The ONLY preserves recipe you'll ever need!

If you're interested in making preserves, you've came to the right place! This is like a beginner's crash course in making preserves! I'm going to keep it short, but jump right in about what you need to know BEFORE you start making preserves, and then I'll follow up by putting my tried and true reciepes at the bottom :)

What you should know:

Don't think you're going to accomplish everything in ONE day. It literally took my husband, grandmother and I an entire day to make 3 jars of jam, and then all of our peaches and pears (which is in the sugar syrup). 3 jars of jam doesn't seem like a lot, but I didn't buy enough strawberries, and the recipe I'm putting below is for 7 cups of jam (which is about 3 mason jars). You can double, triple, or quadrupil the recipe if you want, but I prefer working with small amounts. I find they're easier to handle and they're not as heavy to move.

When buying your fruit, buy fresh (or hand picked), and buy what's in season. Don't expect to make blueberry jam at the beginning of summer when it comes in season towards the end!!

Go slow. Don't rush...when you rush, you make mistakes, and one small mistake can and will spoil an entire batch. Learned the hard way a few years ago when we first started doing this...and it ended with fermented preserved peach....disgustingness.

Prepare your jars WHILE you're cooking. Whether you're boiling your jars, or using the dishwasher, do this WHILE you're cooking and preparing your preserves. If your jar cools down before you're ready to use them, don't worry! Put a metal butter knife IN your jar before your pour in your jams, jellies, or syrups! The knife will apparently absorb all of the heat ensuring that your jar doesn't crack or bust!

The lids from the mason jars should ALWAYS be boiled. The rings can go into the dishwasher, but the middle circle should be boiled in a small pot of water. This year, after the lids were boiling in the pot, I kept the burner on low to keep it warm.

When you're done your canning and have all of your lids and caps on, if you decided not to use Paraffin wax, DON'T WORRY!! Turn your jars onto their lids and let them cool completely that way. Sounds weird, but while the sugar is cooling, it's going to make it's own sugar seal around the jar keeping air out and your fruit and jams from spoiling!

Use Liquid Pectin. I've used powdered pectin SOOO many times in the past, and it's not BAD or anything like that, I just like the result better when I use the liquid pouches of pectin. I feel like my jams...jellify a lot better than with the powder packages. My opinion, but I'm nit picky when it comes to jams I suppose!

HAVE FUN!!! If you can get 2 or 3 friends together to do this, or make it a family event, Go for it!! Life is nothing if you can't have fun, and the more fun you have, the more you're going to want to do it next year!


Here's my SUPER SIMPLE recipes for homemade jam, and canned peaches and pears :)

Strawberry Jam (for about 7 cups)
3 and 3/4 cups strawberries (hulled and crushed...hulled is just taking off the stems, and use a potato smasher to crush them!!)

1/4 cup lemon juice

7 cups granulated sugar

1 pouch Liquid Pectin


In a large saucepan, combine fruit, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil on high heat and let boil hard (rolling boil) for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in pectin. Stir and skim (taking off all of the pink foam from the top) for about 5 minutes to enture that jam is fully combined and no peices of fruit is floating at the top.

Pour into warm mason jars, fill it until it's about 1/4 inch from the top. Let cool down until it's cool enough to handle the jar (without burning yourself), and turn over the jar to make sugar seal.


Peaches and Pears in Syrup 
3 and 1/4 cups white sugar

5 cups of water

Bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low, and keep warm until ready to use. DO NOT boil the syrup down too much. If your syrup get's too thick, it'll be hard to work with and won't taste the same as just a light simple syrup.

Cut the fruit (peaches and pears), and place in jars BEFORE you put the syrup in, leaving about an inch of space from the top. Ladle syrup into the fruit filled jars until fruit is completely covered. Put on tops, and turn over immediately to ensure a good sugar seal.




 

First day of school

It's the first day of school for my Bean, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only mother that didn't cry. It's not that I'm not an emotional person (yesterday I cried over the fact that he wouldn't clean his room...), but I was more excited FOR him to experience new things than for me to send off my first born offspring to school.

