Sunday proved to be far busier than I was expecting. Our house guests, my daughter and her
roommate, were preparing to leave and head back to their dorm and I had plenty
of laundry to do. I washed sheets and a
boatload of towels. Once they had lunch
they started packing up and my daughter ran a load of her own laundry as she'd
brought it all home with her. I wouldn't
have it any other way.
I gathered up all of the fall decor and put it away in the
totes I keep in the garage. Then my
youngest and I pulled out some of our Christmas decor and set a few things
out. I swapped out my fall hanging
kitchen towel for a Christmas one and removed our fall table runner and
replaced it with a Christmas themed runner as well. The girls hung up their stockings from the
mantle. It is sure starting to look more
like Christmastime around here now.
I sold one of my vehicles to a co-worker and he came by to
pick it up that afternoon. After he left
I raked up a huge pile of leaves that had blown in our front yard after a big
storm. I used our leaf mulcher to chop
them up and filled the trash can we keep in our backyard. The leaf mulch will most likely be used in
our chicken coop. It keeps them busy and
they love scratching around in it.
After the girls headed for home the youngest and I went to
run a couple quick errands. I needed to
fill the fuel tank on my car and there were a few items on sale at Fred Meyer
we wanted to get. While we were there we
came across several really good markdowns.
I found seven boxes of 70 ct and 80 ct Snuggle dryer sheets for 99¢
each. The regular price for these is
$3.99 a box. I now have enough dryer
sheets to last a couple of years. My
daughter spotted a huge 250 ct bag of triple size cotton balls on markdown for
79¢ and a box of pumpkin spice K cups for $2.99. Among some other things we also found BBQ
sauce marked down for 25¢ a bottle.
I picked up five packages of sausage links on sale for $1.49
each and crackers for 99¢ a box. Grapes
were 99¢ a pound and bananas were 49¢ a pound.
I also found some summer squash, cucumbers and a zucchini bundled together
for $1. It was a pretty lucrative
shopping trip to say the least.
Tuesday morning I was in clear out the refrigerator
mode. We had been working on leftovers
since Thanksgiving so I took what was left and made our lunches and then put
together a pot of turkey soup in my medium size slow cooker. I plugged it in as I left for work and when
we got home the soup was ready. I made
some rice for my daughter and a big salad to go with the soup and we were all
set. Other bits of leftovers were put in
the freezer or given to the chickens.
Afterward I felt like the fridge was no longer bursting at the seams and
could breathe again.
Albertson's was having a pretty good sales ad last week that
ended on Tuesday. A sneak peek at the
next ad wasn't as tempting so off we went after supper to get the items on our
list. I was really interested in some NY
strip steaks on sale for $4.99 and was thrilled to find a large package of
those and a smaller one that had just been marked down. I also found pumpkin spice whipped cream on
markdown so I grabbed a couple of those as well. I was most excited to be able to get fresh
raspberries for 99¢ a pack so I bought two of those. I had a $5
OFF $50 Purchase coupon which shaved even more off my total bill.
I picked up six full size candy bars on sale 3 for 99¢. I was able to get my girl's their favorite
candy bars and I plan to tuck those in their stockings.
Wednesday my daughter had practice in the early morning and
a basketball game to cheer that evening so it was another one of those marathon
days. I dropped her off at 5:00 for the
game and then went stocking stuffer shopping while I waited to pick her back
up. Although it made for a long and busy
day it worked out perfectly and I feel like I've got Christmas pretty much
handled.
Thursday was another marathon day with early morning
practice and ending with my daughter's beautiful
Christmas orchestra concert that evening.
The stage was decorated with nine big trees all lit up and fake
snow. They wrapped fairy lights around
their instruments and that really added to the magical atmosphere they
created. The music was top notch
too. It was a magnificent concert and so
well done.
We collected fifteen items, food and hygiene products, from
our pantry and linen closet to donate for a Christmas drive at my daughter's
high school. I pulled out one of the new
backpacks we bought on clearance a couple years ago and we filled it up. The backpack was also donated.
