I'm not a big coupon user, mostly because they are more often than not for things we just don't need or use.... like highly processed convenience food, puffed and extruded cereal products that are more air than food, expensive namebrand laundry detergent/softener, etc. The ones I do use are for TP, toothpaste, and occasionally there will be frozen whole fruit, Tyson chicken or other meat products, 100% frozen concentrate juices, etc., and I try to use coupons along with a sale on that item to maximize savings. That means you plan ahead, and you buy ahead. Tyson chicken was buy one package, get one free this week, I just happen to have a coupon and saved an additional $1. We have 3 stores where I can get groceries, Dillons (4 of them) - which have double coupons everyday, but only up to 50 cents, Wal-Mart - face value, and Aldi - no coupons. I don't believe the "Coupon Queen" actually save money over all - but that it's more like a disease - or an addiction - similar to gambling. I believe they spend much more time, energy, and gas to get freebies, collect coupons, print coupons off the Internet, than I would using my simple system based on being frugal and reducing waste and expense to begin with. I'd like to see their complete expenses for food and non-food items for a year and compare bottom-lines. How much is wasted in storage; how much is tossed because it's out-of-date, spoiled, or unused; and how much is empty calories and void of nutrition; how much is really not needed at all? Here's how I save money. 1. Have a set amount for food PERIOD (mine is $50 per week for 2 adults). You'll always save if you don't spend more than your budgeted amount with or without coupons, and keep your budget as low as possible. Use food dollars for food only. Budget another amount for non-food items. You'll soon see how much money is wasted on non-food items. 2. Purchase whole foods for better nutrition and learn to cook from scratch. Avoid buying junk food, snack items, and soft drinks. Snacks are whole foods like popcorn, peanuts, almonds, pecans, homemade granola, homemade yogurt or kefir, fruit and vegetables. I have been getting 25# of wheat at Wal-Mart for $5, which is close to the same amount as ONE high-priced loaf of bread. I can make 90 1-pound loaves of whole wheat bread from a bushel (60#) of wheat. I make all our breads for around 25-50 cents a loaf - as well as all our other baked goods. 3. If something comes in a bag, box, or can, you pay for the packaging and processing, not just the food inside. Always keep track of unit pricing. I've found the smaller container of peanut butter is often cheaper when it's on sale than the larger one, when you figure unit price - per ounce price. The price of frozen orange juice concentrate (add 3 cans of water) is much cheaper than ready-to-use in the refrigerator case (approximately twice as much), and the highest price is individual juice boxes. You don't need a coupon to save there, just make better choices when considering unit pricing. 4. Make your own "convenience foods". I make a wholegrain version of Bisquick, wholegrain pancake mix, "instant" refried beans from milled pinto beans, pudding mix from a powdered milk product, and occasionally I'll make up some "Gifts-in-a-Jar" mixes to keep in the pantry as convenience foods. 5. Plan meals/menus based on loss leaders from the meat and produce department from the grocery store. Plan meals so you don't waste food. If you have a head of leaf lettuce, how many meals do you plan on using it? Or do you randomly forage for food for a meal and the head of lettuce dies of loneliness in the crisper drawer? Wasted food, wasted money. 6. Laundry and cleaning supplies. I've made homemade laundry soap for many years for approximately 8 cents a load. I use inexpensive white vinegar (from Sam's Club) in the rinse instead of expensive and toxic softener. I can find Borax (part of the homemade laundry soap recipe) on sale, and I'll stock up on it for later use. I clean the bathroom sink/counter with 1/2 water and 1/2 alcohol solution in a spritz bottle and a microfiber towel. The kitchen counters are sanitized with 1 qt. water and 1 t. bleach. Toilets are cleaned with Borax, then a spritz of alcohol/water. Floors mopped with vinegar/water. 7. Shampoo - I purchase a gallon of shampoo from a beauty supply outlet (for hair dressers and barbers) - usually on sale. I mix it with water and have enough shampoo for years. No coupons, but a fraction of the price. No other hair care products necessary. 8. Bath soap - a 14 oz. bar of ZOTE laundry soap costs 70 cents at Big Lots. I can use it to make homemade laundry detergent for pennies, or I can slice the bar into 3/4-inch slices and use it for body soap in the bath/shower. If I want liquid soap, I can make it with a bar of bath soap (or the slivers of soap that get tossed into the trash) and water. I guess the difference between me and the "Coupon Queen" is I'm frugal in order to save money. I only use what's necessary to get the job done, not what's available with a coupon. I'm not impressed and influenced by commercial products and unnecessary items. I've seen a "Coupon Queen" in action. She brings a truck load of food and non-food items to the neighbor's garage sale twice a year. She sells them for pennies on the dollar so that she can feed the habit all over again. You know she has to spend something getting this hoard of goods. -Grainlady

We aren't in an exceptionally windy place, just ordinary winds. We did use really large, strong hinges, but I know over time even those will start to give. A drop bar at the top could work with a shorter gate, but ours is pretty tall - hard for us short people to reach - and also, the top is rounded. But it sounds like having some kind of stop both at the top and bottom is a good idea. Having one go the whole length would kind of spoil the beautiful design of the gate, though. We need to be able to open (and close) it from both the inside and the outside at different times. I'm mainly wondering if people tend to bump into the protruding piece, since it's not really in the center of the visual field.

I have no problem using internet printed coupons here. I think its a no-no to copy & paste them though. I have a coupon printer installed on my computer and print coupons all the time with no problem.

If they told you 'no' try again. I copied this from another board- I called Kmart's customer service last night after reading the thread about the double coupons (where had I been????) and asked if my store was included in the double coupons. She said that all stores have now been included. I told her that my store didn't know anything about it (which wasn't entirely true but I wanted to know what the response would be). She told me that they should know by now because of a major issue with it and all stores were now included and the managers should have gotten the numerous emails telling them they are included. She said if I had any problems to have the store call customer service. She also gave me her name as a reference and said she logged my call. HTH