Children's Artwork

My children produce a TON of artwork daily. I love it all, I really do, but if I don't get rid of some of it, it will take over the house! I've tried having my children help choose which works of art to save and which to "pass along for someone else to enjoy", but that just brought hurt feelings.

What works for me is to stack up all of the artwork in a location that's out of sight with the hopes of out of sight, out of mind. This may sound very un-mommyish, but after a week or so, if I haven't been asked for any of those pieces of art, they go out in the trash. I felt like the world's worst mom the first time I threw away some of my kids' creations. Now, it still isn't fun, but I know that I can't possibly keep it all. I am very careful to date and save any handprints or footprints my children do, though. Those go straight to the kids' memory bins. I also tend to hang onto drawings of the family or self-drawings.

One idea I've heard from other moms involves scanning artwork into the computer to use as a screen saver or to save on disk. I may have to try that sometime.

How do you manage your children's artwork?

Saving Envelopes

Here's a quick thought for the day to get your mind going on how you can repurpose items. Well, this time it isn't truly repurposing an item, but you get the idea.

We choose to receive our bills in paper form. We like to have a hard copy on file to refer to later if needed. Most companies, however, will allow you to pay online for no additional cost. We'll generally go that route to save on the cost of the check and postage. I was throwing away the envelope and inserts until this week.

My 5 year old is often asking for envelopes to put things in. I hate to "waste" an envelope so he has one to use, but I also hate to stifle his creativity. I had an "aha" moment earlier this week. I now pull out any return envelopes from bills and place them in a bin for the kids. They now can use envelopes to their heart's content. I now have less paper waste and am saving money because I'm no longer having to buy so many envelopes. A winner all around!

Receipts can help you save money!

Receipts can equal either clutter or savings. It's all in how well you are able to keep them organized. How can someone save money with receipts? I've learned a lot over the last few years and would love to share my thoughts and ideas with you. Some of these I've learned on my own, others I've learned through reading others' blogs.

Returns

You may not view saving your receipts in case you need to return an item as saving money, but I definitely do. Because I have young children, I don't get to leisurely shop anymore. Now, I tend to find what I think will work, make the purchase, and then return the item(s) if it / they don't work out.

Some stores can do receipt look-ups for you, which is wonderful. You bring the item back to you, and they'll find the receipt for you if the purchase was made in the past 3 months or so. I still recommend bringing in the receipt for returns, though, simply because it can make the return process go a little quicker.

One more reason to save your receipts, is that some stores will accept returns without a receipt, but you can only get in-store credit for your return. In most instances, this works just fine for me. Sometimes, though, you can only get the return valued at what the item is currently selling for. This may mean losing money on the item. As far as in store credit goes, you then have to be sure to save the card the credit was put on, otherwise you're out that money.

Price Adjustments

Price adjustments are a wonderful thing! Some stores will allow you to bring your receipt back in and get money back if an item you purchased goes on sale within a set amount of time. One blogger, Money Saving Methods, suggests keeping receipts in your car so you'll always have it if you're out and an item you'd purchased went on sale. If you already have a lot of stuff in your vehicle, you may want to consider only keeping the few receipts for larger items with you.

Some stores will give you an item for free if it rings up wrong. (They'll nearly all adjust the price of an item if it rings up wrong.) I try to remember to check my receipt before I leave a store. I've gotten free meat because of it ringing up wrong. Yea for receipts!

Medical Receipts

There are so many reasons to hang on to medical receipts. Depending on how detailed they are, they can help you remember what medicines you were given and when in addition to when you were seen for whatever reason.

You may be able to deduct some medical expenses on your taxes. You will need to keep your receipts to back up your claims.

In our house, we save our medical receipts so we can reimburse ourselves for our medical expenses out of our medical savings account. Like with taxes, it's very important to save receipts to be able to back up your claims.

We save our medical receipts in their own file separate from our other receipts. This allows us to find them easily when we need to refer to them.

Rebates

I love, love, love rebates!!! (Can you tell?) Many manufacturers have rebate programs. Manufacturers love them because rebates get you to buy their products, and because many consumers forget to request their rebate. I'm one of those consumers who fills out every rebate offer available to me. With that said, I typically don't fill out the money back guarantee ones, though, unless I truly disliked the product. I just feel that's the honest thing to do.

