Products I Love - My Eco Reusable Grocery Shopping Bags

I'm excited to talk to you today about a product that I absolutely love.  I discovered My Eco Reusable Grocery Bags a couple of years ago on another blog and immediately purchased them.  I have been using them ever since, and I absolutely L-O-V-E them!

Why do I love them so much?  Well let me tell you! Not only are they environmentally friendly and very clever, they are also ORGANIZED!  A product after my own heart.  Swoon.....

I've used reusable grocery bags on and off for years, but I would always forget to grab them or hated carrying around 15 bulky bags that took up a lot of space in my grocery cart and car.  When I saw what a compact design (how they all fit inside each other) and how BIG these bags were, I knew that it would be so much easier.  

My Eco bags are reusable grocery bags made from recycled yogurt containers.  There are 4 bags and each has a special purpose and is labeled so you know what goes where!  I love that they have large, wide straps that make carrying the bags easier.  They are very sturdy and can hold a lot of weight, and the straps really help evenly distribute that weight.  Even when they are very heavy, I don't ever feel like they are going to break.  The set EASILY replaces 30 disposable plastic sacks, so they are not only made from recycled materials, but very eco-friendly because you are not using disposable sacks.

The black bag is the smallest bag and is for jars and bottles.  It is the smallest so that it isn't too heavy.  It has mesh pockets on the inside to help keep the bottles in place.  I also use this bag for canned goods.

The blue bag is an insulated bag with zipper closure for all of your chilled and frozen items.  And let me tell you, it works! I've used this bag as a cooler on road trips and it has worked wonderfully!  I love to have all of my chilled and frozen items in here and feel secure that they will still be frozen when I get home, even if I have a few detours on the way!

The green bag is for produce.  It is quite large, which is great for all the fruits and veggies we eat.  If I do have some extra room, I usually throw breads on top.

The brown bag is the largest bag and is for all the rest of your groceries and dry goods.  I can easily get a few cereal boxes, crackers, pasta and other items in here with room to spare!  This bag is also the bag that everything else fits inside of and then zips up to form this compact pouch!  I can keep this pouch in the side pocket in the door of my mini-van so it is always there and convenient for me to grab.  No more forgetting my reusable bags!

What surprised me the first time I used these bags is how much actually fit in them.  I was able to get a week's worth of groceries EASILY and with room to spare for my large family in these 4 bags!

My trunk went from this - 

To this! (excuse the carseat!)

This was one trip to the grocery store for a weeks worth of groceries.  I usually choose to bag my own groceries, but most stores are very accommodating when you tell them what you want to do.  I usually place the bag that I want things to go in before I place all of the items that go in the bag on the conveyor belt.  Then its easy for them to load things into the right bag.

Look how neat and tidy my cart is!  Everything fits! And unloading the car in 1-2 loads is so much easier.  And putting all of my groceries away is a BREEZE because everything is sorted and organized! 

Some cities and states are now requiring grocery stores CHARGE money for every bag they give to customers (see this news article about Dallas, TX) and the bags have to be thicker so that people don't have to double bag.  The fee is meant to reduce litter and pollution and encourage customers to bring their own bags.  Here in Utah there is no fee. But, my local grocery store gives me 5 gas points for every bag (and they usually give me extra because My Eco bags are so big!)

Want to try these awesome bags?  My Eco Bag has graciously provided a coupon code for you to use to purchase the bags at a discount! The coupon is good for $10 off and is valid through April 2015!

I also have 1 set of My Eco bags to giveaway! Yay!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get Organized in 2013 - Challenge #7 Command Center

Hello friends!  I love seeing all of your emails with your photos of your organized entryways.  You need to get BRAVE  and post them on our Facebook page too so others can be inspired by what you have done.

In my last post I said that today we were going to talk about mail stations.  And that is true but we are not only going to be talking about mail stations, we are going to be talking about our Command Center.

A  Command Center is where all the information flows in and out of for your family.  Here is a picture of mine.

