When our granddaughter was born I started to buy a few toys, books, some stuffed animals and the perfect baby doll. I soon realized that the little one needed none of these things. She is happiest playing with her people, petting the dogs or just walking around the yard. Still, being a new grandmother is pretty heady and I was going to enjoy every opportunity to do all the grandmotherly stuff.

Baby doll and stroller
Six months ago I was delightfully telling by best friend about the new baby doll and stroller I had purchased. She laughed and said, “You did not buy the doll and stroller for your granddaughter, you bought it for you.” I was taken aback, just for a moment though. She was so right.

After ordering the doll and stroller I couldn’t wait for them to arrive. When they did I set the boxes aside and waited until I could properly open them and have time to enjoy my granddaughter’s new treasures. I placed the doll in her stroller and spent a good part of the evening just smiling every time I looked at the doll. I loved her already. My sisters stopped by for show and tell, my husband feigned delight (he calls her vanilla head) and our very foibled English Pointer barked every time we brought the doll and stroller into the living room. Yes, I was definitely enjoying grandmother-hood.

Does our granddaughter like her doll and stroller? Oh yes. I left both in a bedroom for her to discover on her own. And she did. A stroller is great for helping a toddler learn to walk. Even the process of taking a doll out of the stroller and putting her back in is a balancing act. And with the warmer weather granddaughter, baby doll and stroller spend more time outside tooling around the driveway. The removable knit cap, sleeping eyes (open and close) and the cuddly bean bag body are other great features.

This is the doll and stroller I chose: Corolle Mon Premier Calin Laughing Raspberry 12″ Doll with Corolle Nursery Red/Fuchsia Umbrella Stroller. Check out Corolle for more dolls and doll fashions and where to buy.  

What else did I buy for me?

Pure Kaloo Chubby Rabbit named “Leaf”
This rabbit is velour soft, fat and huggable. She is sable and cream, brown-eyed and smiling. I love the detail: the Peter Pan collar, the straps on her shoes, the shiny embroidered leaves on her chubby belly, the top stitching on her ears and the bow on her head. The finishing touch? A round box for “Leaf” to sit on.

This is a lovely stuffed animal for an infant. Do remember that children grow oh so quickly and they probably do not need but one or two stuffed animals. So I will gladly keep this rabbit here and give it to my granddaughter whenever she wants to take it home. Check out Kaloo for more very well made toys.

Child’s green watering can
My sister Kate and I spotted this at The Garden Store at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. It took but a moment to choose the color. I know the green enamel finish will get nicked and dented but the balance while holding the can was perfect. We will raid the kitchen drawers for gardening tools and play in the garden this summer. 

Do I go crazy buying all kinds of toys and whatnots for my granddaughter? Not at all. But the occasional purchase is so delightfully fun!

Whoa … don’t leave just yet.

Some of you fear spiders; some of you tolerate spiders; some of you live with spiders. This post is for all of you. One of the frequent guests in my laundry room is a nice crisp very active spider. After doing a little research I do believe he is a wolf spider … a very common non-web spinning spider that belongs under rocks but does lose his way (he really is not trying to scare you by living in your home) and drops into my laundry tub. I like to think that the nocturnal activity in my basement stays unnoticed but alas, sometimes it is sitting right in the middle of my laundry tub waiting to be dealt with.

Do I kill spiders? No, no, no. I calmly (no spider is going to raise my blood pressure) move the little guy to a more suitable home outside.

Steps to relocating a spider from your laundry tub:

1. Gather your wits if necessary. Do not scream but do breathe.
2. Put the stopper in the laundry tub. If you are too afraid to do this go directly to step 5.
3. Run water until the spider is floating on the surface. Sometimes the spider curls up, sometimes not.
4. Dip a bowl or pan or dog dish (size will depend on fear factor) into the water and scoop up the spider and water. Skip to step 6.
5. Leave the spider until you plan to run laundry. Run laundry as usual except leave the lid open so you can be around when the water drains. When the laundry water drains into the tub and reaches about 6″ to 10″ in depth, grab your pail and dip into the water and scoop up water and spider.
6. Toss the spider and water out the back door. Me, I like to gently pour my spider water into the pile of rocks since wolf spiders do love living under rocks. 

The revenge of the garter snake.

Do you know who is extremely fearful of spiders? My very best friend Beth. This is the very same best friend who has saved a toad’s life (at least for a day) by pulling the toad out of a big garter snake’s mouth. 

Just think … lovely warm afternoon with the fragrance of apple blossom everywhere …  strolling along, hearing a squeak, seeing a garter snake with his mouth engulfing a toad … reaching down and picking up the snake and extracting the toad. Oh. My. Gosh!

This is the same person who is afraid of spiders? I did witness the payback a few days later. A big garter snake was cooling off in the shade of a shed in our gravel garden and Beth picked him up only to have the snake foul her hand with an atrocious smelling fluid – it came from a gland … well, let me just think of it as snake poo. This most foul stink was all over Beth’s hand and permeated the air so much that I backed up and proceeded to laugh and laugh and laugh. Disgusting smell. And the odor was not going to be removed by mere hand washing.

Beth’s popularity that week with:

toads - off the charts

snakes – less than zip

people – not so great (the stink factor)

So, the next time you have a spider in your laundry tub, it could be worse, it could be a garter snake. So get brave and deal with your little spider like the big person you are.  

