Book Deals

If you are the kind of person who thinks Wal-Mart is evil, you may want to stop reading now and go about your day. 

If you're more apt to think a deal is a deal, carry on.

I'm not much of a Wal-Mart shopper.  As I've made clear time and time again, Target is my supplier of choice.  Wal-Mart makes me anxious and depressed.  BUT, last night when I was searching the Internet for my next book club pick (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) I remembered a little tidbit from some marketing?/econ?/business? book I worked on last year.  I don't remember the details exactly, just something about Amazon and Wal-Mart being in an book online pricing war.  I don't even remember who won.  But that doesn't matter.  My evening went something like this:

* Checked local used bookstore inventory online (no luck)
* Checked library availability including all interlibrary loan options (no luck.  wth?  popular book!)
* Checked Amazon.com and BN.com (bingo.  started the order process on Amazon--almost always the cheaper of the two) but then...
*Remembered to check Walmart.com. (score! cheaper and only $1.97 for shipping.) I even had the option to have it delivered to the store for free, but I decided it was worth the extra couple bucks to avoid driving 20 minutes to the nearest store with two young kids in tow.

I did some more checking, and a number of the books I'm interested in are less expensive at Walmart.com (hardcovers, no less).

Of course they don't have quite the selection as the other two big book retailers, but I'm definitely adding Walmart.com to my book-buying search list.  I have a book addiction, and I need a cheap fix.

P.S. I am very sad our local bookstore closed last year.  R.I.P. River City Books!  I would have loved to have given you my business.

Saving Money and the Environment One Load at a Time

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenprofeta/ / CC BY 2.0

It seems like everywhere these days I'm hearing that Americans are using too much soap.  Seriously, I think I've read at least three articles in as many months.  Alina Tugend's New York Times article is full of tips for prolonging the life of your appliances.  The number one rule?  Use less detergent.  Apparently most of us assume using more soap will make our dishes and clothes cleaner, but excess soap actually prevents our clothes from rinsing clean and can cause build-up that damages our appliances. In fact Tide is now marketing a product that is designed to be used monthly to clean your washing machine and remove the residue often cause by using too much detergent.  I am aware of the irony.  Tide is making money off of a product designed to fix a problem caused by people using too much of their product--I'm trying it tonight.

Incidentally, we can take it easy on the dryer sheets too.  My plan (thanks to a rash my daughter has developed since she's been out of diapers) is to forgo the dryer sheets altogether.  I've learned that vinegar is a great inexpensive and natural alternative to fabric softener when added to you washing machine's rinse cycle.  And no, your clothes will not smell like pickles.

Of course for the truly budget-conscious, you can always make your own laundry detergent or skip detergent altogether.  Those options aren't for me.  I'm not ambitious enough to make mix my own, and I'm a little too skeptical to leave it out altogether.  I have, however, recently started using half the recommended amount.  It's a small change that requires zero additional effort, and I've noticed no difference in the cleanliness of the clothes.  I'm pretty happy to be saving money and producing less waste.  And some day my washer and dryer will thank me!

What about you?  Any great laundry tips?  I'm still waiting for that answer to grease stains!