A good Command Center has

1. A calendar - everyone needs to be able to know what is going on easily.  I purchased my Calendar at Target.  To put the dates on, I use a WET ERASE MARKER so that the numbers don't rub off.  I only discovered wet erase markers about a year ago and I use them for everything now.  I use various colors of DRY ERASE MARKERS for everyone's activities.  This helps keep things straight and I don't have to write each person's name with their activity because they have their own color.  This calendar is used more for my family's benefit than my own.  I use Google Calendars very heavily.  I will talk about them in another post.

2. A message board.  This can be cork, magnetic, dry erase, whatever works for your family.  I purchased mine at Target.  I love that it is magnetic to hang little things we need to pay attention to and is also dry erase to write to-do lists or groceries.

3. Mail Station.  This is a CRUCIAL piece of organizing  your home.  So much of what comes into your home is PAPER CLUTTER. Paper clutter is  HUGE problem for most families.  Knowing what to do with the mail, papers from school, newspapers, coupons, etc. seems to be something that a lot of people struggle with.  A mail station is the answer.

As  you can see from the photo, my mail station is in an opaque box with color coded file folders.  Both of these items were purchased at (you guessed it!) Target. 

In the front of the box I have a RED folder marked ACTION.  Papers that go in there are things I need to take care of right away.  Papers to sign for school, a note to give someone, a letter to go out, etc. This folder is checked at least daily.

Next I have folders for each family member.  The kids are in BLUE and my husband and I are in RED (just because the pack of file folders I bought only had 4 of each color.)  Items that go in here pertain to each family member.  I will put mail that is for my husband in HIS folder.  The kids have school papers usually in their folders.  Their reading calendars, book reports, spelling and vocabulary words, etc.  These folders are looked at usually at least weekly and cleaned out monthly.  The kids can put papers that they want to save in their folders as well and when I clean them out, I file them in their school papers binders and boxes. (More on those in another post.)

The next items in GREEN have to do with money.  When my husband and I get home for the day we put our receipts in the receipts folder if it is something we need to keep.  Bills to be paid go in their own folder.  In the third green folder is where I keep this week's grocery ads.  They come in the mail on Wednesday and I usually do my meal planning and grocery shopping on either Saturday or Monday.  I like have a place to keep them so that I can refer to them as I plan. I usually do my grocery shopping at Walmart and they will honor other store's ads, so when it is time to go to the store, I just grab them out of the folder and stick them in my purse (to show the cashier.)  Then I recycle them as soon as I get home and the folder is empty when more come.

The YELLOW folders are for coupons.  I'm not a HUGE couponer, but I do love to save money whenever I can.  I divide the coupons into four categories: coupons, groceries, activities, and food.  The first folder, COUPONS, has those random coupons that come in the mail or paper for carpet cleaning, dry cleaning, repairs & maintenance, etc.  The GROCERIES folder is exactly what is sounds like, a folder for grocery coupons.  These come in our paper every week.  I will usually look through these when I do my meal planning  and grocery list as well.  The ACTIVITIES folder is coupons for activities like bowling, movies, fun centers, etc.  These come in handy when we are looking for things to do.  The last folder is for FOOD.  Not grocery food, but eating out.  My husband and I love to try new restaurants and we of course indulge on some fast food every now and again. 

In the back of my box is my Home Management Binder.  We will talk more about this in another post.  I also wanted to mention that during the summer I post the kids chore chart on the front of the box. You can check out my previous post on chore charts to see them.

4. Recycling/Trash.  It is important to have a trash/recycling can nearby when you are sorting your papers.   If something needs to be shredded, I will usually add it to my action folder and then take it downstairs to be shredded later.

5. Stationary Items.  You can see my woven drawers in the photo.  The top drawer has tons of pens, pencils, scissors, tape, a stapler, etc.  Anything I, or the family, needs to grab for writing a list or note, doing homework, etc.  The middle drawer holds stuff for the little kids.  I have two preschoolers and we  practice letters and numbers in their workbooks.  The drawer also holds their markers and crayons.  The bottom drawer is mine.  It's where I keep MY wet/dry erase markers, notepads, thank you cards, etc.  That is usually where you will find one of my very favorite organizing tools as well.  My DYMO Label Maker.  It makes me happy!

Now, not necessary for a Command Center, but definitely for ours is our intercom. Three out of five of our kids rooms are in the basement and rather than yelling down the stairs, we just use the intercoms.  It is especially handy for waking the kids up in the mornings and telling them when they are running late!  It saves our voices and our heads!

