Free Box of Better Oats

Sign up here for a coupon for a free box of Better Oats. Go here to see if these are sold near you. Thanks Money Saving Mom!

What I'm Reading...

This. Is. Brilliant. This is one of the coolest functional art pieces I've seen in a long time, and I would do it, except I don't think Jesse would like having to put all of our stuff to do on post it notes. Plus, I wouldn't want to cover up the numbers. But in certain instances, it would totally work. (Photojojo)

Could you live trash free for a year? (I know that the way we do things right now, we take garbage out at least twice a week). One couple attempted to do just that. (USA Today)

12 Ideas for Frugal Artwork from Simple Mom. I'm totally already planning on the cheap frames for little kid art once the kidlets are bigger, but I thought some of the other ideas were awesome too. (Simple Mom)

Free Sample NesCafe Instant Coffee

This one has been around for awhile, but I just realized that I nevered ordered it or posted it. Go here for a free sample of NesCafe Instant Coffee. These packets are perfect for mixing with ice cream and milk for a homemade frappuccino!

Free Organic Samples from UberSamples

I've never heard of this company before, but it's worth a shot. Fill out the short form here and receive a bunch of samples from UberSamples. Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Walgreens and Target Deals

It's been awhile since I posted one of these, so here goes. Also, please ignore the mess in the background - Jonah was "helping"...

Walgreens (right side of picture):

• Dawn dish soap: $0.99 (ad coupon). Used $0.25/1 (Home Made Simple booklet) = paid $0.74. I wanted to use a $1/1 coupon, but my Walgreens no longer allows coupon overages. Sad.
• 2-pack Pilot G2 pens: $1.19. Used $1/1 (Walgreens July coupon booklet) = paid $0.19
• 2 Dr. Scholl's For Her Hidden Arch Supports: $6.99. Used $2/1 printable and $5/1 (Walgreens July coupon booklet - took $10 off) = paid $1.98/2. I would have used a second $2/1 printable, but again, no coupon overages. But, they are doing buy $10 of Dr. Scholl's products, get $5 RR, so I paid $1.98 and got $5RR.
• Total spent: $3.07, got $5RR = made $1.93. Total saved: $16.05.

Target (left side of picture):

• 2 Huggies 184-ct. wipes: $5.99 each. Used $3/2 Target coupon (from coupon booklet in past Huggies box), $2/1 printable and $1/1 printable (no longer available) = paid $5.98/2
• Werther's Original candies: on sale $1. Used $1/1 (SS 5/9/10) = FREE!
• 4 10-packs BIC pens: $0.60 each. Used two $1/2 Target printables = paid $0.40/4, or a penny a pen.
• Merona purse: on clearance for $3.24. Used $3/1 Target printable (no longer available) = paid $0.24 for a purse! Probably one of my favorite finds in a long time.
• Total spent: $7.40. Total saved: $13.81.

So, for everything pictured above, I paid $10.47, and got back $5 in Register Rewards. Nice!

Free Sample Burt's Bees Toothpaste

Go here for a sample of Burt's Bees Natural Toothpaste (you can also opt to get a $1 coupon instead). I'm kind of curious if this tastes good. I've seen plenty of Burt's Bees samples in the past, but for some reason never signed up for any of them. I guess we'll see when this one arrives! Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Free Sample Nexxus Haircare

Get a free sample of Nexxus Therappe Shampoo, Humectress Conditioner, and Humectress Deep Conditioner (those are a mouthful, right?) from Walmart. Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Free WordLock

"Like" WordLock on Facebook and fill out the form for a free WordLock. These look pretty cool. Thanks BeCentsable!

Free Sample Special K Protein Bar

Go here to request a free sample (plus coupons!) of a Special K Protein Bar. If you've requested this before, you can do so again. I tried it last time too, and the bar was really good. Really small, but really good. Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Free 2-Pack Energizer Lithium Batteries

"Like" Energizer on Facebook and go to their Giveaway tab. The first 5,000 to fill out the form will get a free 2-pack of Energizer Advanced Lithium batteries. Thanks Freebies 4 Mom!

