2.  Use dripping water to defrost meats quickly.  I’m a great meal planner but I stink at looking at my plan with enough time to defrost my meat.  My best friend recently divulged that you can put your meat in the sink in a bowl of cool water and let the faucet drip into it.  The friction defrosts the meat in record time. 

What things are making your life easier and more budget-friendly?

So without further ado, let me introduce to the only wrapping paper you’ll ever need.

For gifts from the kids, I wrap the gift and then let the kids decorate it with markers, crayons, stickers, stamps, and/or glitter paint. (Ok, glitter paint only happens when I’m in a really good mood.) We make sure we write who it’s to and from, and then we don’t even need to include a card.

For more mature and stylish looking gifts, I wrap the gift and then add a pretty ribbon. Fabric ribbons are a nice touch but I’ve used basic curling ribbon in a pinch more times than I would care to admit.

One year, we made all of our own Christmas paper by rolling it out and stamping it with big, foam Christmas stamps.  Can you believe I don’t have any pictures to share?  Feel free to pick your jaw off the ground whenever you’re ready.

You can, of course, also use the paper for that which it was actually intended…wrapping packages for mailing.  We do plenty of that, too, with the occasional Ebay sell and lots of out-of-town family.

I just realized I can buy it from Amazon.com for a great price (truth be told…I would probably pay twice this much just so I wouldn’t have to take three kids into a store with me) and free shipping since I’m an Amazon Prime* member.  For under $10, I’ll have a brand-spanking-new roll delivered to my door in 48 hours.  If you’re more adventurous than me, I’ve also found it at office stores and…drum roll…the dollar store!

*If you’ve never heard of Amazon Prime and/or you’re a mom and/or you live in the middle of nowhere and/or you’re addicted to online shopping, you need to go to Amazon Prime and sign up NOW.  Please.  You can thank me later.  What’s the big deal you may ask?  FREE two-day shipping, no minimum purchase for a year for $80.  Now $80 may sound like a lot until you know that you can split your Prime membership across as many as 5 Amazon accounts.  I did the math for you…that’s only $16/year for FREE two-day shipping on anything Amazon sells (not things from the Amazon marketplace).  Let me tell you, Amazon sells A LOT.  No, they’re paying me to market for them.  I’m just a little addicted to having things arrive for no shipping at my house in 48 hours.  I’ve ordered everything from toys to crock pot liners to Gorilla glue. Totally worth it…if you ask me.

If you shop online at all (I pretty much only shop online unless it’s groceries), you should shop through a site like this.
http://www.mrrebates.com/?refid=14726.

Basically, you get a certain percentage rebate depending on the retailer.  We’ve gotten hundreds of dollars back over the last 6 years.

You should sign up just in time for the holiday shopping season.

http://www.mrrebates.com/?refid=14726.

I received this in my inbox a couple days after this post…

Melissa,

Thanks for posting your story about ShopDiscover and congratulations! You’re one of the winning bloggers to enter our promotion and we’re excited to send you a $50 Discover Gift Card.

You’ll receive your Gift Card shortly by mail.

Thanks for participating and for letting us know more about your online bargain hunting and sharing the benefits of ShopDiscover on your blog!
I hope we hear more from you in the future. Keep an eye out for upcoming Discover Card promotions.

Thanks,
Suzanne
Social Media and Brand Manager
Discover Financial Services

—–original post follows——

So if you know me well, you know that I a bit of a bargain hunter.  It’s not unusual for me to check multiple places to get the best deal or to show up at the grocery/drug store with as many coupons as I have items on my list or to buy 12 jars of peanut butter because they’re on sale.

I am also a frequent online shopper an online shop-a-holic.  Knowing is half the battle, right?

Why shop online?  Because I have three kids.  Enough said.  Oh, and most places will let you return to the store which means you never pay return shipping.  And I can handle returns with three kids.  And I usually only buy when I can get free shipping.

Anyway, I often shop through Mr. Rebates because I can get cashback in small amounts for my online purchases (e.g., Lands Ends gives 3%).  I always use my Discover card because they also give about 1% cashback on all purchases.

Enter the perfect marriage of online shopping…Shop Discover.  Here Discover cardholders can shop with even higher discounts (e.g., Lands End gives 10%).  Then you can stretch your cashback by getting merchant gift cards (e.g., Lands End $50 giftcard for only $40 in cashback rewards).  Or you can use cashback to get merchandise (free shipping!), an account credit, or personalized Discover giftcard.  So many options…so little time. 

Happy Shopping! 

P.S. By blogging about the new Shop Discover I am eligible to win this promotion!