Thrifty and Thriving

I have this argument with my daughters all of the time. If it’s only been on a couple of hours, and it’s not dirty, it doesn’t need to go in the hamper. Pajamas can be worn for a couple of nights – all you’re doing in them is sleeping!

I’m sure other parents go through the same thing. You want to be sure their clothes are clean, of course, but you also don’t want to wash the life out of them, forcing you to replace them earlier than necessary. Donna Freedman on MSN’s Smart Spending blog describes some of her rules for when it’s time to wash it. She suggests that by rewearing clothes that don’t desperately need to be washed you save money on soap, water, and new clothes. Read more.

When do you determine it’s time to wash it in your home?

In order to better compete with grocery chains and other warehouse stores, Sam’s Club plans to cut prices on popular items and offer more everyday items, like food and beauty products. They will also be cutting back on furniture and clothing items.

The plan is to offer more of a variety of brands, and by using a new method of quality testing, offer quality products for a lower price than competitors. Read more.

FROM EARLIER: Are warehouse club memberships worth it?

Offer is good now through October 8, with free delivery after mail-in rebate. Find out what’s available online.

Learn more about energy-efficient appliances from energystar.gov.

Whether you love them or hate them, the Snuggie is not only a popular item, it’s apparently having an impact on the fashion world. Check out today’s story from the AP about Snuggie’s debut during Fashion Week. It looks like the average consumer can look forward to Snuggies available in leopard print and other fun patterns this winter.

I don’t have a Snuggie, so I can’t tell you if they’re worth the hype. It think it makes more sense to put on more layers if you’re cold. However, Kristi over at On the Edge has a lot to say on the subject. Do any readers out there have a Snuggie or plan to get one this year?

I saw this post on The Simple Dollar, and it reminded me of a situation I was faced with this morning. I went to cut up some strawberries that were in my fridge when I noticed they were frozen solid. I checked, and at some point (probably during the process of trying to shove as much as I possibly could on the top shelf) it got set at the coldest possible level.

According to The Simple Dollar, this is one of many things you can control to reap savings from your refrigerator or freezer. A few other recommendations they make are as follows:

• Clean the dust out of the coils regularly. That means actually move the fridge out and clean behind it. Ick. I’d just prefer to forget that part of the house is back there.
• Fill empty juice or milk jugs with water and freeze them. A fuller freezer is a colder one.
• Purge the leftovers. They go bad, contaminate other food, and in the long run make you waste more than if you’d just thrown them away in the first place.

Read more suggestions from The Simple Dollar.

Christmas Tree Shops is advertising sofa slipcovers for $39.99. I wish we’d thought of that when our couch was new five years ago. It might have made the unfortunate Dr. Pepper incident less traumatic. Now, there isn’t much of point to it.

They are also having their quilt sale again, with twin quilts at $19.99, full/queen at $29.99, and king at $39.99. Find out what else is on sale.

Sale is good on wide selection of merchandise from now until August 8. Find out more on Boscov’s Web site.

I always find back-to-school sales in July depressing. This one, I guess, isn’t as bad because it’s directed toward college students who do start earlier, but come on! July 4th was last Saturday! Anyway, Walmart is advertising some college essentials on sale from July 12 - July 18, including 4GB SanDisk flash drives for $12. 8GB drives are $20. Other essentials, such as Mainstays twin and twin extra-long sheet sets are $7.50, and 6-piece towel sets are $10.