Stuff Parents Need - Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

How I’m Getting My Produce to Last Longer in the Fridge

November 24, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

Product provided for review purposes. All thoughts are my own, as always.

My family keeps dabbling with the Paleo diet. It’s not a huge hit with my kids, but Tim and I have both noticed that we feel our best eating this way. To over-simplify, it basically means that about half your plate at any given meal is meat, and the other half is veggies (with some fruit sprinkled in here and there).

This definitely has an impact on our grocery budget (meat is crazy expensive, if you haven’t noticed) and it also has an impact on our refrigerator. Our crisper drawers are always stuffed with veggies and there’s always overflow that just has to sit in the fridge without being in a special compartment. And there are always at least 3 different cuts of meat that are in the fridge, either thawing from being previously frozen or in the queue to be consumed in the next day or so.

What does all this mean for the fridge? Frankly, it means that it doesn’t smell great in there. And that’s not really a good thing to be overwhelmed by unpleasant smells when you are reaching for something to eat. Additionally, since we have so much fresh produce, I’m constantly moving things around and trying to shove as much as possible in the crisper drawers in the hopes of increasing the length of time that the fresh produce actually stays fresh.

So when BerryBreeze reached out to tell me about their product that can help eliminate odors and end premature aging of produce, I wanted to try it out.

What I Love about BerryBreeze

So the BerryBreeze has been in my fridge for 4 full days now, and I could tell a significant difference in the odors within 24 hours. It used to smell like an unfortunate mixture of raw meat and wilting produce (and a few forgotten leftovers), and now it doesn’t smell like anything at all. Don’t let the name of the product fool you: it doesn’t emit a “berry breeze” scent into your fridge. It doesn’t mask odors at all, in fact. What it does is emit oxygen so that odors become neutralized. There are no chemicals being used. No absorption packs. No filters that need to be changed. It’s really just the magic of oxygen at work. Pretty cool stuff!

The produce I purchased earlier this week that isn’t in the crisper drawer is definitely holding up better than it would have before the Berry Breeze. I appreciate that fact, and now don’t feel as stressed out about having to rearrange and strategically place stuff in certain spots every day. For example, I bought some mushrooms a few days ago, and I usually find that I absolutely MUST use them within 48 hours of purchase. We are right around the 72 hour mark and they are doing just fine!

For me, BerryBreeze is doing a great job of neutralizing odors in my fridge and based on what I’ve seen so far, I think it will help our produce stay fresh longer, which will make my life as the meal planner less stressful.

What I Don’t Love about BerryBreeze

When I first started using the BerryBreeze, I didn’t really notice any difference at all. And then I realized that the product needed batteries in order to work. Of course I felt like an idiot once I made this realization. Did I think the BerryBreeze was operated by magical miniature unicorns inside of it? It has to have a power source. Unfortunately, that power source comes in the form of 4 size D batteries. That’s a lot of batteries, and a lot of big, expensive batteries. I was totally bummed to realize this, and I honestly don’t know how long the BerryBreeze will operate with them before they have to be replaced. Maybe it will chug along for a year! Maybe it will die in 30 days. I honestly don’t know. But I’m guessing the reality will be closer to 30 days than to 1 year, and that means more large, expensive batteries to buy. I realize it sounds ridiculously lazy of me, but anything that requires semi-frequent battery changes annoys me and is a strike against that product making my life easier. This may be a total non-issue for a lot of people, but I don’t know…I just really don’t like the fact that it requires 4 huge batteries to work.

Where to Buy BerryBreeze

If you have a foodie on your holiday gift list this year, I do think the BerryBreeze is a cool device (just include the batteries with the gift, please!). It’s also a great option for any family that cooks a great deal, as I do think it will help prevent food spoilage, which means lots of money saved! You can buy BerryBreeze directly from the product website for $49.95, and shipping is free.

