It's FREE. Is it for me? Deciding Whether to Bring Products Home

It's FREE. Is it for me? NOPE. I don't take advantage of every deal, not even all the FREE ones. When you bring a product home, you need to manage it. You'll need to possibly pay tax on it, carry it home, find a place to put it, find someone who will use it, find somewhere to donate it... That's why I'm not buying/taking home FREE NatuRelief or MidNite for Menopause from Walgreens this week.

I don't want my stock to overtake my space or consume my time so I've created some criteria to help me decide on whether or not I should take advantage of a great deal that's available. Here's my criteria. 

• Do I use it?  
• Would I use it if it's FREE. 
• Do I need to "roll" some register rewards or Extra Care Bucks before they expire?  
• Will they pay me to take it home?

If I answer yes to any of these questions, I will pick up the deal. If they're all no, I leave it alone.

I don't take products home unless I already use it; It's FREE so I will try it; It's a moneymaker, even if I won't use it; or I really need to extend my register rewards (use some to buy this product and get new RR with a later expiration date). 

What about donation?

You might say, "You can donate it." Yep, I donate plenty, but think about it. If you're homeless, hungry or can't afford hygiene products, are NatuRelief or MidNite for Menopause on your list of needs? Don't let your excitement about getting something for FREE prompt you to create an inventory management problem for yourself or burden someone else. 

That said, if you know of an organization that needs these products, let me know. I'm happy to buy them and  donate. That falls into my "I would use it" category because I would be using it for donation. 

I recently donated more than 50 products to a local elementary school serving children living in challenging circumstances. My gift was mostly soap/body wash, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and feminine hygiene products. That's what they really needed. How do I know? I was part of the group that arranged the donation drive. 

Can you let something FREE pass you by? What's your criteria for deciding among the many awesome deals we find? Think about it.

Toilet Paper Trick: How Do You Compare Pricing on Varying Sized Rolls of Toilet Paper?

Here's an oldie but a goodie that lots of visitors come looking for, so I'm reposting for those of you who are new to Building Shangrila.

Toilet paper is on sale for $0.38/roll, but what does that mean? Have you ever noticed that you can’t really compare toilet paper pricing roll to roll? There are big rolls and mega rolls and double rolls and regular rolls and the roll sizes keep changing.

Instead of trying to compare rolls, I’ve learned to use the toilet paper trick. Basically paying 1 cent per square foot of toilet paper sounds reasonable. Notice I said square foot, not "square." That's about 1 cent per use, give or take. Look at the bottom of the package at the number of square feet and divide by 100 (or move the decimal point left two positions). This gives you a number equivalent  to 1 cent per foot. Now, if the price of the package you are considering (minus any coupons you will use) is equal to or less than this number, you're paying 1 cent or less per use (square foot) of toilet paper. If it's more, you're paying more than 1 cent per square foot for toilet paper.

Putting this into practice, Sentry Foods had Charmin Ultra on sale for $8.99. I had a $1 off one coupon that they would double. That means the price would be $6.99 for 18 big rolls. Is this a good price or not? Using the toilet paper trick, we find that the total square footage is 375.5 square feet per package. Moving the decimal point two places to the left, means to get this toilet paper for 1 cent or less, the price needs to be equal to or below $3.75 per package. this price is almost double that or nearly 2 cents per square foot.

Keep in mind that using price per square foot doesn’t take into consideration the quality of the toilet paper, preference or regional price variations. Determine whether 1 cent per square foot is something you can do or whether you need to set your buy price at 1.5 cents or even 2 cents per square foot. For example, we buy Charmin and my buy price is 2 cents per square foot or less.

I recommend that you consult with the man in your house when determining the brand or brands you prefer. I learned early in my marriage that paying for the toilet paper my husband likes makes for a happy husband. He once said, “If you have to get cheap toilet paper, can’t you at least buy two-ply?” I have since heard from two other women that their husbands are of a similar mind even though it doesn’t seem to matter too much to the ladies. Personally I think the way to a man’s heart is with clean underwear, fresh socks and good toilet paper.

Now go tryout the toilet paper trick. Want to learn more about toilet paper?

Find out why toilet paper belongs to America
Read the story behind disposable toilet tissue

FREE 128-Day De-Cluttering and Organization Pack

While this isn't the greatest Mother's Day gift, it's the kind of gift many of us need. Get a FREE 30-Day Organize-athon Pack and email course. In just 5 minutes a day you can organize your life and make a fresh start.

Just like Get Organized Wizard on Facebook and follow the instructions to download your FREE 30 Day Organize-athon 128 page pack of 5-minute decluttering and organizing tasks absolutely FREE. You will need to register, but no credit card or payment info is required.

