Shop online & save time, energy, and money

Recently someone asked why we buy so much online. I responded with three statements: it is cheaper, you save time, and you save gas. So which online stores have Mom’s Seal of Approval?

Below you will find some of MF’s Best Online Stores:

“Coupon Mom”

Sunday grocery shopping is not our favorite event. As discussed in the Healthy Lifestyle section we try not to shop at busy times. However, what we do try to do on a Sunday (besides going to church) is collect coupons.  A lot of us out there are trying to pinch pennies where we can, but sometimes this takes work. Yesterday I caught a feature on ABC from the “Coupon Mom” reminding us all how to save money when grocery shopping. In a nutshell, she reminded shoppers to buy generic items, plan your shopping (and eating) around what is on sale at stores, check receipts, and use coupons (which she has available online).

This mom has a few other favorite ways to save money at the grocery store, and some might seem a bit counter-intuitive:

Let things run out. We found that if we have a lot of something we use more of it and usually gratuitously. Think of how you get when your toothpaste is finished but you just need a teeny bit more. Well you get it by rolling over the tube 4-5 times, cutting off the end, or pushing hard at the top because you need that little bit to get your teeth clean. Whereas, if you have 2-3 in the closet you might just throw out the toothpaste when the cap gets too messy or it is almost gone. So as the saying goes “waste not, want not.” 

Keep your cans. At our grocery store we get charged a deposit just for the possibility that we might bring our cans back. On a 12 pack that is 60 cents. If we don’t take the cans back we loose 60 cents. So keep them, collect them, and get your money back.

Drink water from the tap. Call me crazy, but we have a good friend that works for a public water company and he can’t believe people drink bottled water due to rigorous State and Federal  water testing. If you just can’t stomach that buy a filter that attaches to the fawcett. 

Go Organic

Yes, it is expensive, but in our family we have tried to go organic. The more that we learn, the happier we are with this decision. Why? Frankly, because we are not comfortable with the amount of chemicals, pesticides, and genetically modified ingredients in many non-organic foods. So we figure, the cost is worth it in the long run. What are some of mom’s favorite organic products? Gerber Organic, Nature’s Path, Earthbound Farms, Amy’s, Cascadian Farm, Health Valley, Horizon, Stonyfield, and Earth’s Best (to name just a few).

If you want more information, check out a recent NY Times Article entitled “Five Reasons to Go Organic”

As always, be sure to share your favorite organic products with this mom!

Smart Snacking on the Go

Soon we are going to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend, and many times those long road trips lead to unhealthy eating all day long.  However, recently we revamped our snack strategy for the whole family – no matter where we go.  We take a little time to make sure we are armed with healthy snacks which can be just as convenient. What are mom’s favorite smart snacking ideas? Grapes, carrots, pretzels, laughing cow cheese (which doesn’t need to be refrigerated), cut apples, rice cakes, organic animal crackers, and of course peanut butter & jam sandwiches still work well. We also have found some great “grab and go” drinks and snacks from Horizon, Health Valley and Clif Bar. We tend to buy these items in bulk from Amazon because we can stock up and buy more for less.

Online Stores

If you haven’t noticed, this mom loves online shopping. In some ways, I never thought I would. I remember a few years ago when there was an advertisement for refrigerators that would keep track of groceries that were running out and then order them online for you. To me, that just took it too far. But honestly, lately our house is akin to “Cuba.” Why? Because we are trying to make what we have last and we try not to replace things at a whim. So why list so many products here? The reason I am always blogging about mom’s favorite products is because when we spend money I want it to go far. I don’t want to keep purchasing diaper bags, children’s toys, clothes, or other products because the fads have changed or because the item I purchased wasn’t up to snuff. That is how I got into online shopping. I started researching the prodcuts before I bought them instead of impulse shopping, I have found that this mom has had a high success rate in making her budget go further for less by having a little patience (big surprise!). So which online stores have mom’s seal of approval?

Of course, the one and only Amazon where you can buy almost everything you need! But also dvd rental companies such as Blockbuster and Netflix. We also now do all our travel booking through Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, or Hotwire. We even buy our clothes with discount coupons from Target, Gap or Banana Republic (because you can exchange them or return them in the store). We also started to do a bit of online grocery shopping with Peapod and Amazon. And of course, we now have ordered almost all of our gifts online (where we have found more unique and personalized items through Acorn, PBS, iseeme.com). Not to mention we save on gas, shipping, and time, as most of these retailers ship for free. See my quick links to go directly to these sites.

As always, please share what your favorite online stores are!

Healthy Lifestyle

It is no surprise that this mom and other moms find it hard to find a balance in life. Once kids arrive it is hard to find time out for mommy. It is also can be difficult to stay healthy. Like so many women I was scared to death that after kids I would forget to eat healthy, exercise, and keep up with the vitamins. Did I? Yes, of course. When I was breast-feeding I found myself eating chocolate bars (they were Lindt though) because I just knew I needed more energy.

So this mom has been trying to keep to a “Healthy Mom Manifesto.” How?

Eat & Buy Organic.I have talked elsewhere about the importance of this. There are increasing number of reasons to buy organic foods, toys, and clothing products. Really, there are. I never considered myself a “right on mom” until I started educating myself more about food production. Trust me, the more I read, the more I find reasons to buy organic foods and use organic products in our household. Why? Frankly, because we are not comfortable with the amount of chemicals, pesticides, and genetically modified ingredients in many non-organic foods. So we figure, the cost is worth it in the long run. You might be surprised how many organic companies now exist, and we have found that many of these companies produce some of the best, most reliable, dependable, and reasonable products we use. What are mom’s favorite organic products? Gerber Organic, Nature’s Path, Earthbound Farms, Amy’s, Cascadian Farm, Health Valley, Horizon, Stonyfield, and Earth’s Best, Tom’s Natural Toothpastes & Deodorants, and Seventh Generation (to name just a few).

