Thursday, February 10, 2011

So Many Errands!

Just about everyone I've talked to this week has spring fever. Enough of the winter, dashing from heated house to hopefully warm car, trying to avoid the bone-chilling cold. Doing errands in this weather is no fun, bundling up and toting a toddler around. I'm freezing or sweating, and there is no happy medium.

So, let me share with you my new, favorite way to do errands: Amazon.com. I've been a longtime Amazon buyer for books, but a few months ago found out about Amazon Subscribe and Save and Amazon Mom. Silly me thought a lot of people knew about this, but I've mentioned it a handful of times in recent weeks and no one knew what I was talking about. So, here we are.

Amazon Subscribe and Save lets you order consumable stuff and have it shipped to you at regular intervals. Cereal, shampoo, diapers, Sonicare toothbrush heads, and pretty much any personal hygiene item you can think of. Set it up to ship any quantity at one, two, three or six month intervals, and automatically save 15% with no shipping charge. Plus, you can change the shipping pattern or cancel at any time. Just be sure you stop the subscription before you have a garage full of cereal. You only have a short window to tell them to stop a shipment. On the bright side, you can also speed up a shipment if you are running low on something. The full details are here.

Amazon Mom is especially cool, because you get the free two-day shipping that is part of Amazon Prime, with no minimum purchase (normally $79 a year if you sign up for that program outside of Amazon Mom). For every $25 you spend on baby stuff, the Prime benefits are extended another month. For instance, I bought a $100 item with Christmas money and the benefits were extended four more months. Plus, it's better than subscribe and save because you get an additional 15% off (total 30% off) many items, including diapers! Plus the stuff comes right to your door.

Due to the two-day free shipping, I have been seeing a lot of my UPS guy. He's a very nice man, and with all the visits he has been making, I'm thinking he's going to deserve a Christmas gift this year!

Seriously, if you are tired of running to the store for the stuff that runs out--vitamins, makeup, coffee--take a look at these programs. I bet you will save some time and cash, not to mention the chance you'll have to develop a special bond with the guy in brown!