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List of 79 of the 120 Kmarts and Sears that are going to close

Posted by on December 30, 2011 at 10:00 am
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

 

Sears Holding Corporation announced the other day that they will be closing 120 Sears and Kmart stores across the country. They just released a list naming 79 of those stores.

So far, my state of Maine is not on the list. But, they still have 41 stores to go. Is your town losing a Sears or Kmart?

— Alabama (3): Sears in Mobile; Kmart in Auburn and Gadsden.

— California (3): Sears in El Monte and San Diego (2).

— Colorado (3): Sears in Longmont; Kmart in Broomfield and Glenwood Springs.

— Florida (11): Sears in Crystal River, Deland, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, West Palm Beach; Kmart in Callaway, Fernandina Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Orange City, Pompano Beach and St. Augustine.

— Georgia (6): Sears in Macon; Kmart in Atlanta, Buford, Columbus, Douglasville and Jonesboro.

— Idaho (1): Sears in Lewiston.

— Indiana (3): Sears in Anderson; Kmart in Indianapolis and St. John.

— Iowa (2): Kmart in Cedar Rapids and Davenport.

— Kansas (1): Sears in Lawrence.

— Kentucky (3): Sears in Middleboro; Kmart in Hazard and Winchester.

— Maryland (1): Sears in Ellicott City.

— Michigan (6): Sears in Adrian, Brighton, Chesterfield Township, Harper Woods, Monroe and Washington Township.

— Minnesota (4): Kmart in Duluth, New Hope, White Bear Lake and Willmar.

— Mississippi (3): Sears in Columbus, Jackson and McComb.

— Missouri (2): Sears in Lee’s Summit and St. Louis.

— New Hampshire (2): Sears in Keene and Nashua.

— North Carolina (4): Sears in High Point, Morehead City, Rocky Mount and Statesville.

— Ohio (6): Kmart in Chagrin Falls, Columbus, Medina, Springfield and Toledo (2).

— Oregon (1): Sears in Roseburg.

— Pennsylvania (2): Sears in Pottstown and Upper Darby.

— South Carolina (1): Sears in Sumter.

— Tennessee (4): Sears in Antioch, Cleveland, Oak Ridge; Kmart in Hendersonville.

— Virginia (3): Sears in Norfolk; Kmart in Midlothian and Richmond.

— Washington (2): Sears in Walla Walla; Kmart in Lacey.

— Wisconsin (2): Sears in West Baraboo; Kmart in Rice Lake.

Source: http://www.searsmedia.com/tools/122711_close.pdf

 

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Sitting here missing my granddaughter Skylar…

Posted by on December 27, 2011 at 11:48 am
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

I missing my granddaughter big time!  Last time I saw her was when I had her for two weeks in November (she lives in Mississippi). I hope to have her again in March.

Anyhoo… I thought I’d look through some of my son’s facebook photos and I could not help but share this one, ’cause that’s what grandmother’s do, right?  They show off their B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L grandchildren!!! :O)

This is Skylar with her dog Dee Dee on the slide at the park. Awwwww…..

 

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Lookie at what my mother has been up to… and Merry Christmas!

Posted by on December 24, 2011 at 2:29 pm
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

About a month ago, my 88 year old mother wanted a craft project to keep herself busy.  I printed out some Christmas coloring pages and bought her 3 new boxes of markers.

Next thing I knew, she was decorating her artificial flowering tree with her artwork. Once it was full, she went to work on decorating her little Christmas tree that I finally brought up from the basement.  Her deck doors are also covered with Christmas scenes, as are her cabinet doors, her little refrigerator… she has even started an album!

She colors every day, all day!  Now she’s working on fish, butterflies, flowers and entire sets of paper dolls with clothing to fit.

More markers please!

She even cuts her own hooks out of paper… too cute!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my facebook fans and blog followers! Thank you for all your support.  I hope to bring you lots of coupons and deals in 2012!

 

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Dear Darlene – Answers to questions from a facebook fan

Posted by on December 11, 2011 at 2:51 pm
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I have been wanting for a long time to start a Dear Darlene series where I can answer questions from my facebook fans and blog followers. This fan’s questions prompted me to finally jump in and do it!

Question from facebook fan Jamie

Dear Darlene: a question….I have only been couponing for about 2 months now and I still feel like my monthly grocery bill is huge. I used to spend $500 to $600 a month, now I’m between $300 and $400 a month. I’d like to be around $200 a month ($50 a week). What am I doing wrong? How many months did it take you to get to a monthly budget you’re comfortable/happy with? About how much have you cut your monthly bill from non-couponing days?

Dear Jamie: You are doing great for only 2 months in! It takes time to get your bill waaaaaayyyyy down. As you build your stockpile, you will be able to spend less and less. Set a goal to knock off an additional $10 or $20 each week (and stick to your budget!!!) until you are where you want to be.  As for me, I cut my bill down to next to nothing really quick, like maybe in a month.  But, I was super strict about it. Let’s put it this way, saving money was an instant – and at times, very stressful and life controlling – addiction for me.  It.  Still.  Is.

Here are some of my tips to help everyone cut back faster:

1. Eat what you can buy, not what you want to eat: This one is simple. You need to make your shopping list according to what is free and cheap with coupons, or at least on sale if you don’t have coupons. If you can score 10 boxes of Total cereal, then until you have a stockpile filled with variety, you are eating Total cereal for breakfast… period!

2. Try buy your max of one or two free items each week: There is almost always something you can pick up for free each week, and your bloggers will point those items out to you. When you find a freebie, print as many coupons as you can and buy your max! If the coupons happen to state one per transaction (like in coupon booklets), bring your entire family and have them all buy one!

