Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday morning I was up early and spent a good two hours sipping coffee and writing.  I did a little bit of future planning and then it was time to start my day.  I decided to run the self-clean mode on the oven to get rid of all the crud from holiday use and gave the stove top and range hood a quick once over with some degreasing cleaner and hot soapy water.

I cleaned and reorganized the silverware and utensil drawers.  For years and years the silverware tray has slid around in the drawer and annoyed me to no end.  I finally fixed it by going out to the motorhome for some leftover non skid drawer and shelf liner, cut me a piece and lined the drawer with it.  Why did I wait so long to do that and allow myself to be annoyed for so long?  One of the great mysteries.

I went through my closet and found three items to donate, a tank top that is too big, a top I don't like and my old pair of work shoes I kept as a backup pair and didn't touch all year.  My current pair of work shoes are still in great condition as are a second pair (purchased three years ago) I rarely wear but will be wearing more often this year.  They are still in new condition.

Monday I put away all of the Christmas decor and put away our tree, moved all of my gift wrap and supplies into a new organizer, purged a few more items from my daughter's closet and from under our upstairs bathroom sink.  The girls took the donations to the thrift store for me.

I took my Miche bag out of storage and gave it a once over sprucing up the base bag and straps with my black leather shoe dye and cleaning all of my covers.  I've decided if I don't use it this year I will sell it on eBay.  No point in keeping something I don't use.

Tuesday my youngest had oral surgery to remove her wisdom teeth.  We began our day with her surgery which was scheduled at 9:00 am.  We were home by 10:30.  While she slept and recovered I used and old fitted sheet and some fabric scraps I had to make her a huge pillowcase for the body pillow her sister got her for Christmas.  She was surprised and pleased.  The bulk of my day was spent running up and down the stairs taking her drinks, broth, ice packs and ice cream.  Lots of fetch and go.  I felt so bad for my little one to have to go through that.  Needless to say it was an interesting way to finish out 2019.

Wednesday was New Year's Day and I was bound and determined to get my life off to a great start for 2020.  I started with coffee and a couple hours of quiet solitude before the rest of the house was up and about.  I wrote a lot and thought about things quite a bit.  Then it was time to get dressed and get moving.

I loaded up all of our glass recycling and took it to the supermarket to deposit in the giant bin.  I then went into the store and purchased a bouquet of apricot colored carnations for $5.  A simple little thing to bring me joy and add a touch of freshness and color to our home.  I also bought my daughter a bouquet of daises for her bedroom while she recovers.  She really appreciated them.

Monday I ran the self-clean mode on the oven and
cleaned the range hood and stove while it ran

Thursday morning I renewed my Tracfone cell phone service for 90 days and only paid $20.71, less than $7 per month for service.  I also used a promo code to receive an extra 60 minutes of phone time for free.

Fine dining for those that have their wisdom teeth removed

I went back to work on Thursday.  The rest of the week was fairly quiet and low key, which I appreciated very much.  We watched movies and hung out, mainly as my youngest was still recuperating from her oral surgery.  My poor baby had a really rough go of it, but by Friday evening she was turning the corner and starting to feel better.

Stella is feeling much better and is on the mend
after her ordeal the week before

Saturday was literally her first good day and she even ate a meal, which made me feel much better too.  That evening she went with my oldest and I to shop for a pair of replacement jeans.  My oldest needed to replace a pair she had completely worn out and found a really nice pair at Ross Dress For Less for $8.99.  While shopping my youngest found a three pair set of Nautica brand underwear for $8.99.  I went ahead and bought those to replace a few pairs she has outgrown.

Meat loaf for dinner & meatballs to put up in the freezer for later

I did some investment cooking on Saturday using a pound of ground beef and a 5# package of ground turkey.  I put together a meatloaf and some meatballs with the ground beef and half of the ground turkey.  I baked the meatloaf and put the meatballs into the freezer.  I cooked up the rest of the ground turkey and put it in the freezer for other meals to make in the coming weeks.

My latest purging

I did not do any grocery shopping last week.

I washed out a couple ziploc bags and plastic food containers to reuse.  I gave all of our kitchen scraps and some stale cereal to our chickens.

Clean & shiny inside & out 😍

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

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors, tidied laundry room, organized bins, cleaned top of washer & dryer.  Cleaned sink & mirrors.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed & spot mopped floor.

Kitchen -  vacuumed the floor, cleaned stove, oven, range hood and microwave.  Cleaned and reorganized silverware & utensil drawer, wiped drawer fronts.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Cleaned mirror, scrubbed sink & toilet.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - three loads of laundry, vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & entry, cleaned shelves & desk.  

How was your thrifty week?