Going to college is an exciting time…

You leave the nest, meet lifetime friends, explore new surroundings and – if living in the dorms, you get to cram all your stuff into a tiny little room.

Here are some ideas to maximize space and be the cool kid on campus! And with Plastic Jungle’s help, you can fatten up your Starving College Student budget by using discounted gift cards!

STORE

Living in a dorm means making use of Every. Last. Inch. These modular bins from The Container Store can be stacked in endless combinations both vertically and horizontally.

LAUNDER

Need a place to stash your dirty clothes before the next trip to Mom’s washing machine? This spiral pink pop-up hamper from Target has a convenient collapsible design with see-through mesh.

DECORATE

Keep track of everything from your final exams to frat parties with this dry-erase calendar decal from PBTeen. The peel-and-stick decals are easy to use and your R.A. will be happy that the self-adhesive backing doesn’t ruin the dorm walls. Study and save – select pinboards and decals are available now at PBTeen for 25% off!

EAT

When the dorm cafeteria or the 1:00am drive-thru Taco Bell won’t do, look to your very own mini-fridge. Stock all your favorite foods and drinks into this Black & Decker NuCool Compact Fridge, available from Walmart for $65 (rolled back from $79). Not only is it lightweight and portable, it’s environmentally friendly with its enhanced coolant and compressor-free cooling technology.

CLEAN

Taking a shower down the hall? You’ll need something to lug all your stuff. Check out this mesh shower tote from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It has a spacious center compartment and several pockets with plenty of room to hold your soap, shampoo, razor, towel, hairbrush and more.

STUDY

Fluorescent dorm lighting isn’t fabulous, especially when trying to study. Try supplementing with these Lite-n-Up lights from Home Depot. They can be mounted anywhere and each light provides three bright LED bulbs. Batteries and mounting materials included.

FIX

You never know when a screwdriver might come in handy! I love this Pink Toolset from Lillian Vernon. It comes with everything a girl might need: hammer, 4 screwdrivers, pliers, utility knife, tape measure, scissors, nails, screws and picture hangers!

MEND

When you’re away at college, you can’t rely on mom to kiss your boo-boo. Be prepared with a First Aid Kit instead. This one from Sports Authority has all the supplies to treat cuts, scrapes, sprains, insect bites, headaches, muscle aches and allergic reactions.

STUDY SOME MORE

Study in comfort with this Lap Desk from Amazon.com. The reversible tray is perfect for writing and the raised edges
prevent your pencil from rolling off. And with the tray’s dimpled sides, your laptop won’t overheat.

Have fun decorating your new home-away-from-home!

We love saving money at Plastic Jungle, but you know what we love even more? Free stuff!

Check out these current sweepstakes and try your luck at winning prizes including new cars, exotic vacations, home makeovers and shopping sprees!

BED, BATH & BEYOND

Enter the Gear Up. Boot Up. Rev Up. Sweepstakes at Bed, Bath & Beyond and you might be the Grand Prize Sweepstakes Winner of a brand new 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and 2012 Chevrolet Cruze! Other prizes include two $5000 Bed, Bath & Beyond Shopping Sprees, two Dell Bundles with Xbox 360 consoles and $15,000 cash. They also have an Instant Win Game where you have a chance to win a $25 Bed, Bath & Beyond Gift Card or a Dell V715x All-in-One Printer. You can enter twice a day through September 6, 2011.

Need a discounted Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card now? Buy one now for 10% off!

FANDANGO

Enter Fandango’s Crazy, Stupid, Love Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to the British Virgin Islands! One grand prize winner will receive round-trip airfare for 2 to the British Virgin Islands and a 5-night stay for you and a guest a Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina. Entry period through August 5, 2011.

Check out Plastic Jungle’s Fandango gift cards, currently offered at 11% off!

DISNEY

Enter Disney’s Top Secret Spy Sweepstakes for your chance to win a 3-day, 2-night trip to Washington, D.C. for four lucky secret agents to explore the International Spy Museum. to the Spy Museum in Washington, DC and Cars 2: The Video Game for the Wii console. Entries accepted through August 14, 2011.

