I'VE MOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello all! I've moved over to my new blog at 

http://shellythemomager.blogspot.com/ 

Come on over and check me out!! :) 

Hello :)

Ok! So:

 1. Yes I'm still alive (even though the Texas Summer heat tried to kill us all this year)

 2. Yes I plan on picking this blog back up again

 3. To everyone who found my MOMager on Pinterest here is the answers to most of the questions I've recieved:

• Do you plan to share the files for these? I would LOVE to but....the computer those were created on crashed over the summer (a long with my cell phone and 2 car batteries....) and when it crashed, not only did it take all of my pictures and music and everything else I ever save, it took all of my MOMager files. 
• What did you use to create the pages? Excel....I created the entire thing in about 72 hours over a hellacious Ice Storm back in February...its really easy to do, but you do have to know a few things about formatting to make it "work"
• Do you make custom MOMagers, will you sell me one? DO I? no...not yet atleast, but I am all for helping others find their personal organizational style so if you are interested in creating your own personal MOMager, or having me create one for you, feel free to message me and we can talk this out!

Point being. Life happened. My computer crashed. I've been MIA, but I'm back again! My posting will be a little erratic at first, another thing that bit the dust recently was my camera, thankfully my birthday is in 2 weeks and I have been laying down some HUGE hints as to wanting a new camera for my birthday :) **fingers crossed** I am also in search of someone to help me format my blog (Do you format blogs? I'll trade ya services!!!) So if you can be patient...for just a bit more....I promise I'll be back within the next 4-6 weeks. Just in time for fun holiday stuff and New Years Organizing!! <3 

Thanks again to everyone who found my MOMager on Pinterest and stopped by....it will be resurrected, promise!

Home Sweet Home

Have you ever had one of those "Oh. So this is what was meant to be?" moments? What I mean is....have you ever had a moment, where you want something SO bad. then it gets taken from you...and you think "what is the reason for this?! I am sure that this is what I am supposed to have...what on earth could be out there that is better for me than this?!"

well.

we had one of those moments with this house.

The first time I went to look at it, it was just me, my realtor and a rather cranky snoody girl...I came in, did a quick dash around the place and it was just. Strange. after I left, I called the nerdy boy and told him that I saw a house...and it was just "weird....like intriguing" It was almost like one of those things where you felt like you needed to just study it to get the real meaning of it. I have never felt this about a house before. I mean, I've seen charm and beauty in a home but never such an in your face dose of personality.

so we went back. and he said the same thing that I did...."its just...I don't know....I like it....I know I shouldn't cause its so weird...but I really do"

And thats how we knew it was meant to be. because it fit. we matched. The Weird. Not so Normal, But yet So normal. Strangly Perfect little house.....and us.

On the outside it looks so sweet and nice. Normal and unassuming. Well manicured and bright. then you get inside...and you see deep wood floors....with bright open windows...then you see this weird WEIRD kitchen...and that black wall?! then theres the lime green bedroom...and the strange lay out of well. EVERYTHING. and its like THIS HOUSE IS JUST SO STRANGE AND I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH <3

Our back yard backs up to the 3rd tee box of the golf course...its going to look so pretty in the spring/summer with all the pretty green grass

The back porch area needs some love...but I think some new paint, a power washer and some furniture we can make this place look lovely <3

ah. my weird kitchen. isn't it just strange?! but you can't NOT look at it RIGHT?!! its so perplexing. I love it.

The Living room. with the biggest fire place I have seen in ages (Did I mention this house was built in the early 90's?)

HORRIBLE PICTURE (As a matter of fact...let me just go ahead and apologize in advance for ALL of my pictures...my camera sucks...and sometimes y'all get the short end of the stick which means an iPhone pic taken with interior lights....yuk!) but ANYWAYS...this is the master bedroom...its just simply HUGE. I <3 those windows

the other side of the master looking in to the master bath...do you see that door to the left? thats a second walk in closet for the master...aparently, in Texas they assume EVERYONE needs 2 closets in their master....well, we don't so that will be my new Craft CLoffice hehe

 My Black wall <3 in my weird kitchen. with the weird fan....and the lovely window seat...its as if someone said "ah. Shelly will like this"

and that same someone said "ah. shelly will hate this" this is the dining room. I apologize for its hidiousness. its just bad. the paint. the light fixture. yuck. BUT never fear...Graphite Grey Paint is Here!!!