Delightfully yours,

Pepper Nuts
Last year I was riffling through my cupboards looking for my mom’s pepper nut cookie recipe. You know the ones … you make a month before the holidays and glaze (no one could glaze like my mom) so they look like translucent snow on a very cold moonlit night. Hmmm. Not here. Not a problem. I will call mom. I reached for my phone and then … paused. Certainly could not call mom, she has been gone for many years now. Next best thing, I called my sisters and asked them to send me the family recipe. 

Potato Donuts & Fried Zucchini Blossoms
On special occasions my mom would take her electric skillet outside and cook up her mom’s potato donuts. Fresh out of the hot oil with a little glaze or plain – we were the happiest kids around. If friends stopped in my mom was even more delighted to share. Other hot summer days we ate fried zucchini blossoms (picked in the early morning) and fried puffed up zucchini slices. Parmesan, oregano and love – the best flavors ever.

Mason Jars
One early spring I helped my mom unload fruit baskets of mason jars that she had stored in the garage cupboards over the winter. She used these jars to warm up the soil and air around her vegetable seedlings in the garden. Every big jar had a smaller jar inside it. I thought (for many years and always in wonder) that the baby jar had grown inside the big jar over the winter. How magical! My mom never told me otherwise … thank you.

Books
Our most loved shared passion was books. Both my mom and I read every book (in order) we could find by Anthony Trollop (over 40 writings including the Barsetshire and Pallister series). We both soaked up Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade after I found the book at the library with the pages still uncut! No one had read this book. And my mom was there for me when I fell in love with Wilkie Collins (The Woman in White and Moonstone). Nothing brought us closer than sharing and loving the same book.

Library and Bookmobile
As children my mom read to us every chance she had – it amazes me still that she found the time. We had the whole set of 1949 ChildCraft books. The first volumes showed the wear appropriate to toddlers – spilled juice, crayon scribblings and a few torn pages. The later volumes more fitting for a preteen were nearly pristine. When we could read on our own we always had stacks of books from the library or bookmobile.

Collies and Fireflies
As kids, many a warm summer night we slept outside under an army tarp draped over the clothesline. With our collies guarding us, our parents close by to protect us (from the darkness maybe), the fireflies enchanting us, and a flashlight in hand, we each read our favorite book. The library must have had a lot of damp (not to mention dog smelling) books returned to them for many summers.

What is your mom moment?

Delightfully yours,

This morning’s fog disappeared and by noon the day turned warm, sunny and ever so pleasant. The kind of day I just had to be outside. Let’s see. Weed the garden: too wet. Clean the garage: my stepson cleaned the garage a week ago (thank you, thank you!). Sweep the front steps and walkway: the dogs already slurped up all the dried earthworms littering the pavement. 

What to do: iron outside

… and test out my new starches. I have been gathering up various starches from my local grocery to test if my old starch was just an old starch and to see what is new on the market. Once a week I spend several hours ironing by the back downstairs’ window or preferably outside on the back porch … my shirts and pants, my husband’s, his handkerchiefs, cloth napkins and the occasional table cloth. I will talk about my fabulous ironing board cover and my simple little iron and my portable clothes hanger and … another time. I love to iron. And today the tree swallows were swooping and diving and the red-winged blackbirds and meadowlarks were singing and twittering the whole time I ironed.

Almost all of our machine washable items are cotton or a cotton/linen blend. Wonderful, I can starch everything. Not so fast, some of these items are also treated to make them wrinkle resistant. I am just not too keen on this treated fabric. To me this fabric does not breathe. These treated fabrics have evolved over the years – they use to stain horribly but now they do wash up better. Unfortunately starching these treated fabrics is not an option even though the label may say 100% cotton. Yes, they may be ironed but not starched.

Why starch?

• adds body and crispness to fabric
• depending on how much starch you use it can add a glossy finish
• keeps clothes cleaner since a smooth, starched surface tends to slough off dirt
• makes ironing easier (sometimes)

Rules for starching

• Starch only untreated cotton, linen and rayon fabrics. If you want to stiffen the fabric on a synthetic or blended fabric use sizing which is not as stiff as starch and can be ironed at a lower temperature.
• After ironing (starching or not) hang the item up where it can dry thoroughly (so, so important). I have a portable rack (I love it) that moves all over the laundry room, basement and even outdoors. A couple of hours of ironing and this rack is full but not packed (that would be 32″ of hanging space and about 15 or so items). Do not stuff these items back into the closet damp or dry. Do check out my Time to Clean the Nest series if your closets are still too full.

Here are the starches I tried over several washings from least to most favorite. 

• Magic Premium Starch with Fibrenhancer (surrounds and enhances fibers) by Faultless Starch Company, Juniper aromatherapy fresh scent, aerosol can.
  Contains: Water, Propellant, Patented Film Former, Ironing Aids, Quality Control Agents, Fragrance.
  Directions: Use with adequate ventilation.

This starch was sprayed on a dry cotton/linen blend shirt and a damp oxford shirt with the iron set to “cotton” and “dry.” The fragrance is sweet and cloying and lingers well beyond the first day. I could smell the starched shirt just walking into the laundry the next morning. Even though the starch sprayed and covered evenly I still had starch all over the ironing board cover and the floor.

