I've been doing some Fall Cleaning around the house to help take care of what we have. What? You never heard of Fall Cleaning?

Well, it's like Spring Cleaning but done in the Fall. Yeah, catchy title, I know.

But it's important to take care of the house, because it's something that is in yours and will work much better if take care of it along the way.

What kinds of things have I been doing?

• Cleaned the stainless steel of the appliances with WD-40. I can't remember where I read this - maybe on the Everyday Cheapskate emails - but it really does work
• Scrubbed my porcelain kitchen with Barkeeper's Friend. Another great tip from Everyday Cheapskate.
• Cleaned the coils of the fridge.
• Weed the front garden and trim back the hedges.

Obviously, there are other things that need to be done and would need to be done if we had a lawn or different type of property. Mostly the point is to take care of what you have responsibility for and your home is just one more thing that falls into that category.

So, look around the house or the yard and check out those things that need to happen before it gets too cold and yucky. Make a list and start working your way through it. Your house will appreciate it and it's an important part of stewardship. I promise.

Mercedes at Common Sense with Money is also giving away at $100 VISA gift card [courtesy of Carnation Evaporated Milk]. There are several ways to enter - head on over for he details and read all the good ways to incorporate Evaporated milk into your cooking. It's a Cool Idea!

Erin is giving away a $100 VISA gift card to help with holiday baking [sponsored by Carnation Evaporated Milk]. Head on over to enter!

I just hit the payout threshold with Inbox Dollars and requested my first check. It's taken me a little while but I don't click on all the emails that they send me. But if you are diligent I don't think it would take long to hit the cashout amount. Personally, if you're already in your email inbox and just sitting in front of the TV you might as well be making some cash for yourself. Right? Sounds like a Cool Idea to me, too!

Opinion Outpost now pays out at 50 points - or $5 - if you choose an Amazon.com gift card as your reward. So, no waiting around until you hit $20 anymore and then waiting for a check. And since most of Opinion Outposts surveys are at least $1 this shouldn't take too long to tally up.

So, just in case you're in need of some more gift cards for your holiday shopping make sure to do your Opinion Outpost surveys as soon as they come into your email box. If you aren't signed up with them. It's easy to join. Just head on over and fill out your profiles to get started. It's definitely a Cool Idea!

I just love IKEA! In fact the only thing I don't love is that I live over an hour away now and have to make due with only periodic trips to this Scandinavian House of Practicality. But this weekend, November 7-10, the Swedish Meatball plate in the IKEA Restaurant is only $1! Truly, how can you beat that!!

And if you haven't made it to the IKEA Restaurant yet let me tell you that it's fantastic. Not only is the food great but you if you want to substitute something it's no biggy. And the kids food isn't fire-blasting hot. The mac-and-cheese tastes great and is at a temperature that is ready to eat. As a mom who always has kids ready to gnaw off their own arm at about that time in the trip this welcome. They also have utensils especially for kids if you look near the bottle warming station. Oh and if you forgot your own baby food for the little one, yep you can pick up a jar in the restaurant. And around the corner in the family changing room there are always extra diapers and wipes.

It really is a place where you can come and take a break for a few minutes. Let the kids sit at tables their own size, if you want. Make sure they eat something healthy - because there's always yogurt and milk and veggies, too - and that way you don't have to deal with the sugar crash that'll happen later at the end of the shopping trip.

So, just in case you're planning to go to IKEA this weekend - we'll be at the one in Woodbridge - be sure to grab your plate of meatballs for a $1 and enjoy because this is definitely a Cool Idea!

March of Dimes reminds us all that November is Prematurity Awareness Month. 543,000 babies are born too soon each year and thankfully, due to increased funding and research many of those babies go on to live long and healthy lives.

As a mom who struggled with infertility and who has friends who did as well I, unfortunately, became well acquainted with the virtual bands as a way to honor those who were born too early and didn't survive. But I can also say that Comfort has her own band, too. She was born a month early and I wanted to create a band as a thank you for the hard work that the doctors and nurses did for her while she in the NICU.

One way that the lives of our premature babies can be acknowledged is to buy a virtual band , either in memory or in honor of the child, as a donation to March of Dimes. If you have a premature baby in your life consider donating a virtual band in their honor and helping March of Dimes give more struggling babies a greater chance.

Head on over to Money Saving Methods and sign up for the $25 Barnes and Noble gift card, kids books and Cherrios giveaway that Carrie has going on. You can get up to 6 entries so maximize your chance of getting some great books for yourself and your kids.

The beginning of the month means that the coupons.com coupons are reset. Check out all the great options for saving. There are the usual suspects - Yoplain, Big G Cereals, Kellogg's, Pillsbury cookie dough, etc. But there are also some great coupons for Hasbro games so if you are looking for holiday gifts already head on over to the coupon bar on the right handside and see if there's something there for a little person in your life.

Remember, too, that the cellfire coupons [available in the right sidebar] are still available if you have a Kroger or Safeway family store in your area. Just download those to your loyalty card.

Don't forget to check out shortcuts.com and p&gesavers for coupons, too. Also, Upromise ecoupons don't come off your grocery bill but the money goes toward your upromise account. Pgesavers and upromise can be bundled with other coupons but the others cannot. Optimizing your coupons each month is always a Cool Idea!