I received a Target sale catalog in the mail today called “splash into summer for less”.  You may have received one too, but before you toss it into the recycling bin be sure to look on the back.  Attached, you should find a coupon packet valued at over $55.  You may find some of the coupons to be useful.

Here are some of the sale items that caught my eye:

• Fisher-Price sand tools $3.49
• Wigglin’ Water Sprinkler $8.99
• Cootie Games $4.99
• Primary Journal (room for writing and drawing on each page) $2.99
• No-Spill Mini Bubble Bucket $4.99
• No-Spill Bubble Blitzer (blows up to 3,000 bubbles a minute without re-dipping) $4.99
• Crayola 3-D Sidewalk Chalk $4.99, $3.99 after $1 coupon in catalog
• Littlest Pet Shop Band-Aids $1.89, $.89 afte $1 coupon in catalog
• Mega Blocks Dora Big Backyard Adventures $9.99

This sale ends June 1, 2009. Enjoy!

image from target

Guest post by Linette Gerlach

You can plant a garden even on a shoestring budget. For very little money you can grow enough food to help feed your family through the winter.

Here are a few tips to help get you started:

• Start your plants in recycled pots, or containers you make yourself. You can make your own plant pots out of newspaper, or egg cartons.
• Buy your seeds at the local farm store. There you can buy as much or as little of each type of seed as you want, and you’re paying by the weight. You don’t have to buy extra if you only want a few watermelon seeds, and the seeds are usually cheaper than purchasing pre packaged seeds.
• Swap seeds and plants with neighbors. If you have extra tomato plants, or chives trade them with your neighbor for peppers, or thyme.
• Save your own seeds. You can save your own seeds from many plants for next years crop. Before you save a particular seed do a little research to make sure the plant will grow back true from seeds.
• Start a compost pile, and make your own fertilizer for your garden. This is a huge money saver, and you’re also recycling your waste at the same time.
• Make your own potting soil, by mixing about half regular soil, with half compost. You may have to play around with the mixture a little to suit your soil.

If you have tips for saving money in the garden, feel free to share them in the comment section.

Linette shares more gardening advice at Mother Earth’s Garden, and cooking and gardening advice at The Home and Garden Cafe.

Image L Gerlach

Each year we have the same two problems: 

1) My daughter outgrows almost all of her pants in the length. 

2)  It’s hard to find shorts that are long enough.

What is the deal with short shorts anyway????

This year, I decided to take some of her old jeans and try to make shorts out of them.

I cut the jeans right above the spot where she had wore out the knees.  I was just going to roll them up,but decided they might unravel so I had my mom put a stitch in the bottom.

Ta-da. Now we have cute shorts that are long enough and they didn’t cost us any money.   Reusing old pants is a great way to save money on your summer wardrobe. 

You might also like this video on making maternity pants from old jeans.

images (c) Karen Weideman

The following is a guest post. 

This summer we are avoiding day care costs while the kids are out of school by doing some co-op babysitting with a friend in the neighborhood. Between our three kids and their two it can be quite a zoo. Here are some tips for getting the most out of co-op babystting.

Be Flexible

Co-op babysitting is particularly difficult if the parents work part or full time. Work schedules will add to the amount of babysitting schedule changes. But even if neither parent works out of the house, doctor appointments, vacations and more are going to come up. Tell the other parent as soon as you know so you have the best option of figuring out how to rework the babysitting schedules. Don’t forget that sometimes having a babysitter on a night or weekend is worth way more than on a weekday.

Also, the other parent is going to have rules that are different than yours. Remind your kids that the other parent is in charge and you fully expect them to follow their rules during their babysitting days. Make sure the other parent does the same with their kids. Don’t be afraid to use the naughty chairs and don’t be offended if it is your kid who gets sent there.

Let Them Roam

With four mobile kids and a baby, it is very important to be able to let them have some space. There is no way that many kids will survive 8 hours cramped up near each other all day without frequent bickering. We have a pretty open policy about roaming the main level and the basement. When they start getting annoyed with each other, they will naturally wander to different rooms or floors which helps bring a certain amount of peace.

Have A Plan

With all that free movement it is good to round them all up for a head count every hour or so. Morning snack, afternoon snack, and lunch provide three opportunities for everybody to be together. An art project, game, pretend school session, storytime in both the morning and afternoon provide two more easy gathering sessions. Something as simple as building block towers or painting an oversized piece of paper can entertain kids for a surprisingly long period of time. Reading stories is a great way to get a rowdy group of kids to sit still for a few minutes. I would recommend keeping the stories around 15 minutes unless you have a group of pretty calm kids, though.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Kids are going to yell and pout. Try to let them sort it out on their own whenever possible. It will be good for the social skills development. Try not to get involved unless they are being particularly nasty, it lasts for more than a few minutes or if one kid is always the one instigating the arguments. Also, kids are going to get paint on their clothes and lose toys at each other’s houses. Don’t hound the other parent about normal property damage. Just remember the cost of buying a new t-shirt or Thomas train is much less than the cost of paying for full time babysitting over the summer.

