Who doesn’t love a good deal? Or love saving money?  Or these days, NEED to save money?  I know we all do, so I’ve really been trying to learn how to use those coupons and I couldn’t help but share my tips!

Now, I’m really no expert…I just really started trying my hand at this and I’m still learning.  Because it really can take up a lot of time if you want it to.  And you’ll make mistakes or learn by trial and error…at least I do.  But hopefully I can give you some ideas about where to look for good deals, and where to look for some instructions on how to find those good deals! (Note: these tips are geared specifically for shopping in Alturas – there are tons of deals for other stores, but unfortunately we don’t have access to them here in Modoc! And if you know me, you know I don’t leave to shop so I’m trying to make it work here!).  Seriously…I have a decent car gas-wise, and I even cringe at the thought of wasting the “difference” in gas.  As well as wasting the time.  I know some people enjoy going out of town, but we don’t.  I find we rush through what we need to get done just so we can go home and then we forget things anyway.  So I don’t go out of town to shop.  It’s either here, online, or out of town when I’m out of town anyway and have the time.  I don’t make special trips.

So, onto the tips!  I decided to break it down a few different ways, so hopefully it’s all clear because I know I’m bouncing around a lot.  Feel free to ask questions, or leave tips of your own in the comments!

First up: where to find coupons:

1. Tip #1: Facebook.  I just checked and I “like” 489 pages.  Yes, 489.  Included in that number is every franchise that I frequent, locally.  In Alturas that includes Holiday Market, Rite Aid, True Value, Ace Hardware, Quizno’s, and Subway.  A lot of them offer printable coupons straight from their Facebook page, and often times I check their page if I know I need to make a purchase at one of them.  Ace, True Value and Quizno’s are the best examples of this.  I used True Value’s $5 off a $25 purchase today.  Ace also has one going right now.  I knew about it because they posted it and I saw it in my news feed.  It reminded me I wanted to get something I knew I could get from True Value.  $5 is $5 – woot!  Quizno’s posts coupons all the time.  And FYI – our Quizno’s accepts expired coupons.  I don’t go in without one! Now go and “like” all of their pages, then come back.
   

   My Coupon for Ace that I printed from Facebook. There's an online code, too (feel free to use it!) - I buy stuff online then ship it to their store for FREE!

2. Tip #2: E-mail.  I subscribe to waaaayyyy too many e-mail lists, but I find them useful so I don’t have to scroll Facebook pages to find coupons and deals.  My favorite reads are the Holiday Market newsletter, the Rite Aid newsletter, Red Plum, Coupons.com and The Krazy Coupon Lady newsletter.  More on why later…
3. Tip #3: Blogs.  These bloggers are smart, and they do all the work for you.  They’ve figured out how to get coupons that you would never find on your own, and they even put together shopping scenarios to help you get things for almost free or FREE!  I “like” The Krazy Coupon Lady, Frugal Coupon Living, The Frugal Girls and Coupon Divas on Facebook, and check in with their blogs frequently (mainly through Facebook, or I’ll go over there if I’m taking some time to print my coupons or need a discount code and I’m looking for good links). I know there are a ton of good blogs for couponing out there, but these are the ones I look to the most, and a lot of them share the same information anyway.
4. Tip #4: Coupon printing websites.  This is where I get the majority of my coupons throughout the month.  Coupons.com, RedPlum.com, and SmartSource.com are the ones I’ve used.  You have to install their software and have your printer hooked up to your computer to do it.  FYI: I had trouble installing the coupon printer for a while…it turned out to be my virus protection blocking it.
   

   Smart Source Coupon I printed.

5. Tip #5: Newspapers.  The Herald & News adds a coupon insert on the first Sunday of the month.  I go to the Likely Store and buy mine from their machine for $1.50 each copy.  There’s also one outside of Holiday Market, among other places in town.  Or you can subscribe to their paper for ‘Sundays only.’ This past Sunday (October 2nd – the first Sunday of the month) I bought two copies so I could get 2 pages of inserts.  The Rite Aid insert is always included in the Modoc Record, or you can get it right at the doorway. (Note: did you see the Pepsi insert in this week’s Modoc Record?? Lots of goodies in there, and you can match it with some Rite Aid deals!) 
   

