Not long ago I poured myself a bowl of Cheerios only to be disappointed by the first spoonful.  Turns out the bag inside the box was not closed up tight and I ended up with a bowl full of stale Cheerios.  Sadly, the box was pretty much full, so I couldn’t bring myself to just pitch the whole thing.  But a Cheerio is just not a Cheerio without its crunch.  So what to do with a box full of stale Cheerios?  I poured the remainder into the food processor and gave it a whirl!  Oila!  Cheerio crumbs can be used in place of breadcrumbs in any recipe and you get the nutritional benefits of oats in a dish that would not ordinarily contain this ingredient.

It is common knowledge that drinking water is essential to good health.  It is also commonly known that billions of disposable plastic water bottles end up in landfills every year.  What many people don’t take into account is how much they spend on those disposable bottles each year.  In an effort to dispose of the disposable mentality, it’s time to replace those money-wasting bottles with reusable water bottles.  I personally have tried several different versions and my favorite by far is the Reduce Water Week.  This is a set of 5-16 oz bottles (also available in a smaller 10 oz size) that comes with a handy dandy refrigerator tray that keeps the bottles from falling all over the place.  They come in a variety of designs.

If you are the person that grabs a bottle of water at the convenience store or from a vending machine each day, this set of reusable bottles will pay for itself in less than 2 weeks.  Even if you are more frugal and purchase your bottled water in bulk, you will still have this set paid for in about a month.  If you drink more than one bottle of water a day or live in a multi-member household, there is no reasonable argument for continuing to purchase water in disposable bottles.

I am fortunate to live in a town where the tap water is actually cleaner than bottled water.  And it has a great taste!  If this is not the case for you, the purchase of a filtering pitcher or tap filter is still more economical than the perpetual purchasing of disposable water bottles.

Before you get too excited and shop without thinking, remember that patience pays off!  When ordering from Amazon.com, be sure to take advantage of FREE Super Saver Shipping, which requires a minimum order of $25.  So if you don’t have items that need to be ordered right now, pop this one into a wish list and wait until you need enough items to total $25.

Make the switch to reusable water bottles and drink up the savings!!