Tuesday Talk!
Hi!! Happy Tuesday :) I hope you had a great Monday and your week is off to a great start!
So- I think if you talk to most moms and/or dads- one of the common things that come up is how "there just never seems to be enough time!" Life is BUSY! Work, school, taking care of kids, making time for fun and some relaxing...well..it can be A LOT!
When Aaron went back to school- we knew we would have to make several sacrifices so that he could be successful and have the amount of time he needed to study. Time as a family was one of those sacrifices. Due to the sheer volume of material he needed to cover- much of his weekends were spent studying. When it came time for us to hang out as a family- the LAST thing we wanted to do was spend 2-3 hours running errands, getting things like toilet paper, shampoo, diapers, etc.
And while I definitely have never minded going to the store with all of my kids by myself (I was just at Target last week buying lawn chairs, with all 4 kids and my huge 38.5 week pregnant belly :) - it's never been my favorite way to spend my time- HA!
I promise I am getting somewhere with this seemingly long anecdote :)
Anyway- one way we figured out we could really streamline our time spent on the weekends at stores like Walmart and Target- is to order EVERYTHING online!
Yes! With the exception of our food- I order everything we need for the month online!
I do most of our shopping on Walmart.com because their prices are the most affordable, we get extra points through our credit card for shopping with them and if you spend $50 or more- shipping is free.
At the end of every month- I take inventory of what we need and make a list.
Then I go Walmart.com and start "filling up my cart."
I like to do my shopping at the end of the month- for the next month- because shipping usually takes about 7-10 days- and I like to have our items ready to go for the new month.
We got our order from Walmart a couple of weeks ago and here is what it looked like!
As you can see- I really do order EVERYTHING. I get our shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, laundry detergent, napkins, paper towels- you name it!
It all gets delivered right to my front door!
Walmart does an excellent job of packing up toiletries-especially liquid items- they tape them shut and they are all packaged in heavy duty ziploc bags!
So- we get all of our household items/toiletries from Walmart.com.
I get my baby wipes from Target- because they are my favorite :)
I have them on a monthly subscription and once a month 2 boxes show up at my door. So easy! And because I am signed up for a subscription- I get another discount on top of their already affordable price!
And finally- we get our diapers delivered from Amazon Prime!
We use cloth diapers about 85% of the time- but we do use disposable diapers for when we are out and about and will definitely be using them more in the first couple of months with Baby #5. Aaron and I are all about finding the best price for everything- and the best deal we have found on diapers is the Luvs brand, using the subscribe and save option on Amazon Prime. We also really love Up and Up diapers (Target brand)- but getting the Luvs diapers off of Amazon is cheaper- so that is what we use!
Every other month- we get a couple huge boxes of diapers delivered to our doorstep. It's so easy to change your subscription- whether you need something sooner or you need to change the quantity of the item.
Aside from diapers- we order stuff all the time off of Amazon Prime! We always price check the item we are purchasing- because sometimes it is cheaper to pick it up at Walmart or Target- but most of the time- the price is the same- AND I don't have to go to the store to pick it up. LOVE THAT.
I also love using Amazon prime for sending gifts- shipping things from the post office has gotten SO expensive!! It is so nice to be able to pick out a gift and send it right to one of my friend's, brother's or mom's house- without having to go to the store OR the post office!
Since Aaron started his residency a year and a half ago, our "free time" has continued to be just as limited as it was when he was in school, due to his work schedule AND the fact that we have more kids now- which makes a couple hour trip to Walmart not the most FUN way to spend a Saturday afternoon- HA! So- we have continued to do almost all of shopping online and it really works SO well for us!
Now don't get me wrong- we still have to go and pick up a few items throughout the month at the store- whether that be poster board for one of the girls- or maybe I forgot to order hairspray and I have run out. But I would say OVERALL- all of our shopping (aside from groceries) is done online.
It has not only freed up so much time for our family to be doing FUN things together, versus running boring errands, it has really helped us stick to our monthly budget! It is so EASY to get distracted and put things you don't need in your cart when you are shopping in the actual store. With getting all of our items online- I am much better about sticking strictly to what we NEED.
So- I would love to know- do you do a lot of online shopping? Is it mostly for clothing- or do you get your household items online too?
Hope you have the BEST day!!
Linking up with these FABULOUS ladies today:
Shopping online is an awesome idea!! I have 2 kids- both in school!, but this would be great for me because I need the "stay on budget" I generally shop at Target because its 2 miles from my house....but that dang hotspot gets me every time!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tip!!
Oh the dollar spot at Target is my arch nemesis! My girls are always begging for stuff from there and it's hard to say no when it is only one dollar! Ha!
DeleteThis is so smart!! I wish I was this organized, but I tend to wait until we need something RIGHT NOW and then I don't have time to wait for its arrival. My good friend orders everything, but food, from Amazon and loves it. She says they order 6-8 times a month! I had no idea this was a thing!!
ReplyDeleteI never thought about ordering from Walmart. What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if it was cheaper to order walmart for things like shampoo or to use amazon? Do you price check those? Also, how do you ship with amazon prime? I have a scale... because I can ship through paypal. maybe that should be a post :)
ReplyDeleteWOW! I haven't even thought about doing this through walmart! Great idea- especially when you don't want to run to different stores with kids in tow!
ReplyDeleteYes- that's one of the biggest reason we shop this way- it has really streamlined what can take up quite a bit of time! :)
DeleteWhoa! I never even thought to shop for toiletries and household things on walmart.com! Mind blown :) I knew you could order home decor and such, but I am impressed with this idea and they way that they come packaged to ensure they don't spill. I don't mind grocery shopping in person and usually go weekly. I love the idea of having things shipped to your door and not having to spend family time shopping. We love Luvs diapers and Amazon prime :) The majority of our birthday gifts we send to family and friends come from amazon so I can save money on shipping. Great tips and thanks for linking up :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to bring this up to Luke! Who knew you could purchase all those things online from Walmart!?
ReplyDeleteWhy in the world don't I do this?!? Haha this is amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously!! It is such a huge time (and money) saver!! :)
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