Memorial Day Weekend Plans

 

While some of you will be travelling, camping or having a BBQ and others will be working in their yards or homes getting them summer ready I will be putting my three days off to good use. 

Right now our home looks like it's been ransacked.  I guess in a way it really has.  In the past three weeks we have all pulled out everything in our closets, cupboards and drawers.  We have sorted, re-organized and purged like a trio of mad ladies.  Then we packed up what was left into boxes, labeled them and set them aside. 

I have made one of those wretched “To-Do” lists for this weekend.  You didn’t think I had given them up completely did you?  This is what I have planned: 

·         Finish sorting, organizing, and purging the closets, drawers and cupboards.

·         Bag up donations for thrift store and make a delivery.

·         Pack the items we don’t need to use right now.

·         Price items for yard sale.

·         Take pictures of items to sell on Craigslist and write listings.

·         Pull and spray the weeds along the driveway.

·         Give the girls haircuts.

·         Bake bread.

·         Play dominoes with the kids.

·         Clean my house and get the laundry done.

·         Make a list of summer clothing items we need.

·         Make some great meals to use up items in my freezer and pantry.

·         Take some down time and watch a couple movies. 

I have two large pot roasts in the freezer to cook up in the coming month.  I want to make shredded beef enchiladas with one of them.  Yummy!

 

What are your big plans this weekend?

 

I Missed Trash Day

Last week I completely missed trash day.  Time seemed to be passing so quickly that I didn’t realize it was already Wednesday.  In my little brain I was still on Monday heading for Tuesday.  To say I was a little behind the times would be an understatement. 

By the time I mentioned it to the girls it was already Friday!  I didn’t feel so bad when they told me they had completely forgotten about it too.  Hadn’t even crossed their minds. 

I’d like to say this is an infrequent occurrence but the truth of the matter is it has steadily become our norm.  I lose track of the days constantly, so do my girls.  I sit at work on a Friday and can’t seem to figure out how it is possible that it is Friday already.  Again! 

I remember when I couldn’t wait for Friday to get here.  Seemed to take forever and then the weekends would go by so fast.  Monday morning would show up and I’d groan at the idea that Friday would take forever to get here.  Now my weekends are gone in a flash.  I don’t have time to groan about Monday because it is already Tuesday, before I figure it out, and groaning at this point would just be silly. 

The school year here ends in less than two weeks.  Memorial Day is next Monday!  I’m still trying to figure out what the heck happened!  Is it really possible?   

As a chronic overachiever I have the tendency to put so much emphasis on planning and working on my goals that I fail to enjoy the process of getting there.  And I am a constant worrier. 

I don’t take time to sit and enjoy what is going on.  I don’t listen to the birds sing and I cannot tell you the last time I watched a sunset.  I do not take the time to stop and smell the roses.  I can’t manufacture more time.  I can’t slow down the clocks or turn back the pages on the calendar. 

I have to slow down.  I need to focus more on this moment and less on the next one.   

It’s time.

We Are Leaving

 

We are shucking it all! 

I have made the decision to leave Boise and start my life over in a new place.  I will no longer be the Thrifty Mom In Boise.  Instead I will be the Thrifty Mom From Boise.  There are a multitude of reasons supporting my decision to do this.  The most important one is to improve my quality of life. 

I have an idea where my final destination may be but I am not 100% sure.  My plan is to wend my way in that direction and see what happens.  For someone who is anything but spontaneous, this is a huge departure from my norm.  I am a planner.  I like to know what to expect.  I need to know the ending before I even get started.  That sounds kind of nuts if you really think about it. 

Not this time.  I am making myself do something completely different. 

Usually when I know my destination I charge ahead and we get there.  If you have ever travelled with me you know I stop when I get there.  If you need to pee (sorry about that one time Mom) you’d better do it while I’m gassing up or else you will be in trouble later.  I’ve always had an agenda and a timeline. 

Not this time. 

The hardest part about this decision and the process to get ready to go has been saying “see you later” to my friends and family.  “Good Bye” isn’t an option.  I’m not fond of good byes, anyway.  We all need to stay in touch and I really think most of us will. 

I’ve caused quite a few tears lately and for that I feel badly, but not enough to stick around. 

Sorry! 

I’m excited, my girls are excited, our two cats are… well maybe not so much, but we are going on a great adventure.  One of my friends told me he thinks I’m like a little kid.  He likes that I seem to have found my spark again.  I think he might be right about that. 

I can hardly wait to see what happens!

Last Week’s Thrifty Moves

Sunday I made a delicious Mother’s Day meal with all the ingredients from my pantry, fridge and freezer.  I baked the meatloaf and potatoes in my convection oven so I didn’t have to heat up my kitchen. 

