Cleaning with vinegar!

cleaning with vinegar

 

For years I have spent what seems like endless time and money in the pursuit of cleaners that really do their job, are cost effective and don’t smell too bad because of harsh chemicals. It seems that I never could find just the right cleaner. I’d find one cleaner that worked great on the counters but that same cleaner was awful on the sink. Or it worked well in the shower but did nothing for the bathroom mirrors. Pretty soon I found myself with more cleaners than I could count and a cleaning routine that was a hassle. I needed to find something easy. I needed to find something that worked in more than one location. I needed something that felt safe to use. That’s when I first heard about cleaning with vinegar.

 

Cleaning with vinegar is not a new idea. Cleaning with vinegar is a time tested idea that has been in use for years and years. People were cleaning their homes with vinegar long before any of my fancy new cleaning products came out. I’m not sure why I hadn’t heard about this cleaning wonder but I am glad I finally heard. I decided to try it and I set out to try it on my worst cleaning spot. I decided to try it on my glass shower enclosure. I was skeptical because the hard water in our area leaves horrible residue that is tough to clean. The vinegar mix worked wonderfully and I did not even have to scrub! It was a cleaning miracle. I was sold!

 

There are so many great ways to use vinegar to clean – so many even just in the bathroom. Here are a few of my favorite ways to clean with vinegar in the bathroom!

 

Clean the shower
This is my favorite thing when it comes to cleaning with vinegar. I fill a spray bottle with vinegar and water in equal parts and spray down the shower walls. I let it sit for a couple of minutes and then wipe with a sponge. Perfect!

 

Clean the tub
Cleaning with vinegar makes cleaning the bathtub easy too! Do the same thing as with the shower walls. If stains are stubborn wipe down with full strength vinegar and then rinse.

 

Clean the shower head or faucet
Is the end of your shower head or faucet caked with hard water? Cleaning with vinegar is a great way to fix that! If the ends of your faucets are removable, try soaking them in diluted vinegar overnight. If they are not removable try saturating a towel in vinegar and wrapping it around the shower head or faucet.

 

Clean the sinks
This is just like cleaning the tub with vinegar. I have found that vinegar gets even the most stubborn stains out of sinks.

 

Clean the toilet
You can clean the toilet in the same way you’d clean the tub or sink. Drain the water and spray on the vinegar. You can also add vinegar to the tank or bowl to freshen and deodorize.

 

Do you have other ideas for cleaning with vinegar? Let us know, we love to hear from you!

 

 

National Iced Tea Day

iced tea

 

Summer time is here and that means warm weather, picnics, patio dining and more! I love warm weather and all of the fun foods and drinks that come with it. Growing up in the south led me to love a warm weather drink – iced tea. When I was younger I would always notice big glass jars of ice tea brewing on neighbors’ front porches. It seems you couldn’t drive down a street without seeing someone making their iced tea for the day in the warm summer sunshine.

 

Fast forward more years than I’d like to admit and I am now one of those nutty people who puts a big jar of iced tea out on the back porch. People have been putting tea out in the sun for years and I bet most people don’t even know why they do it. At this point, brewing iced tea in the sun is more tradition than function. It is thought that people started brewing iced tea outside to keep from heating up the kitchen in the heat of the summer. The gentle heat of the sun is also supposed to brew the tea without destroying the flavor. Even if it is just for fun, I still brew iced tea outside.

 

There are lots of recipes for making iced tea. Some are flavored and some are herbal. I’m a huge fan of iced peppermint tea. I cheat and just use tea bags but it think it sure tastes great. Since today is National Iced Tea Day it seems like the perfect day to pull the big glass jar back out and try one of my favorites. I think I will go with my favorite – peppermint iced tea. It’s yummy and inexpensive to make. I really could drink it every day during the warm summer weather. When I make my peppermint tea, I make it unsweetened. I like it that way, but anyone who wants to can add a bit of sugar or sweetener to their glass. Yum! I need to make this now.

