Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

College Care Packages Made Easy (and At a Great Price!)

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Just this morning I saw a cute picture from my college alma mater, with the resident assistants cheering and holding banners, getting ready to welcome the new students to campus today. I have very vivid memories of my own move-in day (how on earth was that 17 years ago?! ACK!!!!).

I also remember taking my very first trip to a store to stock up on various supplies for my dorm room (paper towels, razors, snacks, napkins, etc.). Let’s just say I was VERY bummed out at the register. I think I even had to put a few things back!

It turns out that this stuff costs money, friends. And college students are often a bit short on money. 

If you know someone who is headed to college this fall, consider sending them a care package, along with a few shopping tips to help them save money easily this year.

For example, let them know that Dollar General often has great coupons right on their website that you can easily print, clip an take into the store.

dollar general college shop 1

 

I took advantage of a FANTASTIC sale on Schick products. Right now you can score a Buy 1 Get 1 Free on the following products:
– Schick Hydro® 5 Razor
– Schick® Xtreme 3® Ultimate Razor
– Schick® Quattro®
– Schick® Hydro Silk® Razor
– Schick® Slim Twin® Razor

By using my coupon, I got 10 blades for just $5.25! That will be enough to get a college student through at least a semester without having to buy razors. 🙂

dollar general college shop 3

While I was in the store, I grabbed some great brain food for homework sessions, and a treat or two! If I had received a care package like this when I was in college, I would have FLIPPED. OUT. I remember nuts being a total extravagance because they tend to be pricey! But they are SO good for giving your body the energy it needs to get through all that reading!

dollar general college shop 2

And once a student is in college and is responsible for their own toiletry purchases, they will truly appreciate the Schick razors, I assure you.

What items did you love getting in care packages while in college? Any items you wish you could magically get in an adult care package now (I wish those were a thing!)? 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Schick®. The opinions and text are all mine.

Bathroom Recycling, Donating Via App, Twitter Parties, and Coupons! Healthy Essentials

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This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.
photo credit: kingdesmond1337 via photopin cc
Tim and I have gotten pretty good at recycling. We purchased a large recycling bin (the same size as our city-issued garbage bin, but in a different color) and that has given us an opportunity to find more things to recycle, because now we have a large bin for storage (our recycling is only picked up twice a month, so the small bins we were issued weren’t cutting it). I’m totally in the zone about recycling stuff as I sort through mail and as I use up stuff in the kitchen.
But I tend to be a bit more forgetful about products in the bathroom. I’m not sure if it is because it is upstairs, and away from where I usually deal with recycling, or if it is because the bottles are smaller, and so my mind rationalizes that recycling those things isn’t really “worth it.” Worth what? The effort to walk down the flight of stairs you go up and down 100 times a day, already? Girl, puh-leeze.
HealthyEssentials.com, one of my favorite websites for finding REALLY good coupons for bath, beauty and personal care products, has some great tips for recycling in the bathroom that I recently checked out. I learned there that only 1 in 5 people consistently recycle bathroom items.
I’m going to stop being one of those 4 people. Will you join me? If enough people make the change, we can reverse the statistic, so that only 1 out of 5 DON’T recycle bathroom products. That would save thousands of TONS of plastic from landfills, people!
I appreciate the thoughtfulness that Johnson & Johnson is putting into how it makes their products, and the fact that sustainability is a key peace of their product design. They are really being great role models, in my opinion!

In addition to having some great information about recycling, the Healthy Essentials website also has some SWEET coupons up right now, including the following:
  • Save $1.00 on any JOHNSON’S® Baby Intense Moisture Cream
  • Save $1.00 on any LUBRIDERM® product (6oz or larger)
  • Save $1.00 on any (1) CLEAN & CLEAR® product (excludes trial and travel sizes)
  • Save $1.00 on any (1) NEUTROGENA® Sun product (exclude trial size)
  • Save $1.00 on any (1) LISTERINE® SMART RINSE Anti-cavity Mouthwash, 500 ml
  • Save $1.00 on any (1) REACH® Total Care Floss, or REACH® Gentle Gum Care Floss, or REACH® Dentotape® or REACH® Access® Flosser
  • Save $2.00 on any (3) NEOSPORIN®, BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive bandages or JOHNSON and JOHNSON RED CROSS® Brand products (excludes all trial and travel sizes, First Aid Kits, 10 ct Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages, and On-the-Go First Aid Kits. Must buy (2) different brand products to qualify for this offer along with a third product)

Donate A Photo

donate a photo

You’ll also see on the website information about the Donate A Photo (DAP) app. For every photo shared through Donate A Photo, Johnson & Johnson will donate $1 to one of its non-profit partners, and you even get to choose which one! I’ve downloaded this app because it is such an easy way for me to help get some much needed funds into the hands of organizations doing great things. This month I’ll be focusing on donating to environmental causes. What would you donate to through your photos?

