Frugal Living Tip #40 - Reusable Containers

Reusable Containers

First Day of School Lunch

I have an entire shelf in one of my kitchen cabinets devoted to plastic storage containers. I use them primarily to store leftovers from a meal. This summer when I was getting my oldest daughter ready to start first grade I had a great idea. (Ok, really I saw something similar on Pinterest.). Use a reusable container with multiple sections to send her lunch to school in place of plastic bags. You can save money and "be green" from using reusable containers instead of plastic baggies for lunch and snacks.

I found a set of Ziploc containers that had three compartments. We were also looking for a new lunch box at the time so we made sure that that container fit inside the lunch box. We have now made it over half way through the school year and we are still using the two containers I bought back in August. She takes her lunch four days a week and gets a hot lunch once of week when they deliver pizza to the school. I also noticed that she is eating more of her lunch because she sees it all at once versus opening up multiple baggies and containers. I purchased a pack of silicone cupcake cups that I use to add a small item, like grapes, to the large section. The only thing disposable right now is her paper napkin.

I purchased a three pack of cloth snack bags that I send snack to preschool for my other two kids. They like to take some sort of dry cereal or crackers mixed with Craisins so all I have to do is dump out the crumbs and wash the bags once a week.

All three of my children take water in a reusable water bottle to school for their drinks.

Do you use reusable containers for lunch and snacks? Do you use them for things other than good storage? I would love to hear the ways that you repurpose them.

 

What we did this summer…..

We had a busy summer!  I know that for some people they don’t consider it to be over quite yet, but at our house summer is unfortunately over.  Natalie started first grade on Monday.

 

So here is a quick recap of a few of the activities that we did this summer:

Megan turned 4 in June! 

She asked for a birthday Barbie and was so excited to get one from my parents.

We went to the beach with my entire family.

 

The girls got their hair braided as a beach souvenir.

(They stayed in for a little over 2 months!)

In July I catered a wedding reception (with lots of help from great friends!) for a couple from our church.  I only have a few pictures that Steve took before the ceremony.  We were just a little busy during the reception. 

We covered a big piece of styrofoam with “pretty” lettuce and then filled it in with the veggies.  My friend Rebecca made a mini radish bouquet in the center.

Another one of our amazingly talented friends, Stephen, (not my husband), spray painted and stenciled watermelons for the centerpieces.

We had a beef tenderloin carving station and a mashed potato bar.

We also had a flavored water bar – cucumber mint, mixed berry, citrus, or plain water were the options. 

Steve & I ran in the Color Me Rad 5k.  It was a lot of fun – and yes all of the color came out.  The blue was the hardest to get off, but we looked normal after a much needed shower.

Michael turned 2 in August!

Natalie & I both participated in the $10 school supply challenge this year the school supplies went to the Henrico Education Fund.  The school supplies we gathered went to Donahoe Elementary and Henrico High School.  Natalie’s total was a shelf price of $58.47 that she got for $10!  (She was excited to pose with her purchases.)

 

 

This is a picture of my haul.  I technically won the challenge with a shelf price of $178.97 for $10, but this year prizes were randomly awarded.  It is nice to have bragging rights. :)

Steve and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in August and were able to get away to The Homestead Resort for two nights – I snagged a LivingSocial Deal.  Steve took this picture of me when we went to the complimentary afternoon tea on Saturday.

Thanks for checking out my summer pictures!

~Ann

How I Spent my $10 for the RVA Coupon Pros School Supply Challenge

I mentioned about a month ago in this post about meeting up with some other frugal bloggers in the Richmond area for lunch.  We were given a challenge to see how many school supplies we could buy for $10 (pre tax) and not a penny more.  Kroger graciously decided to match what we were able to buy up to $1000 and decided to up the ante and offered us three prizes (a $200, a $100, and a $50 Kroger gift card for first, second, and third place).

I am not going to deny that it wouldn’t be nice to win one of the gift cards and have bragging rights, but the true winners in all of this are the children of the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond.  They are the ones who will receive all of the school supplies we collected.  This was a fun challenge that allowed me to have the thrill of the bargain hunt and help out others at the same time. 

So – how did I do?  I ended up $214.80 worth of school supplies that after sales, coupons, and rebates I purchased for $10 (pre-tax) – and of course being a blogger I took a picture to share.  :)

Here is the breakdown:

• 2 packs of crayons
• 6 bottles of glue
• 7 rulers
• 3 compasses
• 3 packs of highlighters
• 1 pack of permanent markers
• 24 packs of pens
• 4 packs of pencils
• 1 pack of mechanical pencils
• 17 folders
• 4 packs of cap erasers
• 2 packs of index cards
• 8 packs of notebook paper
• 3 composition books
• 13 spiral one subject notebooks
• 7 three-ring binders
• 4 reams of paper
• 1 backpack

I can’t wait until Thursday when I get to drop off what I bought and see what everyone else was able to get.  (I have seen a few pictures that people have posted on the RVA Coupon Pros facebook page.)  I will try to remember my camera to take a few pictures and show you how much we were able to collect.  If any of you participated and are going to be at the drop off on Thursday be on the look out for me – I would love to talk to you face to face.

~Ann

RVA Coupon Pros School Supply Challenge

I had an exciting afternoon meeting with a few fellow frugal bloggers at Kroger for lunch today.  They invited us to tell us about an exciting opportunity to use the power of shopping sales and coupons and help school children in Richmond.

Back: Alison, Angie, Eleanor, Anjie, Carl York or Kroger

Front: Tiffany & me

We were given a challenge and encouraged to share it with others – to see how many school supplies we can buy for $10.  (Before tax and not a penny more!)  The school supplies are going to the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond who said,  “77% of our Club members qualify for Federal Free/Reduced Lunches, so providing them with school supplies will be such a big financial help to their families while also providing confidence and positive momentum as they enter a new school year.” 

This is a great opportunity to share with others and if you really think about it, it is only costing you $2.50 a week to help.  In addition to the supplies that we collect and drop off Kroger is offering to match our donations up to $1000!  What an impact!

As if seeing how far you can stretch your $10 wasn’t enough of an incentive, Kroger is also offering an incentive to shop there.  Any school supply purchases made at any Kroger will have their monetary value doubled as a bonus towards their overall totals.  You want to be the one with the highest total because there are prizes!!!!

• 1st Place: $200 Kroger Gift Card
• 2nd Place: $100 Kroger Gift Card
• 3rd Place:  $50 Kroger Gift Card

To make sure we all stay honest and play fair there are some guidelines for the challenge.  You will need to download a spreadsheet and keep all of your receipts for your purchases.  There are also guidelines regarding using any rewards points, Extracare Bucks, Register Rewards, etc. 

If you want to participate here is a link to the spreadsheet and the official rules.  You can also see the rules and talk about your shopping trips on the RVA Coupon Pros Facebook page - don’t forget to “like” them.  :)

Let’s show Richmond that saving money is cool and how much we can give back!

~Ann