I apologize for letting my blog go "stale", but I have been very busy lately starting my own company, Survival Products Direct!
I have always been interested in being prepared for whatever the future may bring - may that be my husband loosing his job (the sole breadwinner of our family), a natural, biological or man-made disaster (terrorist attack, pandemic, etc.) or other sort of "disaster" such as inflation, crash of the stock market, collapse of the dollar, etc.  I had researched for years on the subject, and had compiled an emergency survival kit a long time ago (that I still add to today!) and have been accumulating long term food storage that consists mainly of long shelf life dehydrated food.  I have also been focusing on getting our garden organized and this summer was the season of trial-and-error!

Since I have such a passion and interest in the subject, I decided that maybe it was my calling to share it and to try to make it as easy as possible for others to be prepared like us.  So, I started my own company called Survival Products Direct selling pre-assembled emergency and survival kits (and also many additions to your kit such as survival tools, first aid, etc.), whole-garden supply of seeds (All the seeds are Non-Hybrid, Non-GMO, open pollinated and not chemically treated), and long-term food storage.

I also have started a new blog,The Survival Products Blog, that would compliment my new business and I hope you will find it helpful too.  I've been very busy this Summer!

Melissa and Doug Sales

I love Melissa and Doug's toys for being pretty simple and made to spark the imagination and learning... plus, most are made of wood for some good old fashioned fun!  Looking for some great prices on Melissa and Doug toys for Christmas, but don't want to run around in that traffic?  Here are some online places where you can score an awesome deal right now:

Barnes & Noble - Select Melissa and Doug items are Buy One, Get One 50% off (when you click on the product, look for the Buy One Get One icon - I know the super-cute cookies set above qualifies) - BUT, go through Ebates FIRST to get an additional 8% rebate back on your purchase!  If you are new to ebates, they give you cash rebates for using their site to click through to online stores like Barnes & Noble!  Plus, there is a 15% off your total purchase code for Barnes & Noble online: J9L3H4B7HXV (exp. 12/13/2010).    Click HERE to go to ebates to get to B&N's site! (requires sign-up)

Gilt - Gilt is an awesome exclusive-sale site.  Click on the Children tab, and look for the Melissa and Doug Sale - I think it ends Friday or Saturday, so hurry!  They have this cute horse stable WITH the horses is on sale for $37, reg. price is $64, and usually if it goes on sale, it's $49, so $37 is a good deal!  Click HERE to go to their site and sign up for access to their site - there are other items for men, women and kids and many sell out quickly!  They are guaranteeing delivery of the Melissa and Doug before Christmas!




Zulily has some Melissa and Doug toys on sale among their other HOT kids and babies sales!  They currently have some cool bundle sets available at a discount, like the 3-pc. set pictured on the right for $28.49 - sold separately, they would be $64 at full-price (sometimes I see them go on sale for $12 - $14/item = $36 - $42 if you found them on sale, so it's a good deal for under $30 the bundle!).  Click HERE to go to their site and sign up to get in on the exclusive sales! 


Baby Age - has the Melissa and Doug Wooden Railway set for only $69.99 + FREE SHIPPING!  This is the lowest price I've seen on this 130-pc complete train set.  Usually it is around $99 - $119 and on sale for $79 - $84.  BUT, go through Ebates FIRST to get an additional 3% rebate back on your purchase at Baby Age - if you are new to ebates, they give you cash rebates for using their site to click through to online stores!  Plus, there is a $5 off your first purchase code for BabyAge: 5off (exp. 12/11/2010).    Click HERE to go to ebates to get to BabyAge's site! (requires sign-up)

 

Hape Toys on HauteLook - only $3.50 for "Anamalz" toys!

HauteLook has Hape brand toys on clearance sale right now and have a good variety of their wood toys from which to choose like dollhouses, dollhouse furniture, baby and toddler pull-toys, learning games, and their little "Anamalz" figures, which I adore. I have been collecting all of these Hape Anamalz animals for my kids - they are so cute and made from Organic Maple wood... and their little legs and heads are poseable, and they are just so irresistible! AND, only $3.50 each at HauteLook right now - they are normally $6.99 - $8.99 each (if you luck out, they are on sale for $5.99) in the stores that actually carry them... I've found that they are pretty hard to track down, except for online.
If you don't already have a HauteLook account, click here and sign up before this deal ends on Friday!

Free $5 credit to Jasmere for taking a really, really SHORT survey!

 Jasmere is a super-cool group-buying site similar to Groupon where they feature a different company almost every day and you can purchase discount vouchers (like gift certificates) for the featured company.

Right now, if you take an extremely short, one-page online survey, you get a coupon code that will take $5 off your next purchase at Jasmere (expires Oct. 31, 2010)!

If you don't already have a Jasmere account, click here and sign up, and you will get a FREE $10 credit added to your account just for signing up - cool!  It wont show up until you are checking out.  So, you would get a total of $15 in free credits between being a new sign-up, and the survey!


This is all you need to do to get your FREE $5 credit to Jasmere:
1. Click here to go to Jasmere's site and log in or sign up if you don't already have an account
2. Click here and take the EXTREMELY short servey
3. After you submit the survey, a page will come up next with a discount code - write it down and use it on your next Jasmere purchase (before Oct. 31, 2010)!