 

Want to make some iced tea to celebrate? Here is one basic iced tea recipe and a few ideas to change it up. If you try it, let us know how you like it. Have another favorite recipe for making iced tea? Share that with us. We love to hear from you!

 

Sweet Tea

Makes 2 Quarts

Ingredients:

1 pinch baking soda

2 cups boiling water

6 tea bags

3/4 cup white sugar

6 cups cool water

 

Directions:

Sprinkle a pinch of baking soda into a 64-ounce, heat-proof, glass pitcher.

Pour in boiling water, and add tea bags.

Cover, and allow to steep for 15 minutes.

Remove tea bags, and discard; stir in sugar until dissolved.

Pour in cool water, then refrigerate until cold.

 

Sweet Lime Iced Tea

You can change this recipe up and add the juice of four limes. You’ll have Sweet Lime Iced Tea! Yum!

 

Boston Iced Tea

Again just add something to the above recipe – add cranberry juice to taste and you’ll have a yummy Boston Iced Tea.

 

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“I need a snack!”

I need a snack

 

 

School is out and the kids are home for the summer! I love having my kids home and I was so glad when summer time was finally here. I love doing all of the fun summer time things and going all of the fun summer time places. Sure summer brings lots of busy activities, lessons and appointments but there is just so much fun to experience. I love it. I love almost every crazy thing about summer time and having the kids home. But there are a few things that drive me crazy about summer. One of those things is the seemingly endless echoes of “I’m so hungry!” and “I need a snack!”

 

When the kids go into rounds of “I need a snack!” I want to go a bit batty. It seems that every time you turn around someone is hungry. It is impossible to make snacks every time someone is hungry. How do you make this easier and how do you avoid hearing “I need a snack!” all day? Simple – make sure you have healthy and inexpensive snacks that the kids can get for themselves. Having snacks the kids can get themselves not only solves the noisy and annoying “I need a snack!” problem, it teaches them something too. They can learn independence and smart food choice skills too. It’s a win, win situation!

 

I know there are tons of ideas for kid’s snacks out there.  Places like Pinterest are filled with pretty snacks that are whole art projects in themselves. But I’m not talking about those snacks. I’m talking about simple, healthy, inexpensive, super-easy snacks that solve the “I need a snack!” problem.  Simple snacks that the kids can get themselves.

 

Fruit and veggies
One of the best snacks that solve the “I need a snack!” problem is fresh fruit and veggies. Bananas, apples, oranges, pears are all favorites in my house. Have a bowl on the counter or a spot in the fridge that kids know is for their snacks. When my kids eat veggies for a snack it feels like a small victory. It is so much easier to get them to think of veggies when the veggies are all ready for them. Keeping veggies ready to eat in the fridge is a great idea. Keeping things to add to the veggies and fruits, like peanut butter for celery or apples, easy to reach and find is another great idea.

 

Hard boiled eggs
A couple of my kids love hard boiled eggs. If I keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge they can often answer their own “I need a snack!” by getting themselves an egg.

 

String cheese or precut cheese
Cheese is another great snack option. If you keep string cheese in the fridge they can get a snack for themselves. Consider buying a big block of cheese and cutting it into small chunks or cubes. Put these cubes in little baggies and keep them in the fridge. Kids will be able to solve the “I need a snack!” problem for themselves.

 

Yogurt
My kids love yogurt. They eat it in a variety of ways so I try to keep it available in cups in the fridge, frozen in tubes, and whatever else we make. Yogurt is a great healthy snack that can be combined with other fun choices. My kids love to sprinkle a little bit of cereal on a bowl of yogurt. It’s another yummy way to beat the “I need a snack!” problem.

 

Bagged snacks like crackers and nuts
This is by far one of my favorite ways to solve the “I need a snack!”problem. I get thinks like pretzels, goldfish crackers, nuts, and more. I also get lots of snack size baggies, the $1 generic brands work great for this! I portion the snacks out into the baggies and put them in containers in the pantry. The kids can go in and get their own snack and they don’t end up eating a whole big box or bag of something.

 

Add these ideas above to a few prepackaged things like granola bars and you have a great selection of simple, healthy, inexpensive, super-easy snacks. I love how it solves the “I need a snack!”problem in my house. Combine a couple of the ideas and your kids can have a healthy, balanced snacks that will solve the summertime “I need a snack!”problem in your house too!

Today is National Donut Day!

 

Oh my – another fun holiday today – today is National Donut Day! I didn’t know that, did you? It turns out that National Donut Day is celebrated the first Friday in June. What? Where did this crazy and yummy holiday come from? National Donut Day was started in 1938 by the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army wanted a day to celebrate their “donut lassies.” During World War One the donut lassies provided treats and other assistance to soldiers on the front lines. Sounds like the perfect reason to celebrate with a yummy holiday!

 

National Donut Day means FREE donuts too! In honor of National Doughnut Day, on Friday, June 5, stop in to any Krispy Kreme US or Canadian location for a FREE doughnut of any variety–including its world famous Original Glazed doughnut. Awesome! Dunkin’ Donuts will commemorate the holiday by offering guests a free donut of their choice (while supplies last) with the purchase of any beverage. The offer is good all day on June 5th at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide. Yummy!

 

Want to take a bash at making your own donuts in honor of National Donut Day? Here is a much loved recipe to get you started.

 

Creamy Crispy Doughnuts

Makes 18 doughnuts

 

Ingredients:

2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup shortening

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

1/3 cup butter

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

 

Directions:

1 – Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.

2 – In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about five minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.

3 – Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

4 – Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.

5 – Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees. Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess.

Do you have a great donut recipe? Do you make something fun and yummy with donuts? Share it with us! We love to hear from you!

Why Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime

 

I’ve had a couple of people ask me about the offer I blogged about yesterday. They thought the $10 off your first Subscribe & Save order when you have Prime sounded like a good idea and they wanted to know a bit more about Amazon Prime. I know I have talked about it before, but it is worth blogging about again. Yes, I think Amazon Prime is that awesome. Here’s a refresher on yesterday’s deal and a good bit of info on why Amazon Prime is a great deal. Especially now when you can get $10 in items for free!

 

Now through July 4th Amazon has an offer for their paid Prime members who haven’t tried Subscribe and Save. You can get $10 off your first Subscribe & Save order! Remember, shipping will also be free. This can make a great deal even better! It is easy to do when you follow instructions below.

 

  1. Shop from the thousands of items on Amazon and choose any Subscribe and Save item.
  2. Add your item to your cart by clicking on “Review Subscription” or “Subscribe Now”.
  3. Proceed to checkout.
  4. Don’t forget to enter coupon code TRYSNS10.
  5. A $10.00 discount on your order will appear at checkout if your item qualifies.

 

Important note – This discount is only for Prime members with paid memberships, free trial members do not qualify. The coupon code only works if you have not used the Subscribe and Save feature before.

 

I started shopping on Amazon a few years ago and I love it. I shop the deals on Amazon a lot. I buy everything from electronics, to paper products, to toys, to groceries. I can buy almost anything on Amazon. This is one of the biggest reasons why I LOVE having Amazon Prime.

 

Amazon Prime gained popularity because of the free shipping it provides. When you have Amazon Prime all of your qualifying orders get FREE Two-Day shipping. Amazon says it best, “Need a last minute gift? Can’t get out of the house? Realize you forgot to pick up something? With FREE Two-Day Shipping from Amazon Prime, your shopping problems are solved.  You get unlimited deliveries with no minimum order size, and with 20 million eligible items, the options are practically limitless. From big to small, A to Z, home to office, and everywhere in between, satisfying that shopping itch —or need— is just two days away.”

