In case you were wondering...

I always enjoy seeing fellow blogger's chaos of coupons scattered across tables, floors, chairs... kids. :o)

So, I thought I would take a picture of my chaos and share with you what my workspace looks like... Here it is... Right now, my workspace is on my dining room table. I'm gonna have to change that soon. It's kind of an eye sore and when people come over I have to hide everything!! Hahaha...


This is my coupon notebook. I keep a ton of loose coupons in here... this is the book I take with me EVERYWHERE! So, if I see a coupon that I'm pretty interested in or that I'm pretty sure I'll use, I go ahead and clip it and throw it in this book!! I have notebook paper in the back that I use to jot grocery lists and such on. I keep ALL baby coupon's in a sleeve in this book and also ALL Target coupon's and any manufacturer's coupon's that match up with the Target coupon's. Oh... and any restaurant coupons too!! I hate it when I'm out with friends or my husband and we are like "Hey, let's get icecream!" (or whatever) and I don't have "that darn coupon" with me!


And last, BUT certainly NOT least... CUZ THIS IS THE MOTHERLOAD!! This is my accordian file of coupons!! I keep all of my Sunday inserts in here, separated by month. Of course, I use my handy dandy Sharpie to note the date and brand of each insert. I also keep the current week's sales ads in the front pocket. I know it looks crazy, but it works for me!!

What I've Been Up To.

I have been a busy, busy momma bee... let me tell you! This week I have had so much motivation and energy, I don't know what's gotten into me! You'd think I was in my 2nd trimester! (...and I'm NOT EVEN PREGNANT!!) ...or am I? Just kidding... definitely not! My sweet almost 7-month baby girl is enough to keep me entertained for years!

So what HAVE I been doing, you ask??

Remember I mentioned that I wanted to start making baby food with any leftover produce that I had in my fridge?? Well, I followed through with last week's produce leftovers and made carrots, bananas and mangoes. I was SO excited at how easy it was, I decided to incorporate fresh veggies and fruits in my grocery list. (Speaking of groceries... I did AWESOME this week! ...WAY under-budget, but I'll talk more about that in my Saturday Savings Report). I've been making baby food ALL week!! Well, at least one fruit or veggie everyday. I don't have enough baby food jars to make everything at one time. Any ideas on where to get some baby food jars? I've made squash, carrots, pears and peaches and I have sweet potatoes sitting on my counter for later this week. I've been referring to Wholesome Baby Food (dot) com for basic purees... and they have some fancier recipes too!

Second, I've been creating my own coupon database. There are some really great databases out there, such as Coupon Mom and the Krazy Coupon Lady, but there's nothing like your own database, right?? With my own DB, I can input any mailer coupons I receive or any local store ads or local business coupons. This will be helpful for any of you Southern California couponers out there... anyone?

Third... been chasing around my sweet baby girl! Phew!

One final project I'm in the process of is organizing Baby Girl's clothes! She has a whole lot of clothes that she has outgrown!! :o( I need to finish organizing that... store what I want to keep, and giveaway what I don't want, etc. etc. etc.

That's what I've been up to... how about you?

August Goals!

Now for my August Goals:

First and foremost, the thing I'm most excited about is The Envelope System. This system really makes sense to me. I'm gonna give it a shot for my grocery/toiletries/eating out budget. I'll start with this budget.

• $360 - groceries (including food for Macy)
• $50 - toiletries (including diapers)
• $50 - eating out (splitting meals and drinking water really makes eating out affordable for us!)

Start my herb garden already!! Herbs are so expensive and I rarely ever use them all when I buy them. Not only is growing your own herb garden economical, it's pretty too!

Baby food. Be consistent in using any produce I'm not going to use to make baby food.

Finish my crafts! I have several crafts laying around the house that I started and never finished!! I have some new things that I want to make, but I want to finish what I've started before starting on something new!

Wake up earlier. I am blessed to have a 6-month that likes to sleep in just as much as me. But these 10AM sleep-ins are such a waste of time! With my sweet baby girl sleeping, I could get so much more done in the mornings!! Early to bed, early to rise!!

End of the Month Wrap-Up!

July is coming to an end and August is a brand new month!! The beginning of each month is almost like New Years for me. I have new ambitions, new goals, new ideas... new resolutions. But before I share any of those things, I have to wrap up July! How do I do that?

Here's a few things:

Clean out that fridge!! I have onions, bell peppers, strawberries and mangoes to chop and put away in the freezer. I'm looking forward to some end of the summer refreshing fruit smoothies! Frozen fruit is great to use instead of ice! And I'll use the bell peppers and onions for fajitas!

Make baby food. This is really one of those goals for August. However, I have some carrots that are going to go bad and some bananas that are just ripe. Don't wanna throw 'em away!! I'll probably throw in some of those yummy mangoes too!

Re-evaluate my budget for next month. This is one of those things that is consistently being fine tuned.

Reorganize my coupons. I will throw away July expired coupons and highlight August expiration dates. That way, I will be aware on any coupons that I've been wanting to use and are about to expire.

That's what I have pending on my checklist... I'm going to focus on these things before I compile my August list... I only have one day left, so I'd best be off to wrap the month up!!