Get outside

If you have a fence in the backyard, put on the sunscreen when they first start to wander off. Encourage time in the backyard when the mood strikes them. Also, a picnic, trip through the sprinkler or game of soccer also make a great group activities that also get the kids outside for a while.

With a little bit of careful planning, a lot of understanding, and a lot of energy, you can avoid the high costs of day care and provide your kids with plenty of playdates that will help build friendships that will last for years to come.

Thanks so much to Mike for today’s guest post.  He is the father of 5 year old twins and a new baby.  You can find him writing about IVF, raising children, raising a child with autism, and fatherhood.  I hope you’ll visit him at Be A Good Dad!

The following is a guest post.

Summer break is almost over. Are the kids getting restless? Or maybe the better question is whether the parents are getting restless. Keeping everyone busy on a budget can be a challenge anytime of the year, but especially during the summer. Here some tips to help you save on entertainment for the rest of the summer and throughout the year!

Research.
This doesn’t have to be a lot of work. I regularly check the event calendars on our state, state parks and library websites. These are full of free and low cost events for all ages. We also get a free paper that lists quite a few events.

If there is someplace you want to go, check their website first. You can find coupons or you may find days  that are discounted or even free. For example, by checking the website I found our local art museum is free on Tuesdays and offers free kids classes on Saturday. Another museum near us is free on Thursday nights.

Sometimes the website will have deals you can’t find anywhere else. I learned of a local theater’s free movie camp (kids movies in the AM) on the web site. I haven’t seen this advertised anywhere else, not even at the theater itself.

Go early. Go late. Don’t go on the weekends!
In other words go when it is not busy. Not only is it more enjoyable, (in my opinion!) it is cheaper. Movies offer matinées, restaurants have early bird specials, some museums and amusement parks offer after 5 specials. (and with little kids do you really want to spend the whole day at the amusement park?!) We used to have a minor league ball park near where we lived. They offered lots of family specials and discounted tickets during the week to try to fill the park.

During the week you can find great deals at restaurants Does going out to eat count as entertainment? In this house it does. We love to go out to eat. During the week there are often specials where kids eat free. There is a local Italian type restaurant here that offers Two for Tuesday, buy one pasta dish and get one free. Get to know the daily specials and what days kids’ eat free at your local restaurants.

Buy the Membership.
To the museum, to the zoo or other places your family loves. The cost of a membership or season pass often is paid for in two visits. Plus many memberships can be used at other like organizations all over the country.

What I really love about memberships is we can pick up and go whenever. We do not have to plan for it in the budget or even plan to spend a full day. We can go to the museum for an hour and not feel like we are not getting our money’s worth. We can go when the budget is tight and we have no cash. By the way, memberships are great family gifts to give and receive!

Pack a lunch!
If you are not taking advantage of cheap dining as mentioned above, save yourself a ton of cash and pack enough food and drinks for the day. The food at places like the zoo or amusement parks is so over priced! At the zoo we could easily spend more than our membership cost in food and drinks for the day.

So enjoy  the rest of the summer with the kids, but keep it in your budget.by researching, going early or late and during the week, buying the membership and packing your lunch!

Thanks to Stephanie for this article!  You can find her at Stop the Ride! where she writes about living simply and frugally and reducing debt by using online earning opportunities.

In celebration of the June 20th summer solstice, b5media is having The Great Blog Off.  Participating b5media blogs from the Lifestyles, Business, and Entertainment channels will post content at least once per hour for each hour of the day. 

This is the first time since 1975 that the summer solstice hasn’t occurred on June 21.  On this day, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere and night time is at a minimum.  It is officially the first day of summer.

The great blog off begins at 12:01 am on June 20th.  Each blog channel will be accepting charitable pledges for a charity that they have chosen. 

Stay tuned, as we will be having articles from guest writers.  Enjoy!

This week, I stopped by Dollar Tree and I was pleased with the great stuff that I found.  Sometimes you can find some treasures in there.

If you’re looking for things to keep the kids busy this summer, you should stop by Dollar Tree first to see what they have.  The trip could save you some money. 

Here are some of the treasures I found during my visit.  There’s nothing like the convenience of having a digital camera in your purse. 

Check out these cute swim suits for infants and toddlers.  I bought some of these last year at Target on clearance.  These are swim pieces with a built in swim diaper.  You can’t beat $1 each.  What a great deal!  They also had sun hats to match.

Spiderman, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, and other kinds of swim rings and accessories, Nemo and Little Mermaid sand molds.  So much fun!

These tote bags are great for decorating.  If anyone is looking for a VBS craft, these would be great and the kids could carry home their week’s projects in their bags.

Aren’t these princess items so cute?  Check out the princess note pads, pens, paper, and cards.  Is anyone planning a princess themed party?  These would make great accessories to a party.

Have you stopped by Dollar Tree lately?  What kinds of items have you found?

images by Karen

Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

In the U.S. we are preparing for the official launch of summertime with our Memorial Day Holiday coming up this next weekend.

To welcome the most beloved season, b5media Lifestyles Channel decided to usher Summertime in with a very special tribute to The Good Old Summertime.  A special thanks to Gayla for putting together this month’s blog carnival. 

