The Mom Crowd

Okay, I know times are tough (are you tired of hearing that?) and we are all looking for ways to be frugal and save money.  I have come across a few things that I love so I thought I’d share–from one mom to another .

• 1. Disc Skins. Okay, so maybe it only saves money in the long run but have you heard of these?  It is a (very thin) plastic cover that attaches to your cds, DVDs, datadiscs, video game cds to help prevent scratching.  Genius!  Our kids love listening to music and stories on cds and they have a little cd player they know how to use.  Even though they have been taught and instructed how to handle the cds carefully, scratches still happen.  I found a great deal on these through Amazon and ordered 100 of them (I ended up paying about .35 apiece).  I figured that I will save money on having to replace the music (digitally or by getting replacement cd).  You put the skin on and put it in your cd, DVD player or game player as usual and the player reads right through the skin.   
• 2. Zwaggle is a website where you pay for used kiddie stuff with points instead of money. You earn points by posting things you are ready to part with.  Clothes, toys, kid gear, diapering (even cloth!), big items like strollers, games, movies, maternity you name it.  It is free and easy to join.  You can post pictures of the items you want to depart with and look at other items up for grabs.  
• 3. Freepeats is like Freecycle but only for baby, maternity, and kid gear.  It works locally like Freecycle and Craigs List.  Freepeats is fairly new and there isn’t one in every city but you can go to their website and see if they have one where you are located.  Right now in January you can sign up for a lifetime membership for $1. When you have things to pass on you write a post on the message board describing the item and wait for people to respond. The great thing it is all FREE since you just drive to someone’s house and pick up the items.  I find it easier to keep up with than Freecycle because there aren’t a ton of people participating (yet).
• 4. Making books instead of printing digital pictures! I love my digital camera and having all those pictures on my computer but it isn’t quite the same as looking through a photo album.  I like the hands on aspect of looking at pictures.  Places like Snapfish and Blurb  will take the pictures you upload and make them into a high quality book for cheaper than going to a picture printing place.  How cool is that?!  I am working on making a book for all of 2008 and I can’t wait to finish it so I can print it.  A friend of mine told me about Blurb–she made a book that had over 600 pictures in it for $40!  That is a steal!   You can make big books, small books, cookbooks, vacation books–and not only that, they make GREAT gifts for grandparents or godparents!
•  So there you have it!  4 things I am superexcited about!  I hope you find some good deals out there too!   **Photobook picture curtesy of snapfish