What I Got During Amazon Prime Deals Days
July is a big sales time of year. And if you are like me, you are looking for ways to save money on needed items. One of our big life events right now is my son is moving off to college. What better way to prepare than to purchase needed supplies during Amazon Prime Deals Days?
Amazon Prime Day Deals is a sales period offered to all Amazon Prime members. To become a member, you will pay the $139 annual fee. (As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any viable links at no extra cost to you.) Membership affords you the opportunity to take advantage of free shipping and returns for a large variety of items. Having a Prime membership gives you access to certain Prime Video movies and shows as well as insight to great sales available on Amazon.
A majority of my Prime Deal purchases have been for my son’s dorm, however; I did manage to snag a few other deals. I love finding good deals on: fashion, food, and travel. I shared in a previous post about how to create a seasonal wardrobe. Being budget savvy allows for one to added needed items to his/her wardrobe. The great part of Amazon Prime Deals is they have early deals, prime days, then lead out deals at the end.
Early Deals
A few days prior to Prime Days, I looked for any early deals that peaked my interest. All of my purchases can be found on my LiketoKnow.It page which is linked on the right hand side of my blog. I was able to get six different pairs of earrings for $11! Other early purchases were: a lounge set (which is on greater sale today for the Prime Day Deals), a shirt, a beautiful 5×7 rug, and a twin sheet set. The last two items are for my son’s dorm room. You can check out the cute lounge set, here.
These six pairs of earrings were purchased for $11. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission from any viable links. Prime Day Deals
This year, Prime Day Deals are July 16 – 17, 2024. For the first Prime Day Deals, I ordered large moving bags. For today’s deals, I ordered: a shower caddy, bath mats, mattress topper, a rolling laundry hamper, hangers, and some under eye concealer for myself!
These moving bags are a best seller! *As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission on any viable links. Sale Tracking Features
I enjoy the format of amazon.com and how I can click on the “Prime Deal” link and be taken right to all available deals. Another tracking feature is like items are grouped together on Amazon’s home page.
Setting filters such as: price point, how big of a discount desired, and customer reviews help ensure you find the deals you are looking for.
While this has been my most intensive Amazon Prime Deals Days sale, it will not be my last. I look forward to the lead out sales that close Prime days!
2024: What’s Hot, What’s Not
It’s the first week of a new year and so far, I am off to a great start. I’m already tackling one of my two goals: write 52 blog posts. This should be interesting considering last year’s blog posts topped out around 11. Read along as I outline what’s hot and what’s not in the world of creating New Year’s goals.
What’s Hot
Before I jump into the key features of what makes a goal “hot”, maybe I should share my second goal for the year: run a 5k. In revealing my second goal, I’m highlighting the first point of what’s hot: a simplified focus. In looking at an entire beautiful year of possibilities, determine a simplified focus for something (or things) you would like to accomplish. Having just two goals: writing 52 blog posts and running a 5k provide PLENTY of opportunities for me to hammer out some success in these areas.
Another hot item for 2024: a positive mindset. The older I become, the more aware I am of the power of a positive mindset. If I only had my power of observation as a resource than I can still readily provide examples of wonderful progression towards success from individuals with a positive mindset. Those that are willing to see the positive in each situation also seem to possess the ability to encourage others to see the positive outcome possibilities.
And lastly on my what’s hot list is inspiration. Being able to draw inspiration from others is a definite motivator when tackling your own goals. I’ve included one of my absolute favorite inspiration accounts on Instagram in the image below. For another of my all time favorite inspiration accounts, check Lauren out here.
A Bowl Full of Lemons is one account that consistently provides me with inspiration to tackle my goals. What’s Not
Too many goals is NOT a hot item to have in the new year. Admittedly, I fell victim to this last year. My idea was to target a different challenge each month and allow them to build on each other over the course of the year. In theory, I would arrive at the end of the year with 12 habits in my life. While I am still incorporating the habit I started with in January 2023 (daily devotional time), the other 11 challenges are spotty habits at best. Setting too many goals is too much for obvious reasons.
Another not hot feature is unreasonable timelines. In 2024, build in abundant time to hit your goals. For example, my goal for the entire year is to run a 5k not run a 5k every other month. A 5k is not a great distance but I want to do this well and feel like it is going to take months for me to build up the ability to run the entire 3.2 miles. And while 52 blog posts roughly translates into one blog post a week, the beauty of this goal is, I can write as many blog posts as I want in a week and schedule them to publish whenever I desire.
For my final what’s not hot about New Year’s goals is: a negative outlook. As I age, I am learning to avoid this whenever possible! I am finding a fascination with people who turn from the negative in order to focus on the positive and the results are amazing! There’s no room in your New Year’s goals for negativity.
Well, there you have it: what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to New Year’s goals. If you are curious about some of my past goals, you can read up on what I did in 2022 here.
How to Raise Kids to be a Part of a Whole
While kids are a wonderful addition to the family, effort must be given to raise kids to become successful adults. Successful adults that are capable of functioning well as a member of society. Reaching way back to when mine were little, I’m sharing how to raise kids to be a part of a whole.
An Instagram follower asked me to share how I am able to get my children involved in helping around the house. This request prompted contemplation as to what strategies I incorporated in having my kids participate in household chores and household life in general.
Help Clean Up
Cleaning up after one’s self is a lifelong skill. There is no harm in talking with your little ones from day one about picking up after you are finished with whatever item/items you are using. The added bonus is talking through your activity. Talking while moving through your actions builds language for your children. As children age, sing “Clean Up, Clean Up” (from the Barney show) or any other similar song to encourage your children to clean. As you clean up, have your children put away items with you as well. You are the model for appropriate action.
