Organize Household Bills, Statements and Subscriptions All In One Place With Manilla

Manilla is a new online site to get your bills, statements and balances instantly organized in one secure place.  Finally, one easy way to manage all of your accounts, subscriptions (like magazines!!) and even loyalty programs! 

This is just what hubby and I have been looking for!  With one password, this is the perfect way for a joint household to stay on top of bills and remember to communicate about finances and memberships more often.  Sign up and tell me what you think!

UPS My Choice, Just In Time For The Holidays!

Get package delivery that fits your life! Get alerts before packages arrive, electronically authorize packages for drop-of, re-route to other locations and many other options. Sign up today for FREE!!

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Calender From ABC

You don't have to wait until December to catch the holiday classics on TV! ABC Family is showing lots of fun Christmas shows all during November as well. For example tonight they are playing, Eloise at Christmastime and A Dennis the Menace Christmas.

I suggest printing off the 25 Days of Christmas schedule and placing it under your TV remote. If you're afraid of missing something, highlight it and add it to your day planner. There's a page for November and one for December. I have plans on catching Santa Baby 2 with Dean McDermott. I think he's super cool & he's married to Tori Spelling. Off topic....sorry!

For me, nothing says the holidays like snuggling up to a Christmas show with the kids, in front of the fire, maybe with a cup of cocoa. All that's missing is a Snuggie (haha!!).

Do you have any favorite Christmas shows or traditions? I'd love to hear them!! For example, we always watch National Lampoons Christmas when setting up our tree. :)

A Peek Inside My eBay Inventory Listing & Storage System

One of the keys to eBay success is developing a system. A system for listing, a system for storage, a system for shipping, etc. But what system is the best? How do you get your system in place. Well, I'm here to say that's all up to you! I wish I could help more, it's just that everyone is different.

Just like it works better for some people to list 40 items all in one day, I'd rather list 5 or 6 items per day, a few times a week. There are lots of options for keeping eBay stock neat and tidy. I'll show you what I do, aka "my little system".

A customer shopping in my store will see this, but the picture here on the right is what I see. Looks pretty much like organized chaos to me. :)

In addition to lots boxes, I also have 21 clear containers that I have labeled. For example:

Girls 0-4T Winter
Girls 0-4T Summer
Boys 0-4T All
Mugs (I have 4 of these so far!), etc...

As I begin my listing process, after photos have been taken, I usually have a pile of random stuff. For the most part as I list, I also wrap the item and prep it for shipping. Things like mugs, and plates I can set to the side while listing and I wrap them up last. Since I've listed and shipped so many of them, I can weigh them alone and know what packing and a box will take the shipping cost to. But for the rest of my stuff, this process really helps me "guess" what the shipping will be. This way, the customer is not over-changed and I'm not losing money by undercharging.

Here's the same bunch of merchandise pictured above, ready to go to "the store" after being listed. I see several advantage to my system. First everything is protected. Clothes, are wrapped in bags, then in a poly bag (or small box) and then kept in a plastic bin. If that won't keep out odors, I'm not sure will. Mugs, glasses, trinkets, and other breakables are protected from breakage. I will add more packing to box when these items are shipped, but for now, they too are wrapped in a plastic bag (I recycle!!) and padded (wrapped) in newspaper. I can also store items more per square foot. This is super important to me because we live in a small house to begin with (only 1800 sq feet). There's just not the room to spread things out on shelves.

For example, here's a tub of mugs and glasses that I just started filling. Once at capacity, I might get 40 to 50 items in that space. Tubs are also great because you don't need shelving to store them. In my photo at the top, I have one cute shelving unit, but the rest of my tubs are stacked beside the shelf, one on top of another. Worst case, I move 6 tubs to get to the bottom one.

You'll notice that when I'm listing, I'm also printing out the first page of the listing and taping it to the outside of each item. The picture and title make finding items super easy. Not to mention the tubs are clear and I can see where things are right away. Normally if something sells, I can locate it within about 2 minutes and that's a worst case scenario. Overall, I actually know where most things are and find them right away.