   Starbucks Frappuccino Match Up at Rite Aid

6. Tip #6: Retailer’s websites.  I print coupons straight from http://shophqf.com/ (Holiday Market) and http://riteaid.adperk.com/ (Rite Aid).  With Holiday Market they always have a ’1 cent’ coupon, but you have to use 200 WOW points with it.  This week it’s for a bag of salami. Last week it was for a bag of cereal.  At AdPerk.com you create an account, watch little commercials, fill out a captcha to prove you’re paying attention, then you can print a coupon for the product you just watched the commercial on. (FYI: they have a ton of coupons for candy at riteaid.adperk.com – a great match up with their Halloween 2/$5 candy sales going on right now!)
   

   Coupon from watching Rite Aid commercials at adperk.com

7. Tip #7:This one is just random.  For instance, I have a calendar from Holiday Market and there is one coupon each month for a good little freebie.  I like the $10-off meat ones.  It’s quite a thrill to get a free tri-tip or pork roast (or only having to pay a little for it)!  I’m not sure how I got the calendar, but you know I’ll be looking for mine by the time January rolls around.  Or another random coupon book I got is from Rite Aid for getting my flu shot there.  My insurance paid for the shot, and I got a coupon book full of some good coupons – woot!!
   

   Coupons from my coupon book I got for getting a flu shot at Rite Aid (a FREE flu shot!).

Tip #8: Get a buddy.  I have a friend who is sooo knowledgeable in all things couponing, and she gladly answers my questions when I have them.  So you also have her (hi, Sarah!) to thank for a lot of the info. in this post, and especially the next on about shopping at Rite Aid.  You can also share coupons with a buddy…if you don’t have one you need, ask!

Okay…now that you know where to get your coupons, let’s talk about what to do with them.  If you look at them, they all have expiration dates.  The main thing to take from this is YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE THEM AT YOUR NEXT SHOPPING TRIP!  I know, it’s tempting, but sales come and go in cycles, and if you wait long enough you can match up your coupon with a sale price for maximum savings.  Each store (I’m mainly talking about Rite Aid and Holiday Market here) print sale flyers that are good for 1 week.  Rite Aid’s are good for Sunday – Saturday, and Holiday’s are good for Wednesday – Tuesday.  Now this is where you should do your homework…I’ll break it down by store after this next paragraph.

Rite Aid sale circular and Proctor & Gamble (P&G) coupon book for October.

So how do you keep your huge stack of coupons organized?  It might seem nerdy, but it helps – make coupon binder!  A what??  I have a giant binder that is divided by the type of item.  I made it by downloading and printing the instructions from The Krazy Coupon Lady website.  You’ll need a fairly thick binder, along with those plastic page protectors (full page protectors to hold your dividers and ones with smaller pockets for coupons).  The ones that are meant for people who collect paper money are good for coupons (like these).  I need more as mine have filled up fast!  And you want to be able to see each coupon so you don’t forget what you have.

The Krazy Coupon Lady has a great “Beginners” section to help you learn the ropes.  Here is a link to the PDF file to make a Krazy Coupon Lady binder (below is mine!):

Homework

Yes, couponing takes some time, but if you know where to look it can make it a lot easier.  It also gets easier and faster with practice.  Clipping and organizing the coupons is the easy part…I do it while watching TV.  :)  But if you make shopping lists anyway, this “homework” won’t be so bad.  I go online (or look directly at their sale circulars) and see what is on sale that week.  Here is a link to where to find Rite Aid’s online, and Holiday’s online.  So…look at what’s on sale, then look through your coupons and match them up to get the lowest price possible!  It’s a little more complicated with Rite Aid (+Up rewards, etc.), but that is basically what I do with Holiday Market.  And I stock up if I can – use a coupon for each item that you buy if allowed!  For instance, if you want to buy 4 cans of corn (on sale), then use 4 coupons to match!  Note: read the fine print of your coupons carefully.  Some are a discount off of 2 alike items, buy one get one free, etc.  The note to the consumer is on there about how to use your coupon.  This Krazy Coupon Lady post on ‘Understanding the Fine Print’ does some explaining about what the ‘Limit 1 Coupon’ text really means.

