Can I give up Facebook for 40 days?

I Love facebook. It's where I go when I want to find out the latest deals, what's happening with my friends and family or just want to spend a few minutes playing a game.

The problem is a few minutes on facebook has a tendency to turn into an hour or so. I used to think the facebook games were a time drain but in reality it is all of facebook. While yes it might make things easier, in reality all the information I get from facebook can be found elsewhere. I can email my friends for life updates, I can read my google reader for the best internet deals and I can find games to play anywhere on the internet.

In honor of my "resolution" to declutter and simplify our lives this year I want to do a facebook fast. I am not Catholic but the timing and time span just seemed to work and inspire me. So in a quest to remember what exactly I did with all my free time before facebook and maybe even be productive for a while I'm logging off of our big blue friend.

I can't get rid of all my online conveniences, I can't imagine what my email would look like if I didn't check that, but hopefully this little (yet hard) change will help me spend more time on the things I find important in life and the world around me.

We've Moved!

So this weekend Matt and I moved into our new house.
I wanted to put up a few pictures of our move and give some moving tips for everyone out there.
We all know it is important to plan ahead and do the best you can to make your move as easy as possible so follow along with my tips to a successful move.


First make sure to keep your new place as clean as possible when moving in. You don't want trash laying around while you are trying to set up spaces. Never just throw things around - you have to pick up after yourself. As you can see from the picture below Matt and I kept everything spotless during our move. It was very helpful and I know I won't be spending the next week picking up trash.



Just like above never just leave trash and other things in odd places. If you have a shelf you know you'll be using for bathroom supplies make sure to put them in immediately. Creating a mess in a location will only make unpacking that much harder. Things like Glass Cleaner, work gloves and appliance owner manuals should always be put in their proper places. Also make sure to eat healthy while you are moving. No McDonalds or other fast food restaurants, it will only create more clean up later.


I always make sure to unpack and decorate a room right away. The last thing you want is to be living in a room that isn't fully decorated, especially a master bedroom. It's important to get those things up right away.




Organization is very important, again if you have items to put in a room make sure to put them away immediately. What ever you do don't just take a tub of items and throw them in a room. This will undoubtedly cause you to rifle through the box later for those important items like a toothbrush or shampoo.


And lastly as you'll see below, make sure to set up the important spaces first. Things you will most need; bathrooms or a kitchen would make the most sense. Never waste time on your first day by setting up an office to make sure the internet works. Also what ever you do - DO NOT plug in and turn on a TV it will only halter your speed. Matt and I wait until we are fully moved in before becoming distracted by these electronics.



As you can see Matt and I followed all the following tips which is why we had a smooth and stress free move. Our house is fully decorated, things are put in their places, and we're ready to welcome guests. It also means we won't still be unpacking for years to come... or does it.



Post Translation: In reality our house is a mess, stuff is everywhere, I think we've run of out garbage bags for all the trash, and I can't see the kitchen counters. I'll be unpacking boxes for at least the next five years and the cats are scared to death of the hardwood floors.
Yet, we are here so mission accomplished right?

Using your freebies

I’ve had a few people tell me it’s silly to send away for free samples or purchased trial sizes of products even if they’re free because you’ll never use them. I hope this post proves those naysayers wrong.



While in Vegas Matt and I will be exclusively using products found in my sample storage basket. Every product pictured is either a sample or a trial size purchased for cheap from earlier this year.

Our stash includes:

Dove Deodorant – Free sample
Dove body Spray – Free Sample
Ponds & Biore face wash – Free Sample
Gillette Body wash – Free from Wal-mart
Kleenex – Cheap Wal-mart purchase
Disposable razors – Free from CVS
First Aid Kit – Free from Wal-Mart
Crest Pro-health – Free sample
Clean & Clear face wash – Free sample
Caress body wash – Free sample
Head & Shoulders Shampoo – Free from Wal mart
Bath & Body Works lotion – Cheap semi annual sale purchase
Chap Stick - Cheap

Thirteen different items in a convenient carrying size all for free.
The old Meg would have gone out and purchased all of these items for full price the night before a trip.