This will be my new office space...its supposed to be a "formal living room" but I have an 18 month old and a 6 year old...there is simpply nothing formal about that. :)

And there it is....Home <3  

We love it cause its just like us. Perfectly normal and nice on the outside...but just a jumble of strangeness on the inside. and thats my kind of perfect :)

Just some stuff :)

Just a little update...so that you know I still love ya....

I'm in full on packing/decluttering/design dreaming/house hunting/margarita needing mode....

So remember how I told you we are moving?

ya....in like less than a month.

oh. one tiny detail though.

WE DON'T HAVE A HOUSE TO MOVE IN TO YET!!!!!

omg...this momma is STRESSIN. I'm already packing...I ordered some new furniture pieces...I BOUGHT THE PAINT!! but I don't know where I'm going...

I might very well have the  best decorated card board box under the bridge in all of Dallas County if I don't luck out soon!

Ok, so I'm being a bit over dramatic {you know how I love to do that} In all honesty though, I seriously am already packing. I really did buy furniture...and I spent a lil too much on paint and some decore for a house I'm not even 100% sure that I have or not. We put the offer in...the agent seemed "positive" but the papers have yet to be signed. its not mine just yet and as much as I hate to admit it, this exact same scenario happened to us a couple weeks ago...fell in <3 with a house...put in an offer...dreamt of how I was going to decorate it, then it got stolen from us :( the real estate market is a fiesty, shark filled place in these parts!

So as I try to declutter the kids closets (and throw away the the annoying toys that I don't want to drag along with us to the other house) I am trying as hard as possible to stay organized while I do it. Cause its not like I have oodles of free time to devote to packing and sorting and bubble wrapping...I have to spend most of my day chasing my 16 month old around...then I spend most of my afternoon chauffering my 6 year old around...then there is the cooking and the laundry and oh ya, I'm working again (ish) and the volunteer work and that little time stealer SLEEP....so what I'm saying is, I really only have about an hour every day to devote to packing.

lets do the math kids... 1 hour for 30 days (I started this little project last week) = 30 hours devoted to packing up my 1500 sq feet and garage space, decluttering and purging EVERYTHING (my goal is to get to a point that I know every piece that I am moving with me...If I can't tell you exactly WHAT is in that box...its not going with me!) I am also preparing for a garage sale so that means I am having to seperatly box garage sale items and add labels to them because I am piggy backing on a garage sale that someone else is running so I wont be there to price things.

My goal is this:

1. Get all the "STUFF" purged, organized and categorized and down in to the garage in NEATLY LABELED BOXES

2. Make enough money from the garage sale & consignment stores to afford to have SOMEONE ELSE move my stuff to my new place :)

goodness I hate moving...It would be so lovely to just hand over some $$ and put my feet up while I watch some other poor schlub smash their fingers on door frames while they try and inch my couch into the living room :)

My Plan is this:

2 Boxes. 2 Bags. 1 Bin!

thats it! every day, I am going to take my 1 hour, 2 boxes. 2 bags, & 1 bin and pick a space, in that space I can only fill 2 boxes up with things to take to the new house...and ideally I will fill the remaining bags/bin with things for the trash, consignment store, garage sale.

I've been at this for about 6 days now, and I'm proud to say, its working very well...I don't feel overwhelmed by packing and I am able to label the boxes neatly and thigns are getting done. yes I will still have to have one of those mad-dash marathon packing days the day before I move to pack up the last of my things but at least all the other stuff will  be done ... and THAT makes this momma happy :)



The MOMager

When you were in your teens...what did you want to be? A fashion designer? singer? Doctor?