The Kids Have Spoken! The Hottest Craft Toys for 2014

November 23, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Thanks to Walmart for partnering with me for today’s post on hot toys for 2014. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I recently asked my 2-year-old what she wanted for Christmas. Her answer was, “a jar of peanut butter.” Well, she’ll most definitely be getting one of those since she requested it, but I think I’ll branch out a bit further and buy her a few surprises! I am going to need a little help finding some really cool stuff that she and her older sister don’t even know exist (because if they did, they’d be asking for something besides peanut butter!). Are you looking for toys like that, too?

Walmart is here to help, and they actually have a list of top toys this year that has been put together by a panel of hundreds of children, ages 18 months to 12 years. Kids are the real experts when it comes to which toys are truly awesome, so why not find out what rocks from their perspective? You can see the entire Chosen by Kids Top 20 Toys List if you want all the details!

sew cool 1

Over the next 5 weeks, I’ll be highlighting 5 different toys on the list and my own kiddos will be putting them to the test! I know…tough job those little ones have. Someone’s got to do it, though! This week we have been playing with a toy that promotes creativity and finding an artistic outlet. I have personally really enjoyed this toy because it turns my child into a maker, and I want her to grow in her confidence and her abilities to craft and create on her own, using her ideas, her available tools (low-tech AND high-tech) and even her own two hands.

Check out the Spin Master Sew Cool Sewing Machine ($29.99 at Walmart). This is absolutely PERFECT for any child who has taken an interest in making products out of cloth (clothing, bags, stuffed animals, etc.). I do wish that the product wasn’t so heavily marketed just to girls (as the projects seemed geared toward girls), because boys love to be makers, too!

sew cool 2

The Sew Cool Sewing Machine comes with everything you need to complete 9 different projects, and I was shocked and very happily surprised to realize that the machine is actually threadless, so you don’t have to worry about threading it or replacing thread down the line. The guard area is excellent, too…it would be pretty much impossible, in my opinion, to get a finger in the danger zone.

We decided to start with the cupcake stuffed plush project, as I got the impression that it was the easiest one to do as a true beginner. There were step-by-step instructions that walked us through the process. As someone with no sewing skills, I was very grateful for the detailed guide!

This toy is recommended for ages 6 and up. My oldest is 5 years and 3 months old, and it was definitely too hard for her to do on her own, though it did make for a very fun project for us to do together. I think the amount of adult supervision your child will need with this toy is going to depend on his/her age and comfort level with crafts, but in any case, you should anticipate that this will be an activity to do with your child, at least for the first few projects. After supervising her and helping her with the first project, though, I can honestly say that I’m looking forward to doing project #2 together. I’m glad to get to be a part of the creative process with my child!

Stuffing the plush was probably Darah’s favorite part of the process because she was able to do it all by herself, and she got to decide how much stuffing was enough. I think it was empowering to her to feel in charge of that decision.

The final product was simple, and perhaps to the untrained eye even imperfect. But if you look a little closer, you will see that it was stitched with love by a parent and child, and the end result was actually just as it should be. It’s a very simple little plush, but because she was instrumental in creating it, Darah absolutely loves it. She’s been playing with it ever since it was finished.

When the 9 projects are completed, you can purchase additional Sew Cool refill kits, as well as patterns that can be downloaded online, so the fun can certainly continue after your child finishes what came with the machine, itself. And Walmart has it all for a fantastic price. You can include this item in your Walmart Layaway plan to help make paying for your gifts this year hassle-free. The layaway plan is available in more than 4,000 stores nationwide, is totally free and just requires 10% down or $10, whichever is greater. This in-store only offer is available until December 15th so you can get all your shopping done at once, but stretch your payments over a few paychecks, as many of us might need to do.

