Last Week's Thrifty Moves

While I heated up a cup of coffee in the microwave Sunday morning I purged the junk drawer and tossed a couple handfuls of garbage into the trash.  I was saving that why exactly.... ???  Yeah, anyway, then I straightened up everything and relocated two items that didn't even belong there in the first place.

I made the best ever Orange Cranberry Scones for Sunday breakfast and a beautiful fruit salad to go along with.  I'll be posting the scone recipe on Wednesday so be sure to watch for that.

I had a Christmas candle that burned off center leaving a good sized gob of wax left after it had burned down.  I put the glass candle jar into a pan of simmering water and allowed all of the wax to melt down and then poured it into a pair of glass votives I had saved.  For wicks I used some spent birthday candles from my daughter's birthday cake.  They look a little funny initially, but once that part sticking up burns down it will look like a normal candle.  So now rather than throwing a way the wax I now have two very usable candles to enjoy.

We spring cleaned our upstairs bathroom.  I used a little bleach water to wash down the ceiling and walls (we had a little mold starting in a couple spots) and then I super scrubbed the toilet.  My oldest took on the job off the tiles and the bathtub.  We cleaned the sink and mirror and washed the decorative towels.  Nice and sparkling clean!

I also spring cleaned the silverware drawer in the kitchen.  I took everything out, washed the silverware tray, sprayed down and wiped out the inside of the drawer and put everything back in order.  Slowly but surely I am making my way through the kitchen.

I mixed up 3 tablespoons of cheap grapefruit scented dish soap from the dollar store with a cup of warm water to make foaming soap solution and refilled my kitchen dispenser.

Tuesday the youngest and I went to the library to drop off books and select new ones.  We waited there until the oldest was ready to be picked up from her robotics workshop at BSU so we saved a little gas.

On the way home we stopped at Home Depot to pick up some home improvement supplies I ordered online and had sent to the store.  It saved me time shopping and shipping costs by having it sent to the store.

I joined the Sizzler Real Deal E-Club and they sent me a coupon for a hamburger meal.  Nice!

The girls finished up a jar of grated parmesan so I removed the lid and washed it up.  Once it was dry I put it on one of my favorite jelly jars and set it aside with some other things I've collected for the new house.  I plan to use it to keep yeast in for when I bake bread.

Friday evening I bartered a home cooked steak and potatoes dinner for some electrical work with a friend of mine who just happens to be an electrician.  Turns out it is going to be a bigger job than he was expecting so it is still a work in process.  I hope he really liked dinner.  Yikes!  I'll update you on how it all turns out.

Saturday morning was my youngest's Orchestra Festival.  She played in two different quartets and boy oh boy was I a proud mama!  I literally almost cried, but that would have embarrassed the heck out of her so I held it in.  It was hard!

To celebrate she and I had a mommy daughter day just like her sister and I had the week before...  and I had coupons!  First stop was the mall and See's Candies.  Had to have a truffle after all of that superb violin playing.

Then we went to JC Penney to use the two $10 OFF $10 coupons they gave me the week before when I was there with the oldest.  I wasn't about to not use them.  We got her another pair of school uniform pants.  They were still on sale for $14.99 (regularly $30.00) so I got those for $4.99!  I used the other coupon to get her a black sweater also on sale for $14.99, so after the coupon it was only $4.99, and a darling long sleeved top off the clearance rack for $4.97.  For $15 we literally left the store with a brand new outfit and she was tickled pink.

We put our purchases in the car and walked across the parking lot to Sizzler, her favorite restaurant.  We both had the 6 oz. sirloin steak and salad bar special for $9.99, since neither one of us are eating hamburgers right now.  We pretty much filled up on salad bar, ate a few bites of our steak and brought the rest of our meal home in a box to enjoy the next day.  Pretty good deal.

After lunch we stopped at Trader Joes and I picked up the produce I needed for the week ahead.  On the way home we stopped into Gordman's and she picked out a new pair of sneakers for only $12.99.  Solid black and gray plaid - Super cute!

That sums it up for us.  How was your thrifty week?