Cheap ESPN Magazine Subscription

Discount Mags is offering a year long subscription to ESPN Magazine for only $4! Use promo code "5809" to bring the price down from $14.97. This code should also work to bring the 4 year subscription down to $16. That's a great price for this magazine! Thanks Couponing for 4!

Free Sample: Galaxy Granola

Go here to fill out the form for a free sample of Galaxy Granola. Choose from Not Sweet Vanilla or Vanilla Almond. They randomly pick 1,000 people each month to get a sample, and everyone gets emailed a coupon. If they don't pick you this month, your request stays in the drawing for the next month.

What I'm Reading...

For those married readers, have you developed the Private Language of Marriage? We have certain words and phrases that we use sarcastically to describe good parenting. To anyone else it would just sound like we're neglectful parents. (Real Delia)

Why You Should Cancel Your Cable TV, and the effects tv watching has on the environment. It's an interesting take. We don't have cable - we watch our few shows online - and I've found I don't really miss it. (The Greenest Dollar)

40 Practical Tricks for an Ordinary Rubber Band - some of these are pretty basic, but there were a few I hadn't thought of. (Wellsphere)

Free Samples GoodNites Underwear

Go here and here for two separate samples of Huggies GoodNites. Thanks Freebies 4 Mom!

Free Sample: John Frieda Root Awakening

Favorite. Hair Care Line. Ever. Go here to get a free sample and try it out. I love this stuff! Sign up for their e-mail newsletter while you're there - that's where I heard about this sample.

Free Bikini Bra from American Apparel

Sign up here to get a free bikini bra from American Apparel! Thanks Common Sense with Money!

Free Sample: V8 V-Fusion + Tea

"Like" V8 V-Fusion on Facebook and sign up for a free sample of new V-Fusion + Tea. They are giving away 1,000 per week through 9/30/10, and the next giveaway starts on Monday. I managed to catch this one at the right time this week, so I signed up for mine. There's a status bar that lets you know how close they are to being done.

Post-It Note Coupons

Yesterday I posted a coupon for my Mom, so here's one for my Dad. There are 6 new coupons available for Post-It notes here. They all print out nicely on one sheet of paper, and it's a PDF from the company, so you can print as many as you'll use before they expire on 9/30/10. Plus, Post-Its usually go on sale for back-to-school. Perfect!

Here are the coupons:

• $2/$10 Post-It Products
• $1/1 Post-It Cube
• $1/1 Post-It Wall-Mounted Pop-up Dispenser
• $1/1 Post-It Flags or Tabs
• $1/1 Post-It Flag + Highlighter
• $1/1 Post-It Removable Label

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Free Sample: Pendaflex Surehook Hanging File Folders

This seemed almost too easy, but it's worth a shot! Fill out the form here for a free sample of Surehook hanging file folders from Pendaflex. Thanks Mojosavings!

$1 Off McDonald's Fruit Smoothie or Frappe

Here's one for my Mom: Print a coupon for $1 off McDonald's new fruit smoothies or frappes - she loves the frappes! Thanks Common Sense with Money!

What I'm Reading...

Real Simple magazine is full of household (and other) advice. Here are 40 Decorating Tips for Your Living Room and some Memorable Wedding Gift Ideas.

How to Simplify When You Love Your Stuff from Zen Life. I'm trying to declutter my life, but sometimes getting rid of stuff is hard.

Here's an idea for positive reinforcement from All About Boys. I think Jonah would consider the jar of Cheerios an awesome prize right about now.

Cinncinati Chili Mac

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion (I used 1 whole onion)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small fresh hot chile, minced, or 1 4oz. can chopped mild green chiles
• 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes
• 2 16oz. cans kidney or red beans, drained and rinsed
• 1-2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 12 to 16oz. spaghetti (I used about 8oz.)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or stir-fry pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent. Add the peppers and continue to saute until the onion is golden.

