5 Back to School Saving Tips- DIY Sundays

For today's DIY Sundays it is my pleasure to present a GUEST POST from Nadia Jones. This post kick starts my 100th posts celebration. I hope you find this beneficial.

Glitterfy.com - Back to School Glitter Graphics

With summer over, you’re probably scrambling to buy all the right supplies for your kids in time for the first day of school. And if you’re like most parents, you’re looking to buy the best quality products for your kids with as little damage as possible done to your wallet.  Here are five easy to follow tips that’ll help you save money while you prepare your little one for the new school year.

Look Online First

Often you can buy a good deal of your child’s school supplies without ever leaving your house. Sites like Amazon.com feature clothing, school supplies, and textbooks all at discounted rates. Amazon.com compares the store price products to their price so you can see just how much money you’re saving. Often the savings on these retail sites exceed 50%!  If you plan ahead, you can order all your supplies well before the back to school season starts.  Also be sure to join store email lists to hear about the latest deals. Retail sites will often send coupons and insider tips to discounted material through their email lists, so join the retail lists of retail stores near you and start saving!

Budget Yourself

Take a good hard look at your finances and determine the amount that you can comfortably set aside for school shopping. Don’t overstretch your funds school shopping simply because you can find most supplies at low prices. Once you’ve drawn up a healthy budget, do everything you can to stick to it. If you stick to your budget you’ll be less likely to impulse buy. If your child wants the next trendy new (and expensive) thing for school and you can’t afford it, simply tell them that it doesn’t fit in the budget and move on.

Start Early

You’ll find that you’re less stressed when you shop early. Whether you’re shopping online or not, people tend to be more level headed about their purchases when they don’t feel rushed. If you start early you can shop in easy to handle spurts: one day you look for uniforms, another day you check out the bargain-priced notebooks. While you might miss the back to school sales, you can take your time shopping around for the best deals in town and skip out on the huge crowds.

Recycle

If money is really tight, don’t hesitate to shop at second hand or thrift stores. These stores regularly have high-quality clothing sold to them simply because they no longer fit the owner. You’d be surprised to find that the variety in thrift stores runs from every day clothing to high-dollar uniforms. Also keep in mind that those supplies leftover from last year—unused notebooks, stray writing utensils, etc—work just as well as newly bought materials. Use what’s left around the house and save your money for more important items.

Always pack a lunch for your child

This tip is a classic that always works to keep school spending low. Schools offer lunches that can be costly, and many of them don’t even serve food for a balanced and nutritious diet. Take charge of your children’s diet (and save some money in the process) by packing them healthy lunches that cost a fraction of lunches served at the cafeteria. Pack plenty of fruits and vegetables and avoid sugary drinks and snacks.

Author Bio:

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com.

Out and About Mondays- From the Window of the Car

I was at the stoplight when i grabbed the camera and shot these pics. These pictures of Emancipation Park, in New Kingston Jamaica



I remember there was public up roar because the statues are nude.



There is actually water cascading down the side of the dome (lack of a better word).

One of these days, i will take you inside the park.

Got to go!!! The light says green.

DIY Sundays - The Versatility of Baby Oil

 It is amazing how versatile baby oil is! I got the idea for this post, when i was using baby oil as my makeup remover.  I always have baby oil on hand to moisturize my heels so they don't look thirsty. Then it hit me, there must be other things i can use baby oil for. If you know of any other uses please let me know by leaving a comment.

Put a little on a cotton ball to help remove eye make-up.
Use after shaving your legs to soften your skin and prevent razor burn
Use on cracked or dry heals and put socks on to hold in the moisture 

Smooth on a pregnant tummy to reduce the chances of stretch marks

Massage a little on your cuticles before your manicure or pedicure

Great and inexpensive massage oil

It can be used as a lubricant for noisy door hinges

Use a little baby oil to treat stubborn or stuck zippers. It helps them glide up and down more smoothly. 

Baby oil can be used to create homemade baby wipes (2 tbsps of baby oil, 2tbsps of baby lotion, 1 tbsp of bathwash and 3/4 cup of hot water poured over paper towels and put in a sealed container)
 

Positive Wednesday- Overcoming Hardships

You wake up and you think, what am i going to do today? There is no money, little or no food. No job or if you have a job, there is no money to get to work or even get home. Lunch is just a fantasy that you can only dream about. You are not alone.