Each item is the perfect size for traveling. Since Matt and I don’t check luggage when traveling each of these items meets FAA standards. They are the ideal size (3oz or less) and fit perfectly in our allowed clear sandwich bag; trust me it makes security so much easier.

So there – the next time you purchase a trial size or send away for a free sample don’t let anyone tell you the items will never be used. (We frugal shoppers know better)

I also always keep a trial size deodorant in the glove box of my car, just in case.
What do you use your freebies for?

The Just One Philosophy...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve been a little overwhelmed lately. I haven’t sorted coupons or even done any shopping – basically you could say, I’ve been trying to just keep my head above water. When I do have any free time I tend to zone out rather than accomplish any blog or house projects.

I realized after spending Memorial Day weekend away from the computer and reading that I really miss having time to just sit and do the things I enjoy. I’m not 100% sure how to get the balance back in my life. I have 100 things to do but when I do have free time I’m exhausted and end up doing nothing because it’s all rather overwhelming. To try and conquer this I’m starting a new philosophy, the Just One philosophy.

The Just One philosophy is allowing myself just that… one… of anything. Something, anything, can get out of control when it takes over your life. Having two rooms of your basement used for a messy stock pile, shopping seven days a week, buying nothing unless it’s on some kind of sale, or combing through blogs (on any topic) all afternoon – It’s bound in a way to take over all your thoughts and life style.

So I’ve decided I’ll be applying the just one philosophy to many aspect of my life – especially those parts I feel aren’t directly effecting my happiness or have taken up a little too much of my time.

For example – I have one area of my house I use to stock pile bathroom supplies. Within this stock pile I’m going to have just one container of something. I have a tendency to buy hand lotion in abundance – before it can continue to take over my home I’m going to limit myself to one small drawer of lotion – just one. Ok so not just one hand lotion (I’m not to that point yet) but believe me getting it down to one drawer and not buying any more is an accomplishment for me. I even skipped this years semi annual sale at Bath and Body Works (truly a miracle)

It’s so easy to let yourself get carried away and before you even realize it you’ve got toothpaste hiding out in a kitchen cabinet. Yet, I’m not going to just use this on stuff I’m also going to use it to manage my time better. Often I come home from work wanting to do ten things and not actually accomplishing half of them; then the guilt sinks in, mainly because I didn’t finish my list and I’m even more wore out because I had no “me” time. I shouldn’t feel guilty for taking an hour of me time once a day – and I’m not going to anymore.

This blog is a great example – and you should take this post as a warning – things are going to probably change a little bit. I started blogging because I wanted to share our successes and keep us on track for our savings goals, but lately I feel like the blog has become work. So for now on I’m going to post about a wide source of topics. Don’t worry there will still be lots of green living, money saving, and thrift shopping experiences (those are things I still love) but if I don’t make it to CVS every weekend I hope you won’t mind.

I’ve got to get back on track with doing the things that I enjoy and are important to me, but I hope you’ll stick around for the duration.

Textbook reduction

Remember our 30% stuff reduction goal? We made some great headway on this one last week when we passed on about 35 various text books from our college days. Some of these textbooks were in great shape, never opened in fact. I had all these wonderful intentions of keeping these books and later referencing them at work. I should have realized if I hadn’t taken the plastic wrap off and used them during college then the odds of me doing it years later were slim to none.

I had tried to sell the books back but they weren’t worth anything. I tried to donate them but couldn’t get them to the bookstore in time. I had no idea what to do with all of them I didn’t want to just throw them out but I also didn’t’ want them spending another four years at the bottom of Matt’s closet.

I figured it was a long shot but listed the whole lot on Freecycle. I thought if one person emails me I’ll be lucky. Ten emails later, the 4th person responded back and the books are now gone. I can’t believe so many people were interested in them and with a good use for them.

Thanks freecycle you saved more stuff from the trash. I love using Freecycle - anyone else have a Freecycle experience - good or bad?