Money

Never pay a late fee for overdue library books again

Never pay a late fee for overdue library books again

July 27, 2018
Joni Smith
Family, Money Saving Apps

If you like to read and spend money on books, you’re going to want to read this post about the Overdrive app. I’ve been on a reading kick lately. It’s something I enjoy doing to relax and de-stress. I usually try to read self-improvement books. However, I’ve recently been reading a whole lot of books from my favorite genre: fantasy.  I’m hooked on the fantasy series The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. I’m currently on book 6- and that’s not…

2
Read More
11 Facts that will make you want a cordless electric lawn mower

11 Reasons You Should Switch to a Cordless Electric Mower

July 2, 2018
Joni Smith
Saving on Shopping, Yardwork

Buying a cordless electric mower ten years ago has been one of the best purchases we’ve ever made!!! In fact, I feel that way about a lot of the electric items that we’ve switched to using over the years, like our electric car and robot vacuum cleaner. But back to the electric mower. Did you know that the average lifespan of a lawn mower is 8-10 years? If you have a traditional push mower, you’ll have all those years of…

1
Read More
Make an outdoor bench for less than $10

Make a bench for less than $10 and transform your porch space into a reading nook

June 12, 2018
Joni Smith
Outdoor DIY

Is your porch space underutilized? Would a bench transform it into an area where family could sit and enjoy the scenery or read a book-or even just make it nicer on the eyes? But you don’t want to spend the upwards of $100 for a new bench (that may or may not even fit the space perfectly)? Well, I have a solution for you! In this post, I am going to show you how you can make your own bench-…

2
Read More

Skip the straw blankets and use your ornamental grass to spread over grass seed

June 7, 2018
Joni Smith
Gardening & Growing, Yardwork

I left my ornamental grass tall and uncut all winter for these 7 beneficial reasons. If I’m being totally honest, the main reason was there was plenty of other yard work to do in the fall without adding this to the list! So when we hit spring, and I couldn’t put off cutting down that huge mound of ornamental grass any longer, I seized the opportunity to use it as straw to protect the grass seed that I needed to plant…

1
Read More
Save Thousands By Fixing Existing Patio Pavers Yourself

Save Thousands and Fix Your Patio Pavers Yourself

June 4, 2018
Joni Smith
Outdoor DIY

Do you have patio pavers that are sinking and becoming uneven?

Maybe you’ve checked with a few landscaping companies and realized that they cost thousands of dollars to fix it for you?

If that sounds like you, I’m here to tell you that this is a project that you can take on yourself. Save that money and give it a try first. I decided to do just that because I figured, if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll hire the experts. And if it does work out, #winning!

2
Read More
Save Your Sensitive Skin - and Wallet - with Homemade Deodorant

Save Your Sensitive Skin – and Wallet – with Homemade Deodorant

May 25, 2018
Joni Smith
Health & Fitness

Here’s my little secret that I don’t often share with people- I’ve been making my own deodorant for years. I’m not sure why that doesn’t come up in everyday conversations. LOL, homemade deodorant discussions are exciting! But the truth is, I have very sensitive skin and I’m allergic to many store-bought deodorants. They make my armpits itchy! Yeah, that’s not a fun feeling when you’re going about your day in public places around people. In my adolescent years, I didn’t…

0
Read More
Just Add Curtains for DIY Patio Oasis - Easy - Customizable - So Affordable

Just Add Curtains for DIY Patio Oasis

May 22, 2018
Joni Smith
Outdoor DIY

I love the look of gazebos and pergolas. In all those home and garden magazines, they always make the outdoor space something special. And I wanted that for my backyard! For me, it turns out that patio curtains are a viable and waaay more affordable alternative. I’d stare out the window at our patio and daydream about how it would look with some kind of wall or roof. Our patio overlooks the backyards of about 5 of our neighbors’ backyards,…

4
Read More
Make Your Own Tall Planters

Make your own tall planters and save over $100 on each

May 15, 2018
Joni Smith
Gardening & Growing, Outdoor DIY, Saving on Shopping

Since moving into our home nearly four years ago, I had a plan to put some nice tall planters on our front stoop. But I just never got around to it. Whenever I saw them for sale in the store or online, the tall planters (nearly 3 feet high) would go for more than $150 EACH! So I resolved to figure out how to make my own. Luckily, Pinterest came to my rescue and I found this wonderful tutorial on…

12
Read More
Chocolate Rice Krispy Treats

Easy and Cheap (and Delicious!) Chocolate Rice Krispy Treats

May 10, 2018
Joni Smith
Family, Food

I forgot that it was my week to bring the snack to the girl scout troop meeting until the day before. Has that ever happened to you? You’re supposed to bring food to an event and it somehow doesn’t make it to your to-do list or the grocery list. Whoops. I was scrambling trying to come up with something that I could bring that wouldn’t break our food budget, that most kids would like, and was gluten -free (so my…

0
Read More
Social Networks