Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Our weather over the Labor Day weekend was perfect.  Nice and cool in the mornings and high 80s by afternoon made it perfect for leaving the windows open and enjoying the fresh air.  It also made working on projects outdoors very nice and we got a lot done.

Sunday we began our day by going out to breakfast at Denny's near our home.  It was my birthday and I had been emailed a coupon for a free Grand Slam  After that we went to ShopKo and we picked out three potted chrysanthemums for our flowerpots.  On the way home we stopped at Dollar Tree to pick up a few items for craft projects I wanted to do that afternoon.

The girls and I had a great time working on some Fall Decor Projects that afternoon.  We gave our front porch a complete fall makeover and it looks fantastic.  So far this year I have spent a total of $32 on supplies for fall decorating, including the mums that were on sale 3 for $9.99.  I also used $20 of my found money to cover most of that expense.  I gave the remaining $10 to my girls for some pocket money.

We used wood from the garage stash to build a crate.  I am currently using it as a side table for the chair on our porch.  I think it looks very nice with one of the mums sitting in a dollar store pot on top.  There is even room for my coffee cup on it too.

Monday was Labor Day so I had the day off and spent a couple hours working on home improvement projects.  I also finished up a crazy quilt project I had started last winter and another little project too.  Both projects were no cost and done using up scraps of stuff I already had on hand.

I felt like I had really put in a good productive weekend over Labor Day.  I got a lot of projects completed which always makes me happy, but more importantly I used a lot of stuff I already had on hand so I didn't have to spend a bunch of money.  And those few projects I did spend on were very low cost.  On top of that I had a ton of fun!

Tuesday evening, after picking up the girls, I made a quick soup out of leftover pot roast, gravy, beef broth and onion.  I seasoned the broth with soy sauce and a big heaping spoonful of minced garlic and let it simmer for a bit.  I added some shredded cabbage and carrot from a bag of coleslaw mix.  My youngest ate her soup over a bowl of mung bean noodles and the oldest and I enjoyed it as it was.  Very delicious and a great way to use up some leftover items.  We even had enough left for our lunch the next day.  Wednesday and Thursday we finished up the leftovers from Labor Day.

Here is a sneak peek of a project I started Saturday evening
with some of that free wood I picked up
I think you'll be surprised to see what the finished product is 😊

Friday, on the way home from work, I stopped at the FREE WOOD bin and picked up a few pieces of wood along with a nice piece of molding.  I'm hoping to collect enough of the molding to put up in my bedroom next summer.

After dinner my youngest attended a dance at her school.  They were also having a food drive so I found four items to donate and sent those along with her.  While she attended the dance the oldest and I ran two errands and then picked her up at the school on our way home.  I really try to combine errands and minimize driving as often as possible in order to save fuel in our car.

When we got home we baked and frosted 48 cupcakes for a bake sale the marching band was having along with a rummage sale on Saturday. 

We were up early Saturday morning to head out to drop my oldest off to help with the rummage sale and deliver the cupcakes.  There were a lot of really good items for sale that were donated to the band.  I even found a couple items for only 25¢ each, but I paid a dollar telling them to keep the change.  Besides the big jar candle I got was certainly worth more than a dollar, let alone just 25¢.

On the way home I stopped at Fred Meyer to pick up a few groceries and several non food items that were on sale for a really good price.  Then home to put those items away and get a couple flags sewn up for the marching band's show this year.

Then off to have a mommy/daughter lunch date at Sizzler with my youngest and use the birthday coupon I'd been emailed.  We ate our lunch and then stopped in at Bath & Body Works to use my Free Item coupon and get a new foaming handsoap for the kitchen, only $2.95 with another coupon.  After our quick little stop at Bath & Body Works it was time to pick up my oldest from the rummage sale and then home to finish sewing up the last of the eight flags I volunteered to make.

I picked up sour cream and cream cheese on sale 10/$10
The rest of this was FREE!  Love the Fred Meyer Friday Freebies

I hemmed the black pants we found for my youngest at a thrift store a couple weeks ago.  It won't be long before cooler weather is upon us and I really wanted those to be ready for her when it is.  I also cut the top off of her old sundress and sewed it to make a skirt for her sister.  By finishing up those two items plus the crazy quilt table matte the week before I was able to clear the pile of projects waiting to be completed off of my sewing table.  It looks much better now.

I used up the last of the body cream in the tube I had cut open three weeks ago.  I also used up the last of a tube of chapstick by digging out what was left in the end of the tube.  That lasted me an additional two weeks.

I picked some more veggies and tomatoes from the garden.  Yum!  Nothing better than homegrown tomatoes in my opinion.

The hens kept us well supplied with eggs and I kept them well fed with our kitchen scraps and some stale bread and buns along with their regular feed.

Some of the non food items I bought at Fred Meyer
The gum (I had a coupon) went in my stocking stuffer stash

The weather has cooled significantly so we pulled out the A/C window units and put them away.  We are now back to putting box fans in the windows and bringing in the cooler fresh air as we need to.  Very nice.

It was a very busy and productive week.  I even worked a little bit of overtime.

How was your thrifty week?