I wanted to work for Franklin Covey.

kid you not....I actually remember one day my Junior year...I skipped school (sorry mom) and I sat at Barnes and Noble and poured over organizing books and time management books...I bought my first time management book - Time Management from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern that day (yes I find it a bit odd that my rebellious act of skipping school resulted in me buying a time management book but I've told y'all before I'M NOT NORMAL <3 )

SO since my teens I have had this concept in my mind that paper planners are just...well they are just lovely.

with that in mind, I went on a search...an almost 10 year search for the PERFECT planner, in my earlier days, it needed to accomodate my school & homework schedule as well as my ever changing social schedule, now it needs to keep track of my kids school & homework schedule as well as my own semi entertaining social schedule :)

but during this search I ran in to many roadblocks...I am willing to bet that I have tried almost every product out there...from the most tiny and simple to the most grand and opulant. I have tried a computer based calendar system...I've tried the post it note system...a wall calendar...a desk calendar...an expensive Franklin Covey Agenda...MULTIPLE 'mom planners"...I've even tried saying "to hell with it" and just not using anything (obviously that didn't last too long)

all of that trial and error was frusterating, wasteful and expensive. I was never happy...there was always some  flaw in the system. and me being the perfectionistic insane OCD person that I am...I am just NOT ok with flaws. at. all.

So I thought to myself....Why do I need to follow the format that someone else has made for me? My life is different than that person...I have 2 kids...they have 4....I need to track my finances in my planner...they do it online...I don't need 20 pages for contacts, but it would be nice to keep a few of my frequently addressed friends in my contact section. I need a page for every day...and a 2 page monthly calendar...and my handwriting is big and bulky...and I want it to be semi portable...and cute...and I want all those inspirational quotes to be thigns that inspire ME....

BUT THATS JUST ME...and THATS the point.

Everyones Life is different...so why should we all conform to using the same planner?

and thats why I made my MOMager.

This is actually inside a Five Star "Flex Binder" they are about $12 each at an office supply store (might be a couple bucks cheaper at Walmart/Target) I love these because they are very similar in size weight and flexibility to a spiral notebook, yet they allow you to add and delete pages like a binder via the flex rings on the side.

Inside I keep a clear zipper pouch with some pens, extra labels and post its (see those pens? those are my FAVORITES...they are Le Pens...you usually have to go to specialty stationary stores to find them, but its worth the trip...they make writing pretty <3)

My first page is set in a hard laminate so it won't get damaged, it contains my favorite quote, and some emergency & "if found" info....I just put this on some fun zebra paper and added a little cut out that I made using my Cricut

behind my first page is a year at a glance for 2011, also laminated in the hard laminate

There are 5 sections in my MOMager, My Monthly Calendar, ToDo's (daily calendar), Contacts, Money, & Blog

On the first page of every month, I have my monthly goals sheet...I gave up on year long resolutions because that just seems silly to me, I do have a "5 year plan" and I will go in to more detail about that later but I baisically use this sheet as an at a glance for what my BIG to-do's are for this month (as you can see for the month of the February I had things like planning my daughters class valentines party, and finding a new house...big things go here...not "do the laundry on thursday")

My monthly pages are set between two pages, in my brain a week starts on Monday and ends on sunday...so thats the way it goes in paper, I also have a notes column on the side to jot down tiny reminders, appointment details, etc.....I use a color coding system for each person in my family, and use a couple other colors for bills, birthdays, etc

Did you know that I'm in <3 with Alice in Wonderland? i draw 99.9% of my daily affirmations and motivations from quotes from the book/movies...my MOMager is FULL of Alice quotes to serve as a reminder to me that "This is my dream, and I'll decide where it goes from here..." (my all time fave Alice quote and personal motto...taken from the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland)

This is my Daily Page...this is what makes since to ME...I need an hourly blocking system to keep track of the flow of my day...I also need a to do area, I have some pre-typed To Dos and some little cues like "Blog:"  - for me to insert what my blog topic is...or "Cardio" for me to insert how much cardio I did that day...below that is my "Contacts" box...just a way for me to remember who I need to call/email and what its in reference to...then a daily tracking of my spending just because we are REALLY trying to tighten down our daily spending...its almost like a diet journal...i'm less likely to buy something silly now because I know I have to write it down, so if its not worth it...its not getting bought! 

