Homemaking 101: Tips and Tricks

I love it when I run across a product that makes keeping my house in order easier.  I love it even more when it is something that I don't have to run out and buy because it is already in my house!

Stainless Steel Appliances

Stainless Steel appliances are beautiful, but what were we thinking when we bought them for our new kitchen?!?! They looked beautiful for about 2 weeks until the sticky fingerprints and water spots appeared.  I had been warned that they would be hard to take care, but desire for the hip thing outweighed my sensibility(that is a subject of a different post).  I have tried numerous horrible smelling cleaners with no results.  I decided to Google “water spots on stainless steel appliances” and Google came through once again!  Olive Oil.  I read the suggestion and thought it was worth a try and VOILA ... shiny, clean appliances!  I put olive oil on a paper towel and rubbed it on the front of the dishwasher and then buffed it with a clean towel.  A super cheap and easy solution.

Shiny and beautiful!

Stubborn Stains

There are many reasons I wish I lived closer to family, but on a completely selfish note, I wish I lived closer to my Maw Maw because she is a laundry miracle worker!  I am pretty sure she can get ANY stain out of anything.  One of the tips she passed along was to use Dawn dishwashing liquid on stains.  I don’t even keep another stain remover in my laundry room.  It has been known to get out stains that have been washed and dried several times. 

Good ol' Dawn!

Do you have a secret homemaking tip?  Leave a comment and I will come to your house and do your laundry for a month ... JUST KIDDING, but really, leave a comment and share your tips and tricks with us!

Price Matching

Last month Alisha shared with us about being good stewards of the money God has given us.  She mentioned how she saves money each month by price matching.  Today she gives us a quick lesson on how to get started.

I am challenged often by the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) when it comes to both my time and money. This passage, as well as many others in the bible, speaks of being a wise steward; in fact, I’d say the defining characteristics of a “Wife of Noble Character” in Proverbs 31 are her stewardship and generosity. While there are no specific commands in the Bible about how to save money (and therefore not a right or wrong way to do it) I have found price matching to be one of the least time consuming and most profitable ways to buy and eat fresh produce without spending a lot of money.

Two key reasons price matching works so well based on where I live are that 1) we have Wal-Mart and 2) we have Aldi. While Aldi definitely has the best prices on just about everything, it isn’t always convenient for me to get there and they don’t always have everything I need in a particular week meaning I have to shop at multiple stores which can be hard with two young kids. 

This is where Wal-Mart’s ad-match policy comes in handy. You can find their policy here.  This policy states that Wal-Mart will price match fresh meat and produce when the product is offered as the same unit type (lb for lb; unit for unit.) The policy also states that you do not have to have the competitor’s ad with you (although I always have it on my mobile device to show the cashier in case they request it.) And of course, they price match non-perishable items as well.

So how does it work? I have signed up to have our local store’s ads automatically emailed to me so I receive the ads first thing Wednesday morning. I typically meal plan and make a grocery list every Friday, so between Wednesday and Friday I glance through the ads to see what is on sale and add things to my list that I know we’ll eat. (Next to each item I write PM and the price as a reminder to myself.) The front page of the ad usually has the “loss leaders” which are the items that are priced super low to get you in their store.

Then when I’m at the store, I simply buy the items on my list and when I go to checkout, I try to put the items I am price matching on the belt first and tell the cashier I have things I need to price match. They ask which items and what the price is, and they adjust the price as they ring each item up. It’s that simple!

So what did I price match this week? 

At Aldi, I price matched the following fruits that we used for breakfast and snacks this week.

Grapes- $.79/lb.

Bananas- $.44/lb.

Cantaloupe- $.99 each

Something to note is that peaches, nectarines and plums were all $.19 each, but I was not able to price match them, because Wal-Mart sells these by the lb, not individual units.

In recent weeks, pineapple were $.99 each, avocados $.29 each, 1 lb strawberries $.88, 4 lb bags of oranges $1.49 and 3 lb bags of apples $1.29 so we always have a good variety of fruit to eat. I’ve never tried to price match meat but know many who do; a few weeks ago fresh ground chuck was $1.88/lb at our local IGA store which was almost half the price of fresh ground chuck at Wal-Mart.

Have you tried to price match at your local stores?  Do you have any tips you can pass along?

Podcasts and Grocery Shopping

Lately I have been listening to podcasts by Homemakers by Choice.  One of my mentors encourages me to always keep learning about how to keep and take care of a home and I love some of the ideas I have gotten through this ministry.  Recently I listened to a podcast about meal planning and grocery shopping.  Since B was born, groceries have been a little more of a challenge.  I wonder how some of my friends with more children do it!  Fortunately Kroger has car carts, which are not so great for maneuvering around the store but oh so great for entertaining D.  I put him in the car in the front of the cart and I have been wearing B in a Baby Bjorn which has worked out great until it is time to unload the cart at checkout.  I feel like I am banging him into the cart every time I bend over!  In the podcast on grocery shopping, she suggested placing hand held baskets inside the grocery cart to help organize and make it easier at checkout.  Not sure why I never thought of it, but it worked out great!  It was nice to just lift the basket out and not have to bend and reach so many times.  My grocery were more organized in my bags when I got them home.  

Please don’t judge my groceries.  All the fruits and veggies are at the bottom of the basket. Yes, I know that is a LARGE bag of sugary cereal.  For the record, it is for Hal.  He loves Captain Crunch and I am too cheap to buy it, so it gets the Kroger brand! :)

How do you manage the grocery store with kiddos?  Any tips you would share?

The Notebook

The Notebook ... no I am not referring to the movie that makes me boohoo every time I watch it.  I am referring to what has essentially become my brain on paper!

In my effort to get more organized and stay on task during the day, I started using this notebook.  Each morning, I write a list of the things I need to do that day including calls I need to make, what needs to be cleaned around the house, what I need to do to get ready for dinner, etc.  If I don’t get something done, I leave it on there to write down for the next day.  I am amazed at how much it has helped me accomplish.  BL (or before the list), some days I would just get busy with the boys and forget about phone calls I need to make or bills I need to pay.  It has also helped keep me accountable to make sure that I get something done that day.  I must admit that I love to look at my list at the end of the day and see everything I have accomplished!

As much as it as helped plan my day, it has also been a challenge not to be a “slave” to my notebook.  I heard myself say, “D, wait until momma finishes _____ and then I will read the book” one too many times.  Yes, he needs to learn to wait and let me do something, but I want to never me too busy to sit down and play trains or read a book.

What helps keep you organized?  How do you plan your days?