Monday I thawed out a pan of lasagna I had put in the freezer a couple of months ago and baked it in the toaster oven for our supper that night.  We had enough leftover meatloaf and lasagna for another meal on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

I mended two things that have been patiently waiting for a long time.  My backpack and my camera bag.  Both had issues with frayed webbed straps.  The camera strap was literally hanging by a thread.  I got out a heavy needle, my great-grandmother’s thimble and a spool of black carpet thread and finally repaired them.  It feels good not to look at them sitting in my mending pile anymore.

 

Webbed strap was fraying at the seam.

All fixed!

Camera bag hanging by a thread.

Good as new!

Much better sales last week so I went to Fred Meyer on Tuesday to pick up a few things.  We ran out of cheese and peanut butter and both were on sale. 

·         2 jars of peanut butter $1.50 each

·         2 pounds of butter $1.88 each

·         2 pounds medium cheddar $4.29

·         2 bags lettuce mix – buy one get one free 88¢

·         2 bags spinach – buy one get one free $1.99

·         2 tomatoes 44¢

·         apples & oranges - 77¢ per pound

·         cucumber 69¢

·         strawberries $1.88 

I sold some more stuff on eBay this week. 

I finally broke down Friday evening and did my monthly grocery shopping.  Amazingly I didn’t need to purchase very much so I was in and out in no time.  It was nice!

 

I finished up every last bit of my facial cleanser and a tube of toothpaste.  I'm now working on using up a bottle of whitening toothpaste that has been taking up space in the cupboard  It is about half full.  Not my favorite but waste not, want not.

The chickens blessed us with 16 eggs last week.

 

Yard Sale Season

It is definitely yard sale season once again and we are seriously contemplating having another one this year.  I just need to find the time.  As I am purging and reorganizing, however, I am finding I have quite a bit of stuff to put in one. 

A friend of mine is having one in June so I think I might just take my stuff over and set it up with hers.  The more the merrier, right? 

Yards sales are a wonderful way to get rid of your stuff and acquire a little extra cash.  They are also a great way to acquire things you need or want for a fraction of the cost of buying something at the store or even online.   

Lately I’ve been more in the selling at yard sales and less about the acquisition of stuff.  Someday I’m sure that will change. 

Last year I ran this post about Yard Sales.  You may want to re-visit it if you are thinking about or planning a yard sale this year.

Toiletries

This week I went through and reorganized our toiletries in our main bathroom.  I have found that I have enough toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner and soaps to last until the end of the year.  I have enough toothpaste, razors, deodorant and lotions to last even longer than that.

I wait to purchase toiletries when they go on sale and most of the time I have a coupon to match up with that sale for maximum savings and then I stock up.  Often, as is the case with toothpaste this year, I am able to match up a sale and a coupon to get it for free.  Usually, I am able to buy shampoo for as little as 99¢ and deodorant for 50¢. 

I really like the shower gels and lotions they sell at Bath and Body Works.  I feel, despite the fact that this stuff is more expensive than others you can buy for less, that I get a better value.  I find that the lotion moisturizes better and seems to last longer so I don’t need to use as much.  I use the shower gel not only to wash with but for shaving my legs.  Since I started doing that I no longer get razor burn.  I also love the fragrances and find that I save on using perfume this way too.  For me it is definitely an affordable luxury. 

To save money on the shower gels and lotions I purchase in bulk, using coupons (you can print them right off their website if you are not on their mailing list) in conjunction with their really great promotions they run periodically throughout the year.  I am not only able to acquire a lot of product but a lot of free product this way.  I end up using quite a bit of what I purchase as gifts for friends and family too which saves me even more money in the long run. 

I am not an extreme coupon shopper by any means, but saving big money on toiletries is super easy to do with just a little bit of time and effort. 

Do you have any great tips for saving money on toiletry purchases?

Park Model RVs

 

Remember when I posted about my love for Tiny Homes?  Well, long before I discovered those I discovered the park model RV.  They’ve been around forever.  In the past ten years they have really evolved into a nice miniature home with great style and an efficient use of space. 

They come with everything you need, a complete bathroom with a full sized tub and nicely equipped kitchen with plenty of storage and nice appliances.  No dishwasher, but that wouldn’t matter to me.  I hardly use the one I have.  You can even get an option for a stackable washer and dryer set installed.  I’d definitely want that, I think. 

 

 

The bedrooms have your drawers and closets already built right in so all you need is your bed.  A love seat and a recliner would fit nicely in the living room and most have a dining area to fit a table and four chairs.  Not to mention a cable ready entertainment center. 

If I was to purchase one I’d want one with a loft so kids and grandkids would have a place to stay over or play games.  They are definitely more spacious than a tiny home would be. 

Several years ago I started looking into them as a vacation property option.  I thought it would be much more reasonable for me to buy a lot and put one of these on that lot rather than trying to build my own cabin.  Definitely an affordable option in that they start out at around $22,000.  I love that you can get one with log siding. 

Recently I’ve found myself looking once again and pining away for one of these.  It is so much fun to look and dream!

 

 

You may also enjoy reading this article about this downsizing couple.