 

Amazon Prime does cost $99 a year. This may sound like a big investment at first. If you look at it carefully, it is not much at all. $99 a year breaks down into $8.25 a month. Do you spend $8.25 a month in shipping from other retailers? Do you spend $8.25 in gas running after an item or two, running here or there? Is the time you spend running these errands worth $8.25 a month? My guess is that most people answer yes to all of those questions. Many of us probably spend more than $8.25 in time, gas and shipping. When you look at these factors Amazon Prime would actually pay for itself.

 

Signing up for the Amazon Prime is easy! Just follow any of the links here in this blog. To sign up for Amazon Prime your account must have a current, valid credit card. It is easy to turn off your Amazon Prime membership renewal on the Amazon website.

 

Beyond the FREE Two-Day shipping there are so many more benefits to having Amazon Prime. They include Unlimited Photo Storage, Prime Instant Video, Prime Music, and access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. The savings can be HUGE!

 

 

Amazon Prime member? Try Subscribe and Save and save $10.00!

Subscribe and Save

Are you an Amazon Prime member with a paid membership? Have you been holding out and waiting to try the Amazon Subscribe and Save feature? If so, now is the time to try it out. Now through July 4th Amazon has an offer for their paid Prime members who haven’t tried Subscribe and Save. You can get $10 off your first Subscribe & Save order! Remember, shipping will also be free. This can make a great deal even better! It is easy to do when you follow instructions below.

 

  1. Shop from the thousands of items on Amazon and choose any Subscribe and Save item.
  2. Add your item to your cart by clicking on “Review Subscription” or “Subscribe Now”.
  3. Proceed to checkout.
  4. Don’t forget to enter coupon code TRYSNS10.
  5. A $10.00 discount on your order will appear at checkout if your item qualifies.

 

Important note – This discount is only for Prime members with paid memberships, free trial members do not qualify. The coupon code only works if you have not used the Subscribe and Save feature before.

 

Are you unfamiliar with Amazon’s Subscribe and Save feature? I love it! I think it is one of the best ways to save big when shopping on Amazon. It is simple to use! Subscribe and Save is a subscription service that lets you order your favorite items (or the cheap sale items that month) and they will ship for free and all come together once a month on a specified date.

 

With Subscribe and Save you always get a discount on top of Amazon’s already low prices. The normal discount is 5%. If you order five or more Subscribe and Save items in one month your discount will increase to 15%. That is a great savings! Plus you get free shipping on all of your Subscribe and Save orders.

 

Subscribe and Save orders are available in intervals from one to six months. Choose the delivery frequency schedule that works best for you. Each month your subscriptions will be automatically sent by your scheduled delivery day for that month. You can change your subscription preferences, or cancel them, at any time.

 

It is easy super easy to cancel your subscriptions if you need to do so. Sometimes I sign up for an item and cancel it after I receive the first delivery. This actually happens pretty often. I sign up for items on the Subscribe and Save plan because they are a good deal at that time, but I know I will cancel because the deal will change before the next delivery. Canceling Subscribe and Save is easy to do online 24 hours a day. You just look in your Amazon account and find the Subscribe and Save orders section. Cancel the unwanted items from right there, not hard to do at all.

 

So what are you waiting for? If you are a paid Prime member, try Subscribe and Save today and save $10.00!

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Homemade Lego Gummy Candies

Homemade Lego Gummy Candies

Have you heard the latest internet buzz? Everyone seems to be talking about making homemade Lego gummy candies. If you have been online, you have probably heard about it and perhaps even seen the video. There is a great instructional video by Grant Thompson who is otherwise known as “The King of Random”. His video is AWESOME and has lots of people all over the internet wanting to make homemade Lego gummy candies. He even made me want to make them. I want to make them so much that I posted deals on the molds today. And now I am even blogging about his recipe and his methods!