So, Get Organized in 2013 Challenge #7 - Command Center and Mail Station.  This may take you a few days (it's not like we can all run out TODAY to get all the stuff!) So I'll continue to check in with you to see how you are doing.  Remember to post pictures!

For more ideas on how to set up your Command Center check my Pinterest Board.

I've been working on my laundry room and can't wait to show you the reveal!  Have a marvelous day!

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

Each week (usually on Sunday so I can shop on Monday) I like to plan our basic menu.  This gives me the opportunity to look at my schedule and see which days I have more time to cook and which days I might need something quick.  This really helps me not do the “What am I going to make for dinner tonight?” quandary, and helps me not repeat meals as frequently as I would if I didn’t have plans.

For a long time I searched for a software or website that would not only help me with my meal planning, but also help with my grocery shopping. I had started to meal plan using Google Calendar, but inevitably I would forget to buy an all important ingredient for at least one of my meals. And despite having a grocery list, I always seemed to buy a lot more than I actually needed, spending a lot of extra money that I didn’t have.

Then I found Plan to Eat! This website is AMAZING!!!! It has just about everything you could ever want in a software to help you plan meals, eat healthy, and shop quicker and wiser!


MEAL PLANNING AND MORE

• Add recipes from 100+ websites & blogs
  Search multiple recipe sites from your dashboard, import recipes with one click, and we’ll do the rest.
• Share recipes with friends — not the world
  You see their recipes, and they see yours. You can also share your individual recipes with anyone, on your blog, Facebook and email.
• Meal Planning for the rest of us
  Easily drag recipes from your personalized recipe book to your monthly meal planner and then import your meal plan to your personal calendar program. Save your favorite meal plans to use again and again.
• Automated grocery list maker
  Your shopping list is automatically created from your meal plan, and items are combined and organized into grocery store categories. Add your own items or create separate lists for each store you shop. Print or email your shopping list to simplify your grocery shopping.
• Mobile Ready. Shopping on the go.
  Access your shopping list and recipes on your mobile device. Check off items on your list at the store and they'll automatically move to your inventory list on the main site.

First stop is the Recipes page.  This shows all the recipe’s I have in my recipe box and lets me know how often I have used them. You can also use the Filter Recipes to find things quick.



When you click on Add Recipe, you are given the option to import recipes from more than 100 websites or you can input a new recipe yourself.  The bulk input is great for copying and pasting recipes from blogs and websites not available in the “import a recipe from a the web.” Plan To Eat also has a bookmark that will save recipe’s to your box when you browse.  Very handy!



Next I go to the planner.  This is great because I can see what recipes I have been using lately and try to get some variety in our meals.  It’s all drag and drop.  You can add additional ingredients that you may need or make notes as well.  The main dish recipe is in dark blue.  Extra ingredients are in light blue. I also mark on the planner what is going on that day so I know why I have to cook that crock pot meal or I don’t have to cook at all!



Once you’ve planned your menu for the week you can go to your Shopping list.  Choose the time frame you want to shop for (the upcoming week, etc.) and it will pull all the ingredients you need for the recipes you’ve selected.  If you already have some of the items you can check the box and click “To Pantry” on your pantry inventory and it moves those items from your grocery list to your pantry.  You can drag and drop any of the items to which store you would like to purchase them from.  I mostly plan for dinners, so I usually need to add additional items (either by moving them from my pantry by checking on them and hitting “To List” or adding a new item at the top) for breakfast, lunches, and snacks. I also keep a “Staples” recipe in my Recipe list which has the items I buy pretty much every week. 



One of my favorite features is the “Edit Grocery Categories.” Here you can add new categories and rearrange their order so that they line up with your grocery store.  So when I shop and look at my list, everything is aisle by aisle.  No more hunting all over for the next thing you need to purchase.




















This is truly a great website! It has cut my shopping time way down and I stay on budget a lot better!  You can print out your shopping list from the website, or you can even access it from your Smartphone and check things off as you go.  Love it!!!!

Plan to Eat offers a 30-day free trial.  You can then pay month by month or for an entire year.  $39 is totally worth it.  I save a lot more money by using their service and I know you will too!