I’ve honestly thought it was a bit silly to spend money on a garbage bowl when I usually just slide my trash can next to me to collect whatever mess I’m creating.  Then last week when I had a few different recipes going at the same time and I kept kicking my trash can that I pulled next to me, I found myself pulling out a bowl just to collect my garbage.

I must admit it was helpful to have that bowl sitting there and I thought again just how smart Rachael Ray is.  I also saw this cute “Scrap Trap” you can attach to a drawer.  It’s much more affordable, but also much smaller.

What do you think?  Do you use a Garbage Bowl?  Did you buy one just for that purpose or do you just use any bowl in your cabinet?

Have you ever tried this?

This week is definitely an Eat-Out-of-the-Pantry week as far as our menu is concerned.  This month, I was behind in balancing our budget from last month and didn’t get on our cash spending plan until about half way through November.  And that kind of thing never fails in getting us off our budget and overspending on food.  So, we’re in the last few days of the month and our grocery cash envelope is empty.  I started to fret last week when I thought about that then I looked in our pantry and freezer.  We have plenty of food without a new menu plan and it reminds me again all that we have to be thankful for!

Also, Plan to Eat is offering a great deal today!

For this weekend only (Nov 23rd – 26th) you can get 50% OFF of all yearly subscriptions to Plan to Eat — even if you already have a subscription! That’s only $19 (or $1.58 a month) for a full year of organization, peace of mind, and healthy eating!

And if you are already a subscriber and have been thinking about giving gift subscriptions to Plan to Eat, this is the best opportunity to buy unlimited gift subscriptions at only $15.50 each.

And don’t forget Happy Little Lovelies who is still giving you 20% off with the code gttdreader20.

**UPDATE:  Cyber Monday Sale is even better! 30% off entire shop with the code lovelymonday!**

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Tuesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Macaroni & Cheese with Beef (from the freezer), mixed vegetables

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Steaks and hot dogs on the grill, baked beans (*Freezer Side), broccoli

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Pumpkin Pancakes, eggs, bacon

Friday

Breakfast:  cereal, fruit

Lunch: chicken nuggets, cheese, fruit

Dinner: pizza (my very own homemade. fully assembled frozen pizzas)  :)

Saturday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner: out to eat at one of our favorite kid-friendly restaurants

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com.

Photo Credit: Fotolia

I heard a statistic recently that 75% of consumers in all income brackets use coupons at sometime or the other. Although most people think about looking for their coupons in the Sunday paper, read more to find nine unexpected places to find these little treasures.

1.  Web Portals

The same companies that offer coupons in the Sunday paper also offer printable coupons. Websites like, Smart Source, Red Plum have coupons available for the printing. The coupons differ from the ones in the Sunday paper, so to maximize your savings, look for both.

2.  Company Websites

3.  Magazines

4.  Virtual Inbox

5.  Friends/Neighbors

6.  Store Circulars

7.  Product Packaging

8.  Entertainment Book

9.  Daily Deal and Group Savings Sites

So, the lack of posts lately has been due to my adventure of starting something new (again…I’m seeing this as a pattern in my life!)  :)  Ever since starting to grind my own flour, I have really loved baking with it and trying recipes.  The results are just so good with everything I’ve tried and I love baking with 100% whole wheat and things turn out so yummy.  So, with all that, you may have noticed the new tab for Simply Wholesome Bakery.  For Charlotte area folks, I’m now offering freshly ground flour and all sorts of other baked goods and frozen dough.  Check it out and look out for more info coming soon.

Also, Plan to Eat is offering a 20% discount to you, Getting Through the Day readers until January 1, 2013.  Read more here in this post about the benefits and to get the discount code.

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Mac & Cheese cups (from the freezer), fruit

Tuesday

Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls (*Breakfast Freezer Meal), fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Creole Black Beans (*Dinner Freezer Meal)

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Pizza Pockets (from the freezer), fruit

Dinner:  out to eat at Chili’s with a Kids Eat Free coupon

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Pancakes and Pancake Muffins eggs, bacon

Friday

Breakfast:  cereal, fruit

Lunch: chicken nuggets, cheese, fruit

Dinner: pizza (with dough from the freezer)

Saturday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner:  Steaks and hot dogs on the grill, baked beans (*Freezer Side), potatoes

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com.

