Quick Tips: Save Time with Laundry

Place a magnet on the door of your dryer (or the top, if you have little ones) to remind yourself that there is a load of clothes drying. This eliminates the mystery of whether there are clothes in the dryer without having to open the door. If your washing machine does not have a glass window, this is also a helpful tip for identifying that clothes are in the washer. Now, you can quickly assess your laundry situation at a glance without having to open doors.

Quick Tips: Save Time in the Kitchen

Quick and Cheap Disinfecting

Did you know that a kitchen cleaning sponge is full of bacteria? Ironically, many folks use these bacteria laden tools for cleaning and keep swishing those germs around.

For a quick way to protect your family, rinse that sponge and pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes. While you are at it, use that hot sponge to wipe down the insides of that microwave. Baked in grime comes off easier and you'll now have a clean microwave and a lot less germs on that sponge. Just be sure to wear kitchen gloves when handling that hot sponge!

Remove Odors from Garbage Pail

A quick way to get odors out of that garbage can is to put a few drops of lavender essential oil in the can after it is emptied. A quick wipe with a paper towel spreads the lavender love and picks up bits of dust left over too.

Severna Park Patch

My concept of "Unworking" is becoming a reality. Don't get me wrong, when I left the "corporate world" to "stop working", I never did stop working. What I did do was to work on my own terms and I started with my own family.

I've never worked harder at anything since I've started a family. But now, the writing bug is kicking again in high gear. I'm pleased to be a feature writer for the newly launched Severna Park Patch.

You can also become a Fan of my Facebook page, The Frugal Writer, to keep up with my writing.

Regards,
Maribel
The Frugal Writer

Nescafé® Tasters Choice vs Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee

Well, the samples are in and my completely unscientific taste test has commenced. Nescafé is marketing their own brand of instant coffee to provide an affordable answer to the Starbucks VIA.

I made a cup of the Taster's Choice similar to the Starbucks, using half water and heavy on the steamed milk for optimum flavor. I also tried the hazelnut flavored Nescafe, when I probably should have stuck with the Columbian blend to compare apples to apples. Or, should I say, coffee to coffee. But I digress...

Does it pass the test? Is the Starbucks VIA just a bunch of hype? According to this frugal coffee drinker, the verdict is in. While the Taster's Choice does offer a different choice for instant, microbrewed single serve coffee, the delivery is lacking. It makes for a nice hot beverage, but lacks the firepower imbued in the VIA. Both drinks have a very smooth delivery, which is not typical of instant coffees, so they both represent an improvement. However, the VIA packed a lot of coffee flavor and the high octane energy boost to boot. After drinking the Taster's Choice, I was still dragging and felt like the extra hazelnut flavor replaced the missing coffee.

So there you have it. The Starbucks VIA is an instant coffee with a smooth delivery that really does pack a punch! Looks like you can believe the hype.

Pasadena Maryland Freecycle Meet and Greet

Another deal that I just stumbled upon.... it's happening TODAY, Saturday November 13th!!!!! Don't miss it!

Money Stretching Family: Pasadena Maryland Freecycle Annual Free For All & ...: "Come all, come one next Saturday to our annual Pasadena Freecycle Free For All and Meet and Greet. We hope to see you there!! TimeSaturday..."

Four Awesome Family Deals This Week!!!

You know I love a good value. This week is chock full of them!


Check out these four events, all happening this week!!!


Wednesday, Nov 10, 2010, 7:00-9:00pm

Free Parenting Workshop

10 Secrets to Stop Defiance & Power Struggles
at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, Severna Park, MD


If you don't have discipline issues, maybe you'd like your family to boost their fitness....

Wednesday, Nov 10, 2010, 7:00-8:30pm

Family Shape Up Solutions

at the Severna Park Community Center
$25 to register, check flyer for details


Thursday, Nov 11, 2010

Free National Park Admission Day – Veteran’s Day



Saturday, Nov 13, 2010 - 2-5pm

Friends of ECI Children’s Consignment Sale
at the Severna Park Community Center



Now you can shop, get informed and have fun while saving money! Enjoy!

An Election Campaign Technique That Gets My Vote

I was dumbfounded when I went to pick up the phone in the midst of all the pre-election frenzy to get votes. Instead of getting another prerecorded message, I got a live person. Even better, the candidate's name was actually displayed on my caller ID. So I took the call.

I told the person, a volunteer telemarketer, that I would be voting in the election, but wasn't too savvy with the candidates. (Yes, I'm terribly uninformed when it comes to politics...) She was able to give me a nice summary of the things the candidate hopes to accomplish if I vote for her and the issues that she will address. Sure, the caller could spin things to make the candidate sound great. But the difference is that I had an opportunity to have a dialog about these issues.

So guess what? I'll be voting for this candidate. Had I been really informed in politics, I would have had an opportunity to ask more questions, ask about specific issues and have, gasp, a CONVERSATION with a real person, instead of listening to yet another message sucking up my answering machine's recording time. With my little guy tugging at my leg and my phone time grinding to a halt, this method worked.