Thrifty Tips

I wanted to update you all with my post How I Make Cold Lunches in a Day.

First off, this method has been working so wonderfully for me – it’s an absolute dream. I am so so so so happy its working! Last year I was giving up on Cold Lunches all the time and just sending them instead with money for hot lunch..OUCH! With 3 kids paying eating hot lunch @ $2.50 each that was expensive. This Making Cold Lunches in a day is saving my family money.

So what is this system? It’s basically making a week’s worth of bagged up lunch stuff once a week. The kids can grab their lunch stuff every morning quickly – I have a cold lunch bucket that is in my fridge, and a room temperature bucket in my pantry. You can read all about it here.

So here is the update I wanted to share with you. I have been making sandwiches and freezing them a week in advance. The kids can grab the frozen sandwich and add it to their lunchbox – and it also acts as a cold element so I usually don’t even add one of those freeze-ice packs.

Usually I just buy a package of rolls – there are larger sandwich styles or just basic rolls if you find your children dont need that much sandwich. I will just add some sort of deli meat and cheese only. If you did want to add mayo or mustard you should add it between the meat & cheese so it won’t be absorbed into the bread when it thaws, making a soggy yucky sandwich. PS – My kids love just pepperoni and cheese. I then saran wrap the sandwiches and add them to a freezer bag. Then freeze. Works like a charm.

So I am curious to know, have any of you been trying this method out? Is is working for you? Any cool food ideas you would like to share?

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In case you hadn’t heard, the price of first-class postage stamps will go UP on Sunday, 1/22 from $0.44 to $0.45. Soooo, this is your official reminder to buy your Forever Stamps now, especially if you’ve got any “serious” mailing to do, like graduation or wedding invitations, etc.

If you’d like more information about the postage rate increase, click here.

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My loyal readers know that I love to find great deals on things people use everyday. After my recent Best price for Toilet Paper research project I thought it was time to do another research project to find out what is the best value for paper towels.

To find out what is the best value for paper towels I went to 5 different big-name stores and gathered prices, sizes, ply,rolls and sheets per roll information. I then compiled all the data into a spreadsheet so I could compare and decide which one gave the most value for the money. I also tested many many brands to figure out the best quality brands. The stores I visited were Walmart, Target, Costco, Cash & Carry and Winco (Pacific NW store).

Now before I get into the best value top picks I have to mention that for years I never used paper towels at all. I would always use wash cloths and wash them – which saves money for many people. It’s a thrifty living technique that can save a LOT of money.  It was couponing actually that convinced me to buy paper towels since I was able to get them for so little.  Now I’m hooked! I love having them on hand for quick clean up projects, messy hands, and to wipe down my counters and windows. If the paper towels aren’t a great price though I usually just back to my wash cloth method until another great sale comes.

So here is the spreadsheet with all the data. It shows stores, brands, regular price, square footage, ply, the price per sq foot, price per sheet and price per roll.  Feel free to print this out and add it to your coupon binder or coupon box as a reference guide. Note – when you open this spreadsheet there are three tabs at the bottom – one that lists all the data, one that lists the top 5 from each brand as well as the top 5 price per sheet, and one with other interesting data.

You have two options to view this list:

• View in Google Docs version
• For printable version from Google Docs: Click File, Download As, choose PDF and export to your computer
• There are three tabs at the bottom, make sure and check each tab as there is useful information there as well.

The #1 Best Price per Sheet is Walmart’s NEW brand Choose-a-Size paper towel single rolls.

Who would have thought a single roll would be the most inexpensive!! Not me, this was a total surprise. The Walmart New paper towels cost $0.97 each but have 165 sheets in one roll. That makes each sheet only 0.005 per sheet – just half of a penny each sheet.  Note: This is not the paper towel roll I pick as my best value overall – because of the quality, however this is a great bargain. I had to include at least one bar graph to show you the top 5 Select-A-Size paper towel values.

My Journey To Determine the Best Value of Paper Towels

After compiling all the data I had a hard time deciding what was the most valuable information about paper towels. There were 3 different ways to determine this  -  The price per sheet, the price per sq. foot or the price per roll.  After thinking about how I personally use paper towels I decided the best value would be the price per sheet, because I usually grab just one sheet off at a time.  I would like more sheets for my money and quality was a big deal to me. I also wanted something that holds up when wet. I prefer bigger rolls too so I don’t have to change them as often, so I factored this into my tests.

To get the price per sheet you need to look at how many sheets there are per roll. Times that number by how many rolls are in the package. Then divide that number into the price. So example – Bounty Select a Size 8-roll package $14.99: there are 210 sheets per roll x8 rolls = 1680 sheets. Divide 1680 into $14.99 = 0.008 per sheet!

