Daily Archives: April 3, 2008

Apr 3

The 5 Minute Pick-Up

As my daily clean-up routine is ever evolving, I’m always looking for a faster way to keep the house nice and tidy. Last week I did a deep clean of the downstairs for Dylan’s party and it took way too long, but it got me thinking… If I broke down the major cleaning tasks to just five minutes a day per room, I could get a lot more accomplished in a little bit of time, and have extra time for the kiddos. This won’t replace the big deep clean, but it will help out with the clutter and little day to day messes.

I’m planning on spending just 5 minutes a day per room cleaning up a little here and there and decluttering daily too. Here is the break-down of the house:

  • Kitchen
  • Utility Room & 1/2 Bathroom
  • Dining Room
  • Living Room/Main Play Area
  • Foyer
  • James Office
  • Main Bathroom
  • Master Bedroom
  • Boy’s Room
  • Total time to clean 45 minutes

We’ll see how the experiment goes. Dylan usually takes a pretty good nap in the morning and in the afternoon, so I hope to get all of the cleaning accomplished then 😉

Apr 3

Nico in the Pursuit of Savings, part 5

Today’s adventure brings me to our local IGA, everyone loves to shop and save here, but I’m not quite convinced. I brought along my list of fifteen items and a coupon or two, let’s see how the prices compare to the other local shops.

So for the not so good…I’ve shopped the Coca-Cola sales a few times, but that was about the best deal to be found. Every item and then some were very very pricey. Our local store could also use a little upkeep, and a little updating. There were four check-out lines, and only one open as we were shopping, but the line did move quickly. Also something a little  interesting, I was never asked the usual questions as I shopped, “can I help you find anything, and how are you today”, very odd.

And on to the good… The store is a quick little drive from our house, just under a mile. It would be a great place to run in and grab a gallon of Milk or a Loaf of Bread. The local IGA doubles coupons up to $.50, as long as they are manufacturers coupons. Our local IGA also has a Gas Station, and they run incentive buys in the store to save you a little bit on fuel costs. I also spotted a Green House, so we might have to go back and check out the flowers. Our local IGA has great shopping carts with plenty of room 🙂 During the holidays they run a “Free Grocery Contest”, you shop and you are entered to win an entire month of free groceries, that would come in pretty handy with all of the holiday cooking and entertaining.

So how were those prices?

  • Cat Food-Always Save 3.5 lbs: $1.79
  • Kitty Litter-Fresh Step 7 lbs:$2.99
  • Kleenexes- Puffs 108 ct.: $1.25
  • Toilet Paper-Angel Soft 4 ct:$1.65
  • Diapers-Huggies Jumbo pack:$10.89
  • Baby Food 2 pack-Gerber 2nd Foods: $1.19
  • Baby Food Jar-Gerber 3rd Foods: $.85
  • Gerber Puffs: $2.29
  • Saltines-Best Choice: $1.35
  • Coca-Cola 12 pack: $3.50 (sale)
  • Bread- County Fair: $1.09
  • Eggs- Best Choice: $1.50 (sale)
  • Milk One Gallon 2%-Prairie Farms: $3.19
  • White Flour 5 lbs- Gold Medal: $1.79 (sale)
  • Sugar 4 lbs- C&H: $1.69 (sale)
  • Grand Total of all Items: $37.01

Well I don’t think that this will be a store that I shop at too often, this is one local deal that I have to pass on. The prices seem to speak for themselves… I’ve got one more shop to visit, I hope to see some better prices 🙂