Twitter Party

Do you love to party on Twitter? Join me for a great one all about HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® this Thursday at 1pm EST. There are going to be 15 prize packs, each worth $50! You can find all the details  and RSVP here:http://twtvite.com/jnjearthday . And don’t forget to use the #Moms4JNJConsumer hashtag! See you there?

 

 

Food Lion Coupon Portal and Giveaways, Galore!

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Attention Food Lion shoppers! I’ve got some exciting news about some new developments happening on the Food Lion website that are designed to help you get your grocery store shopping done faster AND save you some money.

food lion coupon portal

Let me introduce you to the MVP Coupon Hub. This site allows you to do several very cool things. First and foremost, you can load coupons directly to your MVP card, and then print the list of coupons you loaded for easy reference in the store.

food lion weekly specials coupon portal

Second, you can also easily build a list from the Food Lion weekly flyer. As you browse it online, just click on anything you’d like to buy, and it adds it to a list for you! I found this to be a much faster way of shopping the sales than going through the flyer myself and circling everything, as I always seem to miss something that way.

food lion printable coupons

Finally, you can also print some printable coupons right from the store website. No need to go all over the internet hunting them down!

I received a gift card from Food Lion so that I could experience the MVP Coupon Hub for myself. I used to be pretty good at clipping coupons, but after my second child was born, it became increasingly difficult to find the time to match up sales with coupons, go out and buy Sunday papers so I could clip them, and also print the ones offered online. I became overwhelmed and just gave up.

food lion logo

Through the MVP Coupon Hub at Food Lion, I was able to take care of everything with a few simple clicks. I loved having coupons go straight onto my card, and my very favorite thing was being able to pick out what I wanted from their sales online and then just print my list. The truth of saving money at the grocery store is that you will save the most just by shopping the sales. Yes, coupons can absolutely save you more, but if you want to get the biggest return on your time investment, you simply need to shop the sales. Food Lion has made that VERY easy, and as a busy working mom, I very much appreciate that.

food lion coupon portal shopping

Once I saved cards to my MVP card, shopped the sale flyer, and found a few coupons I wanted to print, I gathered my lists and headed to the store.

apples on sale at food lion

I went through the stores and scooped up deal after deal, just following along with my lists. Gala apples on sale? Don’t mind if I do!

using MVP coupons from Food Lion portal

My MVP coupons were also fun to use, as they made some products that weren’t already on sale feel like they WERE on sale, just for me! And they sometimes made name brands cost less than the store brands (for example: I had a .75 coupon for Philadelphia cream cheese). Score!

closeout stickers at Food Lion

I also just happened to notice a fair number of closeout stickers throughout the store. That doesn’t have anything to do with the coupon portal, but it is something to keep your eyes peeled for, as that is another EASY way to save some money on groceries.

At the end of my shopping trip, I found out that I saved $38, and I only spent a few extra minutes getting my lists together. That’s a powerful testimony to the power of the Food Lion coupon portal, I have to say!

Try the Coupon Portal and WIN!!!

Every week until March 4, Food Lion will select 8 lMVP Coupon Hub users each week to win a $25 Food Lion gift card (the funds will be loaded directly to your MVP card…so easy!). At the end of the Save to Win sweepstakes, one grand prize winner will win $1,000 loaded to their MVP card!!!!! To enter that giveaway, all you need to do is load at least one coupon to your MVP card. It’s just that simple!

Win it!: I get to host my own giveaway, too! FOUR Stuff Parents Need readers will each win a $25 Food Lion gift card!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday Night Relief: Red Baron on the Table

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This post brought to you by Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

Most every family has that one night of the week that is the craziest. For us, it is most definitely Wednesday. It’s one of my primary work days, coupled with schlepping kids to and from two different schools all over town, ballet lessons, and in the warmer months, a trip to the farmer’s market to pick up our CSA basket. This is the day, more so than any other day, that we wish fairies would sneak into our house while we are gone and magically prepare dinner. Because by the time we get home, we’re hungry and totally out of gas. 

Well, those fairies have yet to show up, but I’ve been buying convenient options that please everyone, like Red Baron® pizza. I like this brand because the pepperoni they use is exceptionally flavorful. It’s a stand-out, for sure!  

Red Baron

Right now you can find great coupons for Red Baron® at Walmart. Their prices are already really good, and the coupon makes it even better! Don’t miss the coupon for $3 off and 3 Red Baron® multi-serve pizzas. While you are printing those great pizza coupons, don’t miss out on the string cheese and the egg rolls. I definitely printed those, too!