To see Plastic Jungle’s selection of discounted Disney gift cards, click here.

GNC

Enter GNC’s Power Up Sweepstakes and you’ll have a chance to win The Ultimate Outdoor Entertainment Package that includes a projector, screen, popcorn machine, gas grill, outdoor furniture, speakers, movies and more worth $5,000. You can enter daily through October 31, 2011.

Get a discounted GNC gift card from Plastic Jungle. Check out our latest selection here.

CAREFREE

The grand prize winner of this Refresh Your Routine sweepstakes receives a spa trip for 2 to St. George, UT! The trip includes airfare, a hotel stay at the Red Mountain Spa Resort, ground transportation, three delicious and nutritious meals per day, daily guided morning hikes, unlimited fitness classes, healthy life classes, cooking demonstrations, use of all the resort amenities and a $400 spa allowance per person. (Value $5,080). You can also enter for the chance to win daily prizes including beauty packs, makeup, concert tickets, spa gift cards, laptop cases and more.

Need a spa getaway now? Plastic Jungle has Spa Finder gift cards at 5% off!

PETCO

Enter the PetCo Zoo Sweepstakes for a chance to win their grand prize of a trip for 4 to San Diego, CA. The trip includes airfare, hotel, rental car, (8)-one-day passes to a zoo in Southern California, eight VIP passes valid at a zoo in Southern California, and a $100 Visa prepaid card. (ARV: $5,399). Enter through August 31, 2011.

Plastic Jungle has discounted PetCo gift cards available now for 9% off!

POTTERY BARN AND BENJAMIN MOORE

Enter Pottery Barn and Benjamin Moore’s Living Room Makeover Sweepstakes for your chance to win $10,000 worth of Pottery Barn furnishings, a design consultation with a Pottery Barn Design Studio Specialist, a consultation with a Benjamin Moore Color Consultant and paint and labor. The total prize value is $14,000 and you can enter daily through August
24, 2011.

Pottery Barn gift cards are currently available at Plastic Jungle for 10% off!

You can’t win if you don’t enter!

Money grows on trees here at Plastic Jungle, and that’s especially the case when you pair eCODEs with in-store and online discounts.

We love eCODEs (electronic gift cards) because they can be used just like a regular gift card. The difference? No waiting for the postman! And no plastic card, no paper envelope, no packaging or fuel for shipping. You just select your favorite merchant, buy your discounted gift card and voila! The eCODEe instantly arrives in your email inbox for immediate use.

Plastic Jungle offers over 30 merchants with eCODEs, with more being added all the time. Look for the eCODE icon or view the complete list here.

Want to save money FAST? Check out these current deals:

Bed, Bath & Beyond – buy a gift card from Plastic Jungle for 10% off, then stack it with their 20% coupon for a total of 30% off!

If you aren’t already on their mailing list for coupons, you can sign up here.

Kohl’s – buy a discounted gift card for 15% off, then use promo code “STACK15” at Kohls.com to get an extra 15% off everything through July 2, 2011. That’s total of 30% off!

JC Penney – buy a discounted gift card at Plastic Jungle for 14% off + save $10 on a $50 purchase through July 10, 2011. Click here to get this coupon, or can also text NEW10 on your phone to 527365

Deals don’t last long, so if your favorite gift card is temporarily out of stock, never fear! You can sign up for our email notification to get customized alerts.

Plastic Jungle would have to disagree with Kermit the Frog on this one – it’s actually easy being green.

YOU!

Score “Cool Mom and Dad” points this summer by taking your kiddos to see the highly-anticipated Cars sequel. (Cars 2 opens June 24th.) Join Lightning McQueen and his gang as they race in the World Grand Prix and meet several new friends (and enemies…Muahahahaha) throughout their international adventure.