The neat thing about Jasmere is that the more people who buy, the lower the price!  At the end of the sale, you pay whatever the lowest price ends up being, not the price that you bought at! Cool!

$3 off Renpure Organics coupon @ Rite Aid

I just noticed as I was watching some of the Rite Aid Video Value coupons to get my Huggies coupon for tomorrow's sale, that they have a $3 off Renpure Organics coupon!  yay!  Click here to go to their site.

p.s. Don't forget to watch the video for your $5/$25 Rite Aid purchase, and if you watch 20, you can also earn a $4/$20 purchase coupon! 

Cheap Tom's of Maine + $2.99 Huggies Pure & Natural at Rite Aid... Free Eos Lip Balm at Walgreens 10/3/10 - 10/9/10!

Sunday, 10/3/10 - 10/9/10:

Rite Aid will have Toms of Maine products (toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, deodorant) for $3.49 + there is a $1 Single Check Rebate + there will be a $1 coupon in most Sunday papers 10/3/10 = $1.49 after savings and rebate!  Or, you can see it as paying $2.49 out of pocket in the store, and get $1 back later.

Rite Aid will have Huggies Jumbo packs on sale for $7.99 (their Huggies sales normally include the Pure and Natural) + there is a printable $3.00 Huggies Pure and Natural on coupons.com + there is a $2.00 off Huggies coupon found on Rite Aid's Video Values website here (you watch a commercial to earn a coupon - there are also $5 off any $25 purchase coupons available there too!) = only $2.99 for the pack of diapers!

 Walgreens will have Organic EOS lip balm on sale for $3, and then you will receive one $3 Register Reward when you check out, that is good towards any future Walgreens purchase!  You can look at it as the lip balm being "free", or you can see it as getting a $3 good-as-cash coupon after you purchased your $3 lip balm.  Usually, you will only get one Register Reward no matter how many you purchase in one transaction, so don't buy more than one unless you want to... or, if your cashier is really nice and you don't have a line behind you, you can do multiple separate transactions - just don't clear out the shelves and leave some for me!


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Bringing Basics Back tip:  Take advantage of Rite Aid's Single Check Rebates.  Many people I talk to find rebates to be annoying and not worth the stamp - BUT, these are not typical rebates!  They have a really easy online rebate system where all you have to do is enter in the date, register number and store number from the receipt and it does the rest for you - no mailing in a form!  You would enter in each receipt throughout the month that contains a qualifying purchase and then, at the end of the month, you claim your Single Check Rebate and all of your qualifying purchases get compiled into one big fat check you receive in the mail.  So, you might get a $15 (example amount) check if you made many different purchases during the month, or just the $1 if the Tom's is all you bought. Rite Aid's rebates are great because you can deposit the check in your bank acct. or spend it at Rite Aid like cash.  Go to Rite Aid's website here for more info.

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Huggies Pure & Natural $3.00 coupon has reset!

 If you have already printed your limit (2 per computer) of the $3.00/1 Huggies Pure and Natural diapers, go back to coupons.com and see if it has reset for you?  It did for me - now I get to print out 2 more of these high-dollar coupons!  Also look for the wipes coupons - I noticed a few on there.

I like these diapers the best out of the disposables I've tried (Seventh Generation is 2nd runner up for me because I found the huggies to be a wee  bit more absorbent and softer to the touch) because they use organic cotton and less chemicals than the traditional disposable diaper.  : )  I only wish they would make Pure & Natural Pull-ups because my son is approaching the potty training stage.  Plus, you can collect rewards points - Huggies Enjoy the Ride is what the program is called - and redeem them for cool things!  I was able to get a Rockabye Baby CD ((Lullaby renditions of Guns 'n' Roses was the choice - just makes me smile whenever I listen to it, reminiscing about the days of my youth!)) for free with my points and no shipping cost!

$31 (or less!!) for $70 worth of Tegu magnetic+wood building sets!

** This deal is over now, but Click here to go to Tegu's site anyways, because I think their blocks are so cool!**

UPDATE: It is down to only $28 now (5pm on 10/2), and we still have a full day and a half to go before the deal closes - score!  I'm hoping for it to end at $25 or less!

These are sooooo cool ...and, *sigh*, soooo expensive! But, the Tegu magnetic wood blocks are on Jasmere today (10/1/2010) through Sunday (10/3/2010), so you can pay "only" $31 but get a $70 voucher for your Tegu purchase! I love toys that get kids to be creative the old fashioned way (these have magnets in them, so it's a modern spin on the classic wood block!).
The neat thing about Jasmere is that the more people who buy, the lower the price! So, later today, the price may only be $30 or $28, or whatever! At the end of the sale, you pay whatever the lowest price ends up being, not the price that you bought at! Cool! Click here to go to Jasmere and sign up to get in on this awesome deal and get that price lowered for me! : )

Pay $16 (or $11) for $35 worth of Anthology Organic skin/bath care at Eversave!