The journey begins...

Every adventure film I've ever seen as a child had those 3 exciting words. You somehow just new that when those words were either said or shown on the screen of our televisions, it was going to be an amazing movie that you'd talk about for weeks to come. I never knew those words could mean so much... In true movie buff/corny mother form, I looked at my 5 year old while we were sitting in the car waiting to go in,and told him the simple three words that got me excited when I was his age...and then I watched. I watched as my little bird puffed his chest out proud. I watched as the excitement glossed over in his eyes, and a smile plastered on his face...then it was time.

The walk to the classroom felt like it took one second, and I watched the hustle and bustle of other students hanging their stuff, parents helping them, parents taking pictures of their kindergarteners, proud yet teary eyed....I helped my not so baby boy take off his sweater, revealing his new Star Wars t-shirt that he picked out himself. I helped him take off his outdoor shoes and out on indoor shoes. I helped him to put his lunch box, and bottle of juice in the appropriate location and then I watched....

I watched him find his name tag, and find his assigned seat. I watched him colour the page already set on the tables, and I watched him get right to work filling the page with colours.

And just as it began to feel ok....he looked at me with big round smiling brown eyes and said 5 words....

"You can go now Mom..."

Shocked at how my 5 year old turned into a mini-teenager, I told him I'd be there to pick him up at 1:30 and I left. I left feeling happy, sad, proud. I left and my mind flooded with memories of his first word, and his first steps. Memories of the years before, and how we far we've come. I left confidently knowing that there wasn't anything in school that I haven't already taught him. I left knowing he was probably going to pick out the words he already knew during story time, and how he would drive the teacher insane with his interrupting, and comments.

I got into my car and thought for two seconds "what if he needs me?" I smiled at the thought of him sitting there, and the troublesome thought of him needing me quickly left my mind. I debated on getting coffee, picking up something for supper, how my grandmother was doing, how my grandfather was making out waiting for her. I debated, but I ultimately went home empty handed.

I came in to an even bigger shock,  my youngest child, 2 years of age, hadn't made a mess. I wondered if she was sick, but cleaned what wasn't already clean, started the dishwasher, and put a ham in a pot to boil for supper. As I finished up, and sat down on the couch with some tea my mind began to wander once again... "Is this what it feels like to only have one kid?" "What do people with only one child do?" "Will it be raining all day?" Silly thoughts trying to pass the time...trying to make time fly by so it's finally time to pick up my oldest so I get the familiar feeling of having two kids again. It's amazing how slow time goes when you want it to fly by.

I never actually thought about how independent my daughter was until today. I feel unneeded. Almost   Unnatural. It just doesn't feel right, I feel like someone had taken me to the centre of the earth and forgotten. As I calm my tired, worriness that doesn't make sense even to me I can only think one thing...

"This is the NEW normal."

I set my son off on an incredible journey, and cannot wait to hear all about his adventures. Adventures of every subject, math, music, reading. Adventures of lunch, and about who are what and what hilarious joke that other kid told. So many adventures....waiting to be experienced...and I'm so excited for him to experience everything. I didn't cry, I barely teared up. I'm excited for him to experience life as an adventure, something I've forgotten how to do...and try to remember how old I was when I stopped treating my life like an adventure. I wish I could turn back time and figure out when....but instead, I'd much rather watch him.

I hope he never looses his excitement. Excitement for life and for adventure. 

Teaching Children Financial Responsibility

At the current moment, the problem here where we live is lack of jobs. I suppose you could up and move around to find the work, but it's not exactly possible for a 16 year old to move half way across the country. Even though my son is 5, and my daughter is almost 3, I'm worried about their future. Will they be able to find a job when they're 16? Will they be able to save in order to pay for university or college to eleminate the need of a large amount of student debt? I can honestly say I don't know.

What I do know is that I can prepare them, teach them tools, and give them the resources to make wise financial decisions. These are my own personal tools, resources, and advice. I'm not a professional in any way, I've had no training, I'm merely trying to help you teach your children about the imporance of budgeting and money.

