Getting More for Your Shampoo and Conditioner

Shampoo and conditioner can be quite expensive.  But if you know how to choose your products, you can stretch your dollar a lot further.

Tip #1:  Consider professional quality brands.

While you do pay more in the beginning, I find this is the best for your dollar.  These types of products are so well formulated that you actually need less product.  Personally, I prefer attaching a pump as well on my containers, as it really allows no over usage.  If you have short hair, you really need only one pump.  If you have longer hair, you could be looking at 2 to 3 pumps.  Even with my long hair before, it was common for the bottles to last me 5 months.  I actually came out ahead in the long run.  If you can't get to a beauty outlet store for your best deal, try checking out Home Sense or Winners-I've often seen professional products there, such as A/G, Chi, Big Sexy Hair, etc.



On a side note, a lot of regular shampoos and conditioners will add wax to your hair whereas the professional stuff doesn't.

Tip #2:  Add water

This tip comes from the newest issue of Cosmopolitan-add water.  When you think you need more suds from your shampoo, try adding a bit of water.  The water reactivates the formula and gives more suds.  I tried this myself when my squirt didn't seem to be doing it with all the gunk in my hair.  Adding water worked!

Tip #3:  Use a comb

My hairdresser gave me this tip when my hair was long-use a comb to comb conditioner through your hair.  I have fine hair, and too much conditioner can weigh it down.  By combing it through, all was evenly distributed.

So whether you save a buck or a lot of bucks, it's worth it...who knows what you can do with your money saved?

Shopping the Smart Way

Okay, seriously, you're not going to like what I have to tell you.  I even hate my own advice, but I tell you it works...

Don't go into a store at all if you can't spend  money.

I know, I know....it's awful, but it really works.  Even when making a list, I don't know one person who won't add an improptu item to their cart.

Fundraising Ideas

So as a teacher, I find that there is a never ending need for things.  Teaching is expensive-we put a lot out of our pockets, and in Manitoba, it's not tax deductible.  We have been doing fundraising for some time, with some great results.  A lot of schools are quite particular about fundraising, so if you're a teacher and thinking of it, definitely check out your school or area's rules.  As a band/division school, we're fortunate enough to be able to fundraise as much as we want.

I am a firm believer that fundraising needs to be done in a way that it puts minimum expectations on parents.  I think parents easily get overwhelmed after the first couple of fundraisers.  Where I am, some families really struggle month to month, so it's important that they don't feel pressured or that the kids feel upset if they can't contribute.

So far this year, we've had five different fundraisers, some of which might interest you.

1.  A bake sale-we managed to raise just over $150, but this did ask for contributions from parents.  I honestly wouldn't do this more than once a year.
2.  A yard sale-we raised over $100, which we split with another classroom.  I wouldn't necessarily do this one again as it took a whole day to sell-a lot of work for not a lot of profit.
3.  Tim Horton's Donuts-I remember as a kid having Tim Hortons donuts for sale and I loved it.  We've just started doing this and we're planning to do it twice a month.  From our first sale, we bought 8 dozen and we sold them all, making a profit of $47.
4.  Subway Lunch-we're holding a lunch in April using Subway's classic sandwiches.  We can buy a foot long for $5 and by cutting them in half, each sandwich with a juice box will sell for $5.  I placed a limit of spending 20 cents on each juice box.  So from each lunch, we should make (after our expenses), $2.30.  The great thing about this is that it's easy enough for my Grade 4s to be involved in sorting it as well.  We're doing preorders, but will have some available the day of.  Our hope is to make $400-which hopefully should just about cover the cost of our field trip (bus, bus driver, and tickets).
5.  Scholastic Book Orders-Sometimes we forget about this, but for every minimum purchase, you do get money back to use towards buying books in your classroom.  Any little bit helps.

I have done other things in the past as well, and I have some other ideas, but for now, you're going to have to wait in suspense.

My Life has Taken a Toll on my Blog...

The title says it all....the lack of inspiration and the uncertainty of everything has definitely taken its toll on this blog.  I do have some ideas in the works, so stay tuned, and I promise as my life settles a bit more, this blog will return to normal...

Retro Appliances

The other day I was watching an old episode of Moving Up on TLC and was reminded of a kitchen I fell in love with.  The kitchen didn't quite look like your typical kitchen.  It had purple walls, country cabinets, and a tin ceiling.  What made the kitchen come together so well were vintage inspired appliances.  They chose a beautiful 40s-like stove and fridge in a beautiful bright seafoam.  The look was breathtaking.  It made the room.

If something like this interests you, the company at www.elmirastoveworks.com has your new appliances.  From a range of colors and a range of products, the splurge is definitely worth it!

Organizing a Drawer with Jars

One of the things that I have loved that I've seen in many magazines is using square jars as a means of organizing kitchen goods.  By using square jars, you're maximizing space, without leaving spaces.

I found these adorable little jars from Dollarama and was quite impressed with them.  For a dollar and a quarter, they hold up to 500 ml, have a seal for freshness and a nice clear lid that helps you see through what's in the jar (when you pull out your drawer).

Now I have very deep drawers, so the only drawback I found was I actually found I could double them up on top of each other, but then I wouldn't see what's underneath.  I don't know about you, but I often find that if I don't see something, then I'll forget it's there.

Overall though, such a cute organization tool for little money....