Additionally, if you haven’t checked out the Walmart Savings Catcher, you are really in for a nice surprise. This free app allows you to scan your Walmart receipts in just a matter of seconds. The Walmart Savings Catcher then gets to work on your behalf to see if there are any better advertised prices in your area at competitors’ stores for the things you purchased. If there are, Walmart will refund you the difference in the form of a Walmart eGift Card so that you can be sure that you got the very best price possible. WOW! You don’t have to bring in sales fliers, shop at multiple stores, or check prices at different places on your own to request a price adjustment. The Savings Catcher app will do it all for you. And again, it’s totally FREE to use! This is one app that is going to save you money with virtually no effort. Gotta love that!

And if you don’t have a smartphone, don’t worry! Walmart has the Ad Match program. Simply bring in any local competitor’s printed ad and Walmart will match the price of that identical item. This applies to layaway items, too!

Do you see anything on the Chosen by Kids Top 20 Toys List that you would love to get for your kids? I’d love to hear about what you are planning on getting!

After Disney: Thoughts on What I’m Glad I Did (And What I Wish I Had Done!)

November 21, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 25 Comments

Well friends, we are back from our very first family vacation to Disney World, and I wanted to write a follow up post to share with you some things I learned on this trip. Some of them are big and some of them are small but I hope all of them will help you as you prepare for your family trip to the most magical place on earth! Don’t miss out on my other Disney vacation posts where I show you where to start when planning a Disney vacation, a Disney budget breakdown, and our Disney World Fastpass strategy!

Let’s start with the BIG lessons I learned on our trip.

1. Once again, having a Disney travel rep is worth its weight in gold! Working with a Disney travel rep is actually FREE (no, seriously!) and the value just can’t be underestimated, friends. I texted and emailed my rep, Leanne, several times during our trip, and she was 100% on the ball and quick to respond to me and help with any issues that came up during the trip (such as realizing we were going to be late for a lunch reservation). I just can’t emphasize enough that you are doing yourself a HUGE favor by working with a Disney travel rep. You can read more about the process and who we worked with on an earlier post I wrote about getting ready for a Disney World vacation.

2. FastPass Strategy. We really messed up our FastPasses, and if we had gone at a busier time of the year, it would have been a disaster. Fortunately, we went during a low crowd time, so it wasn’t a big deal. Here’s the mistake we made: we thought that once you use the first of your 3 pre-booked Fastpasses, you could go ahead and sign up for another one. WRONG! You have to use all 3 of your pre-scheduled fastpasses before you can get a fourth one. Tim scheduled our fastpasses throughout the day and well into the evening, so there was really no way for us to take advantage of a fourth or fifth fastpass. A better strategy would have been, for example, to pre-book an 11 am, 12pm, and 1pm fast pass so that we could be eligible for any remaining fastpasses later in the afternoon and potentially see/do more. Again, it all worked out ok for us, but if it had been more crowded, our mistake would have meant lots more waiting in line.

3. The Quick Service Dining Plan: Meh. We also took advantage of a free dining offer promotion that Disney was offering, so in that sense, I totally don’t regret having the quick service dining plan because for us, it was free! But let me tell you, if I had paid for it, I would have been disappointed, and there are two main reasons why. First, it is WAY too much food. Quick service meals come with an entree, a beverage and a dessert. The portions are overly generous, typically, so it’s more than one person can eat. If you bought dining plans for everyone you will be wasting a lot of food, and that also means wasting a lot of money.

The second reason I wasn’t overly impressed with the dining plan is because I actually thought the kid meal options were quite limited. Most establishments offer the same 3 options for kids, and when you have a picky eater like I do, that means that she is eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at every single meal. She was totally bored with that by the second day and I ended up packing extra food for her, even though she had dining credits. When you have a child with you, you are required to use the children’s dining plan for them. Otherwise, I would have gotten her something else for the sake of variety.

Ok, so now let’s dig into the minutiae a bit, and talk about things to pack.