First thing's first. Let your child open up a bank account, and let them have their own bank card. They don't have to have a wallet, and you don't have to let them have their bank card all of the time, but let them have an account. If you think your children are too young for a savings account, you can always start out with a piggy bank or a savings jar.

Why not both? If you're like me, you probably don't go to the bank every single week. Why not let your child have a piggy bank and an account? Let them fill the piggy, and then when you go into the bank, let them put their piggy bank savings into their account!

Why is this important? Well, not only will your child have their account for probably the rest of their lives, but they'll be able to track their own savings with a little bank book. When they see how much they're saving, they'll be motivated to save more. Teach your children the importance of saving for their futures.

Give them a goal. A goal is something that your child can work to achieve. Start small, and let them set their own goal, or help them create their own goal. You'll be surprised how hard your children will work when they're given a goal to complete. There are lots of things your child can do around the house, 5 cents for each pair of socks they put together? 25cents for putting away their clothing in the correct drawers? It doesn't have to be huge, but it's engaging.

Make sure you follow through with rewarding them. Trust plays a huge importance in teaching your children about finances.

Why is this important? Just like an adult, children need motivation. If you give them a goal, they'll work hard to complete it for the reward afterwards. As adults, we work hard in our jobs for things like promotions or bonus', teaching our children to work hard for their own money will eliminate surprises later on in life (if you're lazy, you'll miss out on that extra bit of money...).

Give them an allowance. An allowance, just like a payday, is money your children have earned throughout the week/2 weeks for completing their daily tasks. Give your children a chore chart (there's tons of great children's chores throughout the ages on things like Pinterest or Google. Find out what's best for your children's age.), and explain to them that as long as all of the chores are done, they'll get an allowance.

Why is this important? Everyone has a job. Everyone get's a paycheque. Let your children recieve their own paycheque while also helping you clean your house. You get a clean house (well...you get some things done, and when you have kids, you'll take anything cleaner), and they'll get rewarded with their own little paycheque. The amount should be child appropriate. Children as young as mine are shouldn't be walking around with 20$ in their pockets or anything like that. We try to go by the ages in my house, as well as how much work was done.

Minimum for my 5 year old? 5$. Minimum for my 2 year old? 2$. Maximum is 10$ for my older one, 5$ for my younger one.

Teach them to budget. Children should learn how to budget their money using the easiest form of budgeting. A chart. Let them sit around you and watch you make out your own budget, but don't ever worry them with your family's finances.

Teach them that they should split their allowance into savings and spending. Half of my children's allowance goes to savings, and they're allowed to spend the other half on whatever they'd like to. They might not be able to buy an entire lego set, or that doll they really love right now, but that's OK. Use it as a learning oppertunity and tell them that if they save their spending money, they'll be able to afford that specific thing.

Why is this important? Just like everything else in this world, life isn't always fair. When you spoil your children by getting them every single thing they want, not only will you result in more tantrums when you say "no," but they'll grow up thinking that whenever they want something, all they have to do is TELL you they want it because they know you'll get it for them. Let your children have responsibility, and let them work hard and save for what they want. They'll be about 50X more satisfied when they get that toy with their own money, than if you buy it for them.

Let them be the owner of their own Small Business. Remember the days when we use to have lemonade stands on the front lawn? Your children can do it too! Let them be entrepreneurs! Here's some fun things your children can do:

• Let them have a table all to themselves at your next yard sale.
• Let them clean up family member's lawns. Help your children by telling family member's that your child is trying to earn some extra money, and will clean up their yards for X$'s.
• Let your child shovel snow from people's driveways! As long as you're supervising or even helping out, you can both have fun exercising by doing this family activity.
• Help your child have a bake sale. 
• Help your child sell water, soda, treats, etc. at a local event. A lot of places will let you rent out a "lot" to set up a table to sell just about anything. Let your child set up their own table and take control of it.
• Walk with them and let them collect redeemable bottles and cans. Often times, a short walk can yeild 50 cents. Give them a wagon and let them pick up the bottles and cans they find, save them all up, and bring them in once a month to get redeemed. You'll get exercise, and your child can budget the money they've earned.