This is my blog sheet...just a place to reference blog topics and brainstorm...I love the quote on these pages "But that's the trouble with me, I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it" SO true haha

My finance Register...again, this goes in to my financial planning and budgeting...I'm going to have a more indepth post at a later date about how I track my expenses/bills/etc....I'm still finalizing that binder :)

My people page is where I keep those "frequently contacted" people...you know...moms, aunts, nanas...the people who love you an extra amount and send you little notes and goodies...the ones that are fun to write back to :)

And thats that kids. I also have some notebook paper in the back for meetings and extra jotting....this planner has served me perfectly. it fits fine in my purse (granted my purse is gigantic) its completely custom to my liking. and its something that I have formed a dependency on...and THAT is how you know you have reached planner success. :)

Happy ValenTIMES day :)

Ms. Priss is 6 and still calls it ValenTIMES....it will break my heart when the last of the incorrectly pronounce words are gone :( (she used to call music muskick...that lasted until about this time last year...growing up is no fun!)

so I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL valentines day! mine was pretty low key...I had a randomly sick baby (for like 2 hours she had a fever, whimpered...then all of a sudden, she got up, ate a banana and was all better....one of those crazy 2 hour bugs?!) But I did get to enjoy the Valentines Party at my daughters school (i'm the room mom...the MAKE me go to these things geesh! lol i kid i kid)

Isn't this just LOVEly?

It's Prissy girls valentines box.

you can't see it, but under that fluffy white maribou is zebra print DUCT-TAPE....goodness gracious that makes a southern girl happy :)

And check out these adorable little valentines we whipped together :)

I promise I didn't just hi-jack this project and go all crazy momma....she helped...see! Proof!

Gah kindergarten is fun! haha

want to know what else is fun? Being featured! check me and my CLOFFICE out over at Organize with Sandy  I am SOOO lucky to have been "found" by someone with such talent! Thanks Sandy!!

Just an FYI...I promise, I'm not just a not-so-fair-weather-blogger....I don't only blog when its 12 degrees and apocolyptically cold here in dallas.....but i will admit, I have been taking advantage of these 70 degree days to go house hunting...I have less than 2 months (YIKES) to find a house that I love (I'm picky) GET the house (I had my house heart broken this weekend when we put in an offer with 2 other applicants...and lost...wah.) pack...and move. sooooooooo ya. I promise to try and be as bloggy as I can...maybe I'll post some fun moving tips and tricks...what about y'all? any tips for a type A, control freak momma that is attempting to control an apparently uncontrolable process (The HUNT of finding and getting a house...plus the chaos of actually moving!)

send me your tips kidds!

LOOK! they Match!

remember this pretty lil space? mmm ya...it makes me happy.....and there is no such thing as too much happy...RIGHT!


well, I got lucky with the apartment I'm renting...it has lots of storage (hooray texas sized apartments LOL)


but the problem with closets...its they tend to be GIANT wastes of space...they don't maximize on the space. think about it...or better yet... look at this:

see the one tiny shelf at the top...then the stuff piled on the floor? ya...thats because there is no other shelving to store stuff...what a waste!!!

so I went to Ikea, bought some cheap-o shelves and L brackets and installed some shelves, used some leftover boxes from my CLoffice...and hung a clear pocket shoe hanger on the door and VOILA...New craft closet!

yaaa...its nice :)

 

Cloffice?

I think that might be my new favorite word...stole it from Jen @ I heart Organizing cause shes pretty brilliant....Well. i have a cloffice...as a matter of fact, it was one of my first (and favorite) space re-dos. When I moved from my "Big Red House" (as Ms. Priss calls it) to my tiny apartment (as i call it...) I literally cut my square footage in half. I went from a nice 2 story 2200 sq ft 4 bedroom house with WAY too much room for my little family....to a tiny (but nice an cute) apartment that is only 1500 sq feet with only 3 bedrooms....no study...no office...no game room...now formal dining. Just the basics.

that drove me insane. (still does)

so I made the best of what I had and created a cloffice (get it? closet + office) I got lucky that the aparment I am in has 2 closets in the master bedroom, a large walk-in in the bathroom and a small narrow one in the bedroom that had rolling doors on a track.