The last benefit of my listing/storage process is that once something sells, it takes no time at all to ship it. When I weigh each item during listing/wrapping process, I also note the weight on the print out. Once I head in from the storage area, the weight is plugged into PayPal and a label prints right out (on plain paper!). Tape it to the box, and I'm done!

Some people might think it's backwards to wrap up things before they sell. But, what I've found is that after a few years of selling and trying other ways, this is what's works for me and my space. I hope maybe you got a few ideas on how to list or store you eBay item. I have many more helpful eBay articles here. Like, what supplies to gather to get started on eBay or where to get free packing.

Thanks for reading!

Best Practices When Replying To Online Offers

I'm assuming that since you're reading this, you have replied to some sort of online offer at some point in your life. Requesting samples, printing coupons, online surveys, online shopping, gaming, etc. Do any of these sound like you? If so, here are a few suggestions to keeping your email box neat and tidy and keeping spam to a minimum in your personal email box.

First off, set up a new free email account. I would suggest a different domain than your current personal email account. Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo are a few ideas. Use your name and the email account purpose in the name. For example: suzysavesmoney @ domain.com or gamerbob@ domain.com. Keep it short and easy to remember.

Once your new account is set up, start a few file folders. For example a reader of this blog might want folders that say:

Coupons/Freebies
Shopping
Surveys
Panels
Emails to Read (for MyPoints, InboxDollars and RewardPort)

Keep it simple at first, you can always fine tune it later as the emails start coming in. Once emails come in, depending on how much time you have, respond or file for later. Here are some options for responding:

Move to spam
Unsubscribe & delete
Print offer & delete
Reply/Participate in offer & delete

Be sure to clean out your folders every month or so. For example, I might file all my BzzAgent e-mails, but delete them once the campaign is over. Once offers start hitting your personal email box, be sure to update your personal info with the sender. You'll want those offers to go to the new mail box. This method works really well for me. Once I have a few minutes (say at nap time), most of my make/save money offers are in one spot. It also keeps emails in my personal email box to a minimum so I'm not missing an important email from the school or accidentally deleting something from a friend.

I'd love to hear some ideas that work for you! Email me at wyliemom@live.com. Like this post? Subscribe here.

It's Time For Clean Up Green Up In Wylie, Texas

It's that time of year again, folks! Clean Up Green Up!



It will be held February 4-7, 2009. Wednesday through Friday from 1pm to 5pm and Saturday 8am-4pm. It will be behind City Hall on Centennial Drive (near Walmart on Highway 78).

Please bring your: Trash, Brush, Appliances, Electronics, Cardboard, Scrap Metal, and Tires. Document Shredding will be available Saturday only (from 9-12 ONLY). Please no household hazardous waste (paint, oil, batteries, light bulbs, antifreeze, etc...).

Identification will be required, no pick-ups available for this event.

For more information, contact the city of Wylie Parks Department at 972-442-8195 or e-mail parks@wylie texas.gov. Also, click here for the Wylie News article.

My New Coupon Binder

Do you remember my old coupon organization system? Well, I needed an upgrade! I bought a new binder here and spent a few weeks searching for baseball sleeves. I finally gave up and went to a baseball card store (crazy idea, huh?). I was hoping to find some at Michael's or Hobby Lobby so I could use a coupon.

I ended up with 100 sheets and paid about $17. Yikes!! I wasn't sure what I would need. I may keep the spares for replacements as these wear out. I also still need dividers, but I'm cheap! So, I'm hoping to run across some here at the house or somewhere on sale super cheap.

The front part zips open by itself and has my circulars filed away. It's perfect for holding the current ad and monthly deals (CVS/Walgreens). I like that I can also access the ads once I'm inside the binder. That's what's shown in the picture.

Just inside, I have scissors, paper clips, a pen, paper, etc.... I don't really need those "on the go", but it makes coupon time at the house super quick. I'm not having to collect my supplies and put them away when I'm done.