Wednesday at my house is the complete and total opposite of this:

photo rainbowatsea_zps72bb7f7e.jpg

If you have a day of the week that is also NOT AT ALL like rainbows at sea, then pick up some Red Baron. You’ll give yourself a break, and by using the coupons, you’ll save some money! Take that, elusive pot of gold! 

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On My Workout Wishlist: Wireless Earbuds

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The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. 

So we are almost 3 weeks into 2014, friends. I’m curious how many of you have goals and resolutions for the year that involve improving your health in some way? I certainly do, and I’ll be the first to tell you that I have struggled right out of the gate to address it. While I have been improving my breakfast habits, which is an area I wanted to work on, I haven’t yet made it to the gym.

Yikes.

I need to get motivated, and that means that I’m about to start firing up my FitBit again. When I used it last year, it kept me honest about how much I had been moving, and on days when it seems that I had been particularly sloth-like, it helped me to recognize it, and then get the family out the door for a walk. Time to get back in the habit!

I also want to have some great earbuds on hand for when I finally do make it over to the gym for a little one-on-one time on the  treadmill. I absolutely WON’T do it without music! I think I have some earbuds around here, somewhere. Maybe? Tim is the one who uses them the most often. And our cat, Hattie, has chewed through her share of earbud wires, so some have been lost that way.

I think I just need to get an official pair for myself. And I’ve got my sights set on the yurbuds.

Yurbuds_0

These are WIRELESS earbuds. The are Bluetooth compatible, andthey don’t plug into your device at all, which is awesome! No more having your plug rip out while you are jogging or doing some other form of exercise. I’ve had that happen to me multiple times on the treadmill, and it always causes me to stop what I’m doing, which kills the momentum! Studies have actually shown that playing music during a workout can increase intensity and duration of exercise time by up to 15%. These earbuds were created by an Ironman Triathelet and 24-time marathoner in response to the problem of earbuds coming disconnected during exercise.

The Wireless Sport Earphones are sweat and water resistant, and they are ergonomically designed for maximum comfort. You get to focus on your workout, and not on if your earbuds are about to fall out or disconnect. I really love that! The battery lasts for 6 hours, too, which can get you through an entire week’s worth of 1 hour workouts (assuming you take a day off!). You’ll also never be caught off guard by the battery running out, as it provides visual and audio notifications of the need to recharge.

Best Buy knows a great product when they see one, and they are SUPER excited about the launch of these wireless yurbuds. To celebrate, they are offering 20% off all yurbuds products online and in-stores! Valid 1/19/14 – 2/22/14.  If purchasing online, just use code yurbuds20 at checkout.

$5 image

Additionally, now is a great time to get any sort of Health and Fitness product you might need (like a FitBit!). Best Buy is offering a $5 Best Buy Gift Card when you make a qualifying Health and Fitness product right now ( at Best Buy Mobile Specialty Stores). Valid 1/19/14 – 2/22/14.

What do you think about these? Would they make your workouts a bit easier? And do you have any song suggestions for my workout playlist? It needs an update! 

Stretching Your Post Holiday Budget on Essentials at CVS

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This post brought to you by CVS. All opinions are 100% mine.

Who else has a checking account that is begging for mercy after the holidays? I swear I get an eyeroll from my credit card every time I reach for it these days. It wants a break! 
 
I can definitely back off on gift purchases for the moment, as our first family birthday of the year isn't until May, but there isn't much I can do about the essentials. When we run out, we've just got to replace them!
 
Fortunately, CVS has recently released (in last Sunday's paper) $51 worth of coupon savings on all Johnson and Johnson brand products.
 
photo listerinephoto_zpsb6aece0d.jpg
I saw it as the perfect opportunity to get stocked up on my personal favorite mouthwash, Listerine®. It was also a good opportunity to get stickers for Darah. And by "stickers" I actually mean Band-Aid® products. If you have a preschooler, then you know that those are are the coolest stickers you can get. 
 
Additionally, you might want to know about the You SAVE, we GIVE scholarship. When you purchase any Johnson & Johnson product at CVS until 1/11/14, 10 cents will be donated (up to $100,000) for 35 Nurse Practitioner Scholarships. Interested in applying for the scholarships? Check out http://minuteclinic.com/togetherwecare. 
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So what about you? What are some essentials that you simply can't go without, even when the budget is tight? 
 

 

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Healthy Essentials (and LOTS of Great Coupons) from Johnson & Johnson!

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This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

Healthy Essentials logo

My friends at Johnson & Johnson are SO excited to announce that just in time for the post-holiday budget crisis happening in many homes (Definitely in mine! Too much holiday spending!), you can save over $45 on products you likely already know and love. Go to www.HealthyEssentials.com and sign up for some totally awesome coupons, offers, tips & tools. HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® is here to get you on track for a healthy new year (and an affordable one, too!).