Mary Emma Allen at One Book Two Book reminds you to check our your local library for their summer reading programs which can be great fun for youngsters, parents, and grandparents.

Be gone foul wasp!  Noreen Crone-Findlay at Hankering for Yarn has designed a crocheted fake wasp nest to trick the wasps and yellow jackets into staying away from her home. Let’s hope it works!

Elizabeth at Career and Kids shares tips for those busy potluck and picnic days at work and home.  And on GenBetween she also shares 10 warm weather tips for aging adults.

Kadi Prescott of Supernanny Rules discusses the importance of continued learning during those long summer breaks from school.

Deborah Ng at Simply Thrifty paints a beautiful portrait of life as a kid in the 70’s in Queens with Dining Al Fresco in the Summers of My Youth.

Cyndi Lavin of Jewelry and Beading wants her readers to win a beautiful medallion, just in time for some summertime beading fun.  On Layers Upon Layers you’ll learn some digital effects to give your summertime pictures some zip!  And nothing beats crisp tangy salads for summertime eating.  Busy Family Meals has a special salad dressing giveaway.

Christine Gooding at MadCropper While she is about to enter her own winter months, she joins in our project with memories of her own summers as a child.

Heather at Chocolate Bytes has two recipes that say “summertime” to her first, chocolate zucchini cake and how about whipping up some Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream to top it off?  If you hop over to The Food Bowl, she offers tips on heat stroke prevention for your pets.

Sherry at Inside Motherhood discusses taking her daughter to the market and explaining to her how it’s better to support locally grown farm foods rather than importing food as a bit of an educational field trip.

Christina at Solo Mother share’s a bit of a then and now as she discusses Sunday rituals as a child and those of today with her own child.

Maricar at Keeping the Castle shares a wonderful guest post by Jeff Wilson of the DIY Network where he discusses simple steps to an amazing deck makeover.

Karen at Thrifty Mommy shares two very popular classic posts - 15 Summer Cooking Tips and 10 Thrifty Ways to Deal with Mosquitos

Peggy at Junk Creation shares how to make a Vacation Scrapbook Planter from a Sour Cream Container.

Tracee at BlogFabulous shares a rather memorable experience during potty training.  Any mother of boys will be able to relate to this one.

Katelyn from Stamping Mad has created a mixed media collage to remind herself to take time to enjoy the wonderful summer weather.

Farley at Behind the Vines is preparing for some summertime wine tasting.  The only thing left to do is decide on a destination.

Sandy Mitchell at Robust Cooking shares 9 Quick Vegetable Grilling Tricks and if you hop over to her other blog All Holiday Cafe, she shares 10 Ways to Save Money on Summer Holiday Travel

Susan Gunelius at Play Library shares fond memories of her younger days spending hours in the family pool and flashes forward to today and the fun and affordable pool toys that are available.

Chloe Findlay-Harder at Tangled Thread shares a tutorial on how to make a cooling bandana to help relieve those super hot dog days of summer.

Linette Gerlach at Mother Earth’s Garden shares tips on Creating an Outdoor Space to escape to for relaxation and at She Knows Parties, Linette shares a Party Punch Decorative Ice Ring for a cool refreshing treat on a hot summer day.

Noel Bautista at Unplugged Living enlightens us on solar cooking options as an alternative to traditional grilling methods.

Last, at MomGadget, Gayla takes a stroll down memory lane as she lists some of her personal favorite dishes and flavors of summertime.  Almost the entire collection is a tribute to her grandmother who, summer after summer, taught her about tradition, gardening and the wonderful flavors Mother Nature provides us during the season.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our tribute to the wonderful season of summer and for our readers living in the U.S., we wish you all a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Holiday.

image by Karen

I went through my daughter’s clothes for this summer and now I know what she needs.  EVERYTHING!  I will keep you posted as to what I am able to find and how much.  This will help me be held accountable with how much I spend.  My limit is usually $3.50 for an outfit.  We will see how I do.  Wish me luck.

 I went out shopping today, mainly to look at the curtains and rugs JCPenney had on sale.  While I didn’t find anything in their home department, I took advantage of their end of summer clearance.  Here’s what I got:

Gap
boys button up shirt (reg 19.50)  4.97

Belk
womens pajama pants (24.00) 7.19
earrings (20.00) 2.99
girls shorts (18.00) 2.39
girls sandals (15.00) 1.79

JCPenney
3 - three package of boys baseball shirts (9 shirts total, 29.99 each pack) 2.49 each
boys Buzz Lightyear t-shirt (11.99) 1.48
boys Spiderman t-shirt (missing shorts, 24.99) 2.49
boys collared golf shirt (16.99) 2.49
mens Nike UNC basketball shorts (24.00) 2.49

Children’s Place
girls denim ruffle skirt with adjustable waist (24.99? tag missing) 3.49
boys adjustable baseball hat (5.50) 1.99

Retail price: 294.93 Total spent: 41.23 Percentage saved: 86%

This is how I normally shop. I buy stuff ahead of time for the following year. Paying retail is not something I do.

Have you found any great end of summer clearance sales?