Traveling Light...

This summer I am taking a trip to Texas for our Mary Kay Seminar. I am checking one piece of luggage (which is shared with my daughter), but I wanted to pack as much as I could into my carry-on to avoid having to check a second bag, and to make sure that I had all my essentials, in case my baggage got lost. What I found is that I could fit much more than I expected into my little carry-on bag!!

Here is my bag, in the seat of a small recliner, with a remote added for scale. Not a large carry-on at all!

From Travel Tips

Here's what it looks like when you open it up...

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Under the folded jacket, you see what REALLY makes up the inside of the suitcase...

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Under the jeans I have several pairs of shoes packed tightly, with the spaces between them stuffed with underwear.

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For the first time ever, I utilized the Travel Space Bags I have. I used two in this suitcase. They are nice because you don't need a vacuum to remove the air; you just roll them up to press out all the air and when you unroll them they are vacuum packed. It's pretty amazing!

From Travel Tips

Even more amazing is how much I was able to fit in each Space Bag. I rolled my clothes first, then put them into the Space Bag to maximize space and minimize wrinkles. It worked surprisingly well!

From Travel Tips

The first bag included a sweater and long skirt...

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Knee length dress and two slips...

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Skinny jeans and black yoga pants...

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And 6 tops...

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Here's what the bag looked like after I removed the first Space Bag:

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The second Space Bag included several more items of clothing...

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An after 5 dress...

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A beaded after 5 dress along with a velvet bolero jacket...

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A long formal gown...

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Two business skirts...

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3 tops...

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A cardigan sweater and a swimsuit...

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There was also a pair of shorts stuffed along the side of the Space Bags, that I tucked in as an afterthought. Here is what the carry-on looked like without the clothing items:

From Travel Tips

After going through security, I also tucked my ziplock of liquids into the top of the bag, so I had shampoo and conditioner, lipstick, mascara, mascara primer, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, and a couple finger nail polishes with me as well.

From Travel Tips

As for my shoes, I managed to pack 4 pairs of shoes in my carry-on as well. If my luggage got lost, I could survive with these 4 pair (plus the pair I was wearing) without too many problems. There's a pair of black walking flats, black business wedges, navy sandals, and gold dress wedges. Remember, I'm headed to a business conference with 3 semi-formal events and lots of walking, so I had to be judicious about what were in my "essentials" list!

From Travel Tips

I also had some accessories tucked away in my carry-on. I had 2 belts (one narrow, one wide), a flat iron, and a bag that could double as a clutch if needed.

From Travel Tips

Then there was my jewelry... Some people just have a couple accessories that will do for them, but I love my bling!! Here's my jewelry case and headband...

From Travel Tips

Now, I'm sure I could have packed my jewelry in a smaller space if I'd been willing to, but I like my jewelry organizer, even if it is a bit on the bulky side. It has clear zippered "pages" that flip so I can see everything and organize it however I want for the trip. No worries of jewelry getting tangled!

From Travel Tips

From Travel Tips

So... It turns out I can fit a LOT into my little suitcase!! I have enough clothing for 2 weeks, and even when my checked bag didn't come out with the rest of our flight's luggage, I wasn't worried. Thankfully, the reason it didn't come out with the rest is because it arrived on an earlier flight, but still... it felt great to be prepared!

Monday Routine

Events to schedule around.... 

Eliana has school from 8:30 to 3:30

I have Mary Kay from 6-9

Areas of Focus...

Bedrooms

Appointments

SCHEDULE

(6:15) Wake up (5 min)

(6:20) Read Bible (15 min)

(6:25) Check Email (5 min)

(6:30) Shoes on, ready to exercise (5 min)

(6:45) Exercise (45 min)

(7am) Wake Eliana up (5 min)

(7:05) Take a Shower (15 min)

(7:20) Get Dressed (5 min)

(7:25) Do Eliana's Hair (10 min)

(7:35) Get Eliana Breakfast (5 min)

(7:40) Do My Hair and Makeup (15 min)

(7:55) Help Eliana get out the door - Lunch, Shoes, etc. (5 min)

(8am) Take Eliana to School (15 min)

(8:15) Strip Beds and Wash Sheets (5 min)

(8:20) Drink Breakfast and Write notes to customers (10 min)

(8:30) Submit WAS (5 min)

(8:35) Enter Profile Cards and Sales Slips (20 min)

(8:55) Prepare for Appointments / Calls (5 min)

(9am) Appointments / Calls (2 Hours)

(11am) Lunch (30 minutes)

(11:30) Move Sheets to Dryer (5 min)

(11:35) Household Time - Pick Up Bedrooms (25 min)

(12pm) Office / Prep Time (1 hour)