I suggest making a file for your rebates. As soon as I get home from purchasing a rebate item, I look over what is needed for that particular rebate. If UPCs are required, I try to cut them off immediately so they won't get thrown away accidentally. I also like to attach the receipt to the rebate form with a paperclip so the paperwork won't get lost. Once I've gathered everything I'll need for the rebate, I make copies of everything to keep in my rebate file for my own record. I try to get my rebate forms mailed that same day, or the next one at the latest so I won't miss out of this valuable money back. I will remove the rebate copies from my rebate file and file them with the rest of my receipts once I receive my rebate.

One rebate-type program I like to use is The Caregivers Marketplace. If you purchase items on their list, you can apply for money back. You may want to keep a separate file for this group because you cannot receive your money back unless you send in your original receipts. In the past, I would get money back when I bought Huggies diapers for my little guy. They've changed the eligible items a little, and Huggies items aren't included anymore. I did receive an email, though, saying that they're working on a program for those of us with young children. Yippee! You won't get rich off of the money back, but every little bit adds up. Add these savings to sales plus coupons, and you can save a lot of money! Actually, work it right and you can sometimes "get paid" to take an item.

One note on rebates... Make sure you aren't spending money on items you don't truly want or need just because you can get some money back on the rebate. Otherwise, have fun seeing how far you can stretch your buck by being organized!

Today's task: continue to keep up with organizing those receipts, make files for rebates and medical receipts, look into how your receipts can make or save you money

Magazines

To go along with the snail mail clutter theme from yesterday, the task for today will be to organize those magazines we all have laying around. You know, the ones we plan on reading when we find the time yet are still sitting around months later? At our house, magazines tend to collect on the tables in our living room, just in case guests want to look at them. Now that I think about it, though, I sure hope we're good enough hosts that our guests aren't dying for a magazine to read!!! Goodbye junky-looking magazine piles!

1) The first step is to decide which magazines you really want to keep around. Recycle any and all that you really don't feel you need to keep around. If you have a hard time throwing away magazines, see if your friends, your library, or local doctor's office would like to have them. There, now doesn't that feel better? At this point, you may want to consider discontinuing any magazines you no longer care to read. This will save you money in addition to saving you from the unnecessary clutter.

2) The second step is to decide which magazines you want to keep as reference material and which ones you just want/need to read.

For those you want to read, ask yourself why they haven't been read. If you aren't truly committed to reading them, recycle them! Are they just not handy when you want to read them? Find a way to put them in a more handy location. I have a tote I keep next to my bed that neatly holds all of the magazines I want to read. For some, hanging a magazine rack in the bathroom works well too. Just be sure to recycle those magazines after you've read them so you're not just moving around the clutter!

For those magazines you would like to save as reference material, Consumer Reports and Handyman Magazine for example, I suggest finding a location where they will actually be used as reference so they don't just become more clutter. We have magazines filed in our basement and in our garage depending on the magazine.

Once you've chosen your location, you'll need to find a way to keep them organized. There are many magazine racks and holders of all different types, materials, and colors available on the market today. I prefer ones that keep the magazines such that you can read the date on the magazine's spine. I also like to be able to label the holder so I can find what I need at a quick glance. Find a magazine holder that works for your space and style. We like using just the basic holders. You may prefer something completely different. If you prefer a free option, you can always use a cereal box cut to the same shape:

You can also paint or cover it to make it more fun!

From here on out, as soon as you receive a new magazine, your task is to either recycle it, place it in your "to be read" location, or file it away. It will take some time to get into the habit, but you can do it! Bye bye magazine clutter!

Thinking outside the box

I encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to organizing. I absolutely love stores that sell stuff to help you organize. I could spend a ton of money there on all of the cute little bins and other storage items. I don't know about you, but as much as I love all of that cool stuff, though, we don't have an endless supply of money to spend on all of those fabulous items. Because we're on a budget, I sometimes have to think outside the box.

There's nothing to say you can't use boxes and bins you already have laying around the house just because that wasn't their intended purpose. We have all types of boxes and bins around our house being used for things other than they were initially meant for. It's okay of they're not the most beautiful boxes or bins. They can be covered or decorated with fabrics, wrapping paper, or other items you may already have around the house. The trick is not saving every box or bag you receive, though, because that can lead to a whole other problem which we'll start conquering later - clutter.

As we begin on this organizing journey together, I encourage you to start thinking outside the box.