What I’m Glad I Brought

There are two things that I’m really glad I brought that might not necessarily be on your packing list. The first is one of those over-the-door shoe organizers. I read this on someone else’s blog and at first didn’t think I would bring ours, but then I had a change of heart, and I’m so glad I did. We used this in our hotel room simply to hold all sorts of toiletries and accessories. It kept our bathroom counters from getting junked up, and since it had clear plastic holders, it made finding things we needed quick and easy. We didn’t hang up many of our clothes, so we just kept it on the coat rack. I will be using this trick the next time my family stays in a hotel for more than a night!

The second thing I’m really glad I brought was a linen freshener. You might think of it as Febreeze, though I use a different brand. Even though it wasn’t too hot while we were there, you still might find that at the end of the day you smell less-than-spectacular…especially your shoes, which will be doing some seriously hard work every single day for you.

What I Wish I Had Brought

We stayed in a family suite for most of the trip (switching to traditional rooms for the last third of it, simply due to booking issues). In a family suite you are actually provided with plates, cups, bowls, forks and knives. For some bizarre reason, you are NOT provided with spoons. I brought one of those plastic cutlery sets that has everything in it, but if I had to do it again, I’d just buy one with spooons, as we ran out of spoons rather quickly. When eating breakfast in your room, as we were doing, not having spoons kind of stinks. Alternatively, we also would have been ok if we had just brought some dish soap and a sponge.

I also wish I had brought extra zip-loc bags. It would have made dividing snacks for the park days easier to do. Just wasn’t something I thought of beforehand!

I would also bring at least one plastic bag for wet clothes that you might accrue toward the end of your trip, such as if you decide to swim in the hotel pool the night before you leave.

On a related note, I think it is a good idea to bring a change of pants, if nothing else, for your younger kids when going to the parks. Both of our girls at various points got dirty (spilled milk) clothes at the parks and we didn’t have new pants for them. Darah actually had on a new dress at one point, and we realized after we got to the park that the straps were too low. We had to buy her a new ($30) t-shirt on the spot. This could have been avoided if we had brought a change of clothes with us.

Notes about Hotel Location

When staying on property, you might want to do your best to see if you can stay in a room that is reasonably close to your hotel’s food court (side note: we LOVED Art of Animation, and we thought their food court had some of the best food we had during our entire stay). You may find, as we did, that your room is quite a hike from the food court. This won’t seem like a big deal at all until you start touring the parks, and then you will be reluctant to walk any more than is absolutely necessary, I promise! Furthermore, at least for our hotel, the food court is also really close to where you wait for the bus to go to the parks, which is yet another reason to stay as close to it as possible.

You might also want to note the distance from your hotel of choice to the parks. Disney World property is HUGE; just because you are staying on property doesn’t mean you are actually close to one of the parks. We were reasonably close to Hollywood Studios, but we were a solid 25 minute bus ride from Magic Kingdom. While using the bus system was totally easy, we really discovered that being able to go back to the hotel room and nap AND being able to actually do all the things you really want to do in each park are, in fact, mutually exclusive. I don’t regret staying on property, but I did realize during our stay that you still aren’t so close to your hotel that you can see everything and take a sizeable break. You will still have to choose one or the other, because there’s just too much to see, even on a low crowd day.

The Number One Thing I Would Change If I Could Do it Over

art of animation swimming pool

My family stayed on property for 6 nights, and we spent 5 days in the parks. If I had to do it all over again, I would actually stay 1 more day, and I’d spend that day just relaxing at the hotel. Disney resorts are marvels in and of themselves, and most kids really love to get to watch cartoons on the television, swim in pools, and just run around having fun and playing games (such things are offered throughout the day at the hotels). We were so burned out by our 5th and final day at the parks, which is the day we did Epcot, that we sort of hobbled along in that park and did about half of the stuff we likely would have done had we been energized. I think it was a mistake not to take a break in the middle of our park days to just chill out and enjoy our hotel. It would have been worth the extra time and money to get a little bit of rest and relaxation on the trip. While our Disney vacation was absolutely jam packed with magic and fun, it was VERY short of relaxation. An extra day just for that purpose would have been wise.

