Recycling Garden Pots & Flats & Things

Dear Diary,
I don't know about you but every year after gardening season, we end up with a bunch of plant pots, flats and other gardening pots that we keep and store because we have no idea what to do with them. Our recycling program doesn't take them and I just don't feel right about tossing them in the trash. So needless to say, plant pots and flats and other gardening pots have been sitting around collecting dust and creating clutter.
Thankfully, I just happened to learn that there is a store that takes back your empty plant containers and flats etc and grinds them up and recycles them. And if you return a minimum of 25 of them they will give you a $5 coupon towards a garden centre purchase. I imagine you can only return them as long as the garden centre remains open, so I would get there before the garden centre closes for the season.
So I bet you can guess where we headed with our garden pots! Oh and by the way, they even took stuff that we didn't purchase there.
Gotta Love it when you can combine frugality with being good to the environment!
frugaldebb

Peak Saver Program Just Think about it !

Dear Diary,
A few years ago (dh and I are discussing how many years) we enrolled in the Peak Saver program. And basically, what this program does is lowers your central air conditioner by a few degrees when needed during high electric power demands in the summer months. When you sign up you get a brand new thermostat that can be controlled by your hydro company if and when required due to high energy demands. When you sign up with them you will also get a $25 rebate on your hydro and a chance to win prizes. We did it and haven't noticed a thing and chances are they might not even have to lower your air conditioning at all! And even if you don't have central air you can still enter the contest to win prizes. Not sure if it's available everywhere but hey why not check it out! Good for the budget and good for the environment!
Now that's something to think about
frugaldebb

Did ya Know?

Dear Diary,
Have you heard that Old Navy is selling their Adult Graphic T's for just Three Bucks this Saturday only (May 30)?
Well if you want to get graphic, you heard it here!
frugaldebb

It's Not Delivery It's Delissio

Dear Diary,
Just came back from No Frills and stocked up on Delissio Ultimate Med Chicken Pizzas. Not sure if this is at all No Frills but at my store they had a large freezer full of these pizzas on sale for $3.99. Not a bad deal considering these usually sell for over $8 a piece. And to top it off, I had some $2 coupons kicking around. So I bought 7 of these babies for $1.99 a piece. Needless to say it won't be delivery at my house for quite some time!
frugaldebb

I've Got Something To BZZ about!

Dear Diary,
Just realized I forgot to tell you about last weeks mail. Last week I received Hamilton magazine(this has been coming for free for the past few years but I don't know why and I don't ask questions), free sample pack of Ocean Spray Craisins, red dress pin and coupon for Ocean Spray product and BZZ Agent pack.
I told you before and I'll tell you again that I'm a BZZ Agent. What's great about being an agent is that I get to try out new products/services for free. Often I'm sent products to try and share with family and friends and also really great value coupons. BZZ campaigns I've done in the past include Crest Whitestrips, Nabob Coffee, Nordica Cottage Cheese, Oreo Cakesters, Eggs and now currently Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew. With this campaign I received 1 75 ml bottle of daily moisture lotion, 1 15 ml bottle of daily eye cream and 1 compact purse size mirror plus lots of coupons. Only catch with BZZ and it's not even a catch, is that you have to talk to others about the products and write up a few reports. And it's really not that difficult. Plus you also get points for submitting your reports which you can eventually exchange for gift cards.
Perhaps you should have something to BZZ about.
frugaldebb

Birthdays can be frugal

Dear Diary,
Today I attended a birthday party for a three year old nephew. So yes a birthday gift was in order cause you can't attend a birthday party empty handed.
I know I'm frugal but you can't call me cheap!
So anyhow ds who just got his driver's license agreed to take me to the mall to search for something to add to my birthday gift. Only condition was that he went his way and I went my way. No problemo!
Searched my favourite haunts for kids wear; Children's Place, Old Navy and finally Please Mum; but nothing suited my taste or budget. Finally as a last resort thought I would check out Gymboree; mind you I have never bought anything there before and really wasn't expecting to find something there this time around. Don't get me wrong; I don't have a problem with this place. The outfits are absolutely adorable and if I had little kiddies right now I would dream of dressing them up in the latest Gymboree fashions. But like I said that would be in my dreams. Anyhow entering the store with high expectations of coming out empty handed, my eye caught sight of a huge clearance rack of clothing with a sign above it stating an additional 20 per cent off of any clearance item. After checking the prices of a few items on the rack and doing the math and confirming with a store employee that the 20 per cent off was indeed on top of the already reduced prices, I was ready to make a kill. And I did but I can't tell you what I spent cause you just can't disclose the price of a gift now can you? Anyway I bought this adorable blue and white checked long-sleeved shirt which was regularly priced at $33.
Lesson learned is that sometimes you just have to think outside of the box! And I just love it when I get quality stuff for less.
And that's not cheap but just plain frugal
frugaldebb