FREE Organize in Style Booklet with $35 in Procter & Gamble Coupons

Remember the FREE after coupon Dawn hand renewal at CVS last week? Well it was only FREE with the $1/1 Dawn hand renewal coupon from the Organize in Style coupon booklet. Now you can get your own booklet. Register for a FREE Organize in Style coupon booklet chock full of $35 in coupons. If you already have one, no worries. This is a new link so you should be able to request another. 

Home Made Simple Coupon Booklet with $35 in Coupons

Get your FREE Homemade simple coupon booklet with more than $35 in P&G coupons. 

Cut Spending With the "Not Buying It" Budget

Looking for a way to control your spending? Try my Not Buying It Budget, inspired by the book Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine.

While Judith Levine didn't buy anything that is not a necessity, the Not Buying It Budget isn't quite so drastic. It allows for shopping: for clothes, for gifts, for the birds and for you. The author's experiences, while drastic, encourage thought about want vs. need in an America where immediate gratification is the norm.

With the Not Buying It Budget, you pay cash for all of your spending and when you're out of cash, you're Not Buying It!

To make it work, you must dole out cash weekly, biweekly or monthly, to cover your set spending categories. Begin by estimating the cash you will spend for expenses such as groceries, gas, dining, clothing, personal care, etc. Then determine who pays for what, husband or wife. Double check to make sure your budget is balanced and don't forget to make sure there is enough left for savings. If you're giving yourself more cash than you can afford, cut back on the cash. You'll be amazed by what you don't buy when you're committed to only paying cash and you don't have cash in your pocket.

You should account for monthly bills such as mobile phone, mortgage, internet and utilities separately. They are not the focus of Michelle's Not Buying It Budget. This budget helps to control spending, which is more often controlled by impulse, or lack thereof and bills (except credit card bills) are not impulse purchases. Make sure you can afford your bills, reduce them if necessary (that's another article) and pay them from checking. There's no need to pay cash for bills, only spending.

Now, choose a set weekly, biweekly or monthly date to withdraw the cash for your Not Buying It Budget and divvy it up. He pays for gas, dining, car maintenance, etc. and she pays for personal care, household, groceries, etc. Or whatever works for you. When you run out of cash, you don't buy it. Using the Not Buying It Budget really forces you to plan ahead and anticipate upcoming expenses. It will also encourage you to postpone purchases when you run out of money.

You might even go "old school" when it comes to making larger purchases. That means saving for those purchases. Yes, $20 or more each week will add up to that flashy new camera, dress you're dying to have, or snow blower you will need come winter.

Will it help you to spend less? If you follow the Not Buying It principle, absolutely. Your bills will get paid and you will find money left over at the end of every month.

It really works. Give the Not Buying It Budget a try. If you need some inspiration, read the book and find out how Judith Levine lived an entire year without buying anything but necessities. Hmm, is deodorant a necessity?

Wisk Printable Coupon for $1/1 Detergent

Print $1/1 Wisk Detergent Printable Coupons. Click on the "Try Wisk HE" tab and select "download coupon."

I'm not so sure about HE laundry products. We've had a Bosch high efficiency for about five years and have found that small amounts of regular detergent work great. My impression is that the HE detergents are watered down so you don't use too much, but that means less detergent. They often charge more for the HE varieties too. If my understanding is wrong, leave a comment.

$1/2 Scotch Brite Sponges Printable Coupons for Cheap and FREE Sponges

Get $1/2 Scotch Brite Sponges printable coupons. This should make for some really cheap sponges when you combine with a nice sale on the single sponges. If you have a store that doubles coupons, you should be able to get FREE sponges with this coupon. 

Here are some printable coupons for other Scotch Brite products.

Get scrubbing.

Sign Up for Homemade Simple and Find Helpful Ideas for Your Home

Have you signed up for Homemade Simple yet? It's an email newsletter with lots of tips and information in columns such as Organized Life, Clever Kitchen, Celebrate Living and more. I especially enjoy the Organized Life. I need all the help I can get. Clever Kitchen is currently featuring a grilled-fruit shortcut. It looks yummy! Sign up today and find helpful ideas for your home!

Fold a T-Shirt in Two Seconds Flat

Folding laundry is one of my least favorite chores. I always look for ways to save a little time with the laundry.

My husband only wears T-shirts and one day I had a load of 18 black T-shirts to fold. Thankfully I've learned the trick in this video. It took some time to become adept, but now it takes only moments to fold a load of T-shirts. 

This guy isn't as tidy about it as I am, but practice makes perfect and I've had a lot of practice with my husbands T-shirts.
Check it out!