Today, at Eversave today and tomorrow (10/1 - 10/2/2010) you can buy a $35 voucher for Anthology Organics for only $16, and you can use your voucher to make a purchase on their website - their products would make a great gift! If you don't already have an account with EverSave, sign up here, and you get a free $5 welcome credit to be used towards your first purchase that will come off at checkout - score! So, if you are a new customer, you can buy the voucher for only $11 but get to buy $35 worth of goodies! Click here to go to their site.

If the deal doesn't show up for your local city, I used Portland and it was there. : )

Extra 10% off code at Totsy - ends 10/3/2010!

Starting today (ends 10/3/2010), you can score 10% OFF your order at Totsy when you enter promotion code: TOTSYONE at checkout!  Yay!  Totsy is an invite-only sale site who features high-quality and unique items for babies, kids and moms - click here and this link includes the invite, otherwise you will be put on a waiting list to join.  : )

Right now, they have some Organic cotton clothes by Sama Baby for babies and also for toddlers/preschoolers/kindergartners like the shirt above (they have sizes 2yrs - 6yrs available). 

Totsy also has some really cool craft and science activity kits for only $6.50 like the one pictured!  Great for homeschooling or a rainy day activity!!  They have a recommended age of 6+.  Click here to go to their site!

Snapware Glass storage at Costco + booklet coupon savings!

I just bought the 18-pc Snapware Glasslock set from Costco, and it was only $23.99 with the $6 coupon that is in this month's Costco coupon booklet!  Reg. price without the coupon is $29.99; still a cheaper price than around $34 - $50 this 18-pc set normally sells for... so, this is a great deal!  It has square and round shapes of multiple sizes and the lid has snap-closures on the sides, so you don't have to press down on and burp the top  - who wants their storage burping at them anyways?!

I just used them for leftovers, and I like them!  I only wish they were oven safe, so that I could bake in them and then just snap on the lid without transferring the leftovers like the pyrex ones I have with lids.  They are dishwasher and freezer safe, so those are definite pluses that *maybe* will make me forget that they are not oven safe (they are also microwave safe, but we got rid of our micro about a year and a half ago and don't miss it!!).  The lid is BPA-Free plastic and snaps on pretty easily, and the vessel portion is glass... I noticed after I bought them that they are made in Korea though : ( .

Hurry - I'm not sure when the coupon booklet expires because I can't find mine and I think I remember now that they (unintentionally) confiscated it from me at checkout stand with this coupon, but I'm sure it ends soon!


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Bringing Basics Back tip:  Use glass instead of plastic for storage.  I have recycled or donated almost all of my tupperware storage and am replacing the collection with the glass "good twin".  I am just weary of plastic now since studies have shown that they can leach toxic cancer-causing chemicals, such as BPA, into your food.  I did recently "buy" some ziplock brand freezer jam storage tubs because they ended up being free after coupons, but I only did so because I noticed a big label on the packaging, "BPA FREE!" - yay!  Even the plastics that say BPA Free, I try to avoid because plastic is such an unnatural substance, it just creeps me out.

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New coupon site!

The Catalina company (they're the ones who pop out those skinny receipt-like coupons you get at the register after you buy something) just came out with their own coupon website called the Coupon Network and it has many coupons that I have not seen on the more common sites like coupons.com, like Ian's natural foods and Pacific Natural foods!  Yay - yet another source for COUPONS!  I am coupon-crazy I tell you!

I found 6 different $1-off-1 coupons for various Ian's brand products (all-natural foods that don't use creepy ingredients) and also one for $1-off-2 Pacific Foods items (use all-natural ingredients and have organic options).  When you sign up, try other zip codes around your area if it says there are no stores with that zip - I tried the zip code next to us and it worked, and all of my local stores were listed even though for some reason my zip didn't work (the error code said that there are no stores in that zip code - probably because I'm in a residential/rural area - even though the next zip code is only a mile down the road!).  Click here to go to their site!

p.s. Don't forget about Mambo Sprouts website, who always have natural and organic coupons available for print!  Click here to go to their site!

PVC-Free Raincoats only $19.99! (baby/preschooler sizes only)

Fall rain is on it's way!  Today, at Eco Baby Buys are PVC-free raincoats (sizes 18mo to 4T) for only $19.99 + shipping - I did the calculation for me, and it would be $5.55 to ship, so $25.54 total, which is still a pretty good deal for this type of item from a company who does not use harsh chemicals, and they are $34.99 at Toys R Us/Babies R Us... doesn't sound as cheap compared to the clearance deals you can find on a traditional raincoat, but these you know are PVC-free. Click here to go to their site - the deal is for today only (9/28/2010)!


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Bringing Basics Back tip:  Avoid PVC.  PVC is a type of plastic that modern science has molded for use in many applications - one of them is to soften it using phthalates to make things like raincoats, shower curtains and even bibs and baby toys - yikes!  The benefit is that it is weatherproof and wearable, the major con is that it contains harsh chemicals that have been linked to developmental disorders and delays and also cancer.  It is hard to tell whether or not the item contains PVC, so be sure to look for "PVC Free" on the tag, if it says "100% PVC", then run away!

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