 Grocery/Food Shopping Tips

So, did you see that little tip above, Holiday Market Shoppers? The best you can do (or that I’ve seen you can do) is match up the coupons you round up with their sales, and use WOW points.  I wish I had more brilliant information for you, but the WOW points are pretty handy and I seem to rack up 1,000 every few months, so I save my 10% off with 1,000 points for my big shopping trips.  And by big, I mean at least $200.  But I have a family of 3.5, so a $200 shopping trips gets us a lot of food.  So my best advice for shopping at Holiday is this: practice patience.  Wait until the items you have good coupons for go on sale.  Do not impulse buy.  Stock up on good prices (but DO NOT clear the shelves.  That sucks, and I don’t like you for that.  Buy what you and your family will use in a reasonable amount of time.) Make lists and follow them strictly.  Yes, I stray sometimes, but only if what I’m buying (that isn’t on my list) is on sale, or I see something not listed in the sale flyer, but I know I have a coupon for it.  You’ll be very disappointed to see that you only saved a few bucks with your coupons and nothing with your reward points.  Your savings print right on your receipt so you can see what you saved by buying things they had on sale (with a Holiday card) or with your coupons.

Another note: I do shop at Four Corners, too...although they unfortunately do not accept manufacturer’s coupons…and I am always pleasantly surprised at my total.  For some reason I always expect it to be higher.  Anyway, I check out their sales in the Record and browse around the store for good deals.  Their generic brands (i.e. Western Family) are always priced very low, so if you need something, can’t bring yourself to pay the price at Holiday and/or don’t have a coupon, I’d keep an eye on what’s at Four Corners.

Another Holiday tip: take reusable bags to the store, and make sure they give you your 5 points for each bag you use at Holiday.  They can add up quickly! I always make sure they give me my points.

Okay, back to grocery/food shopping: I have found I’m buying more and more food items at Rite Aid.  You can use more coupon match-ups there, and they often have decent sales on name brand foods (i.e. so you can use your coupons).  Cereal, soup, snacks, soda…those are the types of foods they carry, and I always have coupons for those in my binder.

AMAZON.COM! This has been a lifesaver for me.  Yes, I buy lots of food on Amazon.com.  Actually, I buy everything on Amazon.com.  If you don’t know what being an Amazon Prime (or Amazon Mom) member means, then let me enlighten you.  If you are a member, then you receive FREE 2-DAY SHIPPING on thousands upon thousands of items from Amazon.  Single items – no purchase minimum required.  And they carry everything.  Amazon Mom membership is free, as long as you keep buying specific mom-baby-child-related items (it’s noted on the item’s page).  When you spend a certain amount (not much) your free membership benefits are extended.  Mine have been extended until the next year based on what I have bought.  Amazon Prime is $79 per year, but I gladly paid it before they started the Amazon Mom program.

So how does this relate to food?  Well, they have a Grocery/Gourmet Food section.  And many of the food items they sell are ‘Prime’ items, or even better, they are ‘Subscribe & Save‘ items.  For instance, say you’re like me and needed a semi-healthy breakfast food for your daughter to eat in the car on the 20 mile drive to preschool.  :)  I’m on Facebook one day, and a blog that I follow on there posts a tip about a product on Amazon that I can type in a code for to get even cheaper.  (I believe it was this post on Frugal Coupon Living – they have a lot of online codes, especially for Amazon). So I click on over to the page for this GoGo SqueeZ Apple/Peach Applesauce on the Go.  (Note: I didn’t buy this flavor, but this is the cheapest one in stock right now. ).  It’s normally $27.94 for 48 pouches ($0.58 per pouch).  With Subscribe & Save, you save 15% – you just sign up for it to be delivered now, and then again in a few months (whatever you choose – plus you can cancel it at any time).  Now your total is $23.75 (or $0.49 per pouch).  Then I punched in a code at checkout for an additional 25% off, bringing the total to $17.81 for 48 pouches ($0.37 per pouch).  I just checked and the code ended in September (part of their back to school promotion), but you get the idea.  And 2 days later, a big box of pouches of applesauce is dropped off at my doorstep by my favorite UPS man.  Pretty handy if you ask me!

