Monday, January 2, 2017

Last Week's Thrifty Moves - The Final Week Of 2016!


Happy, Happy New Year!  We were snowed in over Christmas and that made me very happy!  I loved being at home!

Christmas morning was very nice in spite of the fact that my oldest was battling a terrible case of the flu.  We truly felt very sorry for her while we've been trying to keep our distance and not catch it ourselves.  Of course when she's crying and needs a hug from mom all bets are off.  Lots of hand washing and prayers have been said for the rest of us to remain healthy.



I did my usual Christmas morning thing as the gifts were unwrapped and collected all the reusable bows, tissue, gift bags and gift boxes for next year.  After taking the trash out to the garbage and recycle bins I got busy and re-organized the gift wrap tote in our hall closet.  Only took a few minutes and went a long way to quickly tidy up our little living room.  Plus, it made me happy. J

Our Christmas brunch was an easy and thrifty one.  I cooked up half a package of our free bacon from Winco (I got back in October) and made homemade gingerbread waffles served up with butter and homemade syrup.  My youngest said it really hit the spot.  Our Christmas supper was pretty thrifty as well.  I made four cheese manicotti and served up leftover salad and garlic cheddar biscuits from the night before to go along with.  It was delicious!

Messy and then I got the vacuum cord caught up in it



I recycled some denim jeans and made a mat for the floor near our front door to set boots and frozen chicken feeders on.  I needed something durable and washable to contain the mess that was getting tracked on the floor and driving me mad.  I cut the jeans up the inside leg seams and then cut out twelve 8 inch squares, which I sewed together.  To back it I used an old pair of my flannel pajama bottoms  I love the new floor mat.  It cost me nothing but my time, recycled some clothing that was beyond donating and now the mess is no longer.  Win-win! 

Much better!

Cute too!

I set up my ailing laptop on my desk with a keyboard and wireless mouse we already had.  I'll use it more like a desktop PC until I decide what exactly to do with it.  The technology is still relevant so it may be worth a repair.  I gave it a good cleaning and it is running cooler and I've been pricing replacement keyboards.  Right now it seems to be operating well and I want to work with it for a couple of weeks to make sure there isn't something else going on with it.  So we shall see if I end up ordering parts or not.  I really hate to toss it out if it can be fixed.

Somebody thought that I needed a hand

My oldest gave me two old calculators to use since she has upgraded this year to a graphing calculator for school.  I like that they have the bigger buttons and screen than my current one I got at the dollar store about ten years ago.  My youngest has now commandeered the dollar store calculator for herself.  It all works out.

In spite of having an extra two days off for Christmas I volunteered and worked several hours of overtime leading up to the end of the year.  I was able to work those hours from home which made it very nice.  I plan to put the extra income toward my debt elimination goal.

Christmas dinner - baked cheese manicotti with shrimp
It was so good!

I already began my Christmas planning for 2017.  I know...  I know…

I did not grocery shop or doing any other type of shopping, for that matter.  We just didn't need anything. J

I started a January shopping list for Cash & Carry.  They have some really good bargains on meat right now and I could stock up for the year quite easily.

In anticipation of next week's shopping I washed out and re-organized the refrigerator.  It is always nice to get that done ahead of time, I think.


Wednesday morning I impressed myself by using more of the old denim jeans I had saved to make my daughter a case for the Kindle she got for Christmas.  I even put one of the pockets on the front so she had a place to store the charger.  I lined it with the flannel from my old pajama bottoms so it is nice and soft inside.  She loves it!



I saved the rendered fat from frying bacon and put it in the jar I keep in the refrigerator.

I saved the rendered fat from browning ground beef and mixed it with some scratch grains to make the hens a suet cake.  I used a saved Cool Whip container to form it in.


I added a little water to the dish soap bottle and gave it a good shake.  I was able to wash two more loads of dishes.

I added a dab of milk to the mayonnaise jar and gave it a good shake.  I then used it in making up a batch of salad dressing.

How was your thrifty week?



15 comments:

  1. All of your thriftiness is a constant inspiration to me! I am always so impressed with what you manage to do. I will be paying very close attention this year as my husband and I have some very big financial goals this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so looking forward to a thrifty 2017. I have some lofty financial goals myself! So glad you will be along for the ride. :)

      Delete
  2. So sorry your daughter got the flu.. Sad..
    Your dinner sounds wonderful. Proud you and girls had such a lovely Christmas.. The snow looks beautiful

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was sad for her too. Our dinner was delightful and I am enjoying the snow. It really is pretty!

      Delete
  3. I love this blog so much! I have read every single post since I found the blog last week. Interesting, fun, and very inspiring! Just LOVE it!

    And it seems like you had a fabulously thrifty Christmas week! Those meals -- yum! I also love repurposing jeans into new things. Hope your daughter is better now, and that no one else caught the flu!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She is doing much better and so far, so good for the rest of us (fingers crossed). So glad you found us. Love hearing from my readers. :)

      Delete
  4. I hope your daughter is feeling better. You are really talented with your sewing and thriftiness!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She is on the mend and doing much better. Thank you for your kind compliment. :) Happy New Year!!

      Delete
  5. Sorry to hear your daughter had the flu. Hope she feels better, soon, and everyone else stays healthy. Looking forward to reading all about your thrifty ways in the new year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was so sick, but is doing much better now. We are hoping and praying we don't get it. I'm so happy to hear you are going to follow my journey in 2017.

      Delete
  6. I'm glad your daughter is feeling better now. I'm so impressed with the Kindle holder and the mat by the front door that you made. I really do need to get my sewing machine set up and get busy on some projects myself. I no longer can use the excuse of having Christmas gifts stacked on the table that the sewing machine is on. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL I understand! One thing sewing does is force me to slow down and do something less strenuous! And I'm creative in the process. Hope to hear about some of your projects soon. :)

      Delete
  7. Love the floor mat! I have an old kitchen sink mat (intended for the floor) at the top of the front entry stairs to corral boots/shoes. I'd much rather wash this upon occassion (it's sunny yellow so dirt eventually appears but it reminds me also, that it's doing the job!)than to clean the floors daily, as in mopping. I swiffer or vacuum otherwise almost daily, as we have 2 cats. I looked at buying a boot mat, hated the price, so I am making do; this works.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny how the item actually made for the job is so expensive. Fortunately there are always less expensive alternatives when we get a little creative and think outside the box.

      Delete
  8. The holidays sure can get pricey. With the average for 2016 being over $900, it`s great to get thrifty. I appreciate your creativity, and found it very inspiring! I remember my mother used to always repurpose our old clothing, and make it into something exciting again. The floor matt, and kindle case were great ideas. Can`t wait to read more!

    Rudy Swanson @ HAAKER

    ReplyDelete

Your kind comments are always appreciated. I love hearing from you.

**Note: Comment Moderation has been turned on due to spam.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...