The directions recommend spraying a section at a time. If the garment were damp I would spray the whole item. In order to starch a dry item I needed to spray the area thoroughly (almost saturated) which makes it difficult to completely iron dry the fabric without over ironing. The spray can is heavy (20 oz.), needs to be shaken before each use and when the starch drips on your hand (it most definitely will drip) the can quickly turns slippery. I wrapped a large rubber band around the can to make it easier to handle.

I will finish off the can, recycle it and not buy this product again.

• Niagara Original Spray Starch by Phoenix Brands, aerosol can.
  Directions: After use, remove push button and rinse in warm water to prevent clogging.

This is my old stand by. I remove damp shirts from the washing machine and hang them on hangers and spray all over with this starch. If the weather allows I take the whole rack of damp shirts outside and spray away. I also iron these shirts while slightly damp.

Two drawbacks: 1. Spraying starch inside the home. Do I really want a slick basement floor let alone a carpet or tile floor covered with starch? 2. What are the ingredients in this product? I searched online (the can gives no clue) and now I am wondering if I want to use a product that does not freely give out it ingredients. Doe anyone know what is in this product? 

• Niagara non-aerosol bottle.
  Number 2 HDPE plastic bottle with nozzle.

Because the spray is uneven I needed to spray more starch which left the fabric saturated in some spots unless I ironed over and over (I do not like to over dry while ironing). The cotton/linen shirt I ironed was fairly damp when I finished and did not look professional.

The “cotton” setting caused the iron to stick on a cotton/linen shirt. The fresh linen scent does dissipate. The nozzle drips slightly after each use but the bottle was easy to hold and spray. Ditto number 2 for ingredients. No list that I could find.

• Easy On Speed Starch Crisp Linen Scent, aerosol can.
  Contains Isobutane, 2-Hyroxyethyl Ether Starch.
  Directions: After use, remove push button and rinse in warm water to prevent clogging.

The clean fragrance dissipates quickly. The spray can is narrow and has a slick finish – if any starch drips on your hand (it will, every time you spray) the can quickly turns slippery. I wrapped a large rubber band around the can to make it easier to handle.

I found it difficult to spray an unironed area on the dry oxford shirt without spraying an already starched section. Of all the starches this one left a slight sheen.

• Linit Starch Crisp Classic Finish concentrated liquid, 64 oz (per label equal to 7 aerosol cans).
  Contains: Water, Corn Starch, Borax, Fragrance, Preservative, Processing and Ironing Agents.
  Number 2 HDPE plastic bottle, non recyclable cap.

If I have a whole laundry load of starchable items I run them through the regular washing cycle. I add an additional rinse cycle (just enough water to cover the items) with about 1.5 cups of this liquid starch (don’t forget to shake). I pull the items out after the spin dry, give a good snap to each item and hang on hangers. If the day allows I can iron these outside within an hour or leave the damp items hanging until the next morning and iron.

I do not leave dirty clothes (especially shirts with sweat and deodorant) to sit and pile up until I have a load for ironing. Instead, I wash as usual, hang the items up damp to air dry and when I have a full load I run them all through the rinse cycle (on warm) with the starch.

Benefits: My clothes are starched evenly and using a “dry” setting on my iron they iron easily. No lingering smell. No starch spray everywhere and an uncluttered ironing board.

Think I found my new starch … as soon as I use up all the other ones.

What is your favorite laundry starch?

Delightfully yours,

Whenever my 18 month old grandchild leaves I walk around the house and pick up the few items that need to go back into her room (or at least the room with three small canvas bins just for her). Always, I am picking up a book or two. As soon as she arrives she dashes off to her room and starts dragging out book after book. This child rarely is without a book. 

Her current favorite books: 

Ten Friendly Fireflies by Roseanne Thong and illustrated by Amy Schimler. This is the type of book I would never have purchased, but it came with a whole collection chosen by a grade school teacher. When our granddaughter figured how to press the Push Here spot and have the twinkling fireflies light up she was delighted. Over and over and over. Just shows how children love all kinds of books.

I Love My Mama by Peter Kavanagh and illustrated by Jane Chapman. Who couldn’t love this book? You may even have a few tears of your own as you spend the day with a mama and baby elephant. Lovely illustrations and endearing words: splash, splish, dewy grass, pale sun, morning mist. 

Maisy’s Amazing Big Book of Words and Maisy Big, Maisy Small by Lucy Cousins. The Maisy books were my choice. I love Maisy, I love her name, her clothes, her friends, her garden, her boots. Everything! When I gave a few of these books to my best friend for her granddaughter and received glowing reviews I just had to get a few for my granddaughter (okay, for me).

The illustrations just tickle me … they make me laugh and smile over and over. Maisy’s friend Panda shows up in the most unexpected places: in the barn with a cow, in the dryer and on the clothesline. These books are treasures and also some of our granddaughter’s favorites. Do get one of these for you and your child.

Spotlight on Shimmer! by David Kirk. Lately, my granddaughter has picked this book up more and spent time looking at it. The pages are thick cardboard and scalloped on one edge. The pictures are silly, the colors are gaudy and the writing is cute. Seems to work.

Little Quack by Laura Thompson and illustrated by Derek Anderson. This was one of the first books I bought, along with the matching stuffed quacking duck, because I loved it. For awhile the front and end pages (bright mustard orange) were the only attractions. Now the more subtle drawings are catching our granddaughter’s interest. 

