Five Frugal Things | a crappy mending job
It's me. I'm the crappy mender.
1. I hand-sewed a potholder
This terry cloth potholder came with some very wide stitches, and unsurprisingly, they started to come out not long after I bought it.
The potholder is really too thick to fit in my sewing machine, so I hand-sewed it, which was also a little bit of a challenge.
It is not my neatest work, but I don't really care that much because the point was for it to be functional. And functional, it is.
2. I bought some marked-down chicken at Aldi
I was going to buy a bag of frozen chicken thighs, but my store was out.
Boo.
However...the refrigerated section held packages of bone-in chicken thighs marked 50% off because it was the sell-by date that day.
So, I bought two of them, brought them home, deboned the chicken, and then froze it on baking sheets before transferring the thighs to (washed and reused) plastic bags.
This way I can grab just a few out of the freezer at a time.
I know myself well enough to know that if I stuck that big package of thighs in the freezer, I would not want to get them out and use them!
But deboned and individually frozen? Yep, I will use those.
And I am happy I saved the chicken from getting thrown out at Aldi.
3. I made a little batch of broth from the bones
I browned some of the skin with some onions and celery, then browned the thigh bones, added water and salt, and cooked it all for a few hours.
This felt like an especially satisfying broth batch since it came from the bones of discounted chicken; it's like a bonus on top of a bonus!
A friend loves using an Instant Pot for broth and suggested I do the same. I texted back and said, "I don't have one! I just have a non-instant pot."
4. I bought a Souper Cube knock-off at Aldi
I noticed that Aldi had some 1-cup silicone freezer molds that look sorta like the expensive Souper Cubes!
So, I bought one for $4.99, and I used it to freeze my broth in one-cup portions.
5. I put parchment paper between my tortillas
Bear with me here as I explain: a package of tortillas is too much for a two-person household to use quickly.
But also, sticking the whole package in the freezer is not great because it's hard to pull off just a few tortillas, so then you end up thawing a whole bunch of them at a time, and then refreezing them when you're done.
This is not great when you really just wanted to make a scrambled egg taco/burrito for yourself.
So this time, I cut up some small squares of parchment paper and put them between the tortillas before I froze them.
This should make it easy to grab only as many as I/we need at the moment, and hopefully this will help us avoid wasting any.
It doesn't take me long to go through a packet of tortillas but I think we get less in a bag!
Frugals:
1. I made payments on my student loan.
2. I got money back from the tax office.
3. I used my gym membership.
4. I read another ebook with my free ebook trial.
5. I'm not sure how frugal this is as it was all pretty expensive, but I found a store which sells British food and stocked up!
Look at not-overworked Kristen do all these frugal roots things 🙂 Love this and I bet Friday's report will bring less cereal this week haha. Enjoy your week with more space to breathe!
- Caught an error on my contract before signing it. They changed electronic systems and my proposed pay was a decrease! I like my job but sure am not trying to do it for less money. (It's fixed)
- Sharing Mexican bread with my students. The seniors got their own piece on their last day, but the rest will have to enjoy sample bites. Would cost ~$100 to get everyone their own piece. The employee yesterday was nice and full of ideas for how I could buy more lol but I kindly stuck to my plan.
- Continuing to make good use of the premium features on the meditation app I paid for this year.
I have noticed the same problem with tortillas. I have been using squares of waxed paper to do the same thing.
1. I went to Goodwill yesterday, specifically seeking doll clothes. I found a Monster High doll at the beach and cleaned her up. But she is naked, and I'd like to get something on her bod before I put her up for sale. I found a huge supply of Barbie-like dolls, some with clothes, but nothing that would suit my doll.
However, I did find a Mr. Dudley peppermill, a Yankee votive candle holder, a lemon squeezer, a Travismathew golf hat, a gift bag, a Belleek vase, and a stoneware mug. Some of these I will sell, some gift, and some keep.
2. I treated myself to Panera for lunch. I had a free bakery item coming to me, which I will have for breakfast today. I ordered the pick two with a baguette on the side, which I brought home and put in the freezer to have for a little sandwich some time. Lunch was $13, which, these days, passes for a deal.
3. I had a $10 coupon for DSW and learned that I could not use it on clearance shoes. I hardly ever buy anything else! I was truly shocked at the prices and bought nothing.
4. I got a free car wash when a storm rolled through. Honestly, it took off the bird poop and everything.
5. I found a T-shirt at the park, which I will probably donate, but if I find it fits me after I wash it, I'll keep it. I have learned that clothing left outside just lingers, at least in this area, where there are a lot of affluent and careless people.