(1pm) Appoinments / Calls (2 Hours)

(3pm) Make Beds (15 min)

(3:15) Prepare Eliana's Snack (10 min)

(3:25) Pick Eliana up from school (20 min)

(3:45) Unload Eliana's backpack (5 min)

(3:50) Review Eliana's spelling words with her (10 min)

(4pm) Empty / Load the dishwasher with Eliana (15 min)

(4:15) Quiet Time / Reading / Watching TV (45 min)

(5pm) Make Dinner (15 min)

(5:15) Dinner (30 min)

(5:45) Drive to Mary Kay

(6pm) Mary Kay (3 Hours)

(9pm) Drive Home (15 min)

(9:15) Unload MK Stuff and put away (15 min)

(9:30) Wash face and brush teeth (10 min)

(9:40) Lay out clothes for tomorrow (5 min)

(9:45) Change clothes and put in hamper (5 min)

(9:50) Read / Journal (10 min)

(10pm) Bedtime

Dinner Tonight...

We're having friends over for dinner tonight and I had a hard time figuring out what we were going to eat. Thankfully, I had a few options to choose from out of my freezer, so with a little prep and some finesse, here's what's for dinner...

Eggrolls (already made and frozen, just need to be heated through!)
Jasmine Rice (already made and frozen, just needs to be defrosted)
Coconut Lime Chicken (frozen chicken breast cooked in coconut milk and lime juice)
Green Curry (already made and frozen, just needs to be heated through!)
Asian Plum Sauce (already made and frozen, just needs to be heated through!)
Edamame (we keep this in the freezer, just needs to be steamed right before the meal!)

The best part is that ALL OF IT is homemade. That makes me so happy!

Once again, I got sucked into the computer...

... while clipping coupons on a Sunday night. It really wasn't my aim to get sucked into the computer, but here I am. Sigh.

The couponing is still going. I have been learning things that have been making it go better...

1. The Billings paper has better coupons. The Bozeman paper is hit and miss.
2. I can get both papers at Albertsons, and check to see if they have coupons before I buy them.
3. Some places have good sales - like Albertsons. I just have to be willing to watch the sales and match my coupons to them.
4. Kmart frequently has double coupon days. You just have to be willing to read the fine print and follow the  (sometimes insane) rules for it to be worth it.
5. Albertsons occasionally does coupon sales where all coupons up to $1 are worth $1. That is an awesome day to shop!

I am making my lists. I am matching my coupons. I am not dreading the process, and it is not eating up all of my time. I feel like I am finding a happy balance in coupon land. Woot!

Feeling Gypped

Today I got a newspaper, knowing that there should be a smartsource insert with coupons in it. It didn't. I don't know if the Bozeman paper just doesn't carry smartsource or if I just got a fluke, but I feel gypped!

Another Week of Couponing

Another week of couponing is about to begin, and I have done a few things to prepare for it...

1. I have started making my "Price Book" - the place where I track what prices are and what the best sale prices I've had are for the items that we use most. I'm using a spreadsheet so it's easy for me to alphabetize as it grows.

2. I have started organizing my manufacturers coupons in my household binder alphabetically by brand. That way I can easily find them when I want to use them for a specific store.

3. I have entered all of my manufacturers coupons into a Google task list by expiration date so I can easily see which coupons are expiring soon.

4. I have made plans with Kristiina to go through the ads tomorrow and make my shopping lists.

5. I have been utilizing couponmom.com to see what free or nearly free deals I might be missing simply because I've overlooked them or they are things I wouldn't normally think of. These free items are great for collecting toward my guest supply, future gifts, or Operation Christmas Child boxes!

We will see how this week improves over last week! I am amazed at how much quicker and cheaper I can shop when I have a list to follow... I don't wander up and down every aisle, trying to remember what I need, and therefore I don't have the impulse buys that I am so often prey to! I'm excited to start streamlining my process so I can be efficient with my time and money each week.

Weekly Review

Well, my first week of couponing is just about over, and I'm pretty pleased with how it went. Here's a general overview...

Kmart = $27.89 - $7.98 in savings because of coupons. Would have been more if I'd been more assiduous and gotten my $5 off for the Slimfast. Doh!
Slimfast - bought 5 @ $5 ea, used $3.60 in coupons = $4.28 per 4pack I was supposed to get a coupon for $5 off my order for this, but I don't think it printed out, or if it did, distracto girl who was checking me out didn't give it to me. I should pay more attention at Kmart, I think. 
Nice 'n Easy - bought 1 @ $4.99, used $1 in coupons = $3.99
Oreos - bought 1 @ 2.50 I used a super coupon for this, so it should have been $2.38, but I don't think she counted it. She was distracted and I should have paid more attention when she entered it. Note to self for the future.
Cupcake Mix - $1 - not on sale, just needed.
Distracto girl I think scanned one of my coupons twice so I got an extra dollar off. It's the only way the math makes sense, and there are two coupons on my receipt with exactly the same number. 