Here is a link to Amazon.com’s current Sales & Specials for their Grocery Section.

So Subscribe & Save is pretty nice for ordering in bulk: diapers, canned foods, snacks, wipes, and beverages are all things I’ve bought with the 15% off Subscribe & Save discount.  Plus I take advantage of coupons I find for an additional percentage off.  It’s like being near a Costco…but it’s delivered!  With this deal, patience paid off and I was able to just run in to this deal.  It found me.  :)  That’s why checking in with those blogs is a lifesaver!

Okay, so this post has become a lot longer than I initially thought, so I’m going to stop here for now…be on the lookout for my next post on how to score those BIG deals at Rite Aid – woot!!  Because they are actually possible…you can learn how to shop without using much of your own money (a quote from my coupon guru, Sarah!), and it’s very exciting! 

As you might know, I’ve gone a little ‘crate-crazy’ at my house.  I currently have 4 antique crates living at my house and I think I need more because they’re so great for storage.  I’m really digging the antiques+contemporary style mixed look (some might call my style eclectic?) for my home, so my stash of crates fits right in. I love the logos and typography on them, plus they have character and charm that you can’t find from something new.  The one in my bathroom even has hand-written instructions on it to “Keep In Bar.”  Love it.

I screwed one right to the wall in my bathroom…holds the essentials for a bathroom: TP, candle, plant, and 2 are screwed to the wall on each side of our bed to act as floating nightstands.  This is a perfect plan for our bedroom because we have a platform bed with storage drawers, so any traditional side tables would stop us from opening them, and as they’re attached to the wall, it gives us plenty of room to use the drawers without bumping into table legs.

The 4th crate lives in my living room and this is what I did with it:

$15 Antique whisky crate + $3 IKEA casters = magazine storage that won’t scratch my floors!  (Almost) Everything is better with wheels, right?

I simply dug around for the shortest screws I could find, and screwed them right to the edges of the underside so that screws aren’t poking up under the bottom into the box.  So I paid less than $20 for this whole set-up: stylish and functional.  What do you think?

Plus Harper likes to put her baby dolls in it and push it around! Who needs toys when you can push furniture around, right??

**Note, this was written originally on March 6th!**

Ah, the joys of modern technology. I’m currently sitting in our camp trailer/RV in an RV park in a little town about 40 miles from Likely. And I’m on my laptop, clicking away while my daughter naps…my husband is at the local high school gym getting ready for his basketball game that starts in half an hour. And I’m admiring the new floor my husband just installed in our little trailer, and it makes me cringe at the decor in the rest of it!! It’s not bad – the trailer is only a few years old – but if any house was decorated like this it would be considered so dated and HIDEOUS! So why is it okay to decorate a new camp trailer like we’re in 1988?? Blue and tan florals with oak cabinetry, brass hardware and faux sponge painted walls…I’m very tempted. And these are a few photos that inspire me…

Via Madison Ave Baby

Via Madison Ave Baby

Not necessarily exactly how I’d want to do the trailer, but I love the customization!

Via Shelterpop

Via Shelterpop

I want modern patterns, colors and new metals! And I think I could do a lot of it myself…well, with me and a staple gun and a power drill! The sewing I’d need help with…

And I think I didn’t finish this post when I first started it because I really can’t find any more good inspiration images. I feel like I’ve scoured the entire internet, so I’m just going to have to do it all myself! Please let me know if you find anything good out there!!

Our woodstove has a crack.  It’s an Earth Stove, but that’s all I know.  My husband thinks it can be fixed by welding it, and I’m crossing my fingers that it can because 1) wood stoves are expensive, 2) it is our main source of heat and 3) I like the way it looks.  It’s scalloped edges are so cute.  And it works awesome.