3. Don’t use coupons just because you have them: Only use a coupon if it brings the price waaaaaaay down.  You need to wait for sales.  If you must have spaghetti sauce and your coupon does not make the brand name cheap enough, buy the cheapest store brand.  If you don’t use coupons wisely, you will end up spending more money, not less.

4. Don’t give up:  Couponing can get very discouraging, especially in the beginning. It’s best to start out small and work your way up. Stick with it! If I can do this, anyone can!

5. Quit being fussy:  I’m going to tell it to you straight. If you have a fussy family, you might save a little… but you’ll never save a lot. It all goes back to point number 1 above. You have to eat what you can buy, not what you want to eat.

If you have a question, you can leave it on my Deals by Darlene facebook page, or if you want to remain anonymous, you can email me at dzines@metrocast.net.

 

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Posts from the Past: Revisit my extreme couponing test questions

Posted by on December 10, 2011 at 3:00 pm
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

If you are new to my blog, you might benefit by reading some of my earlier posts.  Here is a little series I did to test yourself to see if you’ve got what it takes to be an extreme couponer!

Question 1 – Are you fussy?

Question 2 – Can you get organized?

Question 3 – Can you walk away?

Question 4 – Can you forgive your blogger?

 

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OMG… Who would have thought you can do this with spaghetti and hot dogs!

Posted by on December 6, 2011 at 11:01 am
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

This is hilarious! You stick uncooked spaghetti through cut up hot dogs then boil until the spaghetti is cooked! I can’t wait to have my granddaughter here again to try this! I could stick the noodles out just one side to make it look like hair. And I have PLENTY of hot dogs and pasta! This is going to be fun!

I learn about this foodie masterpiece over at WeUseCoupons! Check them out!

 

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$1 OFF Wholly Guacamole coupon has been reset – look for it in reduced dairy at Shaw’s

Posted by on December 2, 2011 at 2:42 pm
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

The $1/1 Wholly Guacamole coupon has been reset on their facebook page. I only use this coupon when I find it in reduced dairy at Shaw’s so I can get it for FREE or 50¢. Okay, that’s a lie. Read below…

$1/1 Wholly Guacamole, Salsa or Queso – we only get one print per computer on this one.

Now, for my confession. I was holding on to two $2 off Wholly Guacamole coupons and they were about to expire.  Shaw’s did not have any Wholly in reduced dairy, not even on expiration day (boo hoo). So, I ran over to Walmart and splurged on two boxes because I was having a massive craving for the green junk and I could not stand to toss those $2 coupons. The price was $2.78 per box, so a whopping 78¢ each after the coupons. That was a stretch for me! I have never paid more than 50¢ a box before. I’m still a little sick over it.

 

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How to use up 12 DOZEN free eggs – scramble ’em, freeze ’em, pickle ’em, put ’em in lasagna

Posted by on December 2, 2011 at 1:53 pm
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

I just ran over to the Sanford Shaw’s to see if they still had Egg-Lands Best eggs in their reduced dairy section marked down to $1 per dozen… and they did! I was able to buy 12 dozen eggs and they were all FREE thanks to the $.50/1 dozen Egg-Lands Best coupons (they doubled) that I found in my vast collection of coupon inserts!

You might wonder what I’m going to do with 12 dozen eggs.  Here’s my plan of action:

1 dozen will be hard boiled and turned into egg salad to eat right now.

3 dozen will be hard boiled and pickled to eat later (I also use pickled eggs for egg salad… yum!)

7 dozen will be scrambled and cooked then divided into 42 individual size breakfast servings. I’ll pop those in the freezer so my mother can have scrambled eggs any time she wants (yes, you can freeze cooked scrambled eggs).

1 dozen will be scrambled and cooked then used in the lasagna that I’m making today. I’m going to put an entire layer of scrambled eggs between the pasta noodles. I’m skipping the meat for this one. It will be just scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, zucchini and yellow squash, and cheese. I’ll make sauce with meat to pour on top when we eat it. YUMMO!!!

Check out my egg articles on Examiner.com!
World’s easiest pickled egg recipe
How to cook hard boiled eggs that peel easily
How to marbelize hard boiled eggs

 

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IT’S OFFICIAL: I need a better system for all these coupons!

Posted by on December 1, 2011 at 11:47 pm
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

I’m thinking of changing the way I file my coupons. I used to sort by categories in a binder. I quickly discovered I HATE binders. They are clumsy and there’s no good way to put them on the shopping cart.  And purging expired coupons is a nightmare.

I switched to envelopes sorted by exp date.  That makes purging expireds a breeze.  But I have to type every coupon in a spreadsheet so I know what I have. Knowing I have that task ahead makes me not print as many coupons as I’d like to print.

Now I’m thinking of doing some envelopes by category and some by expiration date. I could have categories for cereal, dairy, pillsbury… the stuff I print and use all the time. For stuff I don’t use often, I can stick to the spreadsheet and expiration date system.

As for my inserts, I don’t clip those until I need the coupons. But, from now on I’m going to place like pages together then file them (I put them in clear plastic bags). Then when I need a certain coupon, I can just cut all the stacked pages at once. No more flipping through each insert over and over again!

I don’t know.  I just know I need to perfect this system so I am never again without egg coupons… lol!  I found 16 egg coupons in the inserts and I missed getting FREE eggs at Shaw’s Thursday night.  If I had a better system, I could clip and carry more of my insert coupons. I never want to miss out on free eggs again!

 

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Free BMI Score from Nutrisystem – what a lousy way to end my night!

Posted by on November 30, 2011 at 11:20 pm
I use affiliate links in some of my posts. I may earn a commission if you use my links. Full disclosure.

Nutrisystem

All I can say about my score is UGH!

 

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