Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Today is the first of February!  How was your January?  Everybody doing well?  I absolutely loved the month of January.  It was such a great month for us.

 

Last Sunday I was super productive, but not in an exhausting way.  I was up before the sun, dressed and hot coffee in hand to head out the door for some early morning grocery shopping.  First stop was Fred Meyer for a few loss leader items on sale and do see if they had any good marked down produce buys, which they did.  Then off to Winco with a short list to pick up some of the pantry items I had used that needed to be replaced, fresh produce and bacon.  I was home by 9:30 and had everything pretty much put away by 10:00.

 

We got laundry started and I got busy with two big bags of mushrooms I got on mark down which I sliced and loaded up the dehydrator.  Once that was done I cleaned up the six bell peppers I found on markdown and got them ready to make stuffed peppers.

 

I orchestrated it so I could bake up a batch of cupcakes (co-worker's birthday) first, then get the peppers in along with a whole chicken (77¢ a pound) I placed in a dutch oven with yellow potatoes I got on mark down on a previous shopping trip, baby carrots, onion and celery.  I made really good use of the oven and my time by cooking enough for a couple of good meals with leftovers.  Some of the peppers I put in the freezer for future meals.

 

Once laundry was done and food in the oven I was able to sit and relax by starting another crochet project which will be my third Christmas gift.

 

I worked Monday through Thursday with my first three day weekend scheduled.  Originally when I scheduled it I had much different plans in mind, however I was happy to be on hand to help out my oldest daughter when she had her wisdom teeth removed on Friday.  She came home Thursday night and I took her to the oral surgeon early Friday morning.  We were home by 11:00 and she spent the remainder of the day resting.  I was able to keep her pain medication rolling and lots of crushed ice packs to help with the swelling.  Ice cream, gatorade and mashed potatoes & gravy were on the menu which she greatly appreciated.  On Saturday we added soup to the menu. She is doing very well now and is on the mend.

 

Saturday I filled up my medium and large slow cookers to make up two good sized batches of soup.  Some I sent home with my oldest and some went into the freezer for future meals.  We also enjoyed quite a bit of it over the weekend.

 

THINGS WE ATE LAST WEEK:  Roast chicken with carrots, potatoes & gravy; stuffed bell peppers, beef stroganoff, ham sandwiches, chicken soup.

 

THINGS I CLEANED IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS: 

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors.  Daily swish & swipe. 

Kitchen & Dining Room -  Vacuumed & spot mopped floors, cleaned range hood.  Daily swish & swipe. 

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - Cleaned sink, vacuumed & dusted, mopped bathroom floor.  Daily swish & swipe. 

Other - one large load of laundry.  Vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & both entryways.

 

THINGS I DID TO SAVE A SMALL BUNDLE OF $$:  I washed out a few Ziploc bags to reuse.  I fixed our toilet in the upstairs bathroom and saved myself a plumber's call.  I used my fuel rewards card to shave off an extra 3¢ a gallon when I filled up the car.  I made a third Christmas gift using items I already had on hand.  I used the irs.gov website to qualify for free tax filing this year.

 

THINGS I DID TO EARN EXTRA $$:  Sold something from my Etsy shop.  Worked a couple hours of overtime.  Filed my income tax returns.

 

How was your thrifty week?