 

Grant’s video has gone viral, everyone is sharing it. I have yet to see a copy of his directions typed up so I thought I would type it up for myself. After I typed it up I thought there was no reason not to share it with you all. It’s am easy and yummy looking recipe. Grant said he “played around with loads of variations in recipes to see what texture and tastes I liked the best. And I’ve kept experimenting off and on for the last 4 years, using my kids and wife for feedback.” These candies “come out crystal clear, firm, don’t stick to your fingers, and taste amazing.” This is the recipe he came up with:

 

Homemade Lego Gummy Candies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of very cold water
1/4 cup of corn syrup
2 packets of unflavored gelatin
1 pack of Jell-O
Directions:

*It is very important to start the gelatin into COLD water. If you do not use COLD water you will get clumps of undissolved gelatin in your candy syrup.*

1 – Stir the corn syrup into the cold water. Stir until the corn syrup is completely dissolved. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan.
2 – Stir the gelatin and Jell-O into the cold water mixture. Stir until the gelatin and Jell-O are completely dissolved.
3 – Let water and gelatin mixture sit for 5 minutes before you turn on the heat.
4 – Using medium low heat, heat the mixture for 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to stir every minute or two to keep it from burning.
5 – When the gelatin is completely liquefied, it is ready to pour into the molds. Using a condiment bottle with a spout will help you get the syrup into the molds easier.
6 – Cool the homemade Lego gummy candies for 5 to 6 hours at room temperature.

 
If your homemade Lego gummy candies are looking cloudy, clumpy or foamy, Grant has ideas for that too. Pour the mixture into a tall glass and let it settle. The top will be foamy. Skim the foam off the top and you’ll have clear syrup underneath.

 

To make sour gummies, you can add citric acid or a handful of powdered vitamin C tablets. The citric and ascorbic acids in the vitamins sour the homemade Lego gummy candies. It makes them taste sour and enriches them with vitamin C.

 

 

 

Get ready for summer break!

get ready for summer break
It’s that time of year – school is almost out and summer break is about to begin. Students of all ages are celebrating the last few days or weeks of school. They can feel that summer break is on the way. Moms and dads are anxiously watching the days on the calendar check off as the last day of school gets closer. Some of the parents are watching with excitement and some are watching with a bit of dread. Outside of the vacations and family trips it can be hard to keep the kids busy and on task all summer. What can you do now to avoid the dread and get ready for summer break?

 

I love having my kids home for summer break. They are awesome kids and I miss my kids tons when they are in school all year. But I have learned over the years that we are all miserable if we don’t have some sort of plan going into the weeks of summer freedom. If I start early and get myself (and my house) ready for summer break things go much easier and we are all much happier. Here is what I do to get ready for summer break.

 

Make a plan.
Before anything else, you have to make a plan. Decide what you want to have happen and how you want things to go. If you want your kids to read each day or practice their handwriting, put that in your plan. You need the plan before you can do anything else to get ready for summer break.

 

Set the rules.
When you get ready for summer break, you have to set the rules. Decide what they will be and start them on the first day of break. Do you want your kids to clean their rooms before they play a video game? Make sure that is listed in the rules. Include all of the things you expect right from the beginning and then print the rules and hang them where everyone can see them. Make sure your kids know and understand these summer break rules and can follow them all summer.

 

Set a routine.
This is another important step when you are trying to get ready for summer break. Kids are creatures of routine; they are used to having daily routines at school. Carry that over to summer break. Once you have set your routine, type it up and print it out. Make sure your kids understand the routine. Hang the routine up with the rules.

 

Clean it out.
A lot of the time the end of the school year brings a mess of papers and other clutter. Clean out bed rooms, cubbies, mud rooms and other areas where your kids will keep their stuff and spend their time. A little clean out to get ready for summer break will make the summer days go more smoothly.

 

Plan activities.
Get ready for summer break by planning some activities that you’d like your kids to do over the summer break. Want them to read more? How about indoor art activities like coloring, scrapbooking or Play-Doh? What about outdoor activities like sidewalk chalk, bubbles or water balloons? Make a list of all of these activities. If someone says, “I’m bored!” there will be a list of activities to go to for a solution.