Why is this important? Not only are we teaching our children independance, but we're also teaching them ways that they can earn their own money with/without your help. I can guarentee you that your children's confidence will skyrocket when they're counting their money at the end of the day and you can honestly tell them that THEY did that.

Turn grocery shopping into a teaching experience. In our family, we coupon. I let my children help me coupon as well. Sometimes, they even have their own coupons to use on their own purchases. If you're a beginner couponer, or your children are beginner coupons (meaning, you only occasionally use coupons to save small amounts. 20% savings is better than 0%), you can turn something like couponing into a great family activity. Teach your kids to clip, and match coupons from your local flyers.

Why is this important? When your children see you save money in every day things like groceries, they'll learn to save money in the same type of ways. They'll use coupons when they're older and teach their kids the same tricks to save.


All of these activities are engaging for kids, and they're good family activities as well. These activities will teach your kids financial responsibility, and the importance of good financial decisions. Always remember to invest in your children, and help them save and achieve their goals. Be there for your children, and support them every step of the way. Stay engaged in your children's activities no matter how small, and encourage your children.

Even if you're uncertain about your children's futures, whether or not your children will have a job, or whether or not they'll invest in their education one thing is for sure, you'll have given your children the tools and resorces they'll need to make wise financial decisions. Children are impressionable, they learn what they're taught (and sometimes, they'll learn the wrong things.), and it's up to us as parents to teach them the right, responsible things; Socially, emotionally, physically, and financially.

Realistic Frugal Living

If you haven't guessed so far...I like "top 10" lists. I don't know why, maybe it's because it's a short list packed with information, or maybe I just like that it's a quick read...I try to keep all of my lists no longer than 10 points, I guess I'm a little OCD about it.

This is another top 10 list, but it's going to be my Top 10 Realistic Frugal Living Tips, so here we go!

1. Do your research.
   Are you in the market for a car, large appliance like a fridge, or even something as small as a blender? If you are, have you done your research to find the best possible deal you can get? If the answer is no, then you're missing out on saving hundreds. ALWAYS do your research, when it comes to cars google a comparison list or take the extra hour to call all of the dealerships to find the best deal! Viewpoints is a  great place to compare hundreds of appliances, and it's written by the people who have bought them.
   
   What's the best deal? Well, if two dealerships offer the same price for the car but one is willing to include the extended warantee, it's probably a better deal to go for the one that offers more warantee.
   
   A chest freezer the right size of your house or apartment will be a great investment to keep and store food, and it'll also curb your habit of eating out.
   
2. Get yourself on a budget.
   
   I don't even think I can possibly stress how important a budget is for frugal family living.
   
   A budget is a tool to get both you and your significant other on the exact same page when it comes to your finances. No matter what you're trying to accomplish (savings, paying off debt, etc.), a budget is going to have a huge part in your success or your failure. Start short and sweet, which I would say, every 2 weeks and try to stay on budget every 2 weeks BEFORE you attempt to budget for the month.
   
   Also, never feel bad if you go over your budget, or fail at staying on budget, you can always try again next week/month! Learn from your mistakes, and keep on truckin'.
   
   
3. Sign up for Cash-Back websites, and other reward programs to earn money while you shop.
   
   Cash Back websites are great, things like snapsaves, zweet, checkout51, and cartsmart can make a huge difference hwen it comes to your rewards. If you DON'T sign up for these great websites/apps, download them fast! Let your account accumulate and grow, and cash out right before Christmas or any other holiday for extra gifts, or groceries.
   
   Reward programs are great, as long as it's worth it. If you shop at Sobeys, and go to Irving a lot to fuel up, Air Miles would be awesome for you. If you shop at No Frills, or Superstore a lot, the new PC rewards card will be amazing for you. If you shop at Shopper's Drug Mart for all of your prescriptions, or other things you need, the Optimum card is goign to be your best friend. If you're like me and shop litereally anywhere you can find a deal, all of the cards might be even better. Keep them organized though, mess cards and grocery lists, as well as having to dig around for coupons is going to slow you down at the register and annoy many more people than the cashier.
   