If you have ever vacationed at Walt Disney World, did you have any lessons you learned (big or small) that you’d like to share with others? I’d certainly love to hear your thoughts, and I’m sure others would, too! Or if you are planning a trip and have questions for those of us who have already gone, please add them to the comments section so others can chime in!

Checking Out Peekapak Craft and Story Subscription Service

November 19, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Affiliate link may be included. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

My little ones both seem to have a growing interest in crafts and other such artistic projects. I have mixed feelings about this, as my heart swells with pride, while my self-esteem also shudders in horror, on account of the fact that all things arts and crafts are challenging for yours truly. The craft gene totally skipped me, friends. I once drew something as a young teenager that someone else asked if my 3-year-old sister had drawn. Their question was totally serious, and also totally fair.

Ok, so since I break out into hives at the thought of spending time in Michael’s, I absolutely love craft subscription boxes, because they bring the supplies and the detailed instructions to me so that I can’t possibly mess up.

Of course I can still mess up! Don’t be fooled! But they do make it quite a bit more difficult for me to make major errors, and that’s a good thing!

Peekapak

Our latest box came to us courtesy of Peekapak. Inside every month’s Peekapak you’ll find a storybook and crafts that relate to that story. We were sent a special Peekapak that goes along with the new movie, The Hero of Color City.

I was concerned that we would be confused about the contents since we haven’t seen the movie, but the book that came with the kit laid out the story so that everyone understood what we were doing with the crafts. I think that relating the crafts back to a story is a unique element that I haven’t seen in any other craft subscription service.

The activity the kids wanted to do involved creating the color river and the lighthouse that were both featured in the story. The concept was simple: we covered a board with a sheet of aluminum foil (all included in the kit) and then used the crayons they provided to make gorgeous swirls of color on the river.

Such a great idea in theory! In practice, it looked like this:

I actually had to ditch the crayons that were provided and use our own crayons just to get this much color on the foil. I have to say, I thought it was a huge miss to have a craft box all about crayons and then to send really poor quality crayons in the kit. Talk about a missed opportunity!

Now as for this particular craft, it may be the case that I should have used the other side of the foil. I’m honestly not sure, but the directions didn’t specify one way or the other. In any case, our vibrant color river looked sort of sad, but the girls didn’t seem too fazed by it, and pressed on.

The next step was to color the windows for the light house. They took some creative license with their color choice, as well as with the light placement, which is totally fine. They both really liked the flameless candle that came in the set to make the top of the lighthouse. But I think the idea here was to create something that might inspire imaginative play after the creating process was over. As soon as the girls finished the lighthouse, they promptly left the table. So I’m sorry to say that it didn’t hold their interest after they were done creating.

Was I wowed by Peekapak after just one box? Not really. But would I try it again? I honestly would, and that’s largely because I like the combination of story time and craft time. It gives some context to the projects, and I think there’s a lot of potential there, though based on my experience with the crafts, definitely some kinks left to work out.

If you like the idea behind Peekapak, too, you might want to give it a try for a month. Use coupon code SPECIAL10 at checkout and you’ll get $10 0ff your first box. I think the discount definitely makes it worth the risk, friends. Pricing varies for each Peekapak depending on how many you pay for up front, but if you just go for one, they are $19.50 and that includes your shipping.

A Simple Way to Show Gratitude to an Awesome Neighbor: Writing a Letter

November 19, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by The Fred Rogers Company and The Motherhood. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

Are you lucky enough to have a wonderful neighbor? Sometimes I feel like we won the good neighbor jackpot. Our neighbors own the plot of land right next to our house, which they turned into a community garden for our entire neighborhood to enjoy. They very easily could have sold it, no doubt for a nice profit, and had a home or even condos put on the property. But they valued the green space, and they wanted people in our community to be able to grow gardens, so they created 10 raised-bed plots that community members can take possession of for the year for a very nominal fee.