Let’s Go on a Class Trip by Carol Monica. Again, another book I would not have purchased on my own. This has been a favorite for a long time. The flaps lift (takes some skill but well worth it) to expose surprises. Even I want to look under every flap (40+). The dinosaur museum and firehouse have had the most use. And not to worry – these flaps will not tear out. I think this book will be a favorite for a long time since the discoveries in the book have various skill levels. 

What do all these books have in common?

Easy to turn pages, thick enough pages that little fingers can grasp them, no slick pages. Lots of strong colors. Lots of shapes. And best of all some have flaps to lift. Many of the books came from a big wicker laundry basket of books we had won at a silent auction. Over 60 books for baby up to a nine year old. I gave away the older children’s books to a much delighted little girl with the condition that she passes them on to her friends so they can enjoy talking about the books. Apparently one of her BFF loves mice and you can only imagine how many heroes/heroines of books are mice (don’t forget our beloved Maisy). 

The other books went into my granddaughter’s three canvas bins along with some stuffed animals and baking items she had turned into toys (wooden spoons, measuring cups and my shiny set of stacking donut cutters). I removed the book covers and set them aside – my thought was to iron them and use as a placement for our granddaughter (or me). 

My rules for books in our home: there are no rules.

A book in the hand of a toddler will get chewed, surprisingly not very often. The pages and flaps will get torn out; a toddler is always amazed and thinks the page can be put back intact just by setting the page back in place, tape works just great. The books will get food and juice spilled on them. A week after our granddaughter had visited our dog discovered left over tomato sauce on one of the books in the bin. Our dog cleaned the sauce and then I cleaned the book. 

At our home the books get stacked, carried, moved, binned and plopped down dozens of times a day. The favorite plop down spot is the center of the rug in the center of the kitchen. The same favorite spot for our two dogs. Toddlers, dogs … both about the same mental age right now. I find myself using the same words with each: come, sit, stay, fetch (not so much) and good girl (lots). And if one of my sisters visits watch out. Our granddaughter brings over a stack of books and gently leans her back against one of my sisters, which signals pick me up and share my books with me. 

Things I have learned about books and a toddler: 

• A toddler loves to read the same book over and over. Apparently this is quite comforting.
• Toddlers learn quickly the beginning and end of a book.
• Reading exposes children to sounds, rhymes (think Dr. Seuss) and words they may not hear in normal conversation.
• You will never be closer to a toddler than when you hold them and read.
• If I carried around the same size book my granddaughter does it would be the size and weight of a big wooden cutting board – try carrying five of these.

Please check out PBS Reading Milestones for some tips on reading to your toddler.

So, if you have a small one in your life do not let a day go by without reading together.

Delightfully yours,

Let’s clear the air right up front – I love rain and I love fog. There, I said it.

This morning’s fog left only feet of visible space around our home. As it lifted it settled a hundred feet back from the house but was just as dense. It was one of those morning I walked the dogs in my pajamas. We were invisible and safe in our own world. Quiet? Not at all. The red-winged blackbirds were raucous and a pair of bobolinks fussed and chatted in a flowering crab. A lone meadowlark sang loudly and sweetly from the field.

The fog makes me feel safe. And small. And invisible. The world has shrunk and everything important and beautiful and interesting is within this space.

And then the glow starts. The slow, imperceptible change from opaqueness to opalescence to translucent to transparent. The magic is the atmosphere all around the objects. Think of Shirley Hazzard and The Transit of Venus (her writing brings me to tears, it is that beautiful). Shirley Hazzard sees the world opposite than most of us - where we see a branch she sees the sky and atmosphere around the branch. Her people and fences and rocks “fissure” and “announce themselves” and “lacerate” the space around them.

This foggy morning the tupelos danced, the sweet bay swayed and the amelanchier bowed her unripe berry laden branches.

The gray fog turns the acceptably colorful carmine blooms on the crabapples into a gaudy raspberry. The soft greens of the new birch leaves are now lime green. I squinted my eyes and the grassy field transformed into a huge smattering of white gone to seed dandelions.

For all you fog lovers, hope you have a foggy morning soon.

Delightfully yours,

This is the 5th post in a series about couponing. 

1. Coupons? Yes
2. Coupons? No
3. Coupons? Sometimes
4. New products we liked.
5. New products we did not like.

The following food products I bought because I had a coupon and they were on sale. I will not buy these products again. These are all quick foods that we do not normally buy but with a deep discount and some being actually free, I thought what the heck? What the heck is right, I will never buy these items again for my family.

• Uncle Ben’s Country Inn Rice – even my husband who likes salty food was unable to eat this. The sodium values on their various flavors started at 580 mg and went all the way up to 940 mg for 1 cup of cooked rice. Compare that to plain rice or couscous with 0 mg sodium.
• Betty Crocker Flavored Mashed Potatoes – taste and texture wise the Sweet Potato mix was inedible. Of all their potato mixes, 470 mg of sodium was the average (high of 565 mg, low of 270 mg) for a ½ cup serving.
• I never tried the Tuna/Chicken/Hamburger Helpers. Even though these can be purchased with deep discounts the sodium was off the charts for a 1 cup serving. The average sodium was over 700 and the high was a whopping 1120 mg. Get real.
• Add to the above list Rice A Roni (the only flavor is sodium), Ronzini Bistro (gloppy) and Knorr Pasta Sides (gritty).