I used up a cup of leftover pumpkin puree I had in the
refrigerator to make a loaf of pumpkin bread Friday morning before I went to
work. I sliced it up, put it on a plate
and took it into work. It didn't last
long at all.
By Friday evening we were ready to cool our heels a bit and
we were able to do exactly that. After I
got home from work we made nachos for supper and watched Christmas movies. It was a great way to decompress from a very
busy week.
Saturday morning I slept late. I must've been really tired because this girl does not sleep in well. I got up at 8:40 and decided I'd better get
my day started. My daughter had a basketball
game to cheer at and needed to be at her school by 11:00. While I waited for the game to finish I
popped over to the Fred Meyer near her school to pick up chocolate chips and
bratwursts that were on sale. Afterward
we braved a trip to the mall.
$4.24! Whoo hoo! |
I was able to pick up a final Christmas gift for my oldest
daughter at one store before using some Bath & Body Works coupons I had and
my gift card to pick up a few things there.
I was able to purchase two shower gels, a candle and two hand sanitizers
for only $4.24 out of pocket! Yay!
At the Yankee Candle store as well as Bath & Body Works
I was given free item coupons good after the 20th. They are really good coupons and I definitely
plan to take advantage of those and use them for my freebies. I'm really excited about them too.
After our trip to the mall the hunt was on for an ugly
Christmas sweater for my daughter's cheer and dance team Christmas party coming
up. No way were we about to spend $40 on
a sweater or even $20 at Wal-Mart so we hit the thrifts stores. Goodwill was a bust, nothing ugly enough
there, but at the second thrift store we tried I found a pretty sweater in lime
green for me to wear to work. I've been
wanting one in that color for quite a while.
It is in really nice condition and is from Coldwater Creek for
$4.99. Yay me!
Oh baby! That's an ugly Christmas sweater! |
Onto thrift store number three where we hit the mother lode
and found the best ugly sweater a girl good hope for. It even has a goose on it! My daughter also found another Christmas gift
for her sister there, which we are sure she will love. All of the things we bought were either on
sale (for a really good price), on clearance (even better), free with coupons (the
best!) or gently used from a thrift store.
We didn't spend much and we had a really nice time. My youngest is super thrifty like her mom so
she really enjoyed herself, especially as she didn't have to bust the bank to
get what she needed.
Some of the 15 Minute
Chores I accomplished to keep my home in order:
Laundry Room & Half Bathroom -
vacuumed & mopped floors, cleaned sink & toilet, washed rug. Daily swish & swipe.
Dining Room - vacuumed floor,
cleaned windowsill, baseboard heater & dusted.
Kitchen - vacuumed & mopped the floor, cleaned
stove & range hood.
Bedrooms & Main Bathroom -
vacuumed & dusted. Scrubbed tub, cleaned
sink & toilet, washed the bathmat.
Daily swish & swipe.
Other - three large loads of
laundry, vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & entry. Mopped entry way floors. Swept front porch, raked up & mulched a huge pile of leaves.
How was your thrifty week?
Amazing deals on your gifts and sweaters! Thrift stores are my very favorite places to go. :))
ReplyDeleteWill we hear more about your vehicle sale to your co-worker? So curious about that!!
Thrift stores are fun and we find such great stuff!
DeleteI sold our extra car that was supposed to be our drivers ed car, but we don't need it and it isn't good for a car to sit. So he bought it for his kid. Works for both of us.
Not as thrifty as yours! But reading your posts is sure helping me alot. Thanks for sharing. What do you do with those ugly sweaters? I mean I can see wearing them once. Then you donate them, right?
ReplyDeleteWell... my darling daughter is a lover of ugly sweaters and she plans to keep this one and keep wearing it. It's true! LOL
DeleteI am always so impressed with the prices you're able to find foodstuff. We pay at least double the cost here!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of the Christmas preparations.
I'm ever so grateful for the lower prices I find on food.
DeleteThat IS an extremely ugly sweater! I hated those ducks anywhere they were, even when they were in style and all over!
ReplyDeleteLOL She should win the contest with that one!
Delete