I personally love being able to look out my window and see neighbors working the soil, or even just hanging out together on the stretch of land for a play date or a picnic. My kids also get plenty of use out of the area and love to run around and explore. Since there are 10 garden beds, there’s pretty much always something new and exciting to discover!

Our neighbors also own a building next to this plot of land, and they have a home in the upstairs part of the building. The downstairs has been turned into a nonprofit that serves as a creative outlet and income opportunity for individuals on the margins of society. Art is created and sold at this location, and true community is formed. You can feel the love just by walking through the doors. The same site hosts a church group on Friday evenings that draws in a lot of individuals and families in our community. Our neighbors simply give the space to the church every Friday afternoon. That’s yet another example of their generosity

One final example of how wonderfully generous our neighbors are happened just a few months ago, when our new lawnmower was stolen out of our locked shed. Our neighbor, who this year started using a lawn service for the community garden space, simply offered his old lawn mower to us free of charge. He really helped us when we were in a bind and while we weren’t surprised by his generous gift (on account of all the other ways above that he is so giving), we were still overwhelmed by it. I look forward to being able to pay his kindness forward down the road, perhaps to a neighbor I may discover in some sort of need.

bemyneighbor 1

I’ve decided to send my neighbors a letter this year, in addition to the standard holiday greeting card. A letter is such a rare and special thing to receive these days, and I really want them to feel special and to know that my gratitude for their generosity, and for the great example they serve as to others, is from the heart. While it will take me longer than sending an email, I think it will be time very well spent. Good neighbors deserve our thanks, and I’m happy to spend a bit of time today sending a little gratitude into the world!

Share Your Story

Remember the start of every Mister Rogers episode? It began with Fred asking us, the viewers, to be his neighbors. Now I’m asking you to do the same! Today we are celebrating the launch of an amazing online destination that celebrates neighborliness all across the country, WontYouBeMyNeighbor.org. If you have a great story about the joy of having a good neighbor, or even about being a good neighbor, yourself, hop on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and share your story along with the hashtag #BeMyNeighbor. You will shortly find your tale on the Be My Neighbor website for others to read and enjoy!

Twitter Party!

Today (11/19) at 2pm ET I hope you will join me on Twitter for a #BeMyNeighbor Twitter party! We will be celebrating the launch of the Be My Neighbor website, sharing inspiring stories about what makes a great neighbor and giving away 5 great Mister Rogers and Daniel Tiger prize packs! Each prize pack includes a Mister Rogers quote book & t-shirt and a Daniel Tiger mini plush, book & DVD. Prizes are limited to U.S. participants only. Follow the #BeMyNeighbor hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP here: http://vite.io/themotherhood. See you there!

Breakfast with Santa (Right Here in Chattanooga!)

November 19, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Local friends, I wanted to bring your attention to a very special event happening next Saturday morning, November 29th, from 9-11 am at The Chattanoogan Hotel.

Santa Claus is coming to town and he wants to meet your little ones for a special Breakfast with Santa! The event will begin at 9 am and will include an assortment of freshly baked pastries, muffins, scones, french toast, hash brown casserole, and my personal favorite, applewood smoked bacon. Yum! Tickets are $21.95 for adults and $10.95 for children between the ages of 6 and 12. All children under age 6 are free (and both of my girls are under 6, so this is a smokin’ hot deal for an incredible breakfast and time with Santa!).

In addition to having amazing food, there will be carolers performing holiday tunes, and several fun activities for the kids (making reindeer food, decorating gingerbread men, writing letters to Santa and making Christmas ornaments). There will even be an opportunity to take a photo with Santa! It is going to be a fun-filled event, for sure!

Also worth noting: Santa will be making regular appearances at the Sunday brunch offered weekly at The Chattanoogan throughout the month of December, so if you miss this event, you’ll have some more chances to see the man in red!

If you aren’t local to the Chattanooga area, I want to encourage you to see if anything similar is being offered in your area. The time that our children believe in ALL the magic of Christmas is brief, and I think events like this help make that time all the more special!