 It is so easy to lay down and die. It is so easy to throw your hands up and say i cannot do this. But i have learnt that persistence is one of the keys to overcoming hardships. 

But what do you do when you've been striving for so long that it seems like your goal is never going to see light? How do you deal with the fear that you're about to fail? Simple. Give it just one more shot. And then one more. Think about the sweat and time you've committed already. You've come this far, you'd be unfair to yourself if you quit without a fight. Even if the odds are way out of your favor and you can't see how it can possibly help, reach out and take one last swing. You never know what will happen. Big, meaningful achievements don't just happen when everything goes your way.

POSITIVE QUOTE

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled.  For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."



Resource Site: sparkpeople.com

Out and About Mondays- A Dose of Laughter!!!!

I usually post pictures of places i went to or pass as a result of my daily travelings for Out and About Mondays. Today, i am going to mix it up and share a video from a local comedy series here in Jamaica. I hope it provides a dose of laughter for you.

How Often Do You Wash Your Clothes?- DIY Sundays

Yes!!, DIY Sundays is back. After a month and a half absence i have decided to return my DIY Sundays posts. This is a little background for my new follower, initially my DIY (Do It Yourself) Sundays posts was based on my Sunday beauty routine. However, it has evolved into tips based on a variety of topics. I hope you find the post helpful.

Today i want to talk about clothes. I came across this guide entitled:How often Clothes Should be Washed. By the way, do you know how often  your clothes should be washed? Or are you like me? I basically wash my clothes as soon as it appears dirty.  After looking at the list I was amazed by my non - compliance to the suggested guideline.

 

Here is a quick guide to help you determine how frequently you need to launder key warm-weather clothing pieces, barring stains or especially sticky days, that is.

  THE GUIDE                                                                                              ME

Jeans: After 4 to 5 wears                                                                (1-2 wears)

Dress Pants: After 4 to 5 wears                                                     (1-2 wears)

Jackets and Blazers: After 5 to 6 wears                                      (2-3 wears)

Khaki Shorts and Pants: After 2 to 3 wears                               (Shorts- after every wear, pants- 1-2 wears)

Pajamas: After 3 to 4 wears                                                            (1-2 wears)

Skirts: After 4 to 5 wears                                                                 (1-2 wears)

Swimsuits: After every wear                                                           (SAME)

Tops and Dresses: After 1 to 3 wears                                            (AFTER EVERY WEAR)

T-Shirts, Tanks and Camisoles: After every wear                     (SAME)

Bras: After 3 to 4 wears                                                                   (SAME)

Source: Real Simple

Who Looks Back at You When You Look in the Mirror?- Positive Wednesdays

I have not done a Positive Wednesdays post  in a while. Most of my regular features have been place on heitus until September. However, i was in bed and i remember this post that i wanted to share as a part of a motivation series geared towards women. I know i have a few males who read my posts, so sorry if you feel left out.


This video speaks to us as females being everything to everyone else and nothing to ourselves. I wanted to share it because it's an all too familiar reality. I hope it speaks to you in a positive way.

P.S: I am quite flattered, however the person in the video is not me. She is one of my favourite You-tuber, Bronze Goddess.

The Great House Experience

Jamaica being a former colony of Britain there are a number of great houses in the country. A great house is the main house on a plantain and Devon House is one of the great houses in Kingston. According to the Devon House's website the site is 127 years old.  The property is 11-acres, its lush sprawling lawns provides an ambiance that soothes the mind and soul, and offers an enviable shopping experience for both local and overseas visitors.  What i love most is that Devon House was built by Jamaica’s first black millionaire George Stiebel. Just in case your wondering  I m not getting paid or compensated for this post.

The truth is I have fond memories of the grounds because i attended high school up the road. I remember swinging from the trees (literally), having Devon House I- Scream with school mates on Fridays and most of all selecting a tree and craving my name in it. 

Now it's a place where i take my daughter to make up for the terror of swimming class. To her it is the oasis where pastry and ice cream is always available. To her Devon House is a place with the huge tree cover in lights at Christmas time.  Just thinking about it,  over the years there must be hundreds of memories created and shared at Devon House.

Pictures from my recent visit to Devon House.

Play the video for more images of Devon House.