Stir in the remaining ingredients except the spaghetti and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the flavorings completely blended.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti. The recipe says to serve the sauce over spaghetti, but I just dumped everything together - it's easier. This is a bit spicy because of the chili powder and chiles, but very yummy!

This recipe is from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. Notes by me are in italics.

Harvest Medley Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound pasta, any short chunky shape
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced (I just sprinkled the veggies with garlic powder)
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 red pepper, cut into strips
• 2 cups corn kernels (I used 1 can)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, vegetable stock, or water (water works fine)
• 1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 6 firm, ripe plum tomatoes, sliced (I used 2 big beefsteak tomatoes, diced)
• 1 16oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• parsley, salt and pepper to taste

Chop up all the veggies ahead of time, and this is really simple! I did two big bowls. First bowl: carrots, red pepper, corn. Second bowl: squash, zucchini, tomatoes, beans. Then just dump them in when you need them.

Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a steep-sided stir-fry pan (use the biggest one you have!). Add the garlic and carrots and saute over low heat until garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper, corn kernels, and wine. Raise the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring once or twice, for 5 minutes.

Add the squashes, tomatoes, beans, and oregano. Cover and cook until the vegetables are just tender, 4 to 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

Combine the pasta and vegetable mixture . Stir in parsley, salt and pepper.

This recipe is from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. Notes from me are in italics.

Free Sample: Dentyne Pure

Go visit Dentyne on Facebook and request a sample of new Dentyne Pure. Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Also, if you head to Walgreens, there is a coupon in the July coupon booklet to get 3 Dentyne single packs for $0.99. We tried the Mint Melon Dentyne Pure, and it's pretty good.

Veggie Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 4 medium russet potatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 cup broccoli, chopped (we used frozen)
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp. parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 9-inch pie crusts
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Cook or microwave the potatoes until done. Dice 2 and mash 2. Do this before you do everything else - I tried to multitask, but the potatoes take a lot longer than everything else does.

Preheat the oven to 350. If using frozen pie crusts, take them out at this point so they slightly thaw while you do everything else. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in large skillet. Saute onion and carrots over medium heat until golden. Add broccoli and a small amount of water. Cover and cook until broccoli is tender but not overdone, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour in the skillet and add the milk. Cook until the liquid thickens a bit, 1-2 minutes. Add the potatoes and seasonings. Heat through. Divide between the two pie crusts. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Side note: I discovered today that pulsing 1 slice of bread in the blender a few times makes really amazing bread crumbs. I wish I would have found that out sooner.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until pie crusts are golden brown.

Makes 2 heaping pies, which we cut into 6 pieces each, and then we each ate 2 slices. These would be good with chicken too, if you can find the room... :)

This recipe is from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas.

Free Subscription to Bloomberg Businessweek from Rewards Gold

Click here to start the Rewards Gold process. For this subscription, it looks like you'll have to do 2 reviews (they don't take very long - the ones I've done in the past include watches, mp3 players, and jewelry). This is one of the magazines that actually keeps me in the loop about what's going on in the world. Also, if you already have a subscription, you can still get this one free - just put in your address exactly as it is on your current subscription, and that will just extend it.

Multi Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 package (16-20 oz.) dried bean mix
• 1 carton (32 oz.) broth
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tomato can's worth water
• 1 can tomato paste

Soak the beans overnight - put them in a big pot and add water until they are covered. Leave them alone until you are ready to cook the next day.

Drain the beans. Chop all the veggies and put everything in the same pot you soaked the beans in - conveninet! Simmer on low to medium low heat for 2 to 2.5 hours (slow cooker could also work if yours is big enough) until beans are done.