Free Harvey's tomorrow

Dear Diary,
Just a reminder about the free original burger day at Harvey's tomorrow available at participating Harvey's locations.
And I would get there earlier rather than later if I were you.
Have a Good Day!
frugaldebb

Timmies Free Iced Coffee

Dear Diary,
Just wanted to remind you of this deal at Timmies today! Like I said before, I'll pass on this one cause I'm wired enough as it is. Definitely don't need caffeine to get me going. But you may want to take them up on their offer.
Anyhow that's why I'm reminding you.
Enjoy your free coffee
frugaldebb

Old Navy flip flops a buck a pair

Dear Diary,
Just heard from Supermodelquin (Old Navy mannequin) on Twitter, that Old Navy is having a sale on flip flops, this Saturday May 23/09. Basic flip flops will be selling for just a buck a pair; limit of 5 pair per customer at all Canadian Old Navy locations.
So if you're in need of a new pair of flip flops, you know where to head this Saturday, right??
Happy Flip Flopping Day
frugaldebb

FREE

Dear Diary,
If you want a Venus Embrace ( just update...hope this works ...unless they ran out of offers )razor for free, you gotta act fast cause these offers run out quickly. Thanks to my frugal friends at FS for this posting.
frugaldebb

Awesome Mail Day & Ontario Place

Dear Diary,
I forgot to tell you about my awesome mail day last Friday. First of all a courier brought my Ontario Place win which include the tickets and vouchers but to my surprise fleece hoodies for the 4 of us as well as baseball caps. And then a little later Canada Post delivered a $10 WalMart gift card for doing a follow-up study for Carleton University. Oh and I really love gift cards.

On another note, have to tell you about our trip to Ontario Place. The weather was cool but there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The teenage kids found it a little boring cause there was not all that much for them to do there. Had it been warmer, they would have spent a lot of time on the water slides, bumper boats and pedal boats, but it was a bit cool for all of that. We did end up playing both mini golf courses, went to the Dino simulator, saw a couple of movies and the kids went on the Wilderness Adventure ride. Oh and by the way the movie ' Hurricane on the Bayou' was excellent and I highly recommend it. The Dinosaur movie was o.k. but definitely not for little kids or young ones who easily get frightened by loud noises or dinosaurs roaring in their faces.
We spent a fair amount of time eating at the Marina Grill ( a sit down restaurant in the park) cause we had vouchers for both lunch and supper so today I won't be eating as much. Good thing I went to the gym before our trip yesterday. All in all, a pretty frugal day since our only cost was parking, gratuities and alchohol.
frugaldebb

Frugal Painting and Gardening

Dear Diary,
We just came back from Home Depot cause we needed some paint for a basement bedroom and bathroom. Up and including Holiday Monday they have a deal on their interior paints ( CIL, CIL Smart , Behr and Ralph Lauren); buy 3 cans or gallons and get the 4th for free by mail-in rebate. We have used Behr paint in the past and we quite like it. They also had a good deal on 25L bags of top soil; .99 a bag but the sale for that is today (Saturday) only while quantities last and a limit of 10 bags per customer.
If you are planning on doing some gardening, HD has 5 inch optimum annuals or geraniums on for buy 3 get the 4th free instantly with in-store coupon and this sale is also on until Holiday Monday.

Happy Victoria Day Weekend!
frugaldebb

Mail and free stuff

Dear Diary,
Just checked my mailbox and lo and behold, a win from a February contest had finally arrived. It was a can of Schwarzkopf professional Osis+ hairspray. I guess my dd will enjoy that one, since I have very little need for hairspray.
Here's a couple of things that you may enjoy: Tim Hortons free iced coffee day May 21, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and a free Purex sample.
I think I'll pass on the coffee as I'm wired enough as it is but I've already ordered my free Purex sample.
Cheers to free coffee and free laundry!
frugaldebb

Burt's Bees Plus a Win

Dear Diary,
My mail just came and I received my Burt's Bees sample kit ( free with the purchase of 3 Green Works cleaning products). And I have to tell you it is awesome even thought it wasn't completely free. ( you can find the mail in form attached by a stringy to these products and the receipt is what is required to get the free kit)
I love Burt's Bees but their products don't come cheap. My sample kit contains 1 Honey Lip Balm, 1 Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, 1 Peppermint Foot Lotion, 1 Banana Hand Creme, 1 Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme, 1 Hand Salve, 1 Milk and Honey Body Lotion and 1 Aloe and Buttermilk Body Lotion.
I am so excited but it doesn't take much to get me excited!
Oh on another note I just found out that I won a family pass to Ontario Place this weekend which includes 4 play all day tickets, 4 v.i.p. seating at the new movie 'Hurricane on the Bayou', both dinner and supper for 4 at The Marina Grill, and also Ontario Place T-shirts and ball caps.
WOO HOO!
frugaldebb