Knowing full well that the one or two aisles in our local Giant Eagle could be easily bypassed that is just what I do. Unfortunately, a lot of coupons are for these prepared and dry mixes making them seem very affordable (sometimes free) in the short term and totally unaffordable health wise in the long term.

I could also go through every canned, frozen and pre-packaged aisle in the grocery and talk about the negatives of some of the products. My choices may not be your choices.

But, if I buy something, with or without a coupon, it must have some value for my family.

Conclusions on buying packaged foods with coupons: read labels, buy sparingly and add vegetables to the mix if possible.

Other products that have disappointed:

• Last year my mantra was “no one should pay for toothpaste.” And it was true, when you layer all the discounts for toothpaste it does pay to use coupons + store specials + special promotions. That is until my dentist told me that all the free whitening, freshening, enamel strengthening and so forth toothpastes left burns on my gums. I was shocked. Almost all of our toothpaste stockpile has been given away.
• Crest battery operated toothbrush – it wasn’t even useful for cleaning around the house. Any pressure on the brush and it shut off. Crest was kind enough to refund the cost.
• Shavers – sure, the shavers are free but the refills are extremely costly as well as unrecyclable. It is less expensive to buy a new shaver than to buy the blades. More unrecyclable packaging. And the big shaver will not fit in the slot on my simplehuman (I love it) shower rack. I am going back to my old Gillette Trac II.
• All the soaps with microbeads and exfoliating face cleansers – no matter how carefully I wash my face some of the microbeads get into my eyes. Not good, not good at all.
• Mr. Clean with Febreze – who could resist the colors, fragrance names and of course the deep discounts? Wish I had. The fragrance is so strong it remains for days – I thought Febreze was to remove odors. Seems like such a contradiction.
• Crest ProHealth Mouthwash – per my son after he poured his out ”the worse mouthwash ever because its taste never goes away.” 
• Neutrogena Clean Lash Tint – I have yet to find a mascara that darkens my eyelashes, is easy to apply and is not clumpy. So I was rather excited to try Neutrogena (coupon and sale) Clean Lash Tint. It was simple to apply but within minutes my eyes burned. I tried it a few more times thinking it may have been my face soap. Nope. Oh well. I do not experiment with makeup since it costs so much to try various types; therefore, I wear just a little eyeliner. Period. So much for dressing up my face. I did find the perfect eye makeup remover for sensitive skin: Almay oil free (must be oil free) eye makeup remover pads.
• Softsoap White Tea & Ginger Hand Soap – love the fat, squat container. Hated the fragrance that stayed on my hands forever.

My fragrance aversion may not be the norm since I have filled up and given away bushels of baskets with products whose fragrance started off too strong or never went away. Someone must buy all these products. Every product – from shave cream, hand soap, laundry detergent, baby wipes and even dental floss are now fragrant. I say enough! Layer after layer of fragrance does nothing but turn off your ability to smell anything. I had a pack of spearmint gum in my car, popped one in my mouth and quickly spit it out. I was disgusted – the taste instantly reminded me of the smell of our toilet bowl cleaner – ugh and yuck! No more spearmint gum for me. One scent in the home is nice – twenty unbearable.    

We have enjoyed lots of freebies and deeply discounted products.

More importantly there were more products that we did not enjoy for various reasons.

Main reasons for this dissatisfaction:

• Food – poor taste, low or negative nutritional value
• Toiletries – too many features and too few benefits
• Toiletries, cleaning and laundry supplies – odors that never dissipated

Until tomorrow …

This is the 4th post in a series about couponing. 

1. Coupons? Yes
2. Coupons? No
3. Coupons? Sometimes
4. New products we liked.

New products my family tried because they were on sale and I had a coupon and we still purchase these products:

• Wanchai Ferry Spicy Garlic Chicken Kit - this is a dinner kit that includes a can of bamboo shoots & water chestnuts, rice, spicy garlic sauce and seasoned cornstarch. I keep a few of these in the pantry since they are great for a last minute meal (my husband loves the spicy garlic). I add chicken or pork, sauteed onions and red pepper, and sometimes shredded cabbage, spinach or bok choi. All of these additions make a more healthy meal while cutting down the sodium. When this product first came out the discounts were deep, now it does not seem to go on sale but there are always coupons available for $1.10. So at $4.99 less $1.10 it is an acceptable occasional purchase.
• SoyJoy All Natural Fruit & Soy Bars – we stock up on these during sales (sometimes free) because they are one of the few bars that my husband can take overseas (India especially) that do not melt and are not loaded with sugar.
• Pledge Multi Surface Clean & Dust Spray – I purchased one on sale and with a coupon and did like this product – a lot. One 16 oz. spray bottle will probably last for a whole year. I spray it on a dust cloth rather than on the furniture. Works on almost any hard surface if you spray the cloth first. The smell is totally acceptable which means it barely has a smell and it does not linger. Unfortunately none of the stores I frequent carry this product any longer. Not a problem – I still have enough for half a year.
• Pam Baking Spray with flour – it really does work!
• All Free & Clear – my husband is allergic to any laundry soap except Tide Free. But with a sale and coupons All is very affordable. I use it for rags and the pet’s bedding.
• Ensure – I received 12 bottles of Ensure free (with rebate) and have received coupons ever since. I only purchase Ensure with Fiber (vanilla or chocolate) since that is the only variety that is available in cans. All the other varieties come in totally unrecyclable plastic bottles. A few times a month I will drink one for breakfast, especially when nothing else sounds appealing. Just nice to have on hand. When we travel I will take a few for the long in between stretches of no meals.
• Band-Aid plus Antibiotic – again, a product that is convenient and does work.
• Muir Glen products – our favorite canned tomato products are Muir Glen. This is not a new product for us but with a coupon we tried the fire-roasted tomatoes and liked them.
• Rubbermaid Produce Saver – I did purchase this square plastic container with an added green plastic drainage shelf that sets in the container solely because it was on sale and I had a coupon. We now have three and I find them great for storing vegetables after cooking, lettuce after cleaning and any item (such as a block of feta cheese) that you what to store with air flow around it. An additional feature is that the tray and lid snap to the container for storage. I do not bother with this feature. I keep my cupboards uncluttered and have room to set the container on the proper lid when storing. Unfortunately all the plastic pieces are marked 5 which is unrecyclable in our area. So plan on keeping these forever. I am on the lookout for great glass containers but so far have not found ones to use for everything.  