First off – Lets just get the PLY factor out of the picture. There is 1 ply and 2 ply wording on the paper towels…but there was NO NOTABLE difference!  I found Viva paper towels are 1 ply and they’re one of the best in quality. In fact they were much better than many of the 2-ply brands I tested. Now for toilet paper I tested in my previous article… ply matters.

Next – There are 2 different Types of paper towels – The Regular Size and the Select-A-Size. 

The regular paper towels have large sheets – usually ranging in size from 11×9 to 11×11.

The Select-A-Size paper towels have much smaller sheets.  These usually are sized at 11×6. I think the idea behind these smaller sized towels is that you won’t waste as much if you have a small project or wipe up job. At first I thought, “Nah…I would probably end up just using two towels instead of the one regular sized one..”, but after doing my tests I realized that the smaller sheets do about the same amount of work a larger sheet does. So you can save $$!

Next I determined how well they clean up spills. So I took out one of my bottles of FREE Ken’s Dressing – I chose the Italian kind. It’s  full of oil, which makes is harder to clean up. I dropped a teaspoon of this dressing in front of each one and wiped it up to determine the quality.  I then added each paper towel to a bowl of warm soapy water to get rid of the salad dressing residue/oil to test how well they hold up when wet.

Here is the results of the data I came up with:

Select-A-Size Paper Towels

• Brawny – Did a great job in both the Kens dressing test as well as a test dipping them in warm soapy water and washing the counter. This was my favorite in the Select a Size tests!
• Viva – Very soft, worked great when wet, but just okay when sopping up the dressing.
• Great Value – Was my #1 vote for the wet test, and my #2 for the dry test in quality. Did surprisingly well!
• White Cloud – Was not great at wet or dry test.

Regular Paper Towels

• Viva Tough When Wet – It was a big sheet, the softest, cleaned up well and was actually a teeny bit thicker than regular Viva – but only can tell when it was wet. This was my favorite one in the regular sized paper towels.
• Bounty Extra Soft – Did really well in the dressing test and amazing for the wet test!
• Plenty – Did well in both wet + dry test
• Up&Up – nice big sheets and did great for the dressing test. Okay for wet test.
• Viva regular – did well in both tests, very soft.
• Sparkle – just so-so – did okay in both tests.
• Simply Value – was horrible wet, very papery and thin.
• Tork – Not great at soaking up dressing, horrible when wet. Very cheap quality.

 So are you ready for my #1 Value pick for Paper Towels??? 

My top choice is the Bounty Select-A-Size Huge Roll regularly priced at $14.99 at Target for 8 rolls. Each roll is 210 sheets per roll, so it lasts a long time before having to be changed out. Plus the regular price cost made the top 5 list for best price per sheet at only 0.008 price per sheet (and right now there is a coupon for this!) Bounty Select a Size passed both my dressing and wet tests with flying colors.

Here is the deal you can do right now at Target for this

Bounty Select A Size Huge Roll 8 ct package $14.99
-use $0.75/1 Bounty Paper Towels, exp. 1/23/12 (Target 11/27/11)
- or use $1/1 Bounty Paper Towels @Target, exp. 2/21/12 (RP 01/22/12)
= $13.99 (or 0.008 per sheet)

COUPONS AVAILABLE for Paper Towels

Here are the current coupons available for paper towels I could find (as of 1/19/12)
$0.75/1 Kleenex Hand Towels, exp. 1/29/12 (SS 12/04/11)
$1/6 Viva Paper Towels, exp. 2/26/12 (SS 01/15/12)
$1/4 Scott Towels, exp. 2/26/12 (SS 01/15/12)
$0.25/1 Bounty Towels, exp. 1/31/12 (P&G 01/01/12)
$1/1 Brawny Paper Towels printable
$0.50/2 Viva Paper Towels printable
$1/1 White Cloud GreenEarth Bath Tissue or Paper Towels printable
$0.75/1 Viva Paper Towels, exp. 2/26/12 (SS 01/15/12 R)
$1/1 Brawny Paper Towels @Walmart printable

Target Coupons:
$0.75/1 Bounty Paper Towels, exp. 1/23/12 (Target 11/27/11)
$2/1 Viva Paper Towels (Target Mobile)
$1/1 Bounty Paper Towels @Target, exp. 2/21/12 (RP 01/22/12)
$1/1 Bounty Basic Paper Towels @Target, exp. 2/21/12 (RP 01/22/12)
$1.50 off Bounty Paper Towles AND Napkins, exp. 1/23/12 (Target 11/27/11)

I hope you enjoy this spreadsheet!  Happy money saving!