Old picture, but the only one that’s handy at the moment.  And yes, we’re still using it, even though it has a crack.  We do have a carbon monoxide detector, so we can sleep peacefully about it.  But not too peacefully… Anyway, we’re taking the proper precautions to make sure we’re safe, but we’re both anxious to get it fixed.  Hopefully it can be welded (as long as it’s not made of cast iron, which Glenn thinks it’s not).  But that will be a process because it obviously can’t be welded in our house and it’s heavy…we’ll see how it goes.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

So you’ve probably already figured it out…we didn’t finish painting this weekend. But we had a good excuse! Glenn’s sister has moved into a new rental and we were there most of the day Saturday helping her unpack and rearrange. Glenn started priming the exteriors of the windows on Sunday, which led him to working on all sorts of other outdoor chores. I was inside cleaning, taking care of the little one, and working on picking paint for a client. Excuses, excuses, right?

So what we did this weekend brings me to what I’ll talk about today: how to take care of ugly tile without a crowbar. I guess ugly is a matter of opinion, but please just take a look at my sister-in-law’s new rental and her {lovely} kitchen that she has to work around. She has free reign with painting and colors, but the kitchen is something that you just can’t ignore. The kitchen itself is nice and big and has nice cabinets, but there are a few interesting design choices that she just can’t change.

They had to do A LOT of cleaning prior to actually living here!

My first thought is something that I’ve seen all over the interwebs: tile tattoos. Heard of ‘em? They’re pretty much just a decal that sticks right over your tile. The brand I’ve seen comes in 4″ x 4″, 6″ x 6″ and 6″ x 3″ subway size to cover any standard tile sizes and they don’t leave a sticky residue when you try to remove them. Great for renters, right? You can find them with transparent backgrounds, so that the tile color shows through, or with opaque backgrounds to cover the entire tile. Which is what we’d need in this case!

Glenn cleaning the glass over the light above the sink.  What a nice brother!

As you can see, there are some beautiful flowers painted onto their backsplash (I’m not quite sure if it’s painted on or if it’s how the tile came).  Not so beautiful for the backsplashes, though…flowers belong in vases!  The flower patterns are in increments of 3 or 6 tiles wide, so if we use these I think we’d just make stripes, but with these cute-as-a-button tile tattoo patterns I’ve found it would look great!

The most available brand online is called Mibo, and can be found at many online retailers such as 2Jane and Target and are sold in packs of 6 (all photos linked to shopping source!).  They range from about $13/pack to $18/pack, depending on the size you need.  Here are some of my favorite designs:

Chessel Black on White background (2Jane)

Loverstone Black on White Background (2Jane)

Ventor Red on White Background (2Jane)

Shanklin Taupe on White Background (2Jane)

Ventor Black on Clear Subway Size (2Jane)

I really love the retro designs, and they would be perfect for my sister-in-law’s taste and style.  Just do a Google search for ’tile tattoos’ and you’ll find tons of places to snag some of these for your kitchen or bathroom.  Or anywhere you need some waterproof decor!

I also found this set on Etsy {seller enna}, but that’s the only one I could see that were made for the purpose of sticking to tiles.  The woodland creatures would be cute in a kids’ bathroom.  Any screen printers out there?  I bet these would be a big hit on Etsy!  You can also request custom sizes and colors from other sellers, so that is another option as well.

The online store, 2Jane, where you can buy the entire Mibo line, also has a blog where they showcased a customer’s Mibo tile job, which is nice to see how it turned out for a customer (instead of just seeing the marketing photos).  I think it turned out pretty cute!

{Before}

{After}

What do you think of Tile Tattoos? Yay? Nay? Are there any other brands out there that you can find?

My opinion is that if you own and can change up your tile then go for it (get something you really love), but this would be a good temporary option, or something you could do to customize your kitchen if you can’t change it!  I’ll be sure to post pics if this is what my sister-in-law goes for!

Happy Monday and have a great week!  xo, L.

…and unfortunately, style comes second in this case.  Last week we ordered a hearth gate to surround our wood stove because our little Harper LOVES to climb on the hearth, and she is fascinated by the ceramic medallion on the wood stove.  It’s been alright during the warmer months, but now that we’re burning fires we knew we had to protect her.  It isn’t the prettiest thing (I actually really like the look of our stove and hearth), but it is necessary, and we knew it would just be a matter of time before she fell on the hearth or before she snuck past us and got burned.  Not something that a parent wants to think about!