Walmart = $34.38
Bush's Beans (various) - bought 18 @ $0.92 ea. These are normally around $1 ea, and are something we use. I got the varieties I can't get at Costco. 
Rotel Tomatoes - bought 4 @ $0.88 ea. These are normally closer to $1, and something we use.
Lysol Motion Sensor Soap - bought 2 @ $3.47. Not on sale, something we needed for the guest bathroom. We were completely out of these. 
Hormel Turkey Pepperoni - bought 1 @ $3.28. Not on sale, just needed for dinner tonight!
Hormel Canadian Bacon - bought 1 @ $2.12. Not on sale, just needed for dinner tonight!


Staples = $20.16 Would have been $50.59 if I'd paid full price for everything. Mind you, I wouldn't have paid $6+ for scissors, so that's not a realistic number, but I was pleased with how this purchase went! I read the ad, chose what we needed, and calculated as I went so that I could make the most of the trip! I did need the pens, driving log, and scissors, so that would have made the trip anyway!
Goals Notepad - bought 1 @ $4, reg. $7
Scissors - bought 3 @ $1 ea, reg. $6.29 ea
Driving Log - bought 1 @ $3
BIC Mark It Pens - bought 3 @ $1.29 ea.
Glue Stick 4 Pack - bought 1 @ $1, reg. $1.99
Rainbow Pens - bought 1 pack @ $4.79
Tamper Resistant Envelopes - bought 2 @ $1, reg. $3.29 ea.
Zipper envelope - bought 2 @ $1
Business card holder - bought 1 @ $1, reg. $1.99
Lollipop - bought 1 @ $0.50 - for Eliana, to get over $25 and use coupon
$5 off $25 order coupon

Rosauers = $12.31
Provalone slices - bought 2 @ 2.50 ea This is the one thing that wasn't on my list, but is something I wanted and it was a good price!
Cucumbers - bought 3 @ 3/$1
Green Lettuce - bought 1 @ $0.89
Green Bell Peppers - bought 3 @ 3/$1
Grapefruit - bought 1 bag @ $2.50 (7 grapefruit @ $0.36 ea)
Grape Tomatoes - bought 1 container @ $1.99

Costco = $101.80
Fage Yogurt - $12.49 ($1.05 ea.)
Canned Chicken - $9.99
Craisins - $7.49
Chicken Chimichangas - $13.49
Bananas - 2 @ $1.39
Dried Coconut - $8.99
Shredded Mozzarella - $11.99
Feta - $7.45
Tillamook Cheddar Slices - $8.49
Walnuts - $14.99
Eggs - $3.65

Target = $87.84 My total was well over $100 before they started entering all the coupons, so it was really fun to see the number go down, down, and down! I scored some really good deals on this trip to Target, including the Lean Cuisine deal, and the Fiber One deal! Woot!! Those will make lunch time and snack time easier when I want a quick fix and am tempted to eat something that won't help me lose weight!
Pantene Detangler - bought 1 for $3.99, used $1 coupon
Nice 'n Easy - bought 1 for $6.99, used $1 coupon
Nice 'n Easy Foam - bought 1 for $7.99, used $3 coupon
Pantene 2-in-1 Shampoo/Conditioner - bought 1 for $5.84, used $2 coupon, and $3 coupon
Ziplock snack bags - bought 2 @ $2.50 ea.
Wet Ones Travel - bought 2 @ $1.29 ea, used 2 $0.75 coupons ($0.54 ea.)
Expanding File / Notepad - $5.99
Dollar Spot Notecards - bought 5 @ $1 ea.
Always Wipes - bought 1 @ $3.29, used $1 coupon
Always Pantiliners - bought 1 @ $2.99, used $0.50 coupon, plus $1 coupon for both
Fiber One Bars - bought 4 @ $2.75 ea, used 2 $0.40 coupons, plus got one box free Woohooo!
Lean Cuisine - bought 10 @ $2, used $5 coupon, received $5 gift card for future Woohoo!
Venus Razor - bought 1 @ $8, reg. $9.49
Venus Blades - bought 1 @ $20.99, used $5 coupon, received $5 gift card for future
Colgate Toothpaste - bought 1 for $2.99, received coupons for future, plus free travel size

I got stuff at CVS as well, but I don't remember where my receipt is. But anyway... that at least gives an idea of how my couponing went this week! I hope to get better and better at it as the weeks go by!