Carpet Cleaning , Coupons, & Mini Stockpile!

This is what I have been doing! O JOY! (I have been working in sections because I don't like walking on wet carpet.)



I don't understand why companies don't make LARGER water tanks on these things! I mean, COME ON! I know that it would make the machines bigger and bulkier, but it drives me absolutely BONKERS having to make five million trips to the bathroom, so that I can dump the dirty water, and refill the clean water tank again! UGH!

I also don't know why they have to put such LIGHT colored carpet into new houses! (It had already been ordered, when we bought the house, so we couldn't change it without paying extra) It gets so dirty! Especially, with a dog, two cats, and six humans constantly walking all over it!

Hopefully, one day soon, we will be checking out the prices on wood/laminate floors, because I want all of the carpet GONE!

OK! I will stop with my carpet tantrum. LOL!

Next subject: COUPONS!

I'm slowly catching on! To the "coupon game." I have been scouring a lot of blogs, and other websites for information on how to save money using coupons. There are so many great resources. A new favorite of mine is Money Saving Mom. On the left sidebar she has links for beginners. She explains everything really well.

It seems that everyone loves CVS, because they offer Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) on certain purchases. When you purchase the product, the ECB's print out on your receipt, and you can use that toward your next purchase. I actually did my first transaction yesterday. I bought two items that were .99 cents each and I received the .99 cents (X 2) back in ECB's. I also bought two items at $1.49 each, and I received the $1.49 (X 2) back in ECB's. So, those four items were essentially "free" (I did pay tax on them) after I earned the ECB's. (What would have made the deal even sweeter, was if, I had some coupons for the items that I purchased. Then it would have been like CVS owed "me" money for buying the items. Of course, they don't give you money back, but if you had other items you were purchasing at the same time, the amount "owed" would have gone toward those items. NOTE: Some stores do not allow you to use "overages.") If you want to know more about how it works, you can read about it on Money Saving Mom's website.

I also did pretty darn good (if I do say so myself! LOL) at Target the other day. They had specific General Mills cereals on sale for 4/$7.00. I also had two manufacturer's coupons for $1.00 off of two boxes of GM cereal. So, they were already on sale for $1.75 per box (which is good) but, then I got an additional .50 cents off each box by using my coupons. This made them only $1.25 per box. After tax, I walked out the door with four boxes of cereal for only $5.12. YAY!

I know that the "PRO" couponers out there, are figuring out ways to get even better deals on the cereal, but since I am still new at all of this, I think that I am doing good so far.

Also, most of the people who are serious about using coupons, start stockpiling excess product. They have gotten to the point, where they have enough shampoo or toothpaste, that they don't "have" to use the coupons they have collected right away. They are then, able to save that coupon until a "rock bottom" sale price comes along. That is when they will purchase multiples of an item (because they will usually have more than one coupon) to stockpile for future use. It is AMAZING to see some of the stockpiles that people have. Many have a room dedicated to storing all of it. You can check out quite a few photgraphs HERE! (Some of the photographs are no longer on the site, but keep scrolling through the messages and you will see more.) I think some of them could open their own store! LOL!

I don't know if I will go that deeply into stockpiling. There are certain things like: laundry soap, dish soap, fabric softener, toilet paper, etc. that I would like to have multiples of, but I don't need 50 boxes of fruit chews, because my kids are grown, and they don't eat them anymore. LOL!

MANY of these people donate regularly to food pantries, homeless shelters, and other places in need. They are able to "pay it forward" without breaking "their" budgets, because they are getting most of it for free, or close to it, after using coupons on sale items.

Now, having mentioned stockpiles, I do have to admit that I already have a stockpile of mini toiletries. Whenever we stay at a hotel (which is often for Mr. Mister) we save all of the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. and bring it home. I actually got this idea from Christopher Lowell. LOL! He gathers those items and puts them into a basket in his guest room.

Well, even with us using some of it, we still have plenty for our guest room. We have also sent some to my mother, and to Mr. Mister's mother.

Here is our mini stockpile! (This is not all of it! LOL) (YES! The buffet still has the grime all over it, from sitting in the antique store. I haven't gotten back to wiping it down yet.)



Here is most of it in plastic containers. (I need more containers to put all those white shower cap boxes, and soap into.)



Some hotels even give you cool things like sewing kits, shoe polish cloths, and shoe horns. (See the first plastic tote, on the left. LOL!) We have also collected coffee and tea. They are the perfect size for one person. (These can also be put into your guest room, along with a small (one or two cup) coffee maker.)