Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Does anyone else feel like time is zooming right by?!  Holy cow!

Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest, at least that was the initial plan, but instead we were car shopping for my oldest three towns over and even managed to squeeze in a quick college visit before heading back home to do some meal prepping.  That put a speedy end to our weekend.

Monday I picked up the girl right after work and we headed over to the bank to make a hefty withdrawal before heading back over to Caldwell, Idaho to make a car purchase.  My daughter is now the proud owner of her very first car.  Tuesday I added said vehicle to our insurance (whimper).  Wednesday I picked her up after school and we did the DMV thing.  The rest of the week was a flurry of other activity and work.  By the time Saturday rolled around we were all beat.

But no rest for the weary around here.  We had a "new" car to do some maintenance on so we headed outside and I showed my daughter how to check fluids and fill things up.  I gave her a lesson on what to watch for.  If you want to hear more about what my daughter bought and what we've done to it, stay tuned.  I'll be putting up a post a little later on to tell you that story.

Before we got started on that however, I had my oldest run me to Trader Joes in her cute little car and we picked up some fresh produce as well as almonds, olive oil and a bottle of wine (I felt the need for some grape juice after the week we had just finished).  She is only all too happy to run errands now.

We finished up all of our prepped meals and leftovers by the end of the week.  Friday evening I took the last of the pork roast I'd made on Sunday and chopped it up.  I made a batch of fried rice for my youngest and sautéed the rest of it with leftover asparagus and sliced mushrooms for myself.  We both had leftovers for lunch on Saturday.

I received my Federal income tax refund.  Now just waiting on the state.  I also found out at work that bonus checks are on their way.  Whoo hooooo!  So while not the thriftiest of weeks to start off, it did manage to turn around quickly.

I made some foaming hand soap solution to refill the dispensers in our kitchen and downstairs bathroom.  I used my Bath & Body Works shower gel by mixing a tablespoon of it into a cup of warm water.  I also added a couple drops of food color to the solution, not necessary but I like it colored.

In my attempt to use stuff up I made some pretty Easter cards to send to my loved ones next month.  I used all items I already had on hand.

After a month we set out a full trash can (we have the smallest bin available) and a very full blue recycle bin (we have the largest one available) at the curb for collection.  We composted coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, avocado skins, banana peels and onion skins and added the to our compost bin in the backyard.  I am really happy with our efforts to control the amount of what we contribute to the landfill.

Some of the 15 Minute Chores I accomplished to keep my home in order:

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - scrubbed the sink, vacuumed floors, washed decorative towels & rug.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed the floor.

Kitchen -  vacuumed, bleached the sink.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Spring cleaned the shower, walls and ceiling, washed decorative towels & rug, scrubbed sink & toilet.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - four loads of laundry, dusted & vacuumed living room, hallway & entry.  Swept front porch.

How was your thrifty week?