Stride Rite HUGE Sale Spoiler Alert!

November 19, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

I’ve got the inside scoop from Stride Rite on some upcoming sales they are having. Get your calendars out so that you can mark the dates, friends, because these deals are AMAZING!!!!

1. From 11/21-11/26 (or while supplies last, so best to shop on 11/21) the Beckett Boot and the Arabella Boot will both be on sale for $19.99 (regularly $45).

The Arabella comes in 3 color options and has a warm fuzzy lining.

arabella

The Beckett looks like it is ready for some serious play time outside!

2. November 27-28 (Thanksgiving and Black Friday) the entire store will be 40% off, and if you shop through your mobile device or tablet, shipping is FREE (exclusions on the sale include Frozen, Ugg Australia, The North Face, Merrill, Kamik, Crocs and Bogs).

3. November 29-30 (Black Friday weekend) the entire store will be 25% off with free shipping (with the same exclusions as noted above).

4. December 1 (Cyber Monday) there will be a flash sale, with prices starting at $14.99 with free shipping!

Awesome App Alert

In addition to these amazing deals that Stride Rite will be having, they have also just launched one heck of an awesome app that is the first of its kind. By using the app, called , along with an iPad, you can get an accurate measurement of your child’s feet! When I recently went into the Stride Rite store and had my girls’ feet measured, I learned that I didn’t have their correct shoe sizes in mind. This app is great for those of us who would prefer to shop online. With little growing feet, though, you need to stay on top of their sizes, because they change quickly! This way you can get an accurate measurement without having to go to the store. Pretty awesome! Also? Totally free!

A Few Energy Saving Tips to Help You (Financially) Survive the Deep Freeze!

November 18, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Unless you live in Southern California or Southern Florida, your outside temps are likely somewhere in the range between uncomfortably cool and OMG WHY IS IT SOOOOO FREEZING??? The highs today in Chattanooga are in the low 30s, and while they didn’t stick, I did see some snow flurries outside my window this morning.

I really shouldn’t be seeing snowflakes where I live for at least another month. If we get snow at all, we get it between late December and early February. So yeah…global weirding, indeed!

The past few nights at home I have woken up in the middle of the night because I was so cold, and had to crank up the heat a bit. I know what this means…I’m cranking up my electric bill, too! Most of America is having to do the same thing, and right at the same time that we are making lots of holiday gift purchases and/or getting ready for big travel expenses. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but also the most expensive time of the year. Having electric bills that will soar before winter is even officially here is not a good thing for my family’s budget, and probably not for yours, either. So let’s talk about some ways to help curb the expenses!

photo credit: David Kracht via photopin cc

1. Stop Heating Every Space in your Home

If you have a large house and don’t really and truly need to use every single room (for example, perhaps you have two living rooms, or perhaps you have a bathroom pretty much only used by guests, or even a guest bedroom). If you don’t NEED to be in a room, consider shutting the door to that room as much as possible. And if it’s a room that you really don’t need to be in except for special circumstances (guest room), then shut the vent in that room, too, to redirect the warm air elsewhere.

My family lives in a small house, but I am still putting this idea to work by making sure our closet doors are shut and by shutting the doors to my girls’ rooms, the bathrooms and to the downstairs guest room/office.

2. Give Yourself Permission to Get Toasty…In Just One Spot

Even though I have a home office, it is downstairs. The bottom floor of my home is much colder than the top floor, simply because heat rises. So I’m camped out in my bedroom, which is small, with the door shut and the space heater on. Since this is a post about saving energy, you may be surprised to hear me mention space heaters, which aren’t exactly known to be energy stars. If you are trying to heat your whole house with space heaters, you are going to rack up one heck of a bill. But if you can choose a small room and use a space heater to make it feel nice and toasty, then you’ll be fine. The trick is to choose a space where members of your family are willing to hang out for most of their awake time. If you have two floors, like me, choose an upstairs room if at all possible. When my girls come home from school today, I’ll move downstairs and set up the heater in our living room because my oldest is having a play date. Otherwise, I’d have the girls pick one of their rooms (which are both upstairs) as the afternoon hang out spot.

