Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Trying to clean
I tried to clean the boys' room today in a way they can maintain. Will they put away their toys if they have marked boxes with pictures saying what goes where? Any body wanna place any bets?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Blue Dukas Mentality
One of the things that is taking too much of my time lately is the effort of trying to save money. I HATE paying full price for things -- I feel like I'm getting duped or something. Do you think that comes from the "blue dukas" mentality?
There used to be this little souvenir market in Nairobi; I think it was near the Sarit Center. We used to love to go there to buy artsy/crafty-type souvenirs, like wood-carved animals, soaptstone coasters and candle holders, baskets, etc. The thing about the blue dukas that was different from a regular store is that you were supposed to barter for things -- if you didn't, you'd be getting duped for sure. In places like those blue dukas (and there are lots of places like that in East Africa for souvenirs), bargaining can be a majaor process, depending on how much time you're willing to spend on it.
I don't barter for things here, but I look for coupons and sales that can be used together. I don't even bother even looking at sales racks that aren't at least 50% off. There are even a few blogs and websites I look at where they tell you what's on sale and what coupons have been in the paper that can match up with those sales. Even with that information, I spend a lot of time putting all my coupons together with all the sales, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my family, so I guess I'll be fitting it in now when I can. I just need to be a little more disciplined about getting to bed at a decent time!
There used to be this little souvenir market in Nairobi; I think it was near the Sarit Center. We used to love to go there to buy artsy/crafty-type souvenirs, like wood-carved animals, soaptstone coasters and candle holders, baskets, etc. The thing about the blue dukas that was different from a regular store is that you were supposed to barter for things -- if you didn't, you'd be getting duped for sure. In places like those blue dukas (and there are lots of places like that in East Africa for souvenirs), bargaining can be a majaor process, depending on how much time you're willing to spend on it.
I don't barter for things here, but I look for coupons and sales that can be used together. I don't even bother even looking at sales racks that aren't at least 50% off. There are even a few blogs and websites I look at where they tell you what's on sale and what coupons have been in the paper that can match up with those sales. Even with that information, I spend a lot of time putting all my coupons together with all the sales, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my family, so I guess I'll be fitting it in now when I can. I just need to be a little more disciplined about getting to bed at a decent time!
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