Next: Products I bought because of coupons and would not buy again.

In my post Coupons? Yes I espoused the benefits of über couponing. In Coupons? No I ranted about the negatives of couponing for my family. So, back to reality. Do I use coupons? The real answer is: Sometimes.

Where I shop:

I hit our local Giant Eagle every 10 days or so. Occasionally throughout the year I shop at CVS or Walgreens. The other stores within 15 miles that I could shop include:

• Heinen’s – Sure, I would love to shop here every week. The prices on everything seem just a bit higher than Giant Eagle which adds up to a larger grocery bill every time. I do stop in for a bunch of flowers every other week.
• Marcs – My octogenarian dad loves Marcs. So, I count on him to shop there every few days and bring me bananas, tomatoes, mushrooms, red (orange and yellow) peppers and lots of pears.
• Save-A-Lot, Kmart, Walmart, Target – I just do not shop at these stores because each has a limited selection, I do not buy in bulk and the one time I shopped at Walmart I wound up returning the product (what a hassle) and came away feeling like the store was one big snack aisle.

Now I shop for food, household items and toiletries at our local Giant Eagle. The staff and management are friendly and helpful. And if I use a coupon for under a dollar they always double the value. Add to that my 20¢ off a gallon of gas for each $50 spent. Giant Eagle carries the toiletries my family needs and with a coupon or sale I do get great value at the grocery rather than adding a trip to the local drug stores.

My shopping strategy:

Every Tuesday the Giant Eagle flier shows up in my mailbox. I usually wait until Sunday evening to review the flier and based on every one’s schedules, my needs list I stashed in the kitchen drawer, our entertaining schedule and the specials at Giant Eagle I create my shopping list. I also receive the flier online and have found that a very convenient alternative since I can create a shopping list online too.

When our Plain Dealer arrives every Sunday morning I pull the coupon section out. I just received a new bill for the next quarter for the Plain Dealer. I will not renew the paper: we have better news sources, one of the coupon inserts (Red Plum) is no longer in the paper and the newspaper is one more thing to recycle that we do not need.

The main coupon insert in our Sunday paper is SmartSource which averages about 70 coupons every week at a value around $80 if you were to buy every product. I calculated we only use about 4 coupons per week from this insert.

Here is an average breakdown of SmartSource coupons from the Sunday insert:

• Toiletries – 18 coupons valued at $32. Lots of coupons for body wash (an evolving trend), mouthwash (varieties with lots of features but probably no added benefits) and deodorants (I don’t want to be remembered for my deodorant fragrance).
• Household – 12 coupons valued at $10. Most were deodorizing/scented oil/air fresheners coupons (you probably already know what a waste I think these items are) and cleaning products.
• Snack foods – 15 valued at $12. These coupons are for products that in no way could be considered nutritious food: toaster pastries, cake mixes, Savoring Flaky Pastry Bites (one serving is 260 calories with over ½ the calories from saturated fats), Chex Mix Chocolate Chunk Bars (a candy bar in disguise), Tostitos Chips and Dip (it is all about portion control, just how many chips are in 1 ounce?), Haagen-Dazs ice cream bars (almost 70% of the 190 calories for each bar are from saturated fat), Dole Fruit Bowls in Gel (eat an orange instead), on and on. Here is my preaching on this one:

Stop buying empty calories and buy fresh fruit for snack food. You will be so much further ahead fiber-wise, calorie-wise, nutrition-wise and taste-wise. Fun snacks for kids and adults: a handful of snap peas (always fun to open and they taste great), a pomegranate (will take an hour to eat), plain yogurt with a few strawberries or a cup of plain cheerios with a sprinkling of raisins. My stepdaughter warms up a glass of milk for her toddler and adds pumpkin pie spice – what a comforting smell and taste.

• Baby, Pet and Beverages – less than 7 coupons each. A coupon I am starting to see more frequently is for kids nutritionally complete drinks (some with fiber and some with probiotics). These are very expensive. My thought is check with your doctor to see if your child needs these. If not they are just another way to get kids hooked on highly flavored drinks over water. Ditto for vitamin waters.
• Dairy coupons – 3 at less than $2. Most were for yogurt/yogurt containing products (some of these should be considered snack food).
• Food – 4 at $3. These coupons still included packaged foods which we do not eat.