Create Responsibility Charts
Pinterest offers a variety of ideas on when and how to start utilizing chore charts. I like to call them responsibilities. An age-appropriate chore chart gives kids visual cues on how to help out around the house. I have a variety of pins on my Kids Crafts board, you can check out some chore ideas here.
My husband and I even give some money for each chore completed. The amount is not a lot but enough to put a little spending money in our kids’ pockets. From this money, we have taught the 10/10/80 approach. 10% to God, 10% to savings, and 80% to spend as you choose.
This an example of age-appropriate chores. Teach the Belief of Family
In addition to using chores and allowance as a motivator for our kids to participate in helping with the household, my husband and I have been very intentional about the belief of family. What do I mean by this? From an early age, we share and discuss with our children the importance of taking care of our family. Thus, each member of our family has an important role to help the whole unit. Some tasks and responsibilities are not compensated. They are performed simply for the good of the family. As parents, we determine what tasks and responsibilities need to be completed for the well being of the entire household. It is important for kids to learn that not every responsibility is going to receive a paycheck and it is important to follow the guidelines that mom and dad have established.
There are some great resources available for assisting with raising your children. I encourage you to find an older woman in your church that you admire or feel like she has a good handle on her family life. Follow her example, become a part of her Life Group, or ask for her guidance. Here is another great resource I like – Raising Girls and Boys.
Disclaimer
By sharing what my family has done to have our children become involved in the household responsibilities, this does not mean we have it all together. My biggest area of weakness is consistency. Being consistent with requiring my children to follow through with their responsibilities is always going to be a struggle for me.
While not perfect, I am willing to share all that is going on in The Helms House here. I hope you will follow along and interact with me by letting me know what you like or have questions about. Raising kids to be successful adults is challenging, rewarding work.
Getting Ready for Vacation!
Lots of preparation goes into being ready for vacation. This summer my family will visit Rosemary Beach, a beach community located on the beautiful 30a highway of Florida. Read along to pick up ideas that may assist you in getting ready for vacation.
Make a Packing List
A packing list is a guide for me to ensure I do not leave anything important behind when heading out on vacation. Items included vary from clothing to toiletries to beach supplies to kitchen aids. When a family is gone for a week or longer, there is a lot to pack for said trip!
Not only do I keep a running list nearby in order for me to jot down items when I think about them, I like to also draw on the experience and expertise of other mamas who have been there, done that. Here is a blog post of a packing list I pinned from Pinterest.
The Folding Lady is also one of my favorite influencers to follow and check in with regarding how to get all my family’s items neatly and efficiently into our suitcases.
Bring Products that will Help You
Any mama or person in charge of packing for an entire family will have an idea of what products make your trip easier. For me, individual laundry bags like these help my kids keep up with their dirty laundry. When it is time to wash clothes, I simply consolidate the laundry bags and wash as needed. The bags can also be used to hold clean and folded laundry for me to return to each kids’ room.
Vacation is always a fun time to buy a few new things for the beach! We found a cute patriotic swimsuit from Target for my daughter.
You can check it out here!While I have yet to try them, I have heard a lot of people rave about packing cubes to use for organizing clothing and toiletries for trips. Here is a best seller on Amazon.
Travel size toiletry bottles are helpful as well as a variety of product bags. Rolling luggage is a plus on vacation. The ease of rolling your case along side of you allows you the space to carry other items in your arms or stack on top of your luggage. Our daughter got this set a couple of years ago. She gets a lot of use out of them. Truth be told Jeff and I need a new set for ourselves.
*As an Amazon Associate, I will earn from commissionable links. *
Create a Meal Plan
While I would love to share with you all the fun activities to do and places to eat while on 30a, I am going to save that post for the future. You can read up on our last year’s trip here. For this post, I simply want to focus on the preparation of vacay readiness.
Taking the time to think, dream, and discuss what food you want on your trip will help you save time and money while you are away. We have stayed at many beach houses over the years and when all the family is together, there is never a shortage of starving kiddos (at least they all think they are starving). Having a rough idea of what foods to bring, what foods to buy, and what nights you are eating out, makes for a smoother vacation experience.
While we have some favorite places to eat (The Donut Hole), we have some new places we are going to try out as well this year. My goal is to blog about everything we will do in an upcoming post.
For this preparation, you will need to make another list as well ( I love lists!). How many nights do you want to eat out? What special occasions are taking place while you are away?(birthdays, holidays, anniversaries?) Take this time to determine if any of your party has food allergies. Also, what are some favorite meals? For me, when I head to the beach, I want fresh, local shrimp. We have a funny but not-so-funny-at-the-moment story of the time my husband went to Publix and bought shrimp instead of going to the fresh seafood market while we were at the beach. Who knew Publix shrimp could cause such an uproar? 😉
Being ready for vacation will actually assist you in enjoying your vacation once you arrive at your destination. Hopefully, this post has given you ideas to implement as you prepare for any upcoming trips. Enjoy!
Welcome!
Hi! My name is Ashley. I am a stay-at-home mom to three kids (our fourth one has already left the nest). I am wife to Jeff, and we have been married 17 years. Our children are ages 20 (my stepson), 15, 14, and 9. We also have three dogs! I cannot believe we have three dogs: a Mal-shi, Labradoodle, and a Poodle. They keep life interesting.
My background is in special education. While I have recently worked part time as a special education instructor, a majority of the last fifteen years have been spent as a stay-at-home mom – my true passion.
Cullman has been called home for the last 14 years; however, 2020 brought a us to a new town. We’ve recently moved and are setting up house in Homewood, Alabama. With a child in elementary school and two in high school, we are on the go often and a big move in the middle of a pandemic is not for the faint of heart.
After spending time on Instagram, this blog is a great addition to add depth and detail to my Instagram squares. You can follow along in my day to day life at The Helms House on Instagram. My goal is to share my home and family with you.