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Re-purpose old hangers into chip bag clips! Take hangers you often get from stores like Target or Walmart and saw the ends off. Then Voila! Use the pincher’s as bag clippies for your chips and snacks! I am always on the hunt in the kitchen looking for more bag clip-pies it seems.

Note: when I tried this the first time I cut the hangers too close to the edges. When I tried to make them work I pinched myself with the clip, shrieked in pain and nearly swore. The next hanger set I cut I gave more room to,  and tried not to twist the plastic much. It did work!

(Thanks Pinterest!)

See more Thrifty Tips here.

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The holidays are right around the corner! (Did that freak you out just a bit, too? ) And one of the most awesomely fun things you can do with family and friends is host a Holiday Cookie Exchange!

Here are some tips for planning your first – or your greatest – cookie exchange:

1. Determine your guest list. You’ll want to invite a minimum of 10-15 people for optimal results. Think neighbors, friends, co-workers (yours and hubby’s), church members, Mom’s groups, etc.

2. Send your invitations at least 1 month in advance. This time of year gets mighty busy, mighty fast! Start the buzz now and send a reminder 2 weeks and 1 week before the big event.

3. Include any rules to the exchange on the invitations. Determine the number of cookies each person is to bring (4-6 dozen, depending upon the amount of guests), along with whether or not spouses or children are allowed, ask them to provide the type of cookie they plan to bring in the RSVP to avoid too many chocolate chip ones, etc.

4. Suggest that your guests bake their cookies 3 days before the event. The #1 excuse for no-shows is that they ran out of time. (Yikes!) Not only that but super-fresh cookies may crumble or “stick” to the other cookies on the plate. Remember, during the swap you’re going to be piling the cookies on top of each other, so you’ll want to do everything you can to make sure they transport – and hold up – well.

5. Share those recipes! Ask everyone to bring copies of their cookie’s recipe(s), or if you’re really feeling creative, have them email the recipes to you and compile them into a cute little booklet! This way, everyone can enjoy those scrumptious cookies year-round, without asking Mary Lou and Linda Sue for their recipes for the umpteenth time.

Hostess Tips: Here are some tips to help you be the “hostess with the mostess”…

1. Decorate and clean the day before. This will save you loads of time and keep you from feeling frazzled as your guests are walking through the door!

2. Serve light snacks and beverages. Yes, there are plates upon plates of cookies to be shared but no one wants to be “cookied out” before they get home! Offer light appetizers and spiced cider, coffee and tea instead.

3. Take lots of photos! Everyone will want to remember this special “girl time” together. Consider creating an album on Picaboo for a fun holiday gift.

4. Keep a few extra containers on-hand. This way if someone’s container isn’t large enough, they can still bring all their yummy cookies home!

5. Relax, enjoy and have fun! Light some candles, turn on the Christmas tunes and enjoy your fabulous company!

Have you hosted a Cookie Exchange before? What are your tips for success? Please share.

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I know many folks who love the idea of using natural deodorants as opposed to the store-bought “chemical-laden” variety. However, I’ve personally been skeptical to try them out of fear that the natural ones won’t work as well. (Not saying I totally stink or anything, but I find that I – and everyone around me – benefits from the chemicals up my sleeves…)

But thanks to reader Emily who sent me this great tip for making your own deodorant, I’m considering it…maybe…

Image Credit: Smashed Peas and Carrots

Natural Deodorant Recipe

2-3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1/8 C Baking Soda
1/8 C Arrowroot Powder or Cornstarch

Directions: Mix the baking soda and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) together and then slowly start to add the coconut oil. Coconut oil will be in a solid state up to room temps of 76 degrees so your end product will be more of a very thick paste. You can store your deodorant in a plastic food container, an old baby food jar (hey, why not re-purpose!) or even your old empty deodorant container. I usually keep ours in the fridge since I like it pretty hard and that way I can just rub the “stone” on. But, if you like you can keep it out of the fridge and just rub it on by dipping your fingers into it kind of like a lotion.

{Note: Not sure how I’d feel about keeping my deo in the fridge. Hmm. I’d have to be double-dog-sure that it was labeled, lest one of the kids think it was a funky kind of cheese or something…Hee hee}

A big “thank you!” to reader, Emily for emailing me this tip along with the link to Smashed Peas and Carrots for the recipe and the instructions.

Have you tried making your own deodorant? If you try this make sure and come back and let me know if it works for you!

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