Spring Cleaning

I am one of those freaks that can not wait for Spring cleaning. Although I enjoy cleaning all year round, I love how after spring cleaning is done, everything seems so much fresher and healthier overall to live in. I usually like searching the web for lists so that I can mark off what I have finished and to keep track of what is left to do. I looked around though and I wasn't very pleased with any of the lists. I therefore have compiled my own, if you'd like to follow along I will post the list below. It covers all area of your house. I broke it up by week, just because I have a crazy little monster who needs most of my attention! If you break it up, even in to days, and spend a lot of time one weekend, it shouldn't be overwhelming and you should have a sparkling, organized place in no time.

Kitchen

-organize cabinets: make sure to throw out any old food that you haven't use in about 6 months, and that you honestly have no intention of using any time soon. Donate it! There are plenty of people who would appreciate this tremendously.
-be sure to put whatever you use most towards the front of the cabinet, and everything that you do not use too much towards the back.
- put like things together, it will make it look better and also help with organization.
-don't forget,before putting everything back in the cabinets you are going to want to wipe down the cabinets.

-Refrigerator
-This was my least favorite. It's likely that you have at some point in the past year had some old food sitting around...therefore you will be left with a smelly gross refrigerator. Now is a good time to empty the whole thing, scrub down the shelving and the drawers and only put in the fresh food. Also, put a box of baking soda in there if you don't already. For this I used baking soda and White vinegar, your food is going to be in this place so you don't want to use anything too harsh
-Go in the freezer and take out anything that you don't think you will defrost.

-Toaster Oven
-This is one of the hardest things to clean! But once it's finished put some aluminum foil under the rack to catch any future crumbs.
-wipe down the microwave
-Use a mixture of white vinegar and water to clean the coffee pot, run a cycle with this and then do about 2-3 follow up cycles with just plain water.

-Floor/Bases
-I LOVE Mr. Clean white sponges, I used them to go around the base of the kitchen )if you have white base boards) and cleaned up. They are sparkling! We usually forget this spot in the kitchen, but it definitely makes the floor and walls look better. If you have white walls, touching up with this is great.
-Next, really scrub the floor, use cleaning supplies if you usually only use water.

-Windows
-Wipe these down, both inside and out.

Why not sanitize that gross garbage can, ugh, yeah who wants to do that? But you'll thank yourself later, we don't realize how smelly this can actually get.

finally, clean the sink and counters...baking soda and white vinegar will do the job.

Next, we'll focus on the living areas and dining room.

30 Day Shred

Ok, I've tried TONS of workout videos, as I love experimenting and trying different types of exercise programs. This program, by Jillian Michaels, is absolutely insane. No joke! This women is crazy. The whole point behind the video is that Jillian says that if you want only 20 minutes a day to work out you need to push it. This will apparently save you from hours a day at the gym. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong. She really pushes you. I am on day two and every ounce of my body hurts! But I feel so much more energized.

The basis of the program is that there are three levels. I am starting on level 1, which I encourage you to do. It is broken up into three circuits. Each circuit has 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. There are three circuits, a warm up, and a cool down. By the end of this you will just want to pass out. I literally am shouting during this video, luckily Ryan has not been home when I have tried it.

Apparently you can lose up to 20 lbs doing this for 30 days, well, I'm hoping to just lose 10, I'll let you know how it goes. You are supposed to do it everyday so if you want to follow along with me, it is On Demand with Comcast. I will do level 1 till I get bored and feel like I can keep up all the way through, then move on to Level 2.

Oh, and of course, if you don't know who Jillian Michaels is, she's the trainer from the Biggest Loser. I do have to say, she inspires you to work, and she's not cute about it, she's tough. I strongly urge you to check it out.

Coupons: How to really make them work

So, we all know that no one really enjoys using coupons...it makes us look cheap, and broke. Well, here's the thing... we are cheap and broke, especially with the economy how it is. More and more people are using coupons. The great part is, they actually help!

It is seriously a goal of mine each time I go to Stop and Shop to save as much money as I can. It appears that many others try to achieve this same thing, and actually do a better job than I do! A lot better job. On Good Morning America last week, Coupon Mom was on. You can visit her site at CouponMom.com. She will help you to save as much as possible on your grocery bills.

She helped one women pay a quarter for one hundred dollars worth of groceries! Seriously, a quarter, I kid not. So, my first goal...to get as close to this as possible. It appears from watching how it is done that it might actually take some VERY serious planning to make this happen, but I will keep trying till I get there, and I will keep you updated on my progress. Here are some tips that we got from Coupon Mom and our goal will be to try this for our next trip.

Step One: You need to make sure that you are adequately planning your weekly grocery trip. So, this means, don't go in knowing that you need 7 dinners, but actually take about a half an hour and make recipes, and list the exact ingredients that you need. Don't forget to go through your cabinets and make sure of what you do and do not have. Write down every conceivable thing that you need, not just the basics. The key will be to stay with what is on your list, and that's it.

Step Two:
This is the most important step: Coupons! Now, key is, you need to be flexible. You can't plan on buying Brawny paper towels if you want a good deal. You need to buy the brand that is on sale. Also, before going to the store look through what is already on sale at the store, and see if you have any coupons for that specific brand, you can literally walk away with a free product. Of course this means keeping coupons and cutting them religiously.
Check for weekly sales on sites such as couponmom. Or search for other sites where bloggers blog about upcoming in store sales. Cool Savings is also a great one. You can also print coupons, try eversave.com and coupons.com. You most likely can find every coupon that you would need on there.

Step Three:
Don't forget to look at the packages that you are buying! They might actually have a coupon on them, and it will not be a small coupon! It will be about forty percent off. Many people don't catch this till they get home.

Step Four:
Organize. Get a multi compartment folder and put your grocery list and coupons into different pockets so you know what you do, and do not have coupons for.

Step Five:
Shop and watch the savings pile up.

Here are some things you should never pay full price for:
Toothpaste
toilet paper, other paper products
Tolietries
Pasta
Pasta Sauce
Contact Solution
Shampoo, conditioner
Soap
Makeup

This can save your money for things that you want to spend the big money on like whole produce and organic foods.

Good Luck! I'm sure you will be happy when you have some leftover money to go clothes shopping!