Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday my daughter drove us to Harbor Freight.  I had a small list of items we needed like duct tape, a gas can, things like that.  I had received their coupon book in the mail and there was a coupon for everything I needed plus a gob of coupons for free stuff.  The girls and I each made a trip through the line with coupons and were able to get everything we needed at a nicely discounted price plus four free items too.

Harbor freight haul

On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a bag of briquettes and lighter fluid as well as more burger patties, wieners, sliced pickles and cheddar cheese slices for the party.  We test drove the new BBQ that afternoon by grilling steaks and asparagus.  It worked perfectly and we are officially ready to barbecue food at the party.  Yes!  Now onto the next project.

Craigslist find

A couple years ago the squirrels literally ate our patio chairs.  They chewed large holes in them and pulled all the stuffing out to make their winter nests.  I tossed them out and we have been chairless ever since.  Until now.  I found four really nice patio chairs on Craigslist for $89.  Excellent condition and they even rock too.  Since they don't have padding or cushions I'm hoping they will be safe from the squirrels.  Another item marked off the list.

Monday morning I cut up the last of the Easter ham.  We used part of it to grind up for ham salad.  The rest was sliced.  I put the ham bone in the freezer to use later to make broth for soup.

Plywood!

After work on Monday I picked up my daughter from her violin lessons and then we headed home to change clothes and get the truck.  We went back over to the FREE WOOD bin because they had plywood!  We need some plywood for our summer project!  I feel so fortunate and blessed to have these supplies we need showing up for us like this.  It is kind of like winning the lottery!

The rest of the week was a marathon of our usual busyness.  My youngest had a few doctor appointments we needed to take care of as well so it was a bit on the hectic side.  By Friday we were all very much ready for the weekend.  On the way home I picked up a few groceries to get us through the week ahead.

Trader Joes

Saturday however was not a day of rest for me.  I was up long before sunup to get a jumpstart on my day.  With all of the rain we've had this spring it has been difficult to get the much needed yard work done, but it was slated to be a glorious day outside so I got all of my indoor chores done, including a big load of laundry, and then once the sun was up I was outside and getting busy.

With only two more weekends until the graduation party I needed to make some progress.  I was able to mow the lawn and weed & feed it, did a repair to our front porch and then got it all spring cleaned and de-cob webbed, raked up the lawn and even managed a couple of outdoor home improvement projects that were on my To Do list.  I will share more about that this week so stay tuned.

All tidied up, mowed & trimmed

I needed to go to Walgreens to pick up a couple prescriptions for the young one and since it is located right next to Fred Meyer we popped into the Home & Garden department to pick up some flowers.  When we got home we planted our flower pots on the front porch and added a bleeding heart to one of our flowerbeds.  That is one of my youngest's favorites so this year I had her pick one out and we added it to our yard.  Very pretty!

We fixed taco salads for our supper and dined outside on our deck for the first time this season.  It was the perfect way to end our week and I am so looking forward to much more outdoor time now that it is warming up.  I love, love, love spring and summertime.

Bleeding hearts

We shared lots of produce with our hens (I always over buy) and I picked lots of dandelions for them to have as well.  We cleaned out the coop one evening last week and composted all of the pine shavings and manure.

We washed out some Ziploc bags to reuse.

I made foaming hand soap solution to the kitchen dispenser

I stirred a tablespoon of warm vanilla sugar shower gel into a cup of warm water to make foaming hand soap solution and refilled the dispenser in my kitchen.  I added a drop of red and a drop of yellow food color to make it orange.

I earned a $50 Discover gift card by participating in a wellness program at work.  Yay for free $$!  You know I have plans for that puppy too, once it arrives.  😁

Removed calcium deposits from the toilet bowl

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

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors, pumiced toilet bowl, cleaned sink & toilet.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed floor.

Kitchen -  vacuumed floor, cleaned microwave.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  My oldest cleaned the bathroom.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - three loads of laundry, vacuumed living room, hallway & entry, cleaned glass shelves, washed living room window inside & out, polished wood tables.  Swept front porch.

How was your thrifty week?