home

Holiday Resources For Those in Need

Abby H.

thanksgivingturkey.jpgIt’s getting to be the season of giving, and for some families there isn’t the means to give this year. For some families there isn’t the means for a sit down family meal either.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are more than food and gifts, but no one should go hungry any time of year!

Here are some resources for those in San Diego County who might need some help.

Here is my post with a list of food banks/pantries in San Diego. Meet the Need at Faith Chapel has a lot of great events coming up to help you get through the holidays:

  • 11/19/: Faith Chapel is giving out Food Boxes and Turkeys starting at 10:30am.
  • 12/3: Meet the Need’s first Sunday event will be featuring a limited number of free Christmas trees in addition to the usual free lunch and bag of groceries.
  • 12/17: Faith Chapel will be distributing toys to children in need after the 10:30am service.

Feeding the Flock and several other ministries are sponsoring a Thanksgiving food box (turkey included). More information and sign ups can be found here.

You can also find local food banks/pantries from AmpleHarvest or by calling 211 in your area.

Toys 4 Tots is a well know toy charity, however their deadline to request toys is early November. If you missed the cut off, there are a few San Diego based toy charities that can help out.

Screen Shot 2017-11-13 at 1.53.34 PM.pngToys 4 Joy has 4 San Diego area events on December 9th. Toys for Joy is open to all children and families and no registration is required. One free toy will be given to all children attending the event ages 0 – 11. Free lunch will be provided in addition to free entertainment, kids activities and giveaways. All four locations have free groceries and one location has free gently used clothing available.

We Care Toy Drive provides 750 toys to local San Diego area kids. You can learn more by visiting their website.

Screen Shot 2017-06-01 at 8.09.41 AMThe Closet on 54th has a great free clothing closet you can shop at once a month, they also have a free food pantry that is open three days a week. You can find more info on their Facebook page here.

 

 

Great Deal on Tide at Lowe’s!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2017-08-21 at 6.13.59 PM.pngI love a good deal. And while I’m not big into deal blogging any more, it’s my duty to help ya’ll save money. If you are frugal like me, you wash your laundry with whatever gets your clothes clean and is inexpensive.

Screen Shot 2017-08-21 at 6.14.04 PM.pngLowe’s has a great deal right now on Tide 40-fl oz Refreshing Breeze High-Efficiency Laundry Detergent. It’s $2.00/bottle, instead of $4.28. 53% off isn’t too shabby.

A quick check on Lowes.com shows that the closest store to me is Poway, but because I have a mylowe’s account (that’s their store loyalty card- it’s totally free and you can sign up online immediately prior to your purchase), I can score free shipping. WOO HOO!

In a mere matter of days, I’ll have 50 bottles of Tide. I figure based on how many loads of laundry I do, that will last me about a year. That’s 625 loads. That’s about $.08/load. I can’t make laundry soap that cheap.

I know there are sometimes coupons for Tide, but with the limits on P&G (the company that makes Tide) coupons, that’s two per household, per day for those playing at home, it would take me quite a while to amass a stockpile on laundry soap.

That doesn’t take into consideration:

  • How on earth would  I get 50 coupons? (no, I won’t pay for them)
  • How on earth would I find a store where I could find 50 bottles of Tide?
  • It would take me 25 shopping days (that’s about a month, since I only shop when my big kid is in school), so I’m sure the coupons would expire before that.
  • The gas driving to the stores each day to buy the detergent.

 

If you need Laundry Detergent, check your local Lowe’s via Lowes.com!

And Don’t forget you can save even more by shopping through Topcashback or Mypoints.com!

 

 

 

 

Our Buy Nothing Week- The Results

Abby H.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Our first Buy Nothing week was a success. I wrote about my plans here, and they went well. We managed to eat at home all week, pack snacks, and find all kinds of free fun.

I managed to inventory the pantry, clear out and donate some food that we weren’t going to eat, and did a toy purge and gave away some toys that no longer held the kids attention.

We tried it again this week, and well, it didn’t go so well.

Failures:

Wednesday night we went to the Lego Store at Fashion Valley for a free Lego Build (it was a cute platypus), but while we were there, we picked up a few blind bags and Lil’ Man’s Birthday gift. Mr. is part of the Lego Club, where you earn points for every purchase. It is double points month, so we earned enough points for $5.00 off. Since Legos seldom if ever go on sale, we took advantage. Then we had dinner at CPK. I used some money I had earned selling some stuff on Craigslist.

I also had to go buy milk, but I had figured that I would need to, so I set pulled out a few dollars in change from our change jar.

 

But then again, I had a few successes:

We tried some new recipes and improvised using what we had on-hand.

I ran out of tape while packing up a box to mail, so I borrowed some packing tape from my parents.

We played a lot, and did some fun crafts. We also discussed how we could have fun at home and in the neighborhood without spending money.

Yesterday a friend shared her food Co-op bounty with us, so that helps keep me out of the store for a few more days.

Overall, I am pleased with how the week turned out. We were more conscious of spending money and used work arounds and more careful thinking to use what we had, relied on neighbors and family when we needed help.

We’ll be doing it again, but probably not for a month or so. This next week is Lil’ Man’s birthday, and we need to prep for his birthday party. We’re doing a Lego themed party, and I’ll be posting about it next week.

 

Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona!

Abby H.

NickelCreek-logoColorA few weeks ago, I wrote about the Grand Opening of the Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona. Well, Birdie and I went on Saturday to take a sneak peak.

IMG_3576
Birdie had the best time evah!!

WOWZA! There are three amazing three floor plans: Cypress, Sycamore, and Birch. Each floor plan has some amazing features like a private balcony or private backyard, which I love- I think everyone should have their own outdoor space to relax!

 

 

 

IMG_3554
Cute private back patio!

There are so many features on these homes that will help you save money and the environment!

  • Duel glazed windows
  • Radiant Barrier tech shielding on roof
  • Weather stripping on exterior doors
  • Low flow toilets and shower heads

One thing that impresses me about the KirE homes is all of the attention to fire safety that all of the homes have:

  • Fire-Resistant tile roofing
  • Fire-rated overhangs
  • Interior fire sprinklers with alarm
  • Multi-Power Source smoke detectors in the hallways
  • Pre-Fabricated roofing for easy solar panel installation (for those want to do that!)

OIMG_3575k, and one random thing that I like is that all of the homes we toured in the master bathroom the toilet is in it’s own little closet, and the shower/bath and sinks are in. That way one person can’t tie up the entire bathroom.  Perfect for busy mornings!

NickelCreek Townhomes is right in the heart of Ramona. It’s tucked off Main Street in a quiet neighborhood, but it’s still within walking distance of grocery stores, restaurants (including Dunkin’ Donuts- I’m just saying!), and other shopping.

If you are interested in checking them out for yourself, visit NCRamona.com.