Last Week's Thrifty Moves

 

I awoke to another gorgeous spring morning last Sunday so I was up and at it as soon as the sun was up.  Daylight savings time began and although we lose an hour I am always very happy for its arrival.  I love when it stays lighter later in the evenings and I'd be quite happy if we could just keep it this way all year long.

 

Carne Asada

I started the laundry, fixed myself a coffee and settled in for some writing and financial planning to get my week ahead started off on the right foot.  A quick look in the fridge, freezers and pantry let me know that I did not need to dash off and do any grocery shopping which meant my day was free and clear.  My daughter had to work so I gave her a couple bucks to pick up a bundle of asparagus they have on sale where she works and that took care of that.  I set out meat to defrost for some afternoon meal prepping and in the meantime finished up the load of laundry I had started and then did some crafting.  It has been a very long time since I've been able to spend time in my craft room and I really needed it.

 

Wednesday evening I decluttered the medicine cabinet in our downstairs bathroom.  I tossed out expired cold medicine and items we no longer want, need or used and moved a few items to a better location in our upstairs linen closet.  It was pretty crowded in there before but functions much nicer now.

 

I took Friday off of work to begin a long four day weekend.  My first task that day was an early morning appointment at the DMV to update my drivers license to a  STAR card.  Next, because I was in the area, was to stop in at Wal-Mart on the way home and return a rug I'd bought last month for our downstairs bathroom that was way too big.  I found a replacement, picked up a few more items including three more gallons of water to add to the prepper pantry.  Every time I see jugs of water for a good price I am planning to pick up two or three to add to it until I meet my goal.  FEMA says one gallon per person per day and that we should have a two week supply on hand.  I agree with that but I want to have a bit more on hand to be better prepared.

 

While at Wal-Mart I finally found plastic lids for my mason jars in stock.  I've needed another package of these ever since I started dehydrating food last year but no luck.  I grabbed one for the kitchen and one for the prepper pantry.  I shouldn't need to buy anymore of these lids.  Now to find the flat canning lids in the regular size.  I'm still on the hunt.

 

I still use the lids from parmesan cheese containers on my mason jars too.  In fact I just happened to save one this week.  They are perfect for spices and the jars of dehydrated foods I happen to be using.  They fit perfectly and are really handy.

 

I was planning to use some of my pocket money to buy a few bars of dark chocolate I like, but Wal-Mart was out.  Instead I picked up three packages of pork rinds and a container of my favorite green chile dip.  A great Keto snack and one I will share with Jack.  That kitty loves pork rinds and will actually beg for them.  I also treated myself to a new candle in my favorite hazelnut cream scent.

 

Saturday morning I was able to get a big project off my plate which was to subdivide two peace lilies, mine and one from work, and get them repotted.  I ended up with 7 plants once all was said and done.  I kept two plants (one for me and one for my youngest), re-homed three (my oldest daughter and her roommates) and took one back to work.  The one extra will likely end up back at work once it is done sitting in water for awhile until the roots are stronger and it is ready to pot in soil.

 

All the extra pots I needed came from the dollar store and my garage.  I had picked up a large bag of potting soil at Fred Meyer sometime in December or January so this project has been in the works for a bit of time.  I'm really glad to have it finished up finally.

 

Taco salad

THINGS WE ATE LAST WEEK:  Carne asada & rice, eggroll in a bowl, grilled chicken sandwiches, baked gnocchi, taco salad.

 

THINGS I CLEANED IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS: 

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom -  Scrubbed toilet, vacuumed & mopped floors.  Daily swish & swipe. 

Kitchen & Dining Room -  Vacuumed & mopped floors. Cleaned stove, range hood & microwave. Scrubbed & bleached sink.  Cleaned dining room walls & ceiling, cleaned table & chairs.  Daily swish & swipe. 

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

Other - two large loads of laundry.  Vacuumed & dusted living room, hallway & both entryways.  Cleaned entry way & hallway walls & ceiling, cleaned light fixtures.

 

THINGS I DID TO SAVE A SMALL BUNDLE OF $$:  I returned an item to the store that we didn't need.  I turned off our central heating source and we are now using just the fireplace and our infrared heater set on low as we need.  I did very little grocery shopping so hardly anything was spent of food.  We also ate all of our leftovers so no food was wasted.  We fed some stale bread to the chickens which thrilled them quite a bit too.

 

THINGS I DID TO EARN EXTRA $$:  I moved our latest stimulus payment to my savings account where it will earn some interest.  I had done the same with the one we got at the first of January.  I received my annual bonus at work as well last week and immediately deposited it into savings.  I sold something on eBay.

 

All in all, I had a fairly lucrative and productive week.  I am quite pleased with all that I was able to accomplish.  How was your thrifty week?