Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday we had a nice family day all of us together.  With Monday as a school and federal holiday my oldest came home for a long weekend.  She really loves her new bedroom by the way and she and my oldest hung out in there quite a bit.  I gifted my daughter with some money for dorm life essentials and she chose to used it to purchase more groceries.  The three of us headed off to the grocery outlet store and Wal-Mart to pick up what she needed and I was really impressed with all that she bought.  And!  She did say she is willing to do a post on dorm cooking as time allows so I'm hopeful she is able to do that.  Some of you have asked and she is thrilled that you are interested.

Eggroll In A Bowl & Sauteed Asparagus

Sunday evening the girls and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and shared and order of fajitas.  It is sooo much food I cannot imagine that order being for just one person.  We had enough leftovers to bring home for me to have for lunch the next day.  Since we had only ordered the one meal we also ordered dessert and the girls shared a fried ice cream.  They had never had it before and they loved it.  It really was fun family day for all of us.

A few items I picked up last week including Keto bread!
I am so excited to try this!!

Monday was a quiet day for us.  I went to work and the girls stayed home to do homework.  My oldest came into work and talked to our HR director about our company college scholarship program and filling out the applications for that as well as her interest in any internships or part time jobs that might be available.  It was a really good meeting and I have to tell you I am really proud of her and her initiative.

Low Carb/Keto bread options

Tuesday we were back in the swing of things with early morning practices and the usual school and work routines.  Thursday evening my youngest had an orchestra concert and that made for our longest day of the week.  Friday she attended a play her best friend was performing in and then Saturday was another competition day.  To me the entire week went by in a blur.

My oldest found herself a Brita pitcher for $1.25

Along with my youngest daughter's competition I was able to fit in a few hours of thrift store shopping.  It has been a while since I've gone thrifting and a very long time since I purchased anything for my kitchen.  I had a few things on my wish list and was thrilled to find some of these items.  Most notably the larger custard bowls and some Chinese soup bowls.  We also decided to give a salad spinner a try and so far we think we like it.  I'll need to write a post about the other items I purchase that are not for our house.  That is a whole other deal the girls and I are working on.

  

I think these are so pretty and they were in perfect condition at $1 each

One item in particular I've been on the hunt for was another Corning Sidekick, which I found!  I use one in my downstairs bathroom as a try for our soap dispenser and lotion.  I have wanted another one for the upstairs bathroom too.  I really like how it looks and it does corral any soap drips that may occur.

The larger Pyrex custard dishes have been on my wish list for quite awhile

For the last few months I have been lobbying hard for a substantial raise based on my increased level of responsibility at work and my overall job performance.  No problem with my boss, he totally felt I deserved it, but getting the upper muckety-mucks to agree has been a bit trickier.  Well, my steady perseverance finally paid off, not to mention a tremendous amount of patience.  I not only got the raise, but my boss lobbied hard and got me 25% more than I was originally asking for .  And!  The company president acknowledged me and recognized my efforts noting that I am a key player within the company.  Honestly, I wasn't even sure he knew who I was.  Guess he does.  So how am I feeling right now?  Fantastic!

I was able to work a few more hours of overtime last week.  We are busy!  Holy cow!  Right now the overtime is very much appreciated though so I'm not going to complain about it one bit.

At the beginning of the week I refilled the dish soap dispenser emptying out the big jug.  I added a little warm water to the jug and gave it a good shake.  I had enough soapy water to wash dishes with for the remainder of the week using up every last drop before I put the jug into the recycle bin.

Lots of Barbie stuff went up on the auction block last week

Including a bunch of fun accessory items

We listed a bunch of stuff on eBay to sell.  Hopefully we'll be able to get it all sold and out of the house.  We also purged some items to add to the donation bag.

I used a tablespoon of bath gel mixed into a cup of warm water to make foaming hand soap refill solution.  I used that to refill the hand soap dispensers in our kitchen and bathroom.

The Sidekick holds my soap dispenser & lotion bottle perfectly

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

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors, wiped down washer & dryer, cleaned sink.  Daily swish & swipe.

Dining Room - vacuumed floor, cleaned dining room chairs.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & spot mopped the floor, wiped down all appliances, cleaned range hood & microwave, wiped down upper cabinets, checked for cobwebs.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Scrubbed sink & tub, cleaned mirror, checked for cobwebs.  Daily swish & swipe.

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

How was your thrifty week?