Adjusting the gate angles.

What we purchased is a KidCo Fireplace Hearth Gate, and I bought it on eBay. I love a good eBay deal!  It is nice because it is made to fit around a standard 2′ x 6′ rectangular hearth with 5 – 2-foot sections and a gate in the middle, but if you need extensions you can find them in many different sizes.  The standard 10′ gate set made a nice semi-circle around our corner hearth, and Glenn got it assembled in about half an hour…with me looking on as supervisor, of course!

Still adjusting…

The 2′ gate sections are adjustable to any angle, and it comes with all of the required hardware to attach it to the walls, and secure it to the floor if needed so that it can’t be moved. The gate is very easy to open, if you’re not a baby of course.

Attached, but testing out the gate!

We simply popped the caps off of the end bars, slid on the mounting plates and then screwed them to the wall. There were 4 plates (2 for each end bar). Then you just pop the caps back on, and there are also screws included to attach the gate to the floor.

We had to play with the angles a little to get the gate centered in front of the wood stove, and I was worried that we’d need some extensions when I bought it, but after a little manipulation we got it to work.

And as you can see it’s already doing it’s job!

Let me in!

The gate itself is far enough away, which is made of steel and in a heat resistant finish, so that it won’t heat up hot enough to burn when touched. You can also use these for pets, or to guard a barbecue outdoors. Read more information on the KidCo website here.

Mommy doesn’t have to worry anymore!

Nice Halloween decorations in the background, right?   I’m sure Harper will find them scary next Halloween, but for now she thinks they’re funny and gives them kisses!

While browsing the current Pottery Barn Bed & Bath catalog that came in the mail, I noticed a handy little product that I forgot about that will make switching out my “retro” light fixtures cheap and easy. Does anyone else have these *awesome* ceiling lights in their house? They’re so old, they’re *almost* cool again. The photos below are showing the ceiling fixtures I’m itching to change up in my house — they’re in the bedrooms, hallways and laundry room. Sexy, right?

Fortunately I have been able to change out our dining room pendant, and the ceiling fans in the living room, but I cannot wait to do something with these lights and I think that a quick change can be found in……clip-on shades! Have bare bulbs? These will help. Here is a round-up of some cool (and not so cool) ones that I’ve found.

First is the one that started my search: the Star Ceiling Clip Shade at Pottery Barn.  I love the linen fabric, which would diffuse the light oh-so-softly.

Sorry, no picture for this one, but check out this “Spiral Clip On Shade” I found over on eBay.  $5.99 each with $5.00 shipping and lots of them available!  I could switch out all the lights I need to for $56.00!  But what is the fun if they’re all the same…??

And again, sorry for the teaser, but this one is no longer available but I had to include it!  Please let me know if you find one like it because I love them!  The Ceiling Drum Clip Shade (again — from Pottery Barn).

This one is a little more decorative, but I like the rounded shape and it’s only $10.  This is the Clip-On Ceiling Shade from Plow and Hearth.

Here is an Asian parasol version, and it comes with attachments so you can hang it all different ways — gotta love versatility in function and form!  This is the Parasol Lamp Shade from Shoji Decor.  I like the black version instead of the colors.

And last, but DEFINITELY not least — my favorite of the bunch is the Butter Lunette Clip-On Shade from Relish.  Mmmm…pretty amazing, right??  The most expensive at $39 but still – $39 is pretty pocketbook friendly!

Here is a better photo of it:

What do you think of clip-on shades?  Yay…nay?  I love the texture that they’d add to the room, and with a 3-D shape they’d definitely bring your eyes up to actually check out the lighting.  And lighting is like the jewelry of the room — a room isn’t finished without nice lighting and it can make or break your decor.  Add a little sparkle and don’t neglect the lighting!

Are there any other gorgeous clip-on shades that I’ve missed out there?  And has anyone used them on CFL’s?  I’d assume they’d still work but that’s all I have in my house so we’ll have to test it out!  xo, L.