Last Week's Thrifty Moves

My thrifty week didn't really begin until I arrived home on Wednesday.  My plane landed shortly after 1:00 in the afternoon and I walked home with my backpack and a small overnight bag.  According to my pedometer we only live about 2500 steps from the airport so not far at all.  I was home in twenty minutes and had an entire hour to myself before my youngest was home from school and the rat race that has become my life began.  It felt good to be back at it though.

I think Leonard missed me most of all

My youngest daughter had high school chamber orchestra auditions at 4:00 followed by practice for dance team auditions coming up on Friday.  My oldest called and asked me to bring her car so she could get some driving practice in while her sister was doing her thing.  I dropped off one and picked up the other.  By the time all was said and done we were back home by 7:00.  I did a load of laundry and we called it a day.

Thursday morning I headed back to work and settled back into my beloved routine.  Funny how a few days away from "normal" can really make you appreciate how good your life is at home.  It was our warmest day of the year so far so when I got home I jumped into my workout gear and headed out the door for a nice long walk.  I even dragged my oldest along with me.  We picked up the youngest from dance practice and then headed for home.

I made two quiches for supper using up leftover asparagus, mushrooms, ground pork, some onion as well as some Monterey Jack cheese I had in the refrigerator.  I sauteed the veggies in some olive oil, added in the pork and then seasoned everything with some garlic and herb seasoning I'd picked up at the dollar store.  A dozen eggs, a little heavy cream and 25 minutes in the oven later and we had dinner on the table.  The quiche was delicious and there were plenty of leftovers for our lunches the next day and breakfast on Saturday.

Friday my youngest had high school dance team tryouts until 6:30 and my oldest had to work so I went home and did a solid hour of yard work, headed over to the high school to pick up the young one.  Then home to wait to find out if she made the team.  There were a lot of girls trying out this year, eighty girls and only thirty six available slots.  And guess what?  She made it!

Saturday morning I was up with the chickens and starting off my day.  I had an appointment to get my car serviced at 9:30 that morning.  I used a coupon they sent me for a $19.95 oil change and they always wash my car too.  Pretty sweet deal!  While I waited for the car to get done I walked across the street to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things on my shopping list.

My Wal-Mart shop

Some of the things on my list were much more expensive at Wal-Mart than I knew they would be at Winco so we also made a stop there later in the afternoon.  My oldest had a long errand list herself so after my car was finished we headed home so she could get her car and some driving time in.

We have a rule, no kitties at the table!

We made a big loop and got her car filled up at the Fred Meyer gas station.  I popped into Walgreens real quick for a 99¢ bottle of laundry detergent (I really don't need) to add to the stash in our linen closet.  The bank was next so my daughter could deposit her paycheck and a couple of thrift stores in search of workout wear for my youngest and some prom stuff for my oldest.  Then it was off to work for her and back home for the rest of us.

Winco haul and the bottle of laundry detergent I picked up at Walgreens

The young one and I dropped off Easter goodies that evening and were treated to dinner out by some friends of ours.  It was really nice to sit and visit, enjoy some really good food and get caught up with all that has been going on in our lives.  It is truly a busy time for a lot of us right now.

I dumped my change from my wallet into my change jar

In preparation of this week's grocery shop I cleaned out the crisper drawer in the refrigerator and gave the hens a nice pile of extra produce.  We ate up quite a bit of leftovers and used items I already had on hand in the pantry and freezers.

I used some of my pocket money for chocolate!

While at Wal-Mart I picked up two 2 liter bottles of lemonade for $1 each and a 2 liter bottle of root beer to add to the party stash I have going on in my bedroom for my daughter's graduation party.  I have a case of bottled water I bought super cheap at Albertsons last spring to add to the stash as well.  I picked up three large cans of baked beans at Dollar Tree.

One thing that is very nice about my household chore schedule is that even if I'm not home and I miss a couple days it's okay.  I just started up when I got home and by the time a week goes by I'm all caught up again.  The girls were really good about picking up after themselves, kept up the dishes and the laundry and since we do a daily swish and swipe of our bathrooms nothing was really out of sorts.

Some of the 15 Minute Chores I accomplished to keep my home in order:

Laundry Room & Half Bathroom - not home

Dining Room - not home.

Kitchen -  vacuumed & spot mopped floor, cleaned stove.

Bedrooms & Main Bathroom - vacuumed & dusted, washed mirror & windows.  My oldest cleaned the bathroom.  Daily swish & swipe.

Other - two loads of laundry, dusted & vacuumed living room, hallway & entry, mopped the living room entry way.  Swept garage.

How was your thrifty week?