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I thought I would share with you what our current Halloween plan is for our family.  Halloween is not my favorite holiday at all.  My husband, Dee and I came into our marriage with similar thoughts and preferences about celebrating Halloween or not.  However, to be clear, we don’t think that those who enjoy Halloween or go trick-or-treating are participating in evil and don’t have problems with our friends and family who choose to do different things.  I have read several different perspectives on it and seen different families (all of whom I love and respect) celebrate in different ways for the sake of connecting to their communities or just plain fun.

For families that have any hesitation about Halloween, I think there is often a mix of turning away from things we don’t want to be a part of, but not turning away from people.  For us in this season (which will change), two big factors come into play.

1. Our kids are pretty young.  Along with that, a couple of them are pretty sensitive to scary things (ie, talk about it for days and days or screaming and crying or nightmares, etc.).  I don’t want to give them images and experiences that are going to affect them for days or weeks.  Also, with four small children, it would be a big task to walk outside from house to house gathering candy.  Some days, it’s all I can do to get them through a parking lot without one running away.  :)  I honestly cannot fathom managing costumes, getting them to not eat the candy immediately, and have everyone stay with us.
2. I’m super cheap frugal.  It’s hard for me to think about spending money on four costumes or lots of candy.  I know. I know.  I could save money by making costumes myself, but really y’all, I’m not creative. at. all.

So, in light of all that, for the second year, we are having a Halloween version of Popcorn Fiesta complete with chocolate candy, marshmallows, and roasted pumpkin seeds.  We are going to all climb into our bed (yes, we’re going to try and fit everyone) and watch a fun movie together.  And we’re definitely not against dressing up.  Our kids play dress up all the time, so if they want to throw on one of their outfits they already have, great and they will definitely be cute!  Karis has already been talking about it from her memories of last year and she doesn’t feel left out of anything at all.  She thinks chocolate and marshmallow popcorn with a movie is the greatest!

Perhaps my favorite explanation of their perspective and practice of Halloween for their family is from my friend, Kelly in her post here.  She does a great job explaining the intentional transitions of their Halloween celebrations.

What are you guys doing tonight??

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Bible reading and study is something I have struggled on and off with for years.  Like most folks who aim to be influenced by the Bible, there can be a mix of desire and guilt; desire for it, but guilt that you could do more.  Since having 4 children, it has become even harder to get quiet, focused time that doesn’t involve sleep.  In this season, two things have really helped me.

1. Freedom from Guilt - In another time in my life (when I was single), I had lofty goals for Bible study and I felt the self-imposed checklist on me all the time.  And since my personality tends toward all or nothing anyway, if I didn’t have an uninterrupted hour to devote to Bible study and prayer and journaling, I felt like it wasn’t worth it, so I just didn’t do it.  I would go to Women’s Bible Studies at church and feel embarrassed that I hadn’t finished the daily study for that week and I was tempted to not even go at all.  Now I feel more freedom, knowing that one day I will get back to longer periods of focused study in the Bible, but in this season, I need to just put myself in contact with anything of the Lord that I can get.  Sometimes that does involve intense study and sometimes it’s just worship music that leads my heart to Him.
2. Bible.is – I have tried to surround myself with the things of the Lord that I encounter throughout my day like good worship music, encouraging conversations with friends, prayer as I go, listening to sermons while I do chores, and praying out loud with my children.  Even with all that, I want to be studying and reading the Scripture more.  I have never loved audio Bible programs.  I tend to lose focus easily while listening.  But Bible.is is a little different.  It is a dramatized version of the Bible, but it’s not too cheesy.  It uses different voices for different people and includes contextual background noise for the story.  Dee and I try to listen to a chapter every morning before he leaves for work and spend a little time praying together for the day.  It has become such a sweet time for us and great time in the Scriptures.

• It’s free.
• You can access it online or as an app for Android or Iphone.
• It includes different versions and languages.

