It's for real. I received my check today. It's for $22.50

because I chose to have them send me a paper check in lieu of giving out my bank account number. They took out $2.50 to cover their costs.

Cleaning Windows Tip

A friend of mine has SUPER clean windows in her home. They sparkle so much that it almost looks like there isn't any glass in them. Her cleaning trick is to use corn starch and hot water. No, I'm not joking! I fill my kitchen sink about a fourth full and put in about two tablespoons of corn starch. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Wash the window with a clean washcloth. Then take a paper towel and dry them. There will be no streaks and no paper towel fibers on the windows. You'll have SUPER shiny windows and you won't have to use any chemicals either!

Revolution Money Exchange - Earn $25 for signing up!

Crystal Paine from the Money Saving Mom blog announced a way to earn $25.00 just for signing up with Revolution Money Exchange . This is a company that was started by the former CEO of AOL and is a legitimate FDIC bank. It's an alternative to PayPal, but there are no fees for the service. You can read more about it at her website:

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/2008/04/revolutionmoneyexchange-earn-25-when.html

I signed up yesterday and requested a check. It took me about five minutes. I did have to give my social security number, but I had to give that with PayPal as well. Since 9/11, all financial institutes have to request it. You can get the check without giving your personal banking information though. So, if you want to earn $25.00, head on over to www. revolutionmoneyexchange.com. If you sign up for the referral program (see right side of my blog), you get paid $10.00 for each referral. You can sign up under my name if you want to. Crystal has already earned $500! This offer ends May 15, 2008.

Ideas for Decluttering the Children's Rooms

We all know how quickly a child's room can become a disaster, so I thought I'd start with this area first. One of the things I've found to help is purchasing bins and labeling them with what is inside. My children have learned to be organizers since we started using this system. Now, they prefer their rooms to be tidy. I'm not going to say that their rooms are ALWAYS tidy, but for the most part, it has certainly helped. You should also know that this has been a work in progress through the years. They are almost 18, almost 14 and almost 11, so I think what they've learned should be put into practice by now. :-) So, I started purchasing containers from Walmart a little at a time for what we needed them for. I bought some labels at Walmart and we went to work. All the Playmobil items are separated into whatever category they fall into, Legos, cars and trucks, all the crafts items, sewing items, shoes, historical ball items, miscellaneous keepsakes, knitting/crocheting, pocketbooks, and anything else that they want in a container. We stack these in their closets on the shelves or on the sides of the closet. The kids love that they can just look in their closet and actually find what they are looking for! I learned a long time ago from a mom of many that "everything has a home". So, we adopted that policy and try really hard to put things up where they go, when we come home, not days later. I'll stop here for today and come back with some more ideas at another time. Have fun working on your decluttering your children's rooms!

It's Spring Cleaning Time - Let's Get Our Homes Decluttered

I love the changing of the seasons. It always motivates me to get some extra cleaning done. We tend to let things slide in the winter months, so then we have more stuff to clean and declutter. How about you? Are you motivated to get your house decluttered? I'll be posting some ideas in the next several posts. Feel free to share your ideas as well.

Gift Box Idea

A friend of mine suggested many years ago to keep a gift box at home. It's been a lifesaver several times to have access to gifts when we needed to take a gift somewhere and I didn't have time to go gift shopping. So, throughout the year when I'm out shopping, I keep my eyes open for potential gifts. I purchase them and put them in the gift box for whenever I need a gift. With the price of gas these days, this is also a great money saving tip.