While we’re getting organized
Since discussing various dorm accoutrements the other day, I’ve been stepping up my “stay organized in a small space” shopping in earnest. (Hey, I only have less than 7 months left before she leaves.)
Found this morning: This Overdoor Basket Organizer at Amazon for under $21 (looks like it’s been a couple of bucks cheaper once, but still a great deal). On the one hand, a soft organizer will take up less room when she’s packing, but on the other, a sturdy one like this looks like it’ll handle more stuff and more weight. Given that my girl will be headed into a two-rooms-one-bathroom situation, this might be perfect for keeping all those hair products and lotions and stuff off the bathroom counter. Or she could even hang this under her lofted bed to organize school supplies and such. Either way.
At the rate I’m going, she’s not even going to need a dorm room. I’ll be able to construct her a little storage facility in the parking lot. (I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. Maybe don’t tell me.)
And now the final temptation…
… the worst part of the post-holiday letdown is the simultaneous realization that I need to get back into some sort of exercise routine and the clearance sales at places like Fannie May. Do I need a pound of peppermint bark right now? Surely not. Can I resist it at 75% off, when I can get free shipping with ShopRunner, too? That remains to be seen.
(Four pounds of individually wrapped treats for $15, people. I’m only human!)
Budget pet vacuum for the non-Dyson crowd
Not everyone can afford to drop a few hundred on a vacuum cleaner, and that’s fine. The trick when spending under $100 or so is to make sure you’re still getting something decent. Enter one of today’s one-day deals at Amazon: this Hoover T-Series WindTunnel Pet Rewind Bagless Upright Vacuum for just $75, today only.
This is its lowest price ever, so you know it’s a good deal. And I can’t link to the page because it’s behind a subscriber wall (grrrrr), but this Hoover model was actually rated higher than the comparable Dyson by Consumer Reports. Just sayin’.
Anyway, if you’re in the market, this wouldn’t be a bad choice, especially at this price point.
Dorm Deets: What to buy for college freshmen
Lovely reader Dena wrote in and said:
Could you do a “what to buy for college/dorms list”? With links to good stuff, maybe?
My daughter is actually a 2017 but I’m trying to get a head start on dorm shopping as sales come up (and soften the financial blow of next year) and have absolutely NO idea what she will need. For instance: how many sets of monogrammed towels (deep south colleges; all things must be monogrammed, right?) do most people send with their little darling? Does she really need that toaster oven she has been quietly coveting since 8th grade? Paper, plastic, or china? Will she need a memory foam topper for that dorm mattress? How about a bedbug bag for the mattress? She’s ocd neat -– will she need a vacuum? Cord or corded?
Are you sending your kid with a car to keep herself in things like paper towels and toilet paper? Should I just consider providing mine with an Amazon Dash button for necessities?
Help a sister out, please.
I love this, because my oldest is graduating in just a few months (*gulp*) and her younger brother is just a year behind, which means I’ve been hip-deep in dorm shopping/research for a few months, already. I’ll cover your questions as best I can and then I bet some other folks will chime in, too. Buckle up! read more…
A doozy of a piano deal
I realize this isn’t necessarily one of those “universal appeal” items, but if you’re in the market, don’t miss this one. Right now Adorama has this Yamaha P-115 88-Key Weighted Action Digital Piano on sale for $599, which is already pretty great—this is the piano I bought when my kids started lessons, and we paid $750 for ours. So hey, already a fabulous deal.
But! You can also apply coupon code 12NEWYEARS for an additional $105 off, making this $1000 digital piano just $495 (shipping is free).
Again, this is hardly the sort of thing you’re going to pick up on a whim, but if you’ve been wanting a hammer-action digital piano, snagging this Yamaha for under $500 is just a crazy good deal. (And before someone asks why you would buy such a thing: This is ideal for someone who needs real piano feel but doesn’t have the room/patience to deal with an actual piano.)
(I’m trying really hard not to be bitter about how much more I paid for ours.)