With movie tickets on the rise, a premium for 3-D flicks, and strain-the-pocketbook concession prices, why not save some extra dough with a discounted movie gift card? And don’t forget all the exciting Cars 2 paraphernalia – Plastic Jungle can help help you save money on that, too!

Here’s how:

Choose from three of our movie merchants and save up to 12%! Shop for nearly 200 gift cards from Cinema DeLux, Regal Cinema and Landmark Theatres. Amounts range from $25 to $240 – treat yourself or the whole neighborhood!

You can also buy movie tickets in advance with a Fandango gift card and save 11%!

After getting revved up from seeing the Cars 2 movie, avoid financial potholes and detours by using a discounted gift card from Plastic Jungle. Since Cars 2 was produced by Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios, you can find a terrific selection of Cars 2 merchandise at the Disney Store. Plastic Jungle currently has Disney Store gift cards for 10% off!

Or shop for Cars 2 products at Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond and Barnes & Noble.

When your tot has run out of gas, let him refuel his zzzzz’s with these cute pajamas from Target. Buy a Plastic Jungle Target gift card, and save 10%!

Not only can you BUY discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle, don’t forget – you can also SELL your gift cards as well. Exchange your unused gift cards and earn up to 92% on an Amazon.com Gift Card to buy Cars 2 merchandise. They literally have thousands of products to choose from, including these two top-sellers:

And in addition to Cars 2, there are lots of other fun kid movies coming soon!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - June 29th

The Zookeeper - July 8

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 2 – July 15

Winnie the Pooh - July 15

The Smurfs - July 29th

Captain America - July 22

So whether it’s racing alongside Lightning McQueen, helping the Transformers save the earth or waving your wand at He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Summer 2011 is bound to be full of adventure and entertainment at the cinema. And with Plastic Jungle, you can save $!

Go grab your big box of popcorn and enjoy the movie fantasy and savings reality.

‘Tis the season for weddings and baby showers.  Have we got the best discounts on the bride and mom-to-be’s favorite gift cards!

Whether someone in your family is getting married or expanding their family, odds are you have likely been invited to a wedding shower, bachelor or bachelorette party, wedding ceremony, wedding reception, or adoption/baby shower at some point this summer.

Depending on your level of involvement, the responsibility and stress level may differ.  However, with Plastic Jungle – gift buying in made easy.

The day you receive the invitation and decide to attend or send in your regrets, take a couple of minutes to figure out where the couple/family is registered (often times Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target are on the list) and log on to Plastic Jungle to order a gift card for the appropriate amount to that store.  (My family often orders a card with a $25 or $50 value depending on the relationship.)

A week later when the discounted gift card arrives in the mail, simply go to the appropriate store, ask for the registry (or print it off before you head out) and shop with (usually) many unfulfilled gift options.

For added dollar-savings, try the following methods:

If shopping at Bed, Bath & Beyond, you can use one coupon per item.  Here’s the fine print: You can use their mailed coupons even after the expiration date but if you receive their emailed coupons, those expiration dates are indeed expiration dates.

If the event is out of town, I prefer to buy from Target because I can stack my Plastic Jungle gift card(s) with 3% cash back via ebates +  $5 off $50 (or $7 off $70) via the online discounts offered through Entertainment Book + if the cart adds up to $50 or more, it qualifies for free shipping.

Share how you saved on the perfect gift for a happy couple- whether they be newly weds or new parents.

Gift cards are a great tool to help college students manage their money and take financial responsibility for their spending. Buying discounted gift cards for your student will help stretch your hard earned dollars as well as set monthly allowances for your son or daughter’s monthly budget.

Gift cards eliminate the stress of paying off credit and/or interest rates over time. We all know parent’s lie awake at night worried about what their kids are charging on the credit card. Buy discounted gift cards to places your student will inevitably need to shop.

Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:

Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards gives your college student the flexibility to decorate his/her dorm room.

When in doubt, Starbucks gift cards are the perfect treat for late night study sessions.

Here is a little secret, when you want your college student to make a weekend trip home, send a Shell gift card or American Airlines gift card to send a subtle message – It’s time to visit!