Last Week's Thrifty Moves

I sold six of the eight items I had listed on eBay.  I relisted the two unsold items using free listings I still had on my account.  I used shipping supplies I picked up at the post office for free as well as some foam wrapping I had saved from some of our new furniture.

While picking up milk I grabbed three packages of college ruled notebook paper on sale at Albertson's for 58¢ a package.

I splurged and bought us a new three person tent on sale and with a coupon.  No kidding!  The tent was on sale at Fred Meyer for $29.99 and I cut a 10% OFF coupon out of the store ad to save me an additional $3.00.  $26.99 is not too shabby for a tent.  We got home and set it up in our living room to check it out for space and quality and decided it’s a keeper.  I plan to take advantage of the end of year sales this summer to re-outfit our gear so we can start camping again next summer.

I hope they'll scoot over and make room for me.

While picking up the tent I also grabbed two packages of #2 pencils and three composition notebooks on sale for 49¢ each.  I also used a 10% OFF store coupon to save a little bit more.  That officially concludes school supply shopping for this year.  So far, clothes included, I've spent less than $100 on back-to-school stuff.  Whoooo hoooo!

I cheated and bought two loaves of bread off the markdown rack for 58¢ each this week because, to be honest, I'm tired.  I also grabbed a package of hotdog buns, a package of hamburger buns for 58¢ each and a large package of English muffins for 75¢.

I repaired my flip flop with some E6000 glue.  It came apart at the spot in between your toes as often happens.  We'll see how long it holds.  I also fixed my daughter's sport sandal.  A plastic ring broke so she couldn't fasten the strap.  I made her a new one by making a loop out of narrow  triple fold black bias tape and stitching it in place.  Works perfectly and you can't even tell it has been repaired.

Saturday I got up bright and early to do some Christmas shopping.  I had carefully crafted a list and a game plan.  I headed out and was home by 10:30 having spent only a third of the funds I had set aside at the beginning of the year.  I was able to get a lot accomplished.

I treated myself to these super cute tiny mason jars.  No, I didn’t need them and I have no idea what I'm going to use them for but I wanted them and bought them.  They were 2/$1 at Dollar Tree and I think they are adorable.  I'll probably use them for spices.

I washed up all of the chick feeders and put them away in one of the empty bins I had in our garage.  All clean and stored away for next time.

I also washed up all of the camp stuff we kept, including the camp box.  Once everything was dry I organized it and put it all away in the box.  Now it is back in its place on the shelf in the garage and I now know what we have and what we still need.  Of course, I've made a list. J

I invited a couple of my girl friends over for a visit Saturday evening.  They brought a bottle of Merlot and I made cream puffs.  We had a great time and dessert was divine.  It had been a long time since I'd had a cream puff.

I washed out a gallon Ziploc bag to reuse.

I gave our kitchen scraps to the chickens and had a serious discussion with them about laying some eggs.  Hopefully they'll take it to heart and get busy.

I composted coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, lettuce core and the tough parts from a head of broccoli.  I added water to the compost bin.

How thrifty were you last week?