Check out those shiny pages full of coupons. Ahhhh.....! I can put coupons away faster and find them in about 5 seconds flat. I haven't decided on the best way to pull expired coupons....I guess I'll give it a few weeks and it will work itself out, I'm sure.

Before, I would pull coupons that I might use at the store and have to put them back if I didn't. For example, if I wanted to get to the store and look at prices and decide what chicken to get. With the new system, I just make a note on the list and pull the coupon once I decide. It's so neat and clean.

In the very back I have a few plastic sleeves with my store envelopes in them. In here I keep coupons for that store only, my ECB, my Walgreens gift card, all the Target coupons, etc.

The very last picture is my Restaurant/Dept. Store coupon book. I used a free (cheap) photo album. They sell these everywhere as a "brag book" for like $1. I started stores on one side and restaurants on the other and they almost meet in the middle. This way, I can keep this in purse and not have to lug the HUGE binder out with the hubby if we're eating out or looking for shoes. :)

I will admit, it took me HOURS to move over into the binder but it was SO worth it! How do you keep your coupons organized????

I am the Crazy Coupon Lady!

I have coupons coming out of my ears! I get the paper delivered every Sunday and my mom, Liz, gives me her coupons un-clipped on Sunday as well. Last week I cut ours together to save time. Then this week, Irene (my step-mom) started mailing me hers. Thanks Irene!! But wait, there's more. I also belong to a coupon club. We mail our unwanted coupons on to the next person each week. I couldn't be happier!! I takes no time at all to sort them. Now I will be prepared with at least 2 if not 5 or 6 of my favorite coupons when a sale hits.

Here's how I keep them organized and with me at all times. They all fit into the nice bright orange pencil case. Hey..... it was free! My mom gave it to me. The draw back is, I'm sure all the cashiers will start to remember me. I can hear them talking now, "Oh, here she is. The crazy coupon lazy with the orange pencil case FULL of coupons". Anyway, the pencil case fits in my purse. Here's what inside:

1. Envelope for "coupons to file". This is where I stash them when they come in the mail, off a product or if I didn't use one at the store. All my trips are planned with a list and all coupons are clipped to the list. I prepare this before I leave the house. This keeps the trip quick and I don't overspend.

2. Calculator in black case and a pen (not pictured). Haha.

3. Redbox free rental codes. I re-print this every few weeks or so. We only go once every week or two so there is always a code to use for a free rental.

4. Target coupons, sporting the super fashionable "Verizon" envelope. I pay bills online and this is one way I "re-use" the envelopes. Then I recycle them. I change out my envelopes every week or two when I sit down and organize/clean out my pouch. I usually do this on Sunday after I've clipped my coupons from the paper. I put my new coupons away and pull any expired ones (to recycle of course).

5. My CVS envelope (sporting the blue GMAC envelope). I store a few $3/15, $4/20 and $2 off CVS brands coupons in here. Also, my weekly transactions are kept in here. I prepare all my trips/transactions on Sunday. I paperclip each list (with pricing and ECB info) and my coupons together. I label them #1, #2, etc. Yes, I'm very OCD!!!!! This way if I happen to pass by a CVS, I'm always ready to run in and back out within 5 minutes.

6. Store and restaurant coupons. Things like Sonic coupons (my whole family had lunch today at Sonic for $5), $5 off $25 at Once upon a Child (resale shop), etc. This way I never forget a coupon at home. If it expires, so what? At least if I ever do pop in somewhere, I will have the coupon with me.

7. All of my coupons!!! They are in 14 categories right now.

I've seen some other cute ideas for storage. I like the idea of using a photo album but am worried about the extra bulk of the plastic pages. I am currently still refusing the carry a coupon "box". But this does seem to be working for me so far. If I pass by the "clearance" rack or find something else on sale that I missed when making my list, my coupons are very easy to grab. Anyone else have any different ideas???? Leave me a comment if so!