 

Get needed supplies.
This step goes with planning activities. Once you’ve planned the activities, get any needed supplies. Get those supplies gathered and put away in an easy place, ready to use. You’ll thank yourself later ane be glad you took the time to get ready for summer break when you answer that “I’m bored!” with an activity that is ready to go.

 

In my house all of these steps I take to get ready for summer break help us have an awesome time over break. Have any tips or ideas to add? Let us know. We love to hear from you!

 

 

Walmart Free Shipping Service – Have you heard?

Walmart Free Shipping

Have you heard the news? The online shopping community is buzzing with speculation about a new potential game changer when it comes to buying your things online. There will soon be a new “Free Shipping” subscription service aimed at competing with Amazon Prime. Walmart has decided to make an attempt at edging out, or at least scooting over, Amazon Prime and its huge share of the online shopping market. Amazon Prime costs $99 per year and provides two day shipping and many other benefits. As many of you regular readers know, I love Prime and think it is worth every penny. When I heard the Walmart Free Shipping service was going to be offering something similar, I had to learn more.

 

The Walmart Free Shipping service is being held as somewhat of a secret. The only information Walmart has included on their website is the following:

Bestselling products – in Baby, Clothing, Electronics, Health & Beauty, and others.

Unlimited shipping – The more you use it, the more you save on shipping – all year long.

Fast delivery – 3-day shipping or less.

 

No one really knows too much about the Walmart Free Shipping service yet but what we do know is intriguing. The Walmart Free Shipping service will cost $50 per year, which is about half the price of an Amazon Prime membership. It will offer free shipping with delivery within three days of most orders being placed. The Walmart Free Shipping service will include around 1 million items, a small fraction of the 7 million items available online at Walmart.com. Still, 1 million items is a pretty big selection! I order so many things on Amazon simply because Prime is so convenient, I am sure that selection of 1 million items is sure to contain things I need and use every day. It is rumored that Walmart’s service will not include things like free video and music streaming, free digital books or photo storage. Those are all features included with Amazon Prime.

 

When I heard about the Walmart Free Shipping service the first thing I did was go look to see where I could sign up. The subscription service is not available quite yet. It will be available by invitation only at first to be tested by a select group of shoppers. Want to sign up to be one of the first to try it? You can sign up to be places on a wait list HERE. I’ve signed up, it isn’t a commitment just a request to be included in the initial offers.

 

Why would Walmart offer the Walmart Free Shipping service? Look again to Amazon. Amazon found that Prime members want to get the most of their subscription fee so they tend to increase purchases they make at Amazon after they sign up. That means they’re less likely to buy goods from other around town or online retailers and they spend more at Amazon. This is a good sign for online shoppers. Walmart wants our business and they are coming up with ways to get it. Hopefully the Walmart Free Shipping service will be just the first step in Walmart refreshing its approach to luring online shoppers in with good promotions and great deals.

Keep your kitchen cool this summer!

kitchen cool
I love almost everything about summer. There are just a few things I don’t like about summer, having a hot house is one of them. I especially hate it when the kitchen gets hot, I really prefer to keep my kitchen cool. Using the oven seems to make my kitchen oh so very hot. Cooking and preparing meals in a hot kitchen can be a deal breaker for me, it makes me want to eat out and get out of that heat. Eating out to avoid a hot kitchen makes no sense; it is expensive and not practical. There are a few things I do that really help keep the kitchen cool and keep me happy.

 

Use a crockpot
I try to use a crockpot whenever I can. Cooking meat and other things in a crock pot will keep your kitchen much cooler than using the oven. A quick search on the internet will bring up thousands of recipes and tons of great ideas. Yummy food and a great way to keep the kitchen cool.

