Sales Cycles - And How To Stock Up!

Here's a list of the sales cycles for the year so you can stock up when things go on sale and use those coupons to score BIG!

January:

National Oatmeal Month: Quaker
Diet Foods including: Healthy Choice, South Beach, Lean Cuisine, Special K, Kashi, Smart Start, 100 Calorie Packs
Super Bowl Sunday:  Pepsi, Coke, chips, dips, cheese, sandwich items, crackers, snacks, wings
Seasonal Produce: oranges, pears, grapefruits, tangerines, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, kale, kiwis, avocados, cabbage, spinach
Clearance:  Christmas decorations, toys, wrapping papers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Winter Health:  cold medicines and vitamins

February:

National Canned Food Month:  canned fruits and vegetables; meats:  tuna, chicken, salmon; pie fillings
National Hot Breakfast Month:  Malt O Meal, oatmeal, Eggo Waffles, syrup
Valentines:  chocolate, Hershey’s, KY Lubricant, etc
Chinese New Year: soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, noodles
Seasonal Produce:  artichokes, asparagus, raspberries, potatoes, strawberries, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, kale, kiwis, avocados, spinach

March:

Frozen Food Month: frozen meals, TGI Fridays, Contessa, Foster Farms chicken, Eggo, Sara Lee, Healthy Choice, DiGiorno, Freschetta, Breyers, Dreyers, Marie Callendars
Seasonal Produce: artichokes, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collards, fennel, kale, leeks, lemons, limes, mushrooms, onions, oranges, peas, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, strawberries, tangerines

April:

Easter:  ham; eggs; some baking supplies:  sugar, spices, baking mixes, chocolate chips
Earth Day: organic foods, Energy Saver
Seasonal Produce: artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, grapefruits, avocados, mushrooms, onions, peas, rhubarb
Clearance:  after Easter sales are the time to stock up on decorating, baskets, etc for the next year.

May:

Memorial Day: BBQ sauce, ketchup, condiments, charcoal, salad dressing, potato chips, dips
Paper Products:  plates, utensils
Cinco de Mayo:  salsa, tortillas
Seasonal Produce: artichokes; asparagus; avocados; green beans; beets; blackberries; carrots; sweet Vidalia onions; peas: edible-podded peas,  English Shelling peas; new potatoes; raspberries; strawberries
Outdoor: insect repellant, sunscreen

June:

National Dairy Month:  eggs, milk (free milk Catalina, wyb cereal), ice cream, cheese, butter, yogurt, Cool Whip, in-store dairy coupons or booklets
End of June is Fourth of July Sales: hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ sauce, ketchup, condiments, charcoal, salad dressing, potato chips, dips
Seasonal Produce: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cherries, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, grapes, honeydews, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, red onions, summer squash, strawberries, sweet Vidalia onions, tomatoes, watermelons

July:

National Ice Cream Month
More 4th of July BBQ Sales:  hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ sauce, ketchup, condiments, charcoal, salad dressing, potato chips, dips
End of July, Back to School Sales begin:  crayons, pencils, folders, binders
Seasonal Produce: Asian pears, Bartlett pears, green beans, blueberries, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, figs, garlic, grapes, nectarines, red onions, Valencia oranges, peaches, sweet bell peppers, plums, potatoes, summer squash, tomatoes, watermelon

August:

Back to School: pudding cups, lunch meat,
Staples and Office Depot penny items
Disinfectant:  Clorox, Purell
Clearance:  insect repellant, sunscreen, charcoal
Seasonal Produce: Gravenstein apples, avocados, beans, green beans, berries, corn, cucumber, eggplants, figs, grapes, melons, onions, peaches, Bartlett pears, bell peppers, plums, raspberries, summer squash, tomatillos, tomatoes

September:

Back to School Sales through Labor Day:  crayons, pencils, folders, binders
Diabetes:  Bayer glucose meters, Glucerna cereal
Seasonal Produce: apples, artichokes, beans, bell peppers, chili peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, grapes, onions, Valencia orange, pears (Asian, Bartlett), pomegranates, squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, winter squash

October:

Halloween:  candy
Beginning of the baking sales:  canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, baking chips
National Seafood Month
Adopt a Shelter-Dog Month: Pedigree, Purina
Seasonal Produce: almonds, apples, artichokes, arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, chard, chestnuts, cranberries, lemons, parsnip, pears, pomegranates, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, spinach, winter squash, turnips, yams

November:

Baking Sales in full swing: nuts, chocolate chips, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, coconut, cake mixes
Canned foods: soup, broth, condensed milk, vegetables, fruits, spaghetti sauce
Thanksgiving: turkey, canned pumpkin, Stove Top stuffing, Betty Crocker boxed potatoes, gravy mixes, Rhodes rolls, frozen pies, cranberry sauce, Jello, marshmallows
Seasonal Produce: Anjou pears, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, Comice pears, cranberries, kiwis, lemons, oranges, potatoes, squash, yams
Clearance:  After Halloween Sales are the time to stock up on things for the next year.  I like to buy the Halloween candy-alternatives like Halloween crayons, erasers, watches, spinning tops, etc.  I mix this in with my next year’s candy bowl, and it stretches my loot for all the neighbor kids!