At first, the closet was just used to hold my crafting stuff in different forms of semi organized chaos.

I had tupperware boxes and a large drawer to hold things...but do you see what is missing?

Therses no table space! no desk space...not even a tiny tray table and stool....so anytime I wanted to get creative, I would have to haul all my junk out of there and take it to the kitchen and spread it out on my tiny kitchen table.......and remember, like I said earlier, we only have the basics here, so my kitchen table is my ONLY table...in other words, long time projects were not allowed!

See my sewing machine stuffed back there? oh you can't? ya thats cause all the rest of the junk is keeping it hidden...but its back there...and OBVIOUSLY not being used.

So I shopped my home...found a pice of an old L shaped desk, an extra book shelf and my old filing cabinet and shoved it in my space...ahhh its so nice :) it all fit just perfectly

I added some new boxes that I got from Walmart (the lime green) Ikea (the white) and Hobby Lobby (the black).....the awesome pen holder rack thingy (its from ikea...they are just so clever)...and some cute metal desk accesories. I honestly don't think I spent more than $80 on the entire space and thats including the grey Ikea curtain panels and curtain rod.

its no home office with a view of my backyard...but it will do for me...for now :)

I also created a Craft Closet in my hall closet that matches this space...I'll share that with you on another day!

Linking this up with: Org Junkie A Bowl Full of Lemons I heart Naptime 

I heart Organizing Todays Creative Blog Organize with Sandy We are That Family

I'm backkkkkkk

AND I'M RICH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ha. I wish....no really, I got excited when we put $20 on black on roulette and doubled our money....we're high rollers kiddos!

we really did have a wonderful time though...i feel like I have been "re-set" ... my mommy brain got a chance to turn off... i was able to relax...let my nerves unwind...and just breathe for a minute. (and eat some awesome food, enjoy a show, do some shopping and spend lots of time with my favorite nerdy boy <3)

and at the end, I have vowed that I would make time ATLEAST every 6 months to check out, and get away.

its neccesary.

last week I was literally at my witts end, LITERALLY snowed in for 4 days with a sick 1 year old and bored to tears 6 year old...no groceries in my pantry and frayed nerves...I was to the point of tears. i had reached my limit. it was time for a mommy time out.

and now that I'm back, i had my break, i feel like I have my barrings back and can get back in the grind, with POSITIVE ENERGY and a SMILE on my face :)

Now, don't get me wrong...a 3 day trip to Vegas was by no means life changing (its not like i got married or anything.........I did that last time I was in Vegas....but thats a story for another day LOL!)

but it was helpful...very helpful :)

so without further ado...heres my MPM...great things coming this week! FINALLY going to show off my MOMager in its entirity...Show you what me and Ms. Priss come up with for her Valentine box and class valentines...and Pictures from the Prissy girls ROCKSTAR 6th birthday party!

MENU PLAN MONDAY

Monday - VEGAS!

Tuesday - Baked Ziti, Salad & Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Tacos, Rice, & Corn

Thursday - Chicken Brocolli Rice Casserole & Crescent Rolls

Friday - Date Night :)

Saturday - Family Game Night...Make your own Pizzas & Brownies!

Sunday - Chicken & Sausage tortellini Soup and crusty french bread (yummmm)



Goin a lil stir crazy.....

Remember me scoffing at the over dramtic reactions we Texans have to everything snow/ice/cold weather.... well. I've been "iced in"...no school for Ms. Priss for 2 days now....and they are out again tomorrow....and its like 10 degrees....and we've been experiencing "Rolling blackouts" since 7am...and it feels like your driving off road when you attempt to drive on the streets....and as I look out my living room window, I see a strange little Icecapade involving tiny sports cars attempting to climb the hill on the street outside my complex...only to slip and twist back down to the bottom.


did I tell you that i'll be in Vegas on Friday?


did you know its supposed to be 68 degrees and sunny there on Saturday?


did I mention that after being couped up for 3 days, straight with both of my kids, with no where to go, and not enough room to "spread out" from each other in means that I have granted myself a spa treatment in Vegas simply to destress my momma nerves.


ya.


that will be nice.