If you haven’t seen it, Plan to Eat is offering a 20% discount to you, Getting Through the Day readers until January 1, 2013.  Read more here in this post about the benefits and to get the discount code.  I have talked a lot about Plan to Eat, but it allows me to quickly and easily plan a week’s worth of meal for my family, usually in less than 20 minutes.  Check it out!

Monday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner: London Broil, broccoli, potatoes

Tuesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: pb & j, cheese, apples

Dinner:  Chili (from the freezer), cornbread

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal, fruit

Lunch: Pizza Pockets (from the freezer), fruit

Dinner:  a special edition of Popcorn Fiesta that includes chocolate candy and marshmallows. (This is becoming a fun alternative Halloween event for our family paired with a movie.)

Thursday

Breakfast: granola, fruit

Lunch: Macaroni & Cheese with Beef (*Lunch Freezer meal), fruit

Dinner:  Freezer French Toast-this was a combination of this recipe and this recipe (from the freezer), eggs, bacon

Friday

Breakfast:  cereal, fruit

Lunch: Corn dog muffins, fruit

Dinner: pizza (with dough from the freezer)

Saturday

Breakfast: Baked Egg Cups (from the freezer), fruit

Lunch: soup and sandwiches

Dinner:  out to eat at one of our favorite family-friendly restaurants

Sunday

Breakfast: pancakes (from the freezer) – **in the car on the way to church

Lunch: Leftover pizza

Dinner:  Popcorn Fiesta

Check out more great meal plans at orgjunkie.com

Click image for more posts on 31 Days to Simplifying Life

Click image for more posts on 31 Days to Simplifying Life

We have been highlighting each of our Sponsors this week and they are all graciously offering a discount to you, Getting Through the Day readers.  If you missed any of them, be sure to check out our posts on The Confident Mom, Happy Little Lovelies, and Plan to Eat.  There are great deals on a weekly household planner, handmade jewelry, and an online meal planning subscription just for you!

Today we are featuring our last Sponsor, Deluxe Designs.  Julie specializes in custom WordPress designs and also offers Blogger to WordPress migration, social media designs, and Blogger or WordPress premade designs.  Michelle and I love her design style and I still frequently comment to my husband how much I love the look of Getting Through the Day.  I mean, really…just look at her own blog.  It is beautiful!

Michelle and I cannot say enough about how great it was to work with Julie.  She completely custom designed Getting Through the Day from the header to the layout, navigation, and every detail you see.  She was very easy to work with and was extremely gracious to endure through our many adjustments to the design.  We were super impressed with her design skills and how easily she put into view exactly what we described.

Well, Julie is offering 15% off any of her design services for Getting Through the Day readers for 30 days.  AND if you like Deluxe Designs on Facebook, you get 20% off!  All you have to do is mention Getting Through the Day when you send an inquiry to get started.  Check out Deluxe Designs if you’ve been thinking about switching to WordPress, need a whole new look for your website, or want to browse through her premade designs.

If you would like to promote your products, services, blog, or organization by becoming one of our Sponsors, check out our Advertising page or send us an email.

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To continue highlighting our sponsors and to share all the deals they are giving Getting Through the Day readers, I want to mention Plan to Eat.  I was reminded again this weekend just how easy Plan to Eat makes my meal planning when I

1. opened a previously saved weekly menu,
2. plugged it into the current week just by dragging and dropping,
3. clicked on the automatically generated shopping list (that also takes into account what I already have on hand),
4. and went shopping!

 This service is normally only $39 for the entire year, but the folks at Plan to Eat are offering our readers a 20% discount on a yearly subscription.  AND you can start with a free month-long trial to see how it works for you.  Just use the code gettingthroughtheday and you will get 20% off!!  This code doesn’t expire until January 1, 2013.  This also makes a great affordable Christmas gift and once you have a subscription, gift subscriptions are already 20% off, so with this code,  you get an even better deal!

This week, we are going to continue highlighting all of our Sponsors (have you noticed them over there in the sidebar?).  :)  Every one of them is running a sale for Getting Through the Day readers, so don’t miss it!

If you would like to promote your products, services, blog, or organization by becoming one of our Sponsors, check out our Advertising page or send us an email.