Treasure Boxes

Ladies,

We found a great deal this week on treasure boxes. We all know how much children love to keep things and they always need somewhere to keep their treasures.

The cigar store next to the Blockbusters in North Stafford will sometimes have empty cigar boxes sitting outside the door for people to take, but they also sell some of the boxes. The boxes they sell are very nice for treasure boxes. We had a great time sorting through the piles of boxes looking for our favorites. Many boxes are made of beautiful stained word, with hinges and latches on the front. They come in a variety of sizes; they have a few that are a little larger then a shoe box, but many are half that size. Currently there is a sign on the door saying cigar boxes are 1/2, the larger boxes are about $2-2.50 and all the smaller ones(just inside the front door are $1).

I thought the boxes would be great to put Christmas gifts in either as is or spray painted. I'm sure many of your children would enjoy picking out a treasure box to fill and once it is filled I would encourage them to sort through and get rid of some of them to make room for new treasures. This can work as a great way to store treasures, but also to limit them because once the box is full they have to discard somethings.

And if you want to get crafty I'm sure there are many ways you could decorate these boxes, but many are already very nice.

I also have a large box of tea sets. My daughter had multiple sets and we sorted through and just kept her favorites. Is anyone interested in a tea set to have tea parties with their kids? If more then one person wants them I will divide the sets up?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Melissa

Top 10 Money Saving Tip from Our House to Yours

Gone are the days of $5 shoes at my house. Gone are the days of $10 shoes. Now we are hoping to find shoes under $50. With 3 boys needing new sneakers and sandals we were talking about an expensive shopping trip. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that 2 of my boys need size 13 shoes (hard to find!). To top it all off, our favorite (cheap!) shoe place has gone out of business.

Our first shopping trip yielded one pair of shoes that my oldest liked. The next shopping trip started at Rack Room Shoes and there we we really hit the jackpot. My husband had said that we'd only buy sandals if they jumped off the rack at us. Four pairs did just that.

We found 3 pairs of Teva sandals for $10 each. The original price was $50 buckaroos. We found a $4 pair of sandals for my youngest. They were marked down from $25 buckaroos. I even found one pair of size 14 sandals which I purchased for my honey. He wasn't with us, but I figured for that price if he didn't like them one of the boys could wear them next summer.

So with the success of the bargain sandals making us all happy we headed to the mall to continue our hunt. Again we were successful and while we didn't hit the jackpot we did succeed in finishing our hunt for shoes. Now my boy's feet are officially set for summer.I get excited when I land a bargain such as these sandals. I know these bargains are God's way of filling a need or a want in our lives. But the big exciting money saving bargains are few and far between. We have to be conscious everyday of where and how our money is being spent.

Here are ten ways we save money in our home.
1. No cable t.v.

2. We drive used vehicles.

3. We limit the number of times we eat out, but we do love $.99 Happy Meal night. We just have to buy the bigger guys several Happy Meals.

4. We shop at a discount grocery store called Aldi. Check them out at http://www.aldi.com/

5. We have a pay as you go cell phone plan.

6. When we leave the house we take water, snacks or even lunch if we will need it. Having to purchase food every time you leave the house can add up quickly.

7. My husband takes a lunch to work.

8. We use very few pre-packaged meals. We have found having a few frozen pizzas, stir-fry veggies, or sandwich meat helps on the weekend and keeps us from ordering in or eating out.

9. We limit the size of meat portions or reduce the amount of meat in dinner entrees.

10. Except for certain items, we have found store brand products to be cheaper and the quality just as good as name brands.

Happy Saving!
Below is a photo of one of the big pairs of feet that needed new shoes. At least with feet that big you get your money's worth in leather.