“Redoing” a Kitchen Without Spending Anything

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Sorry for the lack of posting the past couple of weeks–being in France visiting with family made it tricky to fit everything in.   However, we are now home and I am back to blogging!

Spending almost a month with my in-laws and away from home allowed me to reflect a bit on how we manage our household.  When I see a system or product or idea that works for someone else, I am always trying to figure out if it can work for us as well.

In this case, it was a kitchen makeover.  Now, our kitchen was cluttered, but not over the top.  But the junk drawer started to have problems closing and I often felt like I was searching for things in the middle of a meal.

In contrast, my mother-in-law has the most organized kitchen I have ever seen, but without being OCD about it.  Everything has its place, which makes for cleaner countertops and a more relaxed state of being.

So, after we got home and unpacked the suitcases, my husband and I spent our Saturday putting our kitchen in order.  It took us the better part of the morning, but it was a free makeover!  Here’s what we did:

• Putting like with like. We had drinking glasses in 4 different cabinets.  Instead, we rearranged the organization so we are down to 2 cabinets on 2 different shelves.  And those college-years shot glasses were stored away instead of cluttering up the wine glasses. We also washed a bunch of glasses because being in cabinets and not being used can make them icky.
• Tossing stuff previously we couldn’t part with. Like the old pasta pot from my husband’s first apartment with a broken handle and a leak when the water went past the handle level.  And the old Brita filter water pot that hadn’t been used in years.  Tupperware lids that had no mates.  All of these things take space.  Of course, whatever we could throw in the recycling bin, we did.
• Re-purposing kitchen items.Our fridge/freezer with ice maker also came with a plastic dish for holding extra ice cubes.  Instead of continuing as a empty space taker in the cabinet, it is now holding rubber gloves and dishwashing soap under the sink.  Ditto for Tupperware bottoms with missing lids; they are now holding sippy cups and lids.
• Ditching the dish rack. This was harder for me than my husband.  But in the end, we tossed it.  Instead, we place hand-washed dishes on a large dish towel, which makes us put them away faster.  And when we are finished, the dish towel either hangs out to dry or goes in the washer.  No more grody water lingering at the bottom of the dish rack.  And a whole lot more counter space!

When I look at our kitchen now, it is almost the kitchen of someone who just moved in.  I quite like the “new” feel–without spending anything but a few hours doing it!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: clutter, home decorating, home improvement, organizing, remodeling
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Prescription Sunglasses at a Reasonable Price?

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

Since summer is theoretically on its way, I thought I would talk about the wallet-draining experience that is purchasing prescription sunglasses.

My husband hated wearing contact lenses.  He wore them for all of 2 days.  Since he drives a fair distance to get to work, he needed prescription sunglasses so he wasn’t reduced to wearing the stylish “over the glasses” wraparounds favored by certain retirees.  But when we went to the optical store, there were two problems:

1. They were horribly expensive, even without his astigmatism correction factored in and

2. No one was willing to try putting his prescription in a wrap around-style frame that he wanted so that he could also play sports/ski with them.

So, as usual, I went online and found an excellent vendor: http://www.heavyglare.com/ Also known as Sun Ray Optical and based out of St. Paul, MN, these folks specialize in prescription sunglasses at a reasonable price.  His last pair (after he lost the first pair) cost $170, including lenses and a frame he actually liked.  Which, in the world of brand-name prescription sunglasses, is quite a good deal. 

We’ve been working with these folks now for several years and I have only had good experiences with them.  www.heavyglare.com has around 90 brands to choose from, including names like Ray Ban, Bolle, and Arnette.  They also do goggles.  And since I am usually the one dealing with customer service when there is a problem in the Delfau household, I can tell you their customer service is excellent.  At this time last year, they even offered to send my husband’s new sunglasses to France since we would be here visiting family when they would be ready to ship.  I was quite impressed!

And, of course, prescription sunglasses are reimbursable through your FSA and HSA, if you have one of these accounts!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: health insurance, prescriptions, sunglasses
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Long Haul Traveling

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Sorr that it took me a bit longer to write than expected since Nicolas and I were preparing to travel to France to visit my in-laws.  When getting ready for our trip, I wanted to share some great money and time saving tips that I thought you’d appreciate:

• When packing, use those Space Bags (www.spacebag.com) to arrange your clothes.  It compresses them so that you can fit a lot more in your suitcase–this is particularly helpful if you are traveling in winter with a bunch of bulky, space-taking sweaters. But just be careful that you don’t go over your airline’s weight limitations if you are flying!
• If you are flying with a child that requires a car seat on the plane, check out Go-Go Kidz’s Car Seat Travel carrier.  It is basically a wheeled cart that you attach any car seat to and then pull your child through the airport with and check the stroller at the gate.  It takes the misery of dragging a car seat around the airport–which I’ve done and can attest that it is not fun at all.  This accessory doesn’t come cheap, (the best price I found was at www.happymothers.com for about $75 including shipping) but is worth every penny if you end up in this situation.
• Bring new toys your child has never seen on the plane with you.  The days of “getting your wings” and special treatment on airlines is long gone–heck, even the free drinks on many international flights are finished too!  Save as much space in your carry-on bag for said toys, because you will need them!  I started to panic when our flight was delayed for 1 1/2 hours–half of it after we were already on the plane!  We went through 2 books, crayons and a coloring book, a Thomas Color-Forms set and Aquadoodle before take-off.  Thankfully Nicolas fell asleep before we ran through all of his snacks as well.  (My discerning child did not like the airplane food and I’ve learned that kids’ meals aren’t an option.)
• If traveling overseas, use your credit or debit cards as infrequently as possible.  Yes, I know carrying cash for some folks is painful and makes them nervous about getting pickpocketed.  However, the lousy exchange rates coupled with the hefty transaction fees levied by your credit card company are nothing short of breathtaking–particularly if you make a bunch of small purchases. And if you are going to be in another country for an extended period of time (or have children doing a foreign exchange), find out if your bank or a bank in your area has branches or agreements with local banks in the host country.  Then open an account there while still in the U.S. and save yourself both fees and hassles.

If anyone has any other tips to add, please do share!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: credit cards, travel
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