Last Week's Thrifty Moves

It was a quiet week for us, but a rather productive one.

First thing Sunday morning I dumped the ice out of our ice maker into the yard and washed up the bin.  Now it is all fresh and clean and ready for brand new ice.  I try to do this often to keep that yucky funky taste out of the ice.  Wiping everything down with a little distilled white vinegar helps keep it nicely deodorized too.

While I was at it I pulled out the bottom shelf over the crisper drawer in the refrigerator and gave it and the brackets that hold it in place a good scrubbing.  Amazing what accumulates in all those nooks and crannies.  I've been making way down from the top of the refrigerator over the past few weeks and now I'm almost done spring cleaning that appliance.

Nice and clean with freshly made ice!

I used up an apple that had gone a bit soft by chopping it up and making some delicious whole wheat apple muffins.  They turned out really nice.  😄

Wednesday I ordered smaller trash and recycle bins and applied for a home composting waiver to save money on our monthly trash bill.  Our city is rolling out a new composting program and since we already compost and set out very little trash for collection I think these decisions make the most sense for us.  We set out a very full recycle bin every month so with the smaller bin it will mean we will just need to set it out every other week instead.  We were already planning to construct new compost bins this year and had been looking into purchasing a leaf mulcher.  Now the savings on our trash bill will help offset some of those expenses.

On Saturday the oldest and I enjoyed a day out together.  We began by walking the mall until the stores opened.  It was nice to get a good indoor walk in while it was pouring cats and dogs outside.  Our mall opens early to allow for walkers to be able to exercise in a safe, warm and dry environment.

My youngest had put her knee through a pair of pants.  I wasn't sad about it since she was the third person to use those school uniform pants.  They had been a hand me down to the oldest from a friend of hers.  I'm not sure how long her friend wore them, but she had used them for nearly three years.  When I looked at them I realized they were pretty worn and beyond mending.

As soon as JC Penny opened I went in and found her a replacement pair on sale for $14.99.  I used a $10 OFF a $10 purchase coupon I had just received in the mail so they only cost $4.99!  And while we were there they gave me two more $10 OFF a $10 purchase coupons to use later!  So I'll be going back, needless to say.

As we left the mall we stopped in at Bath & Body Works and picked up another small bottle of shower gel for FREE with a coupon I received in the mail.  Another stocking stuffer!  And when I got home later there was another coupon in the mail.  Same thing!  So I'll be going back, needless to say.

As we looped our way back home we stopped at Trader Joes to pick up produce and then headed to Gordman's with a 20% OFF coupon so I could get me a new pair of shoes for work.  I found a really nice pair of Aerosoles for $39.95 and the coupon knocked $8.00 off the price.  While there we found a nice pair of black leather boots for my oldest on clearance for $12!  And a cute pair of tennis shoes for $9.99.  The youngest needed a white camisole and I found one there for her for $4.99.

We left Gordmans and stopped in at Subway for a quick lunch.  Subway is definitely our fast food restaurant of choice and it is very affordable.  She had the sandwich of the day for $3.50 and I got a Veggie Delite kids meal.  I gave my daughter the milk and cookie.  Total spent for lunch $8!  Not too bad.

Next was Home Depot for a new gasket to fix a leak under the kitchen sink.  We found the gasket but it was supposed to be a two pack and someone had pilfered one of them out of the side of the package.  Unfortunately they didn't have any more.  I found a clerk and explained what appeared to have happened to see if they had any more or if, at the least, they were willing to sell me the single gasket at half price and he said NO.

Instead he took it out of the package and gave it to me saying we could just have it!  Then he joked and said to be sure and run really fast when we got to the front door.  I looked at him and said "I see your name is Larry and we'll be sure to do that!"  It was pretty funny.  We bought a new sink stopper to replace the ours that had broken last year, instead.  Win - win!

Love these!

Next we made a quick stop into Fred Meyer to pick up a few items we couldn't get at Trader Joes.  While there my daughter helped herself to the free fruit bin they have set up for children so they can have a healthy snack while Mom shops.  I think it is really cool how they do that.  We also got to try a piece of apple we had never had before called a Green Dragon.  It was really different.  We ended up buying a couple of those too.  Fun to try new things.

We got home and after putting everything away we got busy with the big project of the week.  We had developed a leak under the kitchen sink, which we managed to get fixed in less than an hour saving us a plumbing call.  I'll post more on that later.  While I was at it I wiped down the inside of the cabinet, all of the pipes and the vinyl tiles on the bottom of the cabinet.  I also washed out and cleaned the trash can.  Since the little  renovation under our kitchen sink it is so much easier to keep things nice under there.

We fed our kitchen scraps to the chickens.  In return they kept us well supplied with eggs.  I composted coffee grounds, tea bags, avocado skins and pits, banana and orange peels, onion skins and some egg shells I crunched up to help speed things along.

I downloaded my Fred Meyer Friday freebie - a box of Chips Ahoy Thins.  My oldest will be taking those with her on a school trip.

I worked a couple hours of overtime too.

How was your thrifty week?