   
4. Invest in a clothesline.
   
   Not only will your powerbill go down, but your clothes will smell outside fresh!
   
   If you live in an apartment with a balcony, you can make a clothesline. It seems a little silly, stringing a clothes line from one end of the balcony to another, but if you do small loads of laundry or wash a lot of clothes by hand (reusable baby diapers...), a clothes line would be a great investment.
   
   
5. Invest in quality items that will keep for a long time.
   
   Clothing, shoes, and appliances are really made in 2 different pricepoints: the cheaper one that falls apart/breaks after 6 months of use.....or the more expensive one that even after 2 years of use, is still going strong/still fits. Depending on the extra steps you take to ensure you're taking care of whatever quality item you've bought, whatever you buy should last you a year or longer.
   
   
6. Grow, find, hunt, fish your own food.
   
   The price of a licence and tags will be MUCH MUCH less than the price of buying the same items from the grocery store. If you make your own veggie garden with even the basics (green beans, peas, squash, tomatoes), should yield you enough veggies for 2-3 months. You can freeze your veggies and save them for the winter and buy whatever is in season as well to cut costs for the winter months when the prices for fresh fruit and veggies are more expensive. An entire deer, processed and packaged, should also yield you 2-3 months or longer if you get a variety of meats.
   
   Hunting is SO easy, and it's a great chance to get out without the kids for adult time. Snaring is also incredibly easy and a great activity for older kids (my son's 5 and he's excited to go snaring for hare this fall.).
   
   If you have an apartment with a balcony, have you ever considered an Aquagrow system for fresh veggies? If you've never considered that, then maybe you should. Pinterest has a wide variety of super easy, cheap, Aquagrow system using things you can easily buy at any hardware store or even places like Walmart.
   
   
7. Get a passport.
   
   The price of 4L of milk in the US, is about 4$ as opposed to the 7-8$ we're paying in Canada. Also, if you've ever shopped at IGA, you'll know that they have frozen bread dough/dinner roll dough. This is an amazing way to have lots and lots of bread in your freezer without having a ton of full size, already baked loaves taking up all of your freezer space. Chances are, your grocery savings will pay for the passport in one season.
   
   If you don't have a passport, but know someone who goes to the states fairly regularly, get them to pick the stuff up for you, and just give them the money!! I gave my grandmother 10$ to pick up the dinner roll dough, and she brought me back 4 bags of 12 rolls each (it doesn't seem like a lot, but for my family of four, we only really use 6 rolls for whatever dinner we make.).
   
   
8. Don't Waste.
   
   Use as much as you possibly can from one item. The women in my family are notorious for re-using Ziplock freezer bags. We just rinse them out and re-use them.
   
   OK, well maybe you can't re-use the ones from things like frozen chicken....so why not invest in a grocery saver? You know those silly contraptions that suck the air out and seal the meat in them that your grandmother had forever ago because she bought it from an infomercial? You can get those at walmart, and they really will save you money since you won't be throwing out freezer-burnt meat.
   
   Instead of using plastic baggies in your children's lunch, why not use plastic containers? This will not only save you from buying a million baggies, but you'll be going green by not having the waste.
   
   Your left over's that you won't eat?? Why not COMPOST them?! Make your own compost bin with a plastic barrel!
   
   Water waste? Put a large plastic barrel under your eaves system, and reuse the water that falls in the barrel in your gardens.
   
   
9. Be A Proactive DIYer.
   
   This seems silly, but before you buy something, ask yourself if you can make it yourself.
   
   "Can I not find a pattern for this dress and make it myself?" "My kids constantly lose their mittens/scarves/hats...maybe I could learn how to crochet or knit to easily whip up a mass amount?"
   
   Anything you can buy, you can usually make. Blankets, quilts, mittens, socks, etc.
   
   
10. Make Work.
    
    If you don't have a job, are a single income family, and can't get a job or can't find a job....MAKE yourself a job. There are so many ways to make money these days it's crazy.
    