My bedroom right now is 71 degrees. The rest of my house is limping along at about 63 degrees. Aside from when I have to make quick trips to the bathroom and the kitchen, though, I’m quite comfy!

3. The Slow Cooker is Your Friend

I totally get the temptation to use your oven for breakfast, lunch and dinner right now. But I want to suggest that you cook with your slow cooker as much as possible during this freezing weather, and for two key reasons. First, the slow cooker uses MUCH less energy than the oven. I know it feels SO nice to open up that oven door, but when it comes to actually heating your house, it is a horribly inefficient method, and it will only send you a few blissful degrees of warmth for a handful of minutes. The second reason you should reach for the slow cooker is that, unless the kitchen happens to be the room you’ve decided to hang out in and warm up, then you need to spend as little time as possible in there. Slow cooker meals tend to come together really fast because you typically just dump some ingredients in the pot and plug it in! If you have to spend 30 minutes preparing a meal before you put it in the oven, you are NOT going to be happy if it is really cold in the kitchen, and you will cave and crank up the heat. Or at least I would. So I’m trying to get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible during this freeze. I have potatoes going in my slow cooker right now for a baked potato bar tonight.

4. Try Some New Ideas

This year I purchased LED outdoor lights for the holidays because I want to be festive, but I also want to save money! This is a new idea for my family, but there are dozens more great ideas, ranging from no cost, to low cost, to investment solutions (including great rebate options!) on the PG&E website. You may think you’ve already done all you can to try to save some kilowatts, but take a peek around and see what great ideas are just waiting to be discovered!

Instagram Contest!

PG&E is currently hosting the #PGEhome Instagram Photo Challenge Contest, going on now through November 23rd. Every day this week a $100 Home Depot gift card will be given away. Wouldn’t you like to be one of those winners? It’s easy to enter, so don’t delay! You could get some really awesome energy-saving stuff with $100!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Gift Suggestion for the Smartphone Aficionado: Powerslayer

November 18, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

Product provided for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

If you have a millennial on your holiday gift list this year (and chances are that you do!) then I have a great gift suggestion for you based on the fact that this generation LOVES their smartphones.

Check out the Powerslayer.

This is a kit that comes with a device that does three very cool things. By plugging the Powerslayer into the outlet, and then plugging your phone into the Powerslayer, you are protecting your phone from any power surges that may occur. A power surge has the potential to completely ruin your phone, and replacing a smartphone is VERY expensive.

Second, the Powerslayer can help you save energy. It can tell when your device is fully charged, and at that point it stops pulling energy from the outlet. This helps with power bills that seem to creep higher and higher each month thanks to all the electronic devices we all have these days, and the fact that so few of us remember to unplug them from the charger once they are fully charged.

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Third, the Powerslayer actually helps protect the battery of the smartphone. It’s not ideal for a fully charged battery to continue to receive a charge due to simply still being plugged in. The Powerslayer keeps that extra energy from forcing itself on the battery, which could help it have a longer life.

Our phones are actually due to get upgraded this month. We have had them for 2 years, and we leave them plugged into the power source all the time. At 2 years old, I can tell you that they don’t hold a charge very well anymore, so I’m really excited to use the Powerslayer for our next device; hopefully it will help keep the phone in better shape for longer!

Additionally, I like that the Powerslayer comes in a cool design (there are 4 color options) and that it comes with a coordinating usb cord. Millennials also like their stuff to feel customized and unique, so this is a really nice touch.

We took our Powerslayer with us on vacation this past week, and it performed beautifully, as expected! You can purchase the Powerslayer device by itself for $39, or you can purchase a kit which comes with the charger, the travel case and the cable for $79.