Daily Sweet Fix

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about another wonderful source for coupons:: THE LIBRARY!!

While Drew and I were at the Library this morning, I noticed several local Sunday newspapers sitting on the shelves with papers like the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, etc… So, I decided to take a look inside of them to see if there were any coupon inserts left. Sure enough, they were all there! I was super excited and asked if I could have them. But of course! 🙂

So, the point being, head on over to your local library to see if you can have the coupon inserts from the Sunday papers! The best part? Yep, they are FREE! My favorite word! 🙂

For today’s Daily Sweet Fix, I thought that we would go ahead and contact a company to let them know how much that we enjoy their products! Today, we are going to contact Perdue.

If you remember from previous times that I have posted about contacting companies for coupons or  regarding their products, I have mentioned the number one thing is honesty! Tell the company what you like or dislike about their product. Honesty, goes a long way! You can also ask if they have a mailing list for coupons or if they offer coupons to consumer. I find that it never hurts to ask-the least that they can say is no! Most companies love to hear from consumers using their products!

So, GO HERE for the Perdue home page and comment away! Maybe we can score some coupons for Perdue products along the way!

I am so sorry! I had this scheduled to post earlier this afternoon, but just now noticed I had not posted it! It has been a L-O-N-G day to say the least! I hear my bed calling me! 😉

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about getting your kids involved in small jobs around the house. When it comes to cleaning and doing laundry, it is always nice to have a helper, right? 🙂

To me, teaching your children to help around the house with cleaning and other small jobs, not only teaches them responsibility, but it also gives them a sense of accomplishment! My son Drew is only 4 years old, but he loves to hear mommy tell him what a good job he did picking up his toys or “helping” me fold the laundry!

Here are a few ways to get the kiddos involved:                Drew loves to help mommy set the table!

• -Have your children help you fold the laundry and take it out of the dryer for you. If you are like me, laundry is my thorn in the flesh, so I am thrilled to have a helper with this!  Start by having your children help by folding the towels if you don’t think that they can handle the bigger jobs at first. You will be surprised at how well that they will actually do!
• -Have your children help set the table for dinner or clear away the dishes after dinner. This is one of Drew’s favorite jobs; he loves to set out the silverware and napkins so that they look just right! And, he gets such a big smile when mommy and daddy tell him what a good helper he is!
• -Have your children help you vacuum or mop the floor. We have one of those Swiffer mops and Drew goes to town with that thing! He knows what a big help that he is being to mommy when he uses it! He also gets a thrill out of using the vacuum cleaner! 🙂
• -Have your children help you clip those coupons! Drew loves it when mommy hands him his safety scissors and we clip coupons together! This is also a fun time that you and your child can just talk about whatever is on their heart. At the same time, you are also clipping coupons to save money!

There are literally a million and one different ways that you can get your children to help you around the house. The ones that I listed are some of the favorites in our house. Do you have any other tips and ideas that you would like to share? Please let me know!

**Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about making your own homemade laundry detergent!**

Making your own laundry detergent is easy to do, and it costs a fraction of the price that you pay for the bottled stuff at your favorite store! I also like the fact that I can use my favorite scented bar soap to create the smell that I love! You can also add a few drops of scented oil if you prefer!

Ingredients ::

• 1 bar bath soap, grated (your favorite brand-scented or unscented)
• 1 cup arm & hammer super washing soda laundry detergent (a laundry booster)
• 1/2 cup borax
•  Hot water

Directions ::

• Place grated soap in a pot       
• Cover with waer and simmer with medium heat until soap is melted, stirring occassionally.       
• Pour mixture into a 5 gallon bucket     
• Add washing soda and Borax 
• Add enough hot water to fill the bucket      
• Stir with a long stick such as a measuring stick
• Let the mixture sit overnight to form a gel      
• Use 1 cup per load-mixture makes enough for 80 loads of laundry!

 *This recipe was taken from Recipezaar*

***You can pour this into old detergent containers or leave in the bucket. Make sure to keep the liquid out of the reach of children***

Do you make your own laundry detergent or have you made it in the past?  I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this!

Today’s Daily Sweet Fix is all about stretching out those leftovers!

I don’t know about you, but I love to stretch a meal out as far as I can make it go! Sometimes that means being creative with leftovers! I thought that it would fun to share with you just a few of my favorite ways to use leftovers, then if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear from you!

#1-Using Leftover Rotisserie Chicken       Yummy Chicken Pot Pie!

We love those yummy Rotisserie chickens that you can buy at your local Supermarket, but there are usually quite a bit of leftovers with a family of 3. I will take the leftovers to make another meal later in the week. Usually it will be Chicken Pot Pie, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Quesadillas, or even a quick salad for lunch!

#2-Using Leftover Brownies or Cake

I love to bake cakes and brownies, but sometimes it just seems like we are eating on them for weeks! One thing that I love to do with the leftovers is to make Brownie or Cake Trifles! Just cut up chunks of leftover brownies or cake, add a little bit of ice cream or frozen yogurt with some fresh berries and some hot fudge sauce. Voila! You have a yummy brownie or cake truffle that takes the everyday brownie and cake from drab to delectable in just minutes!

#3 Using Leftover Rice

We love rice in our house, but sometimes I tend to make a little too much for one sitting. That is a-okay though, because Drew and I found a wonderful Fried Rice recipe (you can get the recipe at the end of the game) on Nick Jr. that we love to make together! It is the easiest (only 4 ingredients) and tastiest recipe that I have ever come across! Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but it even tastes better than the fried rice at the local Chinese restaurant! 🙂

#4-Using Leftover Pastas

We, like many of you, love a good pasta dinner! Sometimes, I will actually make more pasta than I think that we would eat for one meal because I know that I can use the leftovers for another meal later in the week! A couple of my favorite leftover pasta meals include Baked Spaghetti, Baked Frittata, or even a cold pasta salad made with Ranch Dressing and black olives!

#5-Using Leftover Coffee

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time now, well, you know how much that I love my coffee! I especially love iced coffee drinks! These drinks can not only be on the pricey side, but also high in calories. I have found that I can take my leftover coffee from the morning and put it in the refrigerator to chill for several hours. Then, later in the afternoon, when I am craving an iced coffee drink, I will pour some of the chilled coffee into my favorite glass, add a little bit of my favorite flavored creamer and some sugar substitute, and there you have it, a yummy iced coffee drink for a fraction of the price that I would pay at my local coffee shop!

What about you? Do you have a favorite leftover idea that you would like to share with us? Please comment here and let us know!

I love to share my bargains and coupon tips with you all, but I also want to be an encouragement in other ways. 🙂 I am sure that you have noticed the Daily Sweet Fix has been missing from the blog for several weeks now. Well, I have been working on some ways to sweeten it up even more!

I really want this daily feature to be more than just contacting a company for coupons, so every day I will be picking a different item to feature. I will be posting money-saving tips and ideas, recipes, quotes, pictures, and even words of encouragement!

My goal is still to include companies to contact for coupons, but I want this feature to be fun for you all! I would also love some feedback from you guys and if you have any tips, ideas, quotes, or pictures that you would like to see featured here on the blog you can email them to me at: mysweetsavings@gmail.com

I hope that you will love the new additions! Now, off to post today’s Daily Sweet Fix!