Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday was a quiet day to end a four day holiday weekend.  I took the oldest out for a driving lesson and we stopped in at Fred Meyer to pick up some loss leader items on sale as well as a few marked down items we found.  When we got home I made a big brunch of gingerbread pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon.  Once the dishes were washed up and my Sunday chores completed I settled in to do some writing, planning and a little paper crafting which yielded a few gifts.

I made a big pot of turkey soup for supper. 

Monday we were back to business as usual with me returning to work and the girls heading off to school.  Only a few more weeks and they'll be off for the winter break and the first semester of school will be completed.  That is coming up crazy fast!

With rain and snow in the forecast last week we raked up three ginormous piles of leaves that night and got them all mulched working in the dark by porch light and flashlight.  After showering off the dust and pollen we had breakfast for dinner that night using up leftover gingerbread pancakes from the day before and scrambling up some more eggs with diced ham.

I did not purchase anything on Cyber Monday!

Tuesday my youngest had an orthodontist appointment.  I went to work an hour earlier in order to still get in my eight hour day in and not have to use my banked personal time off.  When I got home I made the girls a big pot of spaghetti using sauce I had purchased for 99¢ a jar and pasta I had purchased for 49¢ a package.  I added half the package of mushrooms I'd found on markdown for 49¢ and sautéed the rest with some frozen broccoli florets.  That made for a very thrifty supper and plenty of leftovers for supper later in the week and some lunches.

Wednesday morning we woke to thick fog after it had rained.  After work I picked up the youngest from cheer practice and we headed home for leftover turkey soup for supper.  I ran a load of laundry, washed the dishes, got a jumpstart on lunch prep for the next day, planned out my next grocery shopping excursion and that pretty much took care of things around our place.

Friday we hit the mall after I got off of work and went to JC Penney with a couple of coupons so my daughter could get her boyfriend a Christmas gift.  Then over to Bath & Body Works with a couple more coupons to take advantage of a fantastic sale they were having along with 20% OFF on all purchases.  Yes!  We are well stocked up now on foaming hand soaps (5), shower gel (3) and body cream (2) and I only spent $20.  As you know I really love their products.

Saturday there was a prediction of snow and I awoke to rain.  It changed to snow briefly and then back to rain.  I got the oldest out of bed early and we got busy getting our December errands run.  I was anxious to get things settled before the weather turns.

We started at the gas station and filled the tank on the car using my Fred Meyer rewards points to shave off 10¢ per gallon.  Nice!  Then to Winco to pick up a few items on my list I knew would be a better price than anywhere else.  Next was Wal-Mart to pick up peanut oil, bananas and a couple items on my daughter's gift list that she needed to get.

On the way home we went to Albertson's to pick loss leader items and we struck gold!  I think I have more than enough baking supplies not only for this Christmas but next year as well!  I got 5 pound sacks of flour for 79¢ each, sugar for 99¢ each, powdered and brown sugar for 79¢ each and baking chips for $1.49 each!  She got in some good driving and we had a great time together shopping.

I stuck a soap sliver to a new bar of soap so we can easily use it all up in the shower.

I took some leftover pumpkin spice scented hand soap I had picked up at Fred Meyer for 79¢ to put in our downstairs bathroom into work and left it in the ladies room to get used up.  At home I replaced it with a peppermint scented one I picked up at JoAnns, only $1, for the upcoming Christmas holiday.  Now that I scored all those wonderful hand soaps at Bath & Body Works I think I'll take the peppermint soap into work to share.

We used up gobs of leftover from the prior week and I'm happy to report nothing went to waste.  I put leftover turkey and dinner rolls into the freezer to have in a meal sometime in the future.  I put the remaining leftover turkey soup in the freezer to have later on too.

My youngest daughter made this cheese ball

We gave the chickens some leftover pancakes and our kitchen scraps.  They did fairly well in the egg department despite the time of year it is.  We netted almost a dozen, however we use a lot of eggs around here so right now I still need to buy some from the store until they get back up to speed.

How was your thrifty week?