If you love Larabars…
… and you’re always looking for something to add to your Amazon Subscribe & Save order to get to those 5+ subscriptions, this is a great deal for you.
Right now Amazon is offering a clippable $4 coupon on qualifying Larabar purchases, and I think it’s probably only supposed to work on cases. But, for some reason, it’s showing up as an eligible coupon for this single box of apple pie flavor Larabars. (This is one of my favorite flavors!) Clip the coupon, subscribe, and you’re looking at $1.40 or less for a box of delicious snack bars free of various yucky things and allergens. (They’re vegan, kosher, dairy/soy/gluten-free, and non-GMO.)
For $1.40 it’s really hard to go wrong.
Up for a little DIY on a table?
I am not, in general, a fan of cheap furniture—invest in good quality and you’ll save money over time by not having to buy things over and over. However, sometimes you simply can’t afford more (the dresser I bought in grad school for $50 is now my son’s; guess I got my money’s worth out of it, huh?), and sometimes you want something you don’t have to worry about being ruined.
So here’s today’s idea: This little coffee table with two bins at Amazon is down to just $30 (its lowest price ever). It’s not exactly glamorous, and it looks to be made of MDF, but if you needed something cheap, hey, it’ll work. Better still, though: Do you need a LEGO table for the kids? This would be perfect.
Instead of spending $100+ on a table meant expressly for that purpose, spend $30 on this and then either use it as is or buy some baseplates to glue to the top. Presto, you have your own little LEGO table, and if the kids are tough on it, who cares? Store the extra pieces in the bins, store finished creations on the little shelf under the top—it’s perfect.
$5 is my cap for a magazine subscription
Every year I ferret out a few cheap magazine subscriptions and then marvel as the magazines pile up, unread, because who am I kidding? I don’t have time to read magazines. (When I have time to read, I read books.) But! I keep doing it because I’m not very bright.
I kid. I’m probably not very bright, but I keep doing it because my daughter and I like to make vision boards every New Year’s (if you are unfamiliar, they’re basically “inspirational” collages for grown-ups), and the more magazines you have around, the better. You know that if you wait until the last minute and go out and buy them by the issue, you’ll pay too much. So grab the cheap subscriptions early, load up, and you’re ready to go at the end of December with a pile of mags. Or maybe you actually read yours, I don’t know.
Anyway! Right now you can snag up to 3 cheap Hearst magazine subscriptions from Groupon for just $5 each. Depending on the magazine, that’s up to 67% off the cover price.
I’m partial to O for boards—lovely pictures and graphics in there, generally—but there’s truly something for everyone. Get a car magazine or a food magazine or a house decorating magazine or even Cosmopolitan (perhaps the trashiest mag in existence, but hey, I don’t judge). Doesn’t matter. They’re all $5.
Pants and more (for less)
They’re clearing the decks over at Dockers, and that means the site is listing a coupon code for 40% extra off sale items, but let’s go one better—take 50% off all already-reduced items with coupon code GIMME50. Shipping is free at $50+, otherwise it’s a flat $7.50.
I always forget that they actually have some cute women’s stuff. That’s handy, because I can go buy some pants for my guys and then pick up a couple of things for me, too. (For the free shipping, of course. I’m just being frugal….)
Beauty boxes ahoy
I don’t remember when Target started doing this whole Beauty Box thing, but I dig it. You can click through my link and search on beauty box and the top two hits will be for their two current boxes—one is “Refresh” and the other is “Renew,” and each is just $7 with free shipping.
I can tell you that the Refresh box contains a package of Simple Micellar make-up removal wipes, which normally costs $7 on its own and is my new favorite make-up removal product. (Although, in the interest of full disclosure, I buy the bottle of Micellar Water and use my own cotton rounds so I can control how much I use at once.) I have stupidly sensitive skin and the Micellar Water is the only thing I’ve ever used that both got product off my face easily and didn’t make my skin angry. I’m not as familiar with the products in the Renewal box, but I suspect it’s a similarly good deal.
And here I was worried there wouldn’t be any exciting deals in the new year….
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