 

Use the microwave
Sometimes we forget the microwave is good for more than warming up leftovers and popping popcorn. There are so many things that can be prepared in the microwave. There are lots of tips and recipes online for making many of the usual oven dishes in the microwave. There are even special, and usually inexpensive, dishes made for microwaving more meals that usually require baking.

 

Cook outside on a grill
This is one of my all-time favorites. It doesn’t take much to convince me to get out the grill. We love to cook meats, vegetables and more on our grill. My husband was just given a pizza stone so we can try cooking pizza on the grill!

 

Cook outside with a toaster oven
This is a great idea for those things that really do taste better when they are baked. We use a little camp table and put the toaster oven right out on the deck. Works great for so many things and keeps the kitchen cool!

 

Bake or use the oven at night for the next day
Can you make any part of the meal the night before? Once the house has cooled down it seems so much easier to cook and bake. There are lots of things you can make ahead when you think about it. All of these things will help keep your kitchen cool.  It also makes dinner prep go much faster when part of it is already done, another bonus.

 

Eat more cold meals
I love this one! Summer naturally seems to bring more salads and sandwiches. Fresh garden veggies, pastas, so many good ideas are on the usual summer menu. There are so many different cool meal options that seem to taste even better in the summer months. Another great way to keep your kitchen cool.

 

Once you start thinking about the many ways you can keep your kitchen and house cooler by changing your cooking habits, it seems easy and totally doable. It will even be fun!  You’ll find yourself happily eating at home in a cooler house – such a good thing! We love it and it is another great way to pinch your pennies.

 

 

 

 

Are you using Walmart’s Savings Catcher?

savings catcher

 

Have you been using Walmart’s Savings Catcher program? It is available nationwide and if you aren’t using it when you shop at Walmart; why not? You really should give it a try! Savings Catcher compares your receipt to advertised prices from top stores in your area, and if it finds a lower advertised price, you get the difference on a Walmart eGift Card. All you have to do is enter your receipt and Walmart does the work for you.

 

I signed up for this last fall and I use it as often as I can. (I’ll admit sometimes I forget to scan my receipts.) I find it works best for me if I take my phone out and scan my receipt into the Savings Catcher program as I am walking out of Walmart. That way I don’t forget to scan my receipts. It is so easy to use and the credits you get from the price matching are building up in my account. When I decided I want to redeem the amount for an eGift card the process is super simple and I will have a nice chunk of money to spend at Walmart or Walmart.com. That’s free money folks, why would anyone turn that down?

 

Do you hear the words “free money” and wonder, “There’s no such thing as free money. There has to be a catch.” Well, there’s not! As long as you sign up for the program and enter your receipts into the Savings Catcher program within seven days of the transaction, it is easy! How easy is it? Super easy, I promise!

 

Here’s how easy it is.

  1. Enter or scan your receipt.
    Enter your receipt number or scan the barcode by downloading the Walmart App.
  2. Walmart compares prices.
    Walmart will match the price of any local competitor’s printed ad for an identical product.
  3. You get the difference.
    If Savings Catcher finds a lower advertised price, you get the difference.

 

And here are a few more key facts:

Is there a minimum purchase required?

 

No. There is no minimum purchase requirement. Simply submit your receipt to get started.

 

How many receipts can I submit?

You can submit up to 7 receipts per week to Savings Catcher.

 

Is Savings Catcher available on my smartphone?

Yes. You can access Savings Catcher by downloading the Walmart app on your smartphone.

 

What types of promotions does Savings Catcher include?

Savings Catcher compares eligible items on your receipt to items found in the print and digital weekly ads of top retailers in your area. The ads must be valid at the time you made your Walmart purchase and include a specific item price.

 

Can I submit old receipts?

Your receipt needs to be 7 days old or less.

 

When you see how easy it is to get free money from your normal everyday Walmart purchases, you’ll want to sign up for Savings Catcher and start saving today! Need more information? Find more information on the program here at the Savings Catcher LINK.

 

 

 

 

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