Last Week's Thrifty Moves

 

Another week zipped by in a flash and we are now in the middle of March already!  I can barely keep up with the days it seems.  Last week was started off in a fun way for me by going to the Antique Mall to see if I could find a little treasure, which I did.  I found a vintage clear glass bunny rabbit candy dish.  Just like my milk glass hen.  I stopped in at Walgreens for jelly beans on the way home and now it sits on our dining room table.  So darling.  Easter decorating complete!

 

This beef soup was absolutely delicious

I have been on a mission lately to use up the odds and ends of items we have lying around in the pantry, fridge and kitchen freezer.  I am finally starting to make a dent, especially in the freezer where I actually have some blank spaces.  An abundance of condiments is still a work in progress but I am starting to make a dent, I think.

 

Can you even believe we're talking Easter already?

I planned our Easter dinner menu using all items I currently have on hand.  The only change I may make as we get closer is to add some fresh asparagus if it is still a good price.  If not, I'll just steam up some frozen broccoli spears from our freezer.  It feels good knowing our next holiday meal is covered and I don't need to do any extra shopping.

 

I found a crocus!

Saturday the young one and I headed outside for some fresh air, a little yard clean up and a fire in our firepot.  We were able to rake up a good pile of leaves, clean up the last of our pruning project from last fall and enjoy a gorgeous spring day in the process.  I taught my daughter how to use a reciprocating saw which she really seemed to like.  She is a lot like her mama when it comes to power tools.  We gave the chickens a big pile of leaves in the coop to scratch around in too.  It felt good to get outdoors for a while and do something productive.

 

THINGS WE ATE LAST WEEK:  Sirloin steak & salad; leftover enchiladas, ham sandwiches, beef noodle soup (using leftover steak), hamburgers & fries.

 

THINGS I CLEANED IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS: 

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - vacuumed floors, tidied laundry room.  Daily swish & swipe. 

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

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

Other - two large loads of laundry.  Vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & both entryways.  Thoroughly cleaned the fireplace and hearth.

 

THINGS I DID TO SAVE A SMALL BUNDLE OF $$:  Other than my little trip to the Antique Mall on Sunday I didn't do any other shopping.  Not even groceries.  I did check the ads and downloaded a handful of digital coupons I might find useful, but nothing in the ads could entice me to shop.

 

Things are beginning to green up and poke through the ground
Spring is coming!

THINGS I DID TO EARN EXTRA $$:  I worked a little bit of overtime.  I received the gift card from Discount Tire (they were really quick about it) and decided to put it in my Christmas fund.  I also reallocated some investment funds to see if I can generate a little more income into one of my retirement accounts and shifted a sizeable chunk into another fund to better protect it from stock market volatility.  Always a good idea to do this as you get closer to your retirement date.

 

It won't be long and our big tree will be leafing out

How was your thrifty week?