A revelation in lunch packing technology!

It's a rite of passage every year --- the new backpack and lunch box.  This year Red is all about peace signs and when she saw this backpack in the Garnet Hill catalog she had to have it.  I wasn't super excited about the price ($30) until they had a promotion where they threw the matching lunch box in for free.  I ended up buying one for Tom Thumb too in a robot print.  You can't really tell in the picture, but part of what sold me on it is that the lunch box clips right to the backpack.  Too easy!


Next, I had to figure out how I was going to pack that lunch box.  I'm not a huge fan of using Ziploc bags because I hate the trash it creates.  Initially, I thought it would awesome to get her the bento box from Pottery Barn Kids, but then I saw all the complaints in the reviews about it not being liquid tight and that the quality was shabby.  Then, I made a fantastic discovery --- the square divided Lock & Lock container.  It was about $5 for the container.  I bought four so I could have one in the lunch and one in the dishwasher for each kid.  It's my dream --- reusable, air and liquid tight, and it's like a bento box!  Check this out.  Here it is closed inside the lunch box.  I figure I still have enough room in there for a drink container and a piece of fruit if I scoot the container off to one side.

Then you take off the lid by lifting the flaps that are on all four sides.

Inside it is divided into four areas.

But wait!  You can also have one big area with two smaller ones.

Or just one big box with no dividers!

Did I say how much I love this thing?  I seriously can't wait to pack a lunch in it.  

I know --- I'm crazy!   But look at this --- a lady who posted a product review on their website actually uploaded a photo of her lunch packed in it.  

Looks good to me. :-)

Today is a new day in the life of Tom Thumb.  It will be his first play date by himself.  Red has always had lots of friends in the neighborhood because all the neighbor kids were close to her age.  Unfortunately, there are only two kids Tom Thumb's age in the whole neighborhood and today they play!  My little guy is growing up.  Sniffle, sniffle...

Updates on heat, "paper towels" & other frugal musings

You may recall this post when I decided to turn down the thermostat in an effort to save money for my sister's wedding.  Here's the update...

Drum roll please...

We saved $30 on our bill last month vs. last year same time period!  Based on my initial projections from the thermostat calculator from the post linked above matching closely with our actual savings, we're right on target to save this year around the cost of a bridesmaid dress--- ha ha!

And no, this still isn't the dress.

What's really great about it is that we're not suffering.  We're not freezing cold!  In fact, when my husband told me last night about the savings I said, "Well, I guess we won't be saving that money anymore because didn't you turn it back up to 68 when we got home from vacation?"  He said, "No, it's still at 64.  I guess we're just used to it now."  I can't believe it!

You may also remember when we got rid of the paper towels.  It's been about two weeks now, and with a few exceptions it seems to be working out.  Here are the exceptions:

• Greasing pans - I always use a paper towel when I grease a pan.  Maybe I can switch to wax paper or sandwich bag and leave it in the can of shortening?  If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know.
• Cleaning up cat puke - I'm sorry, but there is NO WAY I'm going to clean up cat puke with a cloth and then let it hang out until I have time to do laundry.  I may have to keep one roll around just for the occasions that the cats decide to cough up their breakfast on the rug.

My latest frugal adventure may involve making some of these.  How cool is that?  I have so much extra fabric lying around that it would be a cinch to whip some of these up to replace sandwich bags---except for the one going in the shortening can. :-)

Swearing off paper towels

A couple of years ago one of my dear friends was very pregnant with twins.  I decided I'd go clean her house for her to help out one day.  Upon arrival, I asked to be shown to her cleaning supplies and she directed me to the hall closet.  I found the cleaners no problem, but there was absolutely no sign of paper towels.  After tearing apart the closet for a few minutes, I finally asked, "Where are your paper towels?" She pointed to a laundry basket full of rags on the floor of that very same closet.

I thought she was nuts at the time.  Why, why, WHY would you use rags when you could just grab a roll of paper towels?  My parents made me use rags to clean the bathroom when I was a kid and hated how cleaning with a rag and a bucket of water with cleaner in it always seemed to just push the dirt around and never get anything clean---at least not easily.

Fast forward to today.  I spent a couple hours today cutting up old bath towels (what was I thinking buying white towels in the first place???) and zigzagging around the raw edges with the sewing machine to make smaller, paper towel size towels.  My plan is to try to use them just as I would a paper towel, but throw them in a fabric bag to go in the washing machine instead of in the trash.  I'm not going to do the rag/bucket deal of my childhood.  I'm going to spray the cleaner, wipe with the towel, and when it's dirty it's getting tossed in the bag.  None of this rinsing out and using again..  Hopefully, since I have around 60 I'll have enough to give me the convenience of paper towels, but the benefit of less money spent and less paper in the landfill.

The Cobbler and I have been trying for a while to reduce our expenses and also be more environmentally friendly.  I'm currently making an effort to switch from Windex to vinegar and water as well.  Oh how I love my bright blue cleaner in the bottle!  It's been hard.  I still have one bottle with a bit of Windex left in it so I haven't had to go cold turkey.  We still have about 6 rolls of paper towels left.  It's time to hide them and see what happens next!

On a separate note of thriftiness, I found out that you can easily make foaming hand soap for pennies if you already have a dispenser.  Check out this blog post about making your own foaming hand soap.  We use bar soap in the upstairs bathrooms, but need to use foaming soap in the downstairs bath (otherwise the black floor gets instantly gross looking from drips off the bar) and the kitchen (kids drop slippery bars into the garbage disposal).  Yesterday I finished off a bottle of foaming hand soap.  I squeezed about a quarter inch of a shower gel I don't use into the empty container, slowly filled the rest of the container with warm water, gently shook it up, and voila foaming hand soap!