My favorite coupons not found in the Sunday inserts:

• Land O Lakes butter, half and half and eggs (print at www.LandOLakes.com).
• Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm and Green Giant Frozen Boxed Vegetables (print at www.EatBetterAmerica.com).
• I also check www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com and www.coupons.com on occasion for a few additional coupons.

Some tips for getting the most out of your coupon:

1. Buy the smallest size product that the coupon allows. Chances are that is all you need and you won’t be temped to eat the larger portion. Calculate per ounce or per item cost of a smaller package vs. a larger one. Think large box of cereal vs. smaller box and items like baby diapers. Get your calculator out for a quick check on price per ounce or price per item after using a coupon.

2. Do not pay for discounted items on credit unless you pay your credit card off each month. Period.

3. Check the expiration date of the foods you are buying. Will you really use it by that date? Also, if you tend to freeze items – will the flavor, texture and nutrition be the same as fresh?

4. Finally, when I use coupons I always go for quality over quantity. Think of food as a beneficial investment in your healthy future.

Next: Items I bought because of a coupon and I would buy again.

A few days ago I wrote Coupons? Yes… all about the benefits of couponing for my family. Today Coupons? No is all about the benefits of not couponing.

For 2009 I changed my shopping habits to test the value of couponing for my family. The following information is based on 4 months of actual information and a budget for 2009.

2009

This chart represents my 2009 household shopping budget in dollars by category and by store with a percent savings calculation.

What changed from 2008 to 2009?

1. Our income decreased and our expenses increased. Do tell … everyone is in the same situation. 
2. I trimmed our food budget. I use everything we buy … if I have to throw an item out of the refrigerator I am not happy. We must buy fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, dairy products, lean meats and whole grain bread. I eliminated lunch meat, bakery items, artisan cheeses and prepared foods. I keep an up to date shopping list in the kitchen drawer and plan menus every Sunday evening (based on every one’s schedule) for the next week.
3. My cleaning and laundry products include more liquid starch, more Borox, more vinegar and fewer specialty cleaning products. For window washing (when I do not call my favorite window washer person) I use a squeegee and a few drops of dawn in warm water – no paper towels, no window spray! We use cloth napkins instead of paper towels or paper napkins. So many simple products to clean a home without spending a fortune! 
4. Instead of product donations throughout the year I budgeted for $ donations at the end of the year – based on how much we could afford at that time.
5. I am only buying items for our immediate family.
6. I came up with affordable meals for get togethers. We have friends and family over frequently … they love whatever we cook and are always willing to try new recipes. Instead of buying a standing rib roast (I had no idea when my husband asked me to buy this cut of meat for Christmas that it was sooooo expensive) I will cook a delicious Belgian beef stew. Instead of a store bought pie and ice cream we make poached pears with fresh whipped cream. You get the whole (delicious) idea.

Because of these decisions, here are the comparisons of our 2009 budget vs. 2008 actual (numbers rounded): 

• Number of shopping trips for a year to CVS and Walgreens: 12 trips vs. 91 trips
• Number of shopping trips for a year to Giant Eagle: 36 trips vs. 78 trips
• Time spent clipping coupons/organizing/driving/shopping each year: 95 hours vs. 322 hours
• Yearly budget for food and household items: $4800 budget vs. $4300 actual
• Yearly budget for toiletries: $900 budget vs. $1600 actual
• Yearly budget for donations: $0 budget (unknown at this point) vs. $3300 actual
• Gas discount: $440 budget vs. $550 actual
• Gas budget for shopping: $110 budget vs. $270 actual
• Budget for coupon costs – newspapers, magazines, Grocery Game: $0 budget vs. $220 actual

2008

2008 actual time spent + actual money spent = all products purchased

2009

2009 projected time + projected money spent = all products purchased

The pictures tell it all.

In 2009 I will spend about 2/3 less time (227 hours) clipping coupons/organizing/driving/shopping.

227 hours – over 5 work weeks, 4 ½ extra hours every week for a year. What have I done with the extra time? Mostly, cooked meals without rushing. I like taking the time to gather the ingredients, cut them up and prepare the meal. Less stressful and more enjoyable for the whole family.

In 2009 I will spend about 1/3 less money ($3,405) until donation time at the end of the year.

Donations do not need to cost money. Last year we exchanged all of our frequent flier and American Express points for several very useful kitchen and home products. We gave these items to a children’s charity for their once a year silent auction. My sister asked if we had anything for her auction at work for Habitat for Humanity. I pulled out some fishing gear, handmade candlesticks and a few totally unused cookbooks. She garnered over $400 for Habitat for Humanity. For more donation ideas check out Donate, donate, donate.

In 2009 I will have purchased about 2/3 fewer products.

Fewer products … hmmm. Why?

Taste
I tend to notice that with more options for food in the house – namely frozen and dry packaged products – our meals could be cooked at the last minute and without much thought. Stick some frozen pasta/tomato dish (deeply discounted from its original $6.99 price – so it must be good right?) in the oven. Microwave a package of frozen vegetables (free) and throw together a salad (lettuce from a bag purchased buy one get one free) and try out one of the 20 new salad dressings that barely cost anything. So easy. 