ANYWAYS...on to bloggy things.

See this little spread of lovliness on my coffee table? ya...its a little bit of structured...organized...clean...neat...fresh...sanity in the midst of my ice-induced incarceration...

it just makes me so happy....with all of its black/white/zebra/lime-y/crowned/Alice in Wonderland greatness...its just kinda blissful.

then there is this.......i'll look at this daily. it will give me peace. and happiness...and my recommended daily dosage of Alice and lime :)

They are about to go in to this...have you seen these? they are wonderful....its better than a binder cause its more compact..and better than a standard spiral notebook cause you can add and delete pages and dividers as needed (I got mine at Staples...I think it was like $11.99)

I'll go in to a more indepth description of the whole thing once its put together...and once my brain is fully functional...right now I can't remember how to get my font to come out the right color on my blog...so obviously I'm in no position to be telling you how wonderful my organizer is HA!

Just wanted to let you know what I was up to...in between being the photographer for my aspiring "Cowgirl-Rockstar-Fashion Designer-Super Model-Actress-Singer-Cheer Coach-that kinda loves zombies...." Little Ms. Priss.

Please excuse the hair...its just...well its just a mess.

just roll with it kids...its best not to fight it (do you see my tiny snoody girl running around half clothed...apologies....)

oh...and I didn't get around to my weekly "maid" cleaning... but its ok...i had some hired help ;)

I paid her with apple juice and cheerios...she was delighted :)




we are in for round 2 of  hell frozen over  wintery weather tomorrow...all i gotta say is, they better have some crazy good de-icer around at the airport on Friday...and a vodka cranberry waiting for me after take off :)

stay warm america :)

Menu Plan Monday!

SO! I had planned on havin a junk-y food week this week since I leave on friday for 4 days and 3 nights of childfree bliss and debauchery good ol' fashioned adult fun. in VEEEEGASSSS.........but apparently its going to be like end-of-the-world, day-after-tomorrow, apocolyptically cold around here for the next 4 days sooooo I'll be crock-pottin it most of this week.

side note - I live in North Texas...we don't get snow, or sleet, or ice, or even really cold temperatures that often...maybe twice a year, so when we do...its like NEWS BREAKING...seriously, if a dusting of snow hits the metroplex, you won't get to watch a single minute of your favorite TV show because the local news team will be running continuing coverage of the "Blizzardly Conditions"......ahhhh such is life in Texas....everything is bigger here, even our overly dramatic reactions to mother nature :)

so here ya go kiddos. This is a weak MPM...no pics (yet...i'll edit with pics of it when I make it) but I'll share a recipe for my Taco Soup....its scrumptious.

Monday - Totally Cheated. Olive Garden did the cookin for me tonight....and it was gooooood mediocre at best.
Tuesday - Taco Soup (RECIPIE BELOW!)
Wednesday - Cheater Stroganoff
Thursday - Sheppards Pie

I haven't been on a vacation since Ms. Priss's 4th bday party...and that was to Disney World, though it is the happiest place on earth...I'm pretty sure every restaurants food is cooked in some giant basement cafeteria that resides under the Magic Kingdom...point being, it was no culinary adventure.

BUT...I'LL BE IN VEGAS IN 4 DAYS....and THIS is where I plan to eat...

Friday - Mesa Grill - Bobby Flays Restaurant yum :)
Saturday - Tao - Asian Fusion Food
Sunday - VEGAS BUFFET!

so...what bout you...whatcha eatin this week?

TACO SOUP!

Another one of those "I didn't go to the grocery store and I need to throw together dinner out of pantry staples and freezer meat....." its good stuff and can be prepared stove top or in the crock pot!

