Sure its neat to get a bunch of stuff for free, but by buying junk they don't need, some really abuse the system. Making it harder for *real* families that are trying to use coupons (they put tighter restrictions.), is just not fair. Grabbing stuff for free costs *someone*... and if its not being put to good use, its just a lose/lose for everyone.

Negative feelings aside, I know the majority of people don't abuse the system, and there are definite perks! It really opened my eyes to how we spend our money in our own household. On the shows, I noticed that a lot of people buy overly processed foods with coupons, and that's not something I like to do. I wondered, is there a way to buy real foods? Produce, meats etc.... I'm not one to say that we only eat healthy 100% of the time, totally not true. I do occasionally buy instant soups, frozen pizzas, and sugary drinks, but its not by any means something we eat on a daily basis. I'd feel sick if I ate frozen microwave junk meals all of the time.

Reading couponing blogs, I did in fact find out that there are ways to save money on meats and produce, which is right up my alley. I also read suggestions about being open to new products etc., but I'd rather try to buy strictly items we already use. I have no use for cheap shampoo that I know will just sit there, and there's def. no point in purchasing a billion bottles, unless its going to be donated. That will be something to keep in mind as I get the hang of it.

Before I start writing about my couponing, I should mention...

As I read through a few couponing sites, I noticed people wrote about Walmart, Cosco, Krogers, but no one mentioned ethnic stores. It boggles me that no one realizes how much they could save just by going into an Asian mart, Mexican grocer, or an Indian one. But as I thought about it more, I can see why places like these could be intimidating. Its hard to buy from people who aren't speaking your language, and buy products you aren't familiar with. But what you don't know, is that a lot of the "gourmet" products you find at Whole Foods, can be easily found at these ethnic stores for almost 75% less than what you pay. Take fresh young coconut for instance, you find them at gourmet shops for over 3 dollars a piece, but at an Asian store you can find them for about a $1. Meats get very pricey, at Walmart, they cost about $10 a pkg (maybe a lb or so), and you can find Top Sirloin at a Mexican grocery for about $3 a lb. The only problem is they label the meats in spanish... but that's where I'm going to begin. Before I start blogging about my coupon adventure, I'm going to write posts on how to shop these ethnic stores, what brands to look for, and what goodies you can get that are fresher, and cheaper than what you're buying at the huge stores. I'm going to write about the names of foods to buy, cosmetics, and other household items you could find for less. Once I get those gems out of the way, I'll continue on my couponing journey. If anyone is interested in joining me let me know! It'd be neat to see who's saving, and maybe you can share some tips of your own!