    Take surveys on great websites like swagbucks, viewpoints, etc.
    
    Sell your homemade goods online, kijiji, craigslist, etc. There's a lot of people out there that will pay for your homemade goods.
    
    Sell your picture of that flower as a stock photo online, you'll get commission for whatever company buys that picture.
    
    
    
    

If YOU have money saving tips, Frugal living tips, or anything else you'd like to add, contact me and let me know what you think. 

Frugal Fridays!

As another week passes,  it comes apparent that today is once again Friday. So here are my Frugal Friday picks this week, including some awesome "cash-back" deals on some of our favourite websites.

1. General Mills cereal at Walmart is 2.94 a box (select varieties). 
2. Herbal essences shampoo at Walmart is 2.46/300ml, brand saver coupon gives you 2$ off when you buy 2 making both bottles 2.92$.
3. Venus razors at rolled back at Walmart for 6.98 and there's a brand saver coupon to save 2$ making them 4.98$
4. Target has their scrubbing bubbles on sale for 2.99 and save.ca has a BOGO mail coupon giving you a free bottle with the purchase of one. 
5. Target- Quaker granola bars (take Walmart flyer to target for deal), 1.88 a box and you can print a coupon on targets website to save 1$ making each box 88cents. 
6. Source yogurt at Walmart is 2$, save.ca mailed coupon saves you 1$ making the yogurt 1$ each.
7. Dove deodorant is 2.84 at Walmart, the dove Facebook page still has their 2$ off coupon making each stick you buy 84cents. 
8. Aveeno lotion at Walmart is rolled back to 5.94, and there's a healthy essentials printable coupon for 1$ off making it 4.94
9. Crayola pick your pack crayons are 99cents at target, and there's a target printable coupon to save 25% making each pack 75 cents. 
10. PediaSure at Walmart is 7.97 and there a mailed save.ca coupon for 2$ off making it 5.97 

Cash back deals:

Checkout 51

Dove clinical protection anti-perspirant -2.00

Tide detergent- 1.00

Dawn dish soap- 50 cents

Mr. Clean (when you buy 2)- 1.00 

Cascade- 1.00

Ziplock baggies -1.00

Vector-1.00

Advil-3.00

International delight iced coffee-1.00

Dove beauty bar or body wash-1.00

Snapsaves

Skinnygrape wine-1.00

Potatoes-25cents

Honeydew melon-25cents

Huggies little movers-2.00 cash back

Huggies diapers (see above) plus Huggies wipes-4.00 cash back

Zweet

Bears paw cookies -50cents

Mazola cooking oil-50cents

Toblerone-1.00

Cavendish farms frence fries-50cents (also a smart source coupon for 75cents)

Frenchs mustard-50cents

Oranges-25cents

Avocados-25cents

Cash back winners:

Bananas: 50cents (checkout 51) + 25cents (zweet)= 75cent savings

Carrots: 25cents (snapsaves) + 25cents (zweet) = 50 cent savings

There are some more, but they're things like swifter wet jet starter kits, or refills. 

Join me at checkout51, and new members get a 5$ bonus for uploading their first reciept! Follow this link to get started: http://c51.co/Q2O4qg

Declutter Your Life

As summer unfortunately draws to a close, and the school year starts up again, we all look at our houses and go "wow...what piggies live in this house?" And so it starts again...spring cleaning? More like quarterly house cleansing. While everyone tends to clean their houses daily, deck uttering your life is probably a rarer occurrence (like it is with my house, we declutter about 4 times a year) for most people.

I suppose the key to life really is to clean out your clutter (hi, yeah, do you need that grungy old t-shirt that's 2 sizes too small and about 10 years old? Yeah...probably not.). Less stuff=less mess=happier and easier life! Right? But how do you really know what's junk and what's really worth keeping?

There's tons of online articles that tell you to do things like turning your coat hangers around in your closet and throw out whatever you don't want, or place two boxes and put whatever you've worn in it, and what's left in the second box should be thrown out...All of those articles are great, but a little impractical for families...unless you like boxes everywhere...if you're into that, that's awesome...I personally can't stand it.

