What to buy: July

It's Hot here in Florida.  It's also already July!  The summer months are in full swing and before we know it it will be cool again and we will usher in Fall.  But in the mean time, let's stock up our freezers with July's in season fruits at the best prices so when Fall comes around, we can have the taste of summer just a thaw away!

Here is a list of what will be at its lowest price this month:

Fruit
Blueberries
Cherries
Lemons
Oranges
Peaches
Blackberries
Cantaloupe
Watermelon

Vegetables
Carrots
Okra
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Butter Beans
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Peppers
Green Beans
Summer Squash

OtherBasil
Ice Cream & Frozen Treats
July is National Blueberry month, National Ice Cream month, and National Hot Dog month...so look for great steals on these items. 

Saving Money In June

June!  It's already June!!  Oh my!  After this month, we will be half way through 2012... 6 months til Christmas!!! WOW!  It's already been quite a year!

June is known as the unofficial start of summer... kids are out of school, grills are cleaned and ready for BBQ, pools are sparkling blue and calling your name.... We are just past memorial day and not quite to July 4th celebrations.  Due to the spring crops coming in, lots and lots of produce is in season this month! Here's a list from Southern Savers showing this month's produce to buy.  Sales are highly likely on these items so stock up...freeze some for winter months when these items are higher priced.

Fruit
strawberries
watermelon
peaches
blueberries (just coming into season)
pineapples (nearing the end)

Vegetables
corn
onions
tomatoes
zucchini & squash
potatoes
bell peppers
cabbage & salad


June also holds national "candy month" and "dairy month" so expect to find deals in these grocery aisles well.  You will also want to stock up this month (look for the deals in the last two weeks of June) on picnic supplies as stores gear up for 4th of July.  Think paper plates, napkins, condiments, hamburger and hot dog buns.... 

For more on what to buy in June, see this post at Faithful Provisions.

Saving Money on Produce

My kids go through a lot of fruit and vegetables every week.  My 2 year old eats non stop, so I have to keep fresh produce readily available or she'd eat way too much processed foods. 

Saving money on fresh produce tends to be a hard task since there are rarely coupons or great deals on fruit and veggies.  Unless you grow your own, the best way to save in this area at the grocery store is to keep up with what is in season and buy only that produce.  Avoid buying out of season items, unless you just have to. 

Southern Savers has a great article on the month of May's in season produce along with some other helpful tips!

Here is her list of May's produce: 
Fruit
strawberries
pineapples
mangoes
first crop of peaches and oranges
end of the season for apples so get any you want now

Vegetables
cabbage and salad
onions
cucumbers
beginning of the season for corn
beginning of the season for tomatoes
broccoli
potatoes
squash
asparagus
radishes

Check out the rest of the article and more "save in May" items over at Southern Savers !

Dryer Sheets, so many uses!

I've always saved dryer sheets for dusting.  I keep a basket in my laundry room and as I take clothes out of the dryer, I deposit the used dryer sheet into the basket.  Every now and then I will use it to wipe down the lint and dust of the washer and dryer.  When I dry dust furniture around the house, I use a dryer sheet.  They pick up dust and it sticks to the sheet. 

 Real Simple is one of my favorite magazines, but I stopped buying it so often when their website took off. (It's a pricey mag). They always have a section called "New Uses for Old Things" that I believe may have sent me in the dryer sheets as dusting agents direction. I honestly can't remember why I started doing it, I've been doing it too long to remember! 

I've seen some Pinterest pins floating around about using dryer sheets to clean in other areas.  I've tries two and wanted to see what you may use dryer sheets for....

Dryer sheets really do get soap scum off shower doors!!
If you have a favorite shower cleaner, use it with your used dryer sheets. 

source: Real Simple

I myself have tried many bathroom cleaners, and never really had a favorite.  I'm a fan of Vinegar.  And when I saw this pin about vinegar, dish soap, and cornstarch being a scum remover, I went at my shower!  I added dryer sheets as my scrubbing agent and skipped the cornstarch.  Here's my recipe:

Soap Scum Remover

2 cups white vinegar

2 tbsp dish soap

used dryer sheets

In clean spray bottle, mix vinegar and dish soap together.  (Shake well)

Spray shower walls and doors with mixture.  Wait. (I wash my hair, shave my legs, whatever needs done while I wait)

Use dryer sheets to scrub walls and doors.  Rinse. 

Dryer sheets are great for washing the car!

So, the other day the little one and I were washing the car.  It's love bug season and they were not coming off!  I needed some scrubbing power but couldn't find anything that would scratch the paint.  After a quick look through pinterest I saw a recommendation for using dryer sheets to wash the car.  Thank goodness I keep them!  I grabbed a handful and took to the bug scrubbing! 

IT WORKED GREAT!!!  Most of the stuck on bugs just wiped right off and the rest just required a little oopmh behind the dryer sheet (meaning I had to scrub hard).  I used plain ol' dish soap and dryer sheets and cleaned my entire car. 

I'll never use a rag again for the car!  I love that I can reuse dryer sheets and I can throw them away after they do their bug duty!

Tell me, do you reuse dryer sheets?



Spring Forward - Don't get left behind!

Ladies, do not forget to Set your clocks forward this weekend!  Do it on your way to bed Saturday night so you wake up in time for church Sunday!

Spring is here!

It doesn't matter what the groundhog says each year, March marks the start of Spring for me.  Whether March comes in like a lion or lamb (or is it out like lion or lamb?) it always gets me on my Spring Cleaning campaign.  How about you?  Do you do a large overhaul in Spring?  

Setting up a cleaning schedule is key to balancing things whether you work or not.   I'm talking a year round, daily, weekly, monthly schedule. I've experienced first hand how letting it all pile up and trying to tackle large amounts of cleaning in a few hours.  I end up frustrated and mad at the people who made the mess!  This creates strife in my life and Satan uses that to attack me, my kids, my marriage. I can overcome that by taking action to avoid the massive amounts by tackling something everyday. 

 When Spring arrives, I can focus on the big once a year items.  Writing down a schedule will helps me stay on task.  If I miss something today, I make it a point to catch up the following day.  My schedule is in my Home binder and attached to my weekly calendar. 

I searched for my favorite cleaning schedules (because it's nice to have the work done for you) available to print....FREE!  Here is my top pick:

A Real-Life Housewife created these schedules and gracioulsy posted on her blog so that you may print them.  If these aren't fitting with your needs, she also has blank ones available!  How great is that?  Just click on the picture above to be taken to the page containing the links to her free printables.