Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday morning I awoke to a sunny, but still cold first day of March.  I was up with a hot cup of coffee and did some writing.  Then worked a couple hours on the eBay sales getting sold items ready to ship and new items listed.  Then I showered, dressed and was ready to really begin my day.  I had five sales and I listed five new ones.  I also relisted what didn't sell with hopes it does this week.  I run my eBay auctions Sunday through Sunday.

eBay sales ready to go to the post office

I did a quick trip to Cash & Carry for some items I like that they have such as red curry paste, Asian seasoning sauce and mung bean noodles.  They have a great Asian section.  They also had cream on sale.  I've never had a gallon of cream in my refrigerator before, but I won't be able to say that again.  I bought two half gallons.

Coconut Curry Soup

I decided the rest of the week we would eat from our freezer, pantry and what is already in the refrigerator.  The hens have started laying again so we are getting eggs once more too.  We have quite a bit of food in this house.  I made a big pot of Coconut Curry soup, which we love, and that was a terrific way to start off the week.  Eggroll In A Bowl also hit the table as well as breakfast for dinner a couple of nights.

My little haul from Fred Meyer & Walgreens

Saturday was my errand running day.  I was up early and making my final plans so I could get this done quickly and efficiently without wasting fuel or time.  I mapped out my route in a loop so I was able to get to each place without back tracking or having to go out of my way.  It worked out really well.

All of these items were FREE!

I kept my grocery shopping quite minimal purchasing only a handful of sales items and picking up quite a few free and extremely low cost items..  We have quite a bit of food in our house and I am trying to work with what I have on hand so now is a good time to focus on acquiring sales items and store incentives.  I was pretty excited about the items I was able to get without spending much $$.

I brought home some boxes from work to use for shipping eBay items
Jack inspected them to make sure they were adequate

I worked quite a bit of overtime last week which means another nice paycheck next time around.

I had coupons so I got the shampoo and laundry detergent for 99¢ each,
both bags of chips for $1.35 and the 1# bag of baby carrots for 89¢

We gave a big bowl of kitchen scraps to the chickens making them quite pleased.  They've been averaging three eggs a day for us.  Thank you very much ladies!  I sold two dozen eggs to a friend.  I set the money aside to put toward their next bag of feed.

My favorite free offer was this coffee, my youngest likes the Ranch dressing

As the week progressed the weather improved and warmed up quite a bit.  I decided to turn the main thermostat down a few degrees and see how we faired.  So far the house has stayed quite nice at the lower temperature.  I'm hoping to continue to dropping the thermostat in the next few weeks as we approach spring.  I am very much looking forward to turning it off completely.

Sirloin steaks for $2.99/lb and toothpaste for 79¢ each
Two of the toothpastes will find their way into Easter baskets

I downloaded free tickets so my daughter and I can go visit our newly renovated history museum on Museum Day.  I can hardly wait to go!

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

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

Dining Room - vacuumed floor, cleaned dining room chairs.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & spot mopped the floor, cleaned microwave, cleaned freezer, scrubbed sink.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted.  Daily swish & swipe.

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

How was your thrifty week?