Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Our power went out in the middle of the night for about four hours.  We had a huge storm blow in and the wind was raging.  It came back on shortly after 8:00 Sunday morning with a nice rain soaking everything outside.  We've needed a good rain for a while now so I wasn't sad to see it.  The mess left from the wind, well that was an entirely different story.

Nothing about our weekend went as I had originally planned, but as it turned out that was a true blessing.  Had we not been open to altering our plans we would've missed out on a pretty special opportunity to add another member to our family.  I will be sharing more about that with all of you tomorrow.  It is quite a story.

Stocking up for winter with chicken feed

Sunday morning the youngest and I headed off early to get some errands run.  First stop was at the Grocery Outlet to pick up a few grocery items before heading next door to the feed store.  That was our intended errand and I had another $10 OFF $50 Purchase coupon I'd received in the mail the week before.  I stocked up on two huge bags of dry cat food, Stella's favorite, another bag of chicken feed and a bag of litter pellets for the bunny.

Brand new kitty door - $4.99 at Goodwill

Our next stop was to Goodwill to find a few items on my list.  I found one item plus a bonus item I wasn't planning to find, but am glad I did.  It is a cat door to install and lead out to our garage.  Our kitties have always liked to go out there and Stella is no exception.  Once that is installed she can come and go as she pleases and we will no longer need to worry about her getting shut inside.

New kitty food bowl - $1.49 at Goodwill

We popped into Wal-Mart next for a big bag of kitty litter and a few other grocery items on my list before heading home to unload the car and get everything put away.  Then I treated my youngest to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant before heading off to Home Depot for three more gallons of paint that included a $10 rebate on each can.  I think I now have enough paint to finish the inside of our house.  I used a Home Depot gift card to pay for most of it too.

The old kitty bowl was rather plain so I did something else with it

I had a four day work week last week as I took Friday off to get some things done around the house.  Monday through Thursday was our normal go, go, go as I worked extra each day as well as getting my kiddo to and from her school activities.  The week flew right by!

Watch out!  If I grab a rattle can you know there is a project afoot!

Wednesday evening after work I grabbed my can of Rustoleum Metallic Copper spray paint and did a couple of super quick projects.  I took an old clear Pyrex bowl that I'd put in our donate bag and spray painted the outside of it.  Then I used it to hold all of my plastic porch pumpkins.

One super cute tea light/votive holder

I also spray painted an old canning jar ring.  Once that was dry I put it on a vintage quilted jelly jar and added a tea light.  You could totally use a votive candle too.  How easy is that?  I set it on one of the end tables in our living room.  I love its simplicity and the sparkle it gives off when I light it.

The bowl now holds my porch pumpkins

Throughout the week I made more progress in my old bedroom finding homes for the things that have been making their way in there and purging a few items that we just don't need to keep anymore.  The room is becoming much more functional now and I believe I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Good thing because I've got big plans for that room.

Do you see these leaves already?!
I cut up that old pallet with my reciprocating saw

Friday morning I got my daughter off to school, jumped into my grubbies and got to work, having a very productive day.  We had a couple of pretty good storms roll in the weekend prior and our yard was a mess!  

I lit a fire in the fire pot, grabbed a rake and my gloves and started cleaning up the yard and burning what I could.  I burned up the wood scraps I had piled up from our latest projects as well as a stack of shreddable papers while I was at it.  I cleaned up the front porch and finished decorating it too.

I used my reciprocating saw and in 5 minutes cut down the
wood in the blue trash can into smaller sizes for firewood

Saturday was parent's weekend at the college with the homecoming football game and lots of planned activities.  My youngest and I went for the day and met up with my daughter and a few of her new friends.  We had a wonderful time.

Two bags of paint cans and an old TV to go to the hazardous waste site

We washed out a couple Ziploc bags to reuse.  I added plenty of items to our recycle bin, but not much in the way of trash so we didn't set anything out to the curb for collection.

I picked some pears from our tree in the backyard.

Homecoming football game - We won!!

I perused the grocery ads, found a few items to add to our pantry, downloaded some coupons and made a list.

I cleaned behind and under the stove

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

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom -  tidied up the laundry room, cleaned mirror & light fixture, sink & toilet.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed floor.

Kitchen -  cleaned outside, behind & underneath the stove. Vacuumed & spot mopped the floor.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Cleaned sink, mirror & light fixture, cleaned tub & toilet in the bathroom.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - two loads of laundry, vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & entry.  Cleaned the glass shelves.  Swept front porch & garage.

How was your thrifty week?