It's super difficult to only do it once a year...I mean, who wants to dig through EVERYTHING in their house? Right, no one. Do it seasonally! At the end of summer, decide what's not going to fit your family next year, and have an end of year yard sale or donate it!

When it comes to jewelry, and stuff like that, you're better off keeping it. Why? Things as simple as old costume jewelry has been appraised to be a lot more expensive than what it looks to be worth...seriously! The price of gold doesn't fluctuate that much, and in a tight pinch where you're left with absolutely no other options (like....you'll lose your family if you don't get rid of it to support your family), it's handy to get cash for it on pawn (until better situation...) or to sell (by weight). However, there are some exceptions to that. The old promise ring an ex boyfriend gave you, but you broke up years and years go? Get rid of it...you no longer have serious feelings for each other, and your future/current spouse probably either doesn't realize you have it, or won't appreciate that you still have it (after all of this time.).

If you don't have potty training children, or really young babies you probably don't NEED those 30 fitted sheets cluttering up your closet...really, you should only need two sets of bedding for each bed you have. One on the bed, and one spare. Other than that, you're cluttering your closet.

Do you have a set of 16 dishes, and you're not a family of four? Do you ever host anything that would warrant the use of 16 plates, salad plates, bowls, and mugs? Probably not...you could probably get rid of half of your dishes...consider donating them to a family member just starting out on their own apartment! You could even make them a "first apartment" basket and include things like that extra veggie peeler you never use, that second potato masher, and even your old "steak knives that I bought right after university but barely ever used because I got a brand new set for Christmas from my grandparents who thought I didn't have a set," can make their grand appearance in the box!

When it comes to bathing, we do it every night. We might not wash our hair every time we take a bath (it's actually unhealthy to wash your hair every day...thanks Internet), but we go through a lot of towels....we don't do laundry every day, but every other day we end up doing laundry. Why we keep a hundred towels (May be an exaggeration), I'll never know...give them up! Realistically, 5 maybe 6 towels should do a family of 4.

There's still a lot more to declutter, but I'm sure you guys can take it from here...

I would love to hear some of your own decluttering solutions! Leave a comment below or comment on Facebook! 

Budget Successfully to Pay Off Debt

Like a lot of other households in...well...the world. We accumulated debt. I suppose I classify debt as anything you get that you have to make payments on. Credit cards, student loans, mortgages, car financing,it can be overwhelming. I know all about that....next thing you know, you're stuck and it feels like you're drowning and there's no saving your credit.

On the plus side, there's ways to get out of debt without declaring bankruptcy. With a little hard work and patience, everyone can get out of debt. No more sleepless nights, no more stress induced eating/crying!!


Plan. A little planning goes a long long way.

Are you so stuck in debt that you can barely afford to make your monthly rent or mortgage payment every month? If the answer is yes, maybe you should consider downsizing.

"That seems silly though, an average family of 4 in a little tiny apartment? That would never work."

Yes...I can see how that would be crazy...but consider this, there's a family of 4 appropriately called the "Tiny House Family" who built their 320sq. ft. house for only 1,200$. No mortgage. No rent. You can build tiny homes for LESS than that.

Maybe tiny homes aren't your thing (if you're the type of people that don't like adorable sized homes...you monster.), so why not consider living with a family member? Or have a family member temporarily reside with you? It'll help out with costs as you'll have a tenant (just remember to follow all of the laws and guidelines....), and they'll have a place to live. Win Win for everyone.

Whatever the case may be, make a plan.

Create. Create a successful budget.

Have you ever tried budgeting and failed so hard that it was basically a traumatizing experience that made you cry and rock back and forth in the fetal position in a corner?

Probably not, but chances are you've probably failed at a budget at least once.

In order to create a successfull budget, you need to be honest and real about it. Don't change your spending habits for 3 months. Use a weekly spending tracker (you find only find a billion on the internet.), and write down everything you've spent that week. Do that for a month. Then two months. Then three months WITHOUT changing your spending habits. At the end of each month go back and look at what you've spent, what you've saved, what you've borrowed or loaned out, how much money you spent on bills, EVERYTHING.