Go Green. Seriously, do we need another documentary to realize that things are not good for mother earth? Get the kids involved and have them help you think of ways to do this. I know it sometimes is not convenient, and that might be an understatement. (We recently had our recycling left at curb because we were told they do not collect #1 and #2 plastics – which makes up 90% of what we recycle, leaving us to collect and deposit these items on are own). So we make it a priority to recycle our empty containers, even if it takes a little elbow grease to do.

We also have started to move toward using “Earth Friendly” cleaning products. This mom is very concerned with using healthy cleaning products that won’t harm the whole family. There are now a large amount of “mainstream” products which are going “green.” It is so important that moms (and dads) use these products because they are biodegradable, lack harsh chemicals, and are environmentally friendly. Some of mom’s favorite “green” cleaning brands include: Method Home, Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation, and even Clorox Green Brands.

Ditch the plastic bags. We recently traveled to Europe and were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a charge for plastic bags. We have tried to always remember to bring our cloth bags with us so that they are easy for us to use and we have no excuses not to use them.

Change the lightbulbs. Really, this is probably one of the easiest things to do. Conserve energy by turning off the lights and using GE Energy Smart Lightbulbs.

Educate yourself and your family. I have been really happy to see that moms are doing just that lately. But there is always room for more learning, so educate yourself on other ways to stay green by going to some many great websites out there to help you live a “green lifestyle.” Some of mom’s favorite websites include:

Find green stores: http://www.thefindgreen.com

Dr. Greene and raisng baby organic: http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=2154

Healthy Child for a Healthy World: http://www.healthychild.org/

Kid’s Recycle at: http://reproduct.net/index.html 

Even Oprah has done quite a few shows on this topic, giving 101 ideas for going green. http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200704/tows_past_20070420.jhtml?promocode=incl20070420TD

Support local farmers & businesses. One of the best ways to help keep up a sustainable way of living for all of us to to invest locally.  Even online there are “local shops” run by individual that make great, safe, organic products (www.etsy.com features many of these). We love farmer’s markets, because eating locally can many times be better, and cheaper, for the family than eating organically. Why? Because little fuel is used in the delivery of these items and though many local farms are organic, they can afford to be listed as such.

Get moving! Walk, walk, walk! Especially with gas prices so high, our whole family walks as much as possible. We now even walk to the grocery store because we find we buy less, use the stroller to carry things home instead of plastic bags, and get some exercise. Study after study shows that walking is indeed the best form of exericse going, so do it!

Surviving the Grocery Store

Negotiating Grocery Store Shopping

Okay, so many of us hate the grocery store, especially if you are dragging around tired and cranky kids (or spouses!). So, in our family we have found some excellent ways to mange this.

First of all, in order to get products at the best price, we buy a lot of things through Amazon.com. If you subscribe to their “subscribe and save” program you can get a large discount on tons of everyday products. We buy wipes, diapers, laundry detergent, granola bars, coffee, splenda, and toothpaste through Amazon. Two day shipping is FREE through this service if you subscribe to “Amazon Prime” (which is $70 a year, and trust me it pays for itself). In comparing prices we discovered that Amazon is cheaper than popular “superstores” such as Costco and Sam’s Club.

We also have started to use online shopping and delivery available at many stores. Stop and Shop has a very reliable and timely delivery service of groceries through PEAPOD. We were shocked that we could simply go online and have our groceries delivered the next day!

Best Grocery Products for the Whole Family

Okay, so when we do make that dreaded trip to the store, we found that being armed with a list of healthy, family friendly, and reasonable products makes a difference!

So what are good groceries?

We love organic products, and although we admit they are expensive, we feel better about eating them.

In the “fresh food aisle”

Earthbound lettuces are a must. They have a variety of good lettuces including mesclun, mache, romaine, baby leaves, etc. They are fresh, healthy, organic, and good!

Sunshine grape tomatoes are great for young children, kids, and adults alike. Either pop them in your mouth or put them whole in salads or pastas.

Organic apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, grapes, and berries are also a must. These products are even better if you can get them from a local farmer’s market. If you want to know why, read Omnivore’s Dilemma about how and why to choose local, fresh, and if possible organic foods.

We love squashes and all sorts of potatoes, which is an easy meal with steamed brocolli and cheese.

In the Meat Aisle

If you can find gourmet sausages, organic chicken, and/or any Apple Farm products – BUY THEM. They are made without pesticides or antibotics, which is very important in this day and age.

In the Grains/Rice/Pasta/Soup Aisle

Barilla Organic Pastas, Cous Cous, Newman’s Products, and Amy’s Products (including soups and pastas) are a hit in our family.

In the Bakery Aisle

Of course we love Lindt & Ghiradelli chocolates and Hodgen’s Mill products (they have great muffin mixes and organic flours).

In the Baby Aisle

We love the baby Earth’s Best products, they are organic and taste good! Increasingly, Gerber also has a good organic line of baby foods.

In the Cereal Aisle

We like the ever increasing organic varieties of everyday cereals (including Cheerios) and Health Valley Granola and Granola Bars.

Spring Cleaning

This mom is very concerned with using healthy cleaning products that won’t harm the whole family. There are now a large amount of “mainstream” products which are going “green.” It is so important that moms (and dads) use these products because they are biodegradable, lack harsh chemicals, and are environmentally friendly. 
Check out Method, Seventh Generation, and even Clorox Green Brands: