Thank you for responding! :)
@puzzlezaddict Yes, I am using quite a few nrass mods including the ones you've mentioned. I'm a bit of a mod addict normally so I didn't play for more than a few days before searching for them! :D
@lisasc360 I have been clearing the caches you referred to before I start the game each day. I found a tutorial to make it so that the featured items folder doesn't need cleaning out. It's really easy. I also have the saver mod set to save the game every 12 sim hours in 3 different save names. I'd do it more often than that but Sims 3 takes forever to save.