We're tricking ourselves into saving some cash- step 1

I have strategically placed change receptacles all over my house. Every day when Jason gets home from work, or the store, or anywhere he might have been that day, everything in his pockets comes out and lands in one of about four place. The most notoriously irking is precisely in the right corner of my kitchen table. One of my biggest pet peeves about my house growing up was that everything from everyone always and forever ended up at some point in time on the kitchen table, or the kitchen counter. There always seems to be a place in every house where each person walks in the door at the end of the day and empties their smallest possessions. The clutter that ensues can drive me up a wall in a matter of less than two.point.five seconds!! Jason’s absolute favorite spot is the very right corner of my kitchen table. The corner that is right there next to Alex’s high chair. So, not only is this the forever messiest quadrant of the table because, a. there’s always a little gunk I missed in cleaning up after the baby’s meals, but then b. there’s the crap Jason loses right there on that same darned corner! THEN, there’s me sitting the baby in his little booster right there at that very same far right corner of my table, more on the end, but his ever-growing wiggling stretch armstrong arms spring into action the second his little baby bum hits that seat and they’re grabbing whatever’s there! It’s better, I’ve surmised, than him jutting them to the opposite side because that’s where the trash can is and although it’s one of those really awesomely camouflaged-noone ever knows it’s there until they ask-keeps the smell in and covers up the ugly-all while keeping trash away from the troublemaking dog-amazing lifesaver of a trashcan device. So, the table, not so bad, reach away, tap on the table, bang on the table, eat off of the table. But, don’t pull Daddy’s random receipts, papers from work, work hat and car keys and ipod and headphones from the ipod (which, why again are there always two sets of black headphones for the one ipod?? I will never understand.. moving on again), or the plethora of pennies, nickels and (Woohoo) Quarters off of kitchen table and onto the kitchen floor where there will then be a whole other mess for mommy to pick up after at a later date because right now I’m supposed to be completing initial task number one of what was it again, I can’t remember from all the distraction and messiness, oh yeah, feeding the baby! OY!! Do you get my drift? Have I painted the picture? You’d think, but no. So, every day it happens, then when I follow behind and go hang the hat on the hat hanger, hang the keys on the key hanger, throw away the receipts and put the ipod and accessories and papers from work that may or may not be important, and all is in it’s rightful homestead… I also grab all the change that he’s told me every time he catches me doing it, is going to be used for a soda or something at work tomorrow, I tell him no it’s not- use a dollar bill, all said change goes into one of the strategically placed change receptacles that I have so thoughtfully and strategically placed in approximately four different areas of our home. A few weeks ago I got home from working a long long twelve hour night at work (just like I do about six nights out of every month) and I was wide awake from all the coffee I drank at work to keep me awake that whole twelve hours. So, I decided I’d use my extra wakeful alert to dump out the biggest change depot in our house, the one on my dresser, and count up the change, just cause I was curious how much we were making off this project I’ve heard is so great an idea! This really cool big silver bowl thingy I got a while back as a part of a gift set from Bath and Body Works has made a perfect change keeper! It’s pretty ginormous! So I dumped out all my our loot and began my count.

Mr. giant silver really cool pretty perfect change collector was not even half full at that point (but not half empty either) and I counted $55!!! I know! So, when I get it all the way completely filled to the brim it’ll be at least $100!! Wahoo! So, that was the day that I started placing other change keepers around the house because who knows how much we can make after a good chunk of time with more than one of those! I’ve started putting some that I find in a couple of different little piggy banks in Alex’s room too, so he’ll have a little stash saved up, call it a prelude to a college fund…

Money money money munnay.... munnaaaaye!