For us, this makes 8 servings. We usually eat it 2 days in a row and freeze half for later - it freezes really well! If you wanted, you could add chopped ham for an even more filling soup.

Veggie Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup spinach (we use frozen)
• 1 can (6-8 oz.) sliced mushrooms
• 2 cans (16 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• Basil, oregano, parsley, Italian seasoning, etc. to taste
• 8-12 oz. wheat pasta, depending on your preferred sauce to pasta ratio (we used 12 oz. and got 4 hefty servings)

Saute carrots, celery, pepper, and onion in a bit of oil until onion is translucent and other veggies start to get soft. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, and spices, and simmer for a few minutes. Add spinach and heat through. Serve over cooked wheat pasta.

This is definitely chunkier than any sauce out of a jar, but it tastes so fresh and full of the different veggie flavors. You can mix it up with whatever veggies you have on hand.

Free Summer Gift from Snapfish & TLC

Go to the TLC Summer Gift Application on Facebook. Allow the application, "like" both TLC and Snapfish and fill out the form. I got a code for 20 free prints from Snapfish, good until December 31st! Thanks Freebies 4 Mom!

How Do I Store My Coupons?

I started couponing with an accordian organizer from Walmart. It has 12 sections, and it cost only a few dollars. I split my coupons alphabetically initially, then switched them so that they were categorized. After a couple months, my collection had grown to the point that each section was stuffed with coupons, and it was hard to find anything.

So then I got another accordian organizer. I divided the sections I had into some smaller categories, and went from there. The plus side was that these two still fit in my purse, and I could find the coupons I wanted more easily. But still, some sections were overflowing with coupons.

I finally decided to go big, and I bought this Rubbermaid tub and a box of envelopes (I already had note cards at home). Each envelope (with the top flap cut off) has a specific category (i.e. Diapers) and subcategory (Huggies), unless there is no subcategory. I labeled and sorted and voila! organization.

In the front I keep extra note cards and envelopes, a pen, a small scissors, and a list of which newspaper inserts I have, since I don't end up with them every single week. On the side, I keep store coupon booklets, an envelope to toss expired coupons, and an envelope labeled "This Week's Coupons" for when I'm pulling them out. I also keep a notebook on top, but I pulled that out for the picture. :)

I toss any clipped coupons in the front as well, and go through and sort them about once a week, usually as I'm pulling out the coupons for the deals of the week.

This system probably cost about $6 total to put together. It's much easier to find things, and if one of my categories seems to be getting too large, I can just pull out another envelope and divide it. It fits perfectly in the front seat of a cart (when I don't have Jonah with), and I actually haven't gotten too many looks or comments about it, except for a couple people who were really impressed.

Don't forget! There are lots of sources for starting your own coupon collection, and many ways to organize your coupons - just find what works best for you!

Free Stuff in My Mailbox Today...

I love the day after a 3-day weekend - the mailbox is always stuffed full of goodies! Here's my take for the day:

• Glamour magazine: free from frequent flyer miles that were going to expire (also got subscription to Self for me and Men's Health for Jesse)
• Bloomberg Businessweek magazine: free from Rewards Gold offer (no longer available, but available fairly often, so I've renewed a couple times for free now)
• Forbes magazine: free from Rewards Gold offer (no longer available, and I've only seen this one the one time)
• Coupon for free Suave Professionals from Facebook promotion (no longer available)
• Sample of Starbucks Via from Costco (here's one from Walmart that's still available)
• Sample of Dove Damage Therapy from Costco (still available)
• Sample of Bounty paper towels from Sam's Club (no longer available)
• Sample and coupon for All Oxi-Clean from Walmart (no longer available)

If you want your mailbox to be like Christmas, start signing up for freebies, and you'll start getting them within 3-6 weeks!

Free Sample: Dove Damage Therapy

Get a free sample of Dove Damage Therapy Hair Care from Sam's Club (no membership number required). Thanks Freebies 4 Mom!