1lb ground beef browned and drained
1pkg Taco Seasoning
1pkg Ranch Dressing (the dry stuff...not the bottled stuff)
1 can corn (drained)
1 can beans (we like Ranch style, pinto & black also work well...just use what ya got)
1 can Rotel
1 can chicken stock
water to thin if you think its to "stew-like"

Put it all in to a pot/crock pot...let it simmer away, serve it straight up in bowls or garnish with shredded cheese, fritos/tortilla chips, sour cream and fresh cilantro.....great "warm ya up" food!


I've been busy boys and girls...VERY BUSY....working on this little bit of amazement that i plan on unveiling either tomorrow or Wednesday....its gunna be greatness...STAY TUNED :)



Coupon Organizing *Lite*

Once Upon a Time I went on a couponing kick. I spent $25 monthly on a "membership" to a coupon "game" website....I spent $5 weekly on 2 sunday newspapers....I bought a 2 inch 3 ring binder and sports card page protectors...I then spent HOURS cutting. Filing. Researching. Listing & comparing making sure I was getting the BEST deals...then with my giant binder in toe, to the store I went...and thats where I stayed for the next 3 hours.


yes. I spent 3 hours in the grocery store.


and though i did end up with "$88 in savings" I also managed to come home with like 5 things of salad dressing (that we still have not used) and 10 toothbrushes. and a boxes upon boxes of pasta salad and boxed meal-maker dinners......WE DON'T EVEN EAT THAT STUFF! but. because it was "a good deal" i just had to get it.


two weeks later. the coupon book was shoved in the back of my bookcase.


Point being, I just don't care to be an extreme couponer. I'm sorry. for those that are on the extreme couponing bandwagon, more power to ya...I know what it takes for you to get some of those "big saves" but its just not for me. I feed a small family and I don't have a ton of extra storage space for a stock pile...nore do I really want to be eating BBQ sauce that I bought last March.


So right now, I'm going to try a new coupon system...Lets just call it, Couponing Lite :)
its a mix of my own couponing organization and some storage/cuteness ideas from Jen at I Heart Organizing (I'm def. copy catting her cutesyed up envelope system...she has a great tiny-tutorial on how to make stationary envelopes work for you as couponing envelopes)

I  buy ONE sunday paper, I thumb through the ads and heres the key part...I ONLY CLIP THE COUPONS FOR ITEMS THAT WE EAT.....I don't care how cheap I can get cans of tuna...I don't eat the stuff so the $1 off coupon is not going in my envelope!


Then I take my few (typically 15-20 coupons per week) coupons and paperclip them together. The only sorting I do is by category:
-Grocery (food, toiletries)
-Shopping (department stores)
-Services (oil changes, hair cuts, etc)
-Restaurants (duh.)
I don't sort them by type of food (cause think about it.....is a can of pillsbury biscuits a bread item, bakery item or refrigerated item?.....mind boggling, i know) I don't sort them by expiration date. I just clip the stack together. put them in their respective enevelope and walk away.


thats it.


WALK. AWAY.


Then, when its time to make my weekly menu plan and grocery list, I bring out my envelope of coupons, sort through the ones that I need and put them in to my "This Trip" file.


THEN I LEAVE THE REST AT HOME....I can't tell you how tempted I would be to buy 4 bags of chips cause they were on sale at the store and I had a coupon for $.50 off....but if i don't have the coupon for it, I'm not getting it. its that easy. and its a great way to help you stick to your list and your budget......and your diet.


As I said before, this system is not for everybody. Its far to simple for a die hard, and it might be a bit more complicated than a 'scan and save' clipper. but it works for me, and I'm sharing it with you because I'm sure there are a few others out there that are in the same [shopping] cart as me :)


Then when your all done and you have your basket of neccesary foods and your reciept of marginal but good savings...you can stick it in your fancy shmancy reciept envelope :)

then you can go to starbucks and justify spending $5 on a cup of coffee cause you just saved $20 on groceries. :)

SPOILER ALERT!

I'm pretty sure that me and Toni @ a bowl full of lemons are on the same wave length. we are both thinking about organizing our organizers! I'll be linking up with her on her weekly challenge about Household Binders and posting lots of stuff this week about how I made my MOMager. Follow along and you can make your own MOMager!