Don't forget to track your savings!!!


Cut. Cut your spending.

At the end of 3 months, change your spending habits. Ask yourself "do I really need to buy X thing every month?" Maybe it's something as simple as not getting manicures every month, or maybe you could stop going to the salon every month. If you can't afford it, don't do it.

The first 6 months of cutting is ALWAYS the hardest, they're the months that are going to really try your patience, but after the 6 months is up, it'll become natural and you'll look back and wonder how you could be so silly.

Cut your spending by 1% each month. First month, cut 1% of your spending, put that money into a saivngs account (that you cannot get into. If you need to tell the bank to lock that account so you cannot withdraw any money from it, then do that.). Second month, 2% into savings. Third month, 3% into savings, etc. At the end of the 6 months, you'll have a nice savings built up to start paying off your debt.

Where to cut spending:

Anything can be negotiated including your debt (settling.)...try negotiating your phone/internet/cable package down...even if it's down 20$, it's better than absolutely nothing.

You don't NEED name brand food. The generic brand is just as good (if the box bother's you, just use the bag and throw out the box!).

Plant your food. Make a food garden...veggies and fruit can get expensive. Rather than buy all of your fruit and veggies, grow them! If you don't have the space to grow them, think about setting up an Aquap-grow system for your veggies....use fish that you can eat (uh...NOT goldfish, but catfish or trout, even salmon.). You'll not only be able to harvest veggies, but you'll be able to harvest fish too.

Traveling. If you can carpool, or grab a ride with a co-worker that lives nearby....or even walk to work, do it! You'll save money on gas, your car won't rake in a bunch of unneccessary km (better for resale!!), the environment will thank you, and your body will thank you for the exercise (yeah...I know, we're in Canada and the winter's are freeeeezing....but your body WILL thank you I promise.). Invest in a bicycle! Be a green traveler (but not the jerky kind who like to rub it in everyone's faces...don't be that guy.).

Increase your income starting the in the first month.

Now you're really wondering "how in the world am I going to do that."

Have a yard sale, bake sale, car wash, whatever. Maybe you're great at knitting and crocheting. Maybe you're great at making doll's clothes. Maybe you're amazing at drawing and painting. Or maybe photography is really your thing. In any case, find a way to turn your hobby into cash.

How? Open up an online store to sell your handcrafted items online. There's lots of places where you can sell that photo of a leaf you took 6 months ago online to be used as a stock photo. There's a market for everything!!

If you're incredibly at making doll's clothes, there are actual people out there who will buy a life sized doll outfit.

If you're incredible at making baby clothes, there's actual people out there who will buy adult-baby clothes for £55.00....which is 100.34 Canadian dollars, you buy 40$ worth of material, and that's still a 60$ profit. That's a nice chunk of change.

Put all of the money that you've made by increasing your income into a savings account for debt repayment.


Now what? At the end of your 6 month period...look into your savings....You probably have a nice chunk of change from all of your hard work...use that money to start paying off your debt. 
Start with the big bills. I'm not saying pay off your entire mortgage with the money you saved....I'm saying, if you owe 1000$ on a credit card bill that's now in collections, go out and get yourself a prepaid card, put the money on the prepaid card, and then pay the bill over the phone so it's out of your hair. You can even try negotiating with them..."I'll give you 600$ for that right here right now, if you're willing to settle with it." if they say no, ask to speak to a supervisor and chances are they'll do it to get the company's money...ANYTHING can be negotiated.

For the smaller bills, call up where they're with, and negotiate a price and a payment plan. "I know I owe 200$ for the cell phone that I refused to pay....but I'm willing to give you 100$ next month on X date if you're willing to settle with me."

Perfect. Done.

Not really....You might not be able to pay off ALL  of your debt in 6 months time....but if you keep saving, budgeting, tracking, negotiating, etc. you should be able to pay off a bill or two at the end of the 6 months, and you'll have the tools and know-how to keep going.