Free Stuff

Dear Diary,
You probably are well aware of how much I really love free stuff. And just this past weekend on Mother's Day, I received a free potted geranium from a local garden centre.
Well here's something for free that I want to share with you (many thanks to other frugal friends). On Sunday May 24th, Harvey's is offering a free burger day at selected Canadian locations. So head out with the kids and get your free burgers. I believe they do this every year, but I have never taken them up on their offer. I imagine that Harvey's could get pretty busy so I would go earlier rather than later.
Enjoy!
frugaldebb

Deals & More

Dear Diary,
Scooped some Oasis Premium OJ for a great price this morning. No Frills has it on sale this week for $1.69 for 1.75L and I just happened to have some $1 coupons kicking around. So paid 69 cents for this juice. Woo Hoo! If you're into the Yoplait Minigo Yogurts they're selling for $1.33 at NF as well and I know there are 5o cents coupons out there for this product so if you manage to locate some of these coupons, that's a really great deal.

If you like Nutella, here's a link for a free sample. But with anything free, you gotta act fast cause usually there are limited supplies.

Good Luck
frugaldebb

Frugal Finds

Dear Diary,
Have I ever told you how much I Love picking things up at the curb side and turning them into treasures?? I've been doing this for quite some time now long before I was Almost Always Frugal. If I glance around my home, there are many items that were rescued and saved from their ultimate death in the dump. I love it all; the hunt, the find and the rescue! And you know what it's not only frugality that motivates me; it's the thought of saving something from going to the trash. I hate it when I see good stuff going out to the trash. What a waste! Our world would be in a much better state if we tossed out less stuff.
Anyhow moving on, I want to tell you about this old sewing cabinet thingy that I rescued from the trash when I was walking home from the Y one day. I spotted it and just had to bring it home up the Mountain stairs. It wasn't pretty but I could see beyond that. I knew somewhere, somehow I could re-purpose it and I did with dh's help. I always get him involved somehow. I wish I had taken some before photos but that was before I thought of writing about it so I didn't. Well anyhow now my ugly little sewing cabinet thingy is now my pretty coupon storage container. It did cost me a can of spray paint and some elbow grease to sand it and clean it up but hey I saved it and that's what counts!
They say one man's trash is another woman's treasure!
frugaldebb

Surprise win & good deals

Dear Diary,
Just a quick post before I'm off to bed. Found out I won a Columbia backpack today from a Canada Post contest. It was a surprise win! And also got some good deals on the weekend: No Frills 2 shaving cream for me and 2 for dh for .99 with coupons and at Food Basics 5 FREE egg creations with coupons. Yes I said free, imagine that and I don't even eat eggs lol. Guess dh is going to be eating lots of eggs in the next while. Wonder if you can freeze that stuff?
goodnight frugaldebb

Frugal Friday Rant

Dear Diary,
For the past couple of weeks I've been volunteering my time by leading a fitness class at my local gym. My last class was today as the regular leader returns next week and I'm breathing a sigh of relief. Have to admit though the stress of doing the class zapped my energy level and kept me out of the shopping malls. So all in all I've managed to be pretty frugal without even trying.
But I really didn't need to shop anyway cause I'm the kind of shopper who stocks up when items are on sale or there is a great deal to be had. You can call me crazy but there are some items I will simply not purchase unless it is on sale or unless I have a great coupon or a combination of the two.
So yes I have a stockpile and here's a few things I have plenty of: toilet paper, Q-tips, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, hand soap, liquid hand soap, toothpaste, pasta, bottled water for car trips, pop, juice, canned soups, packaged soup, shampoo & conditioner, shaving cream, kleenex, shavers and refill blades, tin foil, plastic wrap, cleaning supplies, hand & body lotion, travel size beauty supplies and the list goes on and on... But if you noticed, I tend to stock up on stuff that has a long shelf life; cause if your stuff spoils it defeats the whole purpose.

On another note I just have to tell you about the goodies I got in the mail this week. Received a Bluewater freezer shopping bag for sending in upc's and a Homemaker's mag for also sending in upc's plus a minimal payment. Also got a Hotel for Dogs prize pack win from Family Channel. Oh and also Dear Diary my ds won an Ipod which he is giving to me cause he just got one so I'm excited about that. This will be great for downloading audio books from the local library and listening to them while working out at the gym. Just recently found out that my local library has e-books to download. Perhaps your local library offers this as well??
frugaldebb