December:

Holiday Dinner:  egg nog, deli platters, instant potatoes, gravy mixes, Rhodes rolls, frozen pies, cranberry sauce, Jello, marshmallows
Baking: flour, sugar, butter, cream, cake mixes, brownie mixes, muffin mixes, breads, pie crusts, marshmallows, whipped cream
Canned foods: soup, broth, condensed milk, vegetables, fruits, spaghetti sauce
Clearance:  Buy all your Thanksgiving decorations, extra table settings, and turkey carving products now once they’re at least 50% off.

Ya, we've all been there...what do you do with the littles when it's too cold to go outside? Here's a good one...

Indoor Snow!

Just grab your biggest container and put fresh snow in the sink. I happen to have those tubs you use for washing dishes (I have no idea what they are called..they remind me of camping LOL) and I filled it with snow. Just add clean sand toys and TADA! Hours of fun.....okay...maybe the snow melts after hours but that's a lesson in science right there. Plus you know you had to clean the floor anyways and now you have little helpers to tidy up.

Go! Run outside and grab some snow and then make a cup of tea and enjoy the peace...well..maybe it's noisy but you don't have to be hovering to deal with this one!

Recipe For Genius

“[Homeschooling]...recipe for genius: More of family and less of school, more of parents and less of peers, more creative freedom and less formal lessons.”

― Raymond S. Moore, School Can Wait

equal parts homeschool, service & work

Reading - Better Late Than Early

picture from Today's Parent

In case you're child isn't reading yet....consider this quote:


It is true that some children can learn to read remarkably early.  But the fact that they can does not mean they should.  Should is another question.  One school district set up an experiment to help decide this question.  Some kindergarteners in the district received extensive instruction in reading.  Others spent the same amount of time learning science.  They melted ice.  They observed thermometers in hot and cold places.  They played with magnets, grew plants, learned about animal life, and so on.  Books and pictures were available for these children if they wanted them, but no formal lessons in reading were held.

And what did the school district learn?  By third grade the "science" children were far ahead of the "reading" children in their reading scores.  The reason?  Their vocabularies and thinking skills were more advanced.  They could read on more topics and understand higher level materials.  The "reading" children, by starting earlier, used up a lot learning time on the skills of reading, while the "science" children spent the time learning real stuff.  And when they did begin reading, they were older and knew more and learned in a fraction of the time that the others took.

Quote by Ruth Beechick- The Three R's pg 6

December Activity Calendar!

The air is chilly and it's HOLIDAY SEASON!.....welcome winter with activities for everyday!

Ever need to come up with something fun to do with the kids but don't have a clue what??  Did you know that Enchanted Learning has a monthly calendar of activities??  You could even use this for a jumping off point to study instead of doing unit studies or workbooks!  FUN!  If you unschool you could strew this site and see what interests the kids and let them have at it.  Or if your more traditional homeschooler, just plan your week based on the activities

Here's the calendar for December 2018 Enjoy!

FREE - 470 Crockpot Recipes - 2018

470 Crockpot Recipes Book <-- click="" font="" link="" this="">


Well I don't know where I got this so I can't credit it but I know I got it for free so I thought I would pass along a great little recipe book I got like...13 years ago.

It has a lot of can of____  and cream of ______  but you can make that stuff homemade and make things even cheaper.  Since we're heading toward the holidays, I thought it would be nice to just stick stuff in the crockpot (slow cooker) in the morning and be done with dinner!

Homemade Cold Syrup!

Okay I'll give ya this...the ingredients sound gross but it works.

1 Raw White Onion
*Raw Honey - Must be RAW! check as most store bought honey is pasteurized.


Take the onion and cut into parts. Now stab it a couple of times with a fork so the quarters have a little bit of holes. It doesn't have to be perfect so don't worry about not stabbing it the right amount of times. Place onion in a quart mason jar and fill with raw honey so that the onion is just covered. Screw lid on and leave on the back part of your stove for at least a day but probably a couple of days. You'll notice that the onion imparts it's juice into the honey. Using a strainer pour liquid into a pint mason jar and store in the fridge. To take you want to take a teaspoon 3 to 4 times a day when you're battling a cold or cough.

*NOTE:

****Please remember not to give honey to children under 1*****