My Frugal Week

In the Kitchen:

Made cookies for the cookie jar (and a tin too as it happens, lol).  I used some graham crackers that had just expired.  It seemed a good way to use up most of the box.  

Bought a family pack of boneless skinless breasts this week.  I had 7 (why odd numbers in these packages? 3or 7?  Why not 2 or 6?).  I cut the last breast into three thin fillets and oven fried them for a chicken sandwich.

My soup this week was a mix of leftovers that I'd been popping into a container and ziploc bag.  Broth from a roast or two, some au gratin potatoes, mushroom stems, vegetables left from side dishes.  It was rather tasty with hot cornbread and all the better with the blustery day outdoors.

Bought flour while on sale at the local store.  It was priced lower than the flour at Aldi (which I think is the same). I got 20 pounds and put in the freezer to kill any bugs or larvae in the bags.

I talked myself out of stocking up further on two items: pumpkin and evaporated milk.  They are very well priced just now but facts are facts.  I'm only going to use those two items on occasion and any more on my pantry shelf would likely expire before I used them.  By the same token I mean to really stock up on cranberry sauce because I use it all through the year for various dishes. 

Brought out a 'hidden' bag of candy when we were low on sweet items in the house.  It is a help to have a little something put back for those between pay periods, haven't got time to make cookies days.

Perhaps not strictly a kitchen savings but the ingredients are kitchen staples: I made more of the baking soda/dish detergent cleaner to finish cleaning the kitchen cabinets and walls.  

Made 3 pints of yogurt.

Fed the dogs the rest of the soup (all from leftover leftovers) after our dinner.  John's not a big fan of my toss it in soups but he ate his fill from this pan.  I thought I'd be merciful and not make him eat it twice.  The dogs thoroughly enjoyed it and it was just enough to make a meal for each of them.

Skipped luncheon meats this pay period.  I've a roast beef I can slice for sandwiches and bought a whole smoked turkey to slice for sandwiches.

Watered houseplants and outdoor potted plants with water saved in the kitchen from glasses, bottles and dishwater.

Made french toast from the last of the Challah loaf.

Shopped from the pantry and freezer several times during the week as I ran out of ingredients in the kitchen.

 
 In My Home: 

Nothing like rearranging accessories to make things look fresh and new.  It all LOOKS new in different position.   

Those lanterns I bought at Marshalls were on the porch but when that heavy hard wind started blowing this week I brought them indoors.  That inspired me to make a simpler look for my buffet.  It looks very nice I think.

That wind shook the trees hard and stripped many of their leaves.  It also rattled pecans and they fell to the ground.  I sold over 40 pounds the other day.  That money will pay for our stay at the hotel when we go down for the twins first birthday party.  I have plenty on the ground again and noted many more still in the tree.

I painted the trim in the bathroom this week and suddenly just felt I had to DO something new in that room to match that pretty paint.  I went through my fabric stash and found a large piece of fabric that appeared a nice match.  Sure enough, the color legend on the selvage had the exact shade of green that we'd used in the bath.  I made two valances and a shade for the room.  I have a bit more to do (need sheers to go under the valances and a new cover on the bench seat).

The houseplants stayed outdoors all summer long and thrived.  I have the most beautiful Snake Plant in the bathroom, as well as a small palm.  Perfect accessories for that room.

Trudy is a short haired dog...she also has white hair and she shivers mightily these cold mornings.  John wanted to put something warm in the dog house for her but Maddie claims blankets and such as HERS.  John bought hay for the pet bedding, much less expensive than doggie blankets and nice and cozy.

Christmas shopping is underway in our home.  We sat down earlier this week and made a list, wrote out what we thought each would like and about how much we thought it would cost.  Now we know what our budget is we're doing all we can to come in UNDER budget.  Coupons, sales, direct shipping all help.

Ate out at a favorite Chinese place. I only get there about twice a year, because it's out of the way.  Today, when the plate was set on my table I realized it was a LOT of food.  I boxed up half of it right away.  The cost was reasonable before, but it's even better now that I have two meals from one.

I put back a couple of items today as I walked through a store.  It wasn't that I couldn't afford the items, it was more that I realized they weren't perfect for me.  Money spent on things that are wonderful is one thing.  Money spent on items that are so so...not a good buy at any time.

I saved a bundle today at CVS.  I combined sales, store coupons, manufacturers coupons and ECB, as well as my extra care card to reduce my total by over $30.  I like doing that.  I get a huge kick too when the clerk is astonished as my total goes down.

Clipping and sorting coupons was on my list of things to do this week.  You can see from the above that bit of time paid off.

John took an extra shift this week.  It was an especially long shift but we'll appreciate the extra pay on the next check.

Free this week: a sample of dishwasher tablets, a cd of praise music sent as a courtesy gift after we made a donation, a coupon for a free 12 pack of soda I 'bought' with coke reward points, a gift card 'bought' with points earned doing online surveys.

It was asked if all was well with us: YES!  John went back to work this week after some time off and I took advantage of it and worked hard.  I've been busy finishing up projects, starting projects, cleaning and picking up pecans.  I spent two days this week running errands and another day buying groceries.  Now John is off again and we've got a month FULL of appointments, visits, and projects to work on.  I'm working on a post, have lots of ideas, but time is premium just now.