But, here are the caveats. Taste – not too good. Way and I mean way too much salt in the frozen entrée (that is the going flavor for packaged foods). The frozen vegetables were okay – steam and eat. The salad – abominable. Lettuce that winds up in plastic bags tastes like lettuce that winds up in plastic bags. And the salad dressing – if viscous glob was a food texture I liked then I might relent on the dressing. 

Alternative dinner:  boneless chicken breasts sliced lengthwise so they are all the same thickness. Dredge in buttermilk, then a little bit of bread crumbs and then freshly grated Parmesan or Romano. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes. Steam fresh asparagus (it is in season) and sprinkle with fine lemon zest. Make a salad of fresh endive, a sliced pear, a few pecans and a little crumbled blue cheese. Squeeze a lemon; add freshly ground black pepper and a pinch or so of sea salt. Add a tablespoon or so of canola oil and whip (with a fork) into the lemon juice. Use 2 to 3 times as much lemon juice as oil. That’s it. 

The taste – great. Yes, there are other flavors to enjoy besides salt. And if you have been eating processed foods for a long time then it may take a few weeks before your taste buds start to enjoy any other tastes. The benefits – fewer packages to open, recycle or throw away. More time spent actually putting together a meal and tasting and smelling as you cook. Plus, I got to bend the asparagus until they broke (that always brings back childhood memories), wash the endive (love, love, love Frisee endive), cut the pear into slices (oh the fragrance), zest and squeeze a lemon, grind the pepper, pinch the salt and grate the cheese. I am delighted anytime I use a lemon or lime in a meal. Nutrition wise – no comparison.

So, take package out of freezer, open package, put package in microwave or oven, pull package out, cut open, pour out and let us not forget the squeezing, pouring or spritzing of salad dressing. Or, cut, zest, squeeze, grind, pinch and grate. Hmmm. The fragrances: tomato sauce vs. buttermilk, baking chicken, parmesan, lemon, blue cheese and pear.

Packaging and Waste
Plus, what do I do with the number 5 recycling package (who knew) the frozen entrée came in and the plastic bag for the vegetables? Can I recycle the waxed boxes or the lettuce bag?

As for toiletries, my new free razor came with lots more plastic bubble packaging as well as twice as much packaging for 1/3 the razor blades (never free or discounted). 

Check out the whole line of Scrubbing Bubbles cleansers (print a few coupons on their site too or wait until your next Sunday newspaper, the coupons are that prevalent) - with the “just throw it away” feature. Let’s see – flushable cleaning wipes and toilet bowl pads, toilet cleaning gel with a disposable dispenser, an action bathroom scrubber that “when you’re finished cleaning, simply toss the pad in the trash along with the dirt and grime.”  And on and on. Shame on you SC Johnson.

A new product just being touted with a Buy One Get One Free coupon is Off Clip On Insect Repellent. The fact sheet for this product states:

Before disposing, fully use up the refill according to the label. Do not reuse the refill. If empty: place in trash or offer the refill for recycling if available. If refill remains partially unused: call your local solid waste agency or 1-800-529-3394 for disposal instructions.

And you want my child or me to wear this product? Get real. 

Stockpiling
Many people talk about stockpiling – keeping lots of products stashed away for future use. All bought on sale and with a coupon. When I started to do this in our pantry my stepdaughter asked what was going on. You see, I have never stockpiled before. Now my mudroom closet, cupboards, pantry, and even basement shelves were covered with stuff. And I realized my family did not enjoy eating or using most of these products. Call us all simple but do we really need 15 flavors of rice when what we really like is freshly cooked rice mixed with our own ingredients. I always like my cupboards ½ full – so much easier to find and use what I already have. Just because I have space does not mean it should be filled with stuff.

One note of caution for couponers: if you charge your food, household or toiletry purchases and do not pay the bill off each month – stop shopping. And if coupons have taken over your life and you would like a break – stop shopping. You will be surprised how much you already have stashed in your cupboards, freezer and refrig. Use up weekly what you already have – make a point not to throw anything out. Then shop for items to enhance what you have available.

Benefits vs. Features
Healthy Choice Café Steamers meals feature the DuoTray Steamcooker “which allows you to steam your meal right in your microwave-unlocking unbelievably fresh-tasting, healthy meals”. The food is in a perforated plastic dish set within another dish. After cooking the idea was to dump the food into the outside bowl to mix with the juices. What a wasteful feature – now I have two unrecyclable bowls and a dull soggy meal.

A benefit of a toothbrush is that it cleans your teeth. To do this it should be easy to hold - so what is with all the new shapes and especially the flexible toothbrushes? Many just slip from my hand or are hard to hold. All the fancy handles (not to mention battery powered toothbrushes) are useless features.

One feature I see over and over in both household cleaning products and toiletries is fragrance. Fragrance so strong it is still smellable a week later. At one extreme is the huge stinking pile of scented candles, air fresheners and fragrance oils.  At the other end is a product like Dove unscented soap which smells worse than its regular soap. Somewhere in between is Dawn Simple Pleasures which “features an air freshener built right into the base of the bottle to continuously freshen your kitchen for weeks.”

That’s it. For my family we are skipping coupons for prepared and packaged foods and over-packaged toiletries and anything with a strong and lasting fragrance.

Next: Coupons? Sometimes

Future postings: Items we tried because of a coupon and liked or disliked.