#Moms4JNJConsumer healthy essentials package
If you’ve got some healthy resolutions, from pain & allergy relief to digestive & dietary health, you can find what you need on this website and save some money, too! Love it!!!

World Cup Sweepstakes! 

Want to go to 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™? Visit HealthyEssentials.com and see if your wish could come true. Plus, get tips and coupons to save on your favorite products for the New Year.

All you have to do is share a picture or story of a moment of caring in your life and you could scream “GOAL!” from Brazil.

Visit www.healthyessentials.com for more information on this amazing opportunity!

Ring in the New Year with Healthy Essentials at the #Moms4JNJConsumer Twitter Party

I’ll be joining Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies for a Twitter party to talk about HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® for the New Year, resolutions, family wellness and how to score great deals on health and hygiene products! Learn how HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® can help you reach health-related goals for 2014.

When: Tuesday, January 14, 1 p.m. ET

Hashtag: #Moms4JNJConsumer

Prizes: We will randomly award 15 prizes throughout the party, from all eligible correct responses to trivia questions. Each prize includes an assortment of Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® products with an estimated retail value of $50.

Prize Eligibility: No purchase necessary. Entrants must be legal residents of the 50 United States + D.C. 18 years of age or older. Void where prohibited.

Hosts: @theMotherhood, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann, @TheMotherhood25

 I hope to see you there. Do you have any healthy resolutions for 2014? I’d love to hear about them! 

Unclaimed Baggage Center Coupon and Where I’ll Be on December 14th

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Thanks to Unclaimed Baggage Center for partnering with me to make this post possible. All thoughts, opinions, and awesome shopping skills are my own. 
Do you have travel plans this month for the holidays? If they involve travel to the Southeast, then you need to factor in a detour to Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama.
No, really. YOU NEED TO!! And I’ll prove it to you with a few of my recent finds.
You can check out my first post about Unclaimed Baggage Center, the store where all the lost luggage (and its awesome/crazy/cool contents) ends up…for sale! On my last trip to the store I scored a cocktail dress that I got to wear on a cruise last month for just $30!!!
They also happened to be having a special coat sale the day I went…racks and racks of coats for $10! Look at the gorgeous Bebe coat I scored that day. I went to the Bebe website, and while they don’t have this particular style, I noticed that their coats are priced between $160-$260! What a steal!!! My fellow bargain hunters, this is one of the very best strategies I know for finding cheap designer clothes.
I felt like a shopping ninja after that trip, friends.
unclaimed baggage center coupon shopping ninja Perhaps you are a highly skilled bargain shopper yourself, and you are ready for the ultimate cheap thrills destination! Make a visit to Unclaimed Baggage Center part of your holiday plans this year. Regular operating hours for Unclaimed Baggage Center are as follows:

Monday-Thursday, 9-6pm
Friday and Saturday, 8-6

They also have some special holiday shopping hours!

THUR, Dec 12: 9a-5p
SAT, Dec 21: 8a-8p
TUE, Dec 24: 9a-3p

Santa Shoppe Day

I’m going to be heading over to UBC on December 14th, as that will be Santa Shoppe Day. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there, and there will be pictures and ornament decorating for the kids offered absolutely FREE! I don’t know about you, but the Santa pictures at the mall here are around $30, so I’m feeling pretty excited about spending $0 on them! I’ve also got the inside scoop that there’s going to be another surprise character on hand for the kids (can’t let the cat out of the bag, but it’s a good one!).

So what do you think? Wanna join me there bright and early on December 14th? They open at 8! If that is early for you, don’t worry about it…they serve Starbucks drinks on site! Yes, friends, it just might be the happiest place on earth, after all.

Unclaimed Baggage Center Coupon

Perhaps you need a little more of a nudge. After all, if you are a crazy bargain shopper then you need some coupons, am I right? I’ve got the hookup for you, friends! Simply print this coupon and take it with you on your shopping quest. It is valid any time between now and 01/31/2014.

unclaimed baggage coupon

Happy shopping! Let me know what bargains you find, please!

My Favorite Coupons This Week

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I’ve been getting back into couponing over the last month after a year-long hiatus. I’m actually taking a new approach that is working out quite nicely for me: I’m not purchasing the Sunday paper AT ALL! Sure, I’m missing out on some good deals that way, but I’m also missing out on a whole lot of stress and extra work! I simply print the coupons I need online, which rocks!

Here are some coupons I printed this week. I thought I’d share them with you just in case you are interested in some of the same stuff as me! Hurry, though, as these coupons won’t print after today!

This post does contain affiliate links. But as I said, these are coupons I printed, myself, and plan to use. Thought I’d pass the savings on!