Thrifty Thursday: Shop Multiple Stores

I mentioned earlier this week that I shop at Walmart for groceries. If you read any of the money saving blogs, you know it’s a good idea to shop multiple stores to save money on your groceries.

Personally, I shop at Rite Aid, Walmart, BJs Wholesale and Stop & Shop. Occasionally I’ll shop at Target if there’s a good deal or a coupon match-up I cant pass on.

I don’t shop CVS anymore – with the other stores listed above so close, it’s not worth the time or the gas to go out of my way. But that’s me – you might have Walgreens or Aldi close to your home instead of a wholesale club or even Walmart.

Each week I scope the weekly sales circulars and plan my shopping trip based on the sales & deals at the different stores. Typically my trip looks like this:

• Walmart for packaged foods, cleaning products, health & beauty.
• BJs Wholesale for select bulk items like pet food & litter, sweetener, cereal bars, toilet paper. I also get sliced cheese, ground beef and frozen chicken breasts at BJs. (note: I don’t go to BJs every week)
• Stop & Shop to “perimeter shop” meaning produce, deli, meat & poultry and dairy – the fresh foods, anything that expires in the next couple days/weeks.
• We also do an occasional trip to our local restaurant supply store to buy meat & poultry in bulk to freeze.

The key is to plan ahead. I make a shopping list for each store and then paper clip that list to the sales circular along with my coupons to use. Each week I know exactly what to buy at each store before I leave my house.

Do you shop at multiple stores to save money on your groceries? Which stores? And how often so you go?

PS: PS If you have a tip for Thrifty Thursday please share in the comments with your link! And if you want, here’s the code for my graphic to use on your post:

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How To Avoid Clutter Build

One of the easiest ways to make a big impact on your home’s appearance is to take care of clutter.  We all accumulate things, and when they don’t get picked up they can easily take over an area of the house.

Start by going through each room and identifying where extra storage space is needed. After you have figured out where you need storage, you can decide what type of storage pieces to buy.

There are many types of storage solutions to choose from, and you can certainly find some that will fit into your home’s décor.  You can choose from bookcases, chests, and ottomans for your living room.

When it comes to the bedroom, you can go to your local department store, such as Target, and find all types of closet organizers in that you can fit together to create customized storage solutions.
You can also find pieces that fit under the bed as well as nets that hang from the ceiling. These can be great for storing kids’ stuffed animals.

After you have figured out where you are going to put your things, you can start sorting through them.  If the task of de-cluttering your home seems overwhelming, focus on one room at a time. And if that seems overwhelming, focus on something small, such as one drawer.  When you are finished with that drawer, move on to another drawer or cabinet.  Eventually, you will have made your way through your home.

As you are working, you may find it helpful to make several piles.  Put everything you plan to keep in one pile, things you can sell on eBay in another pile, things to give away in a separate pile, and things to throw away in the final pile.

If you tend to be a pack rat, try to break free from your old habits.  For the most part, things that you haven’t used in the last year can be sold, given away, or thrown out.  If you are unsure of whether you will use it or not, put it in storage.  If another six months go by and you haven’t used it, it is time to let go of it.

Now that you have gone through the trouble of de-cluttering your house, here are a few tips on helping you avoid clutter build-up in the future.  It is a lot easier to schedule a 30 clutter cleaning session once a week than to spend several days de-cluttering once every few months.

* Don’t let newspapers and magazines pile up.  After you’re done reading them, put them in a bin and when it’s full, take it to a recycling center.  If you are hanging onto it for a specific article, clip the article out and pin it up on a bulletin board. It will take up much less space and will be a visual reminder that you wanted to read it.

* Instead of leaving things out on the counters, put items away when you are done using them.

* Use the time you spend on the phone to wipe down counters, fold laundry, and take care of other quiet chores.  You can get a headset for your phone so that you are audible to the person you’re speaking to, yet have both hands free to take care of other things.

* If you have a big house, buy a large basket with handles.  Each night, start in one room and place the items that do not belong in that room into the basket.  Make your way through each room, putting away things that belong in that room and placing items that belong somewhere else into the basket.