Five Frugal Things | I taught Z some DIY
Happy Tuesday! I usually publish FFT on Wednesdays, but I'm moving things around a little this week.
1. I helped Zoe fix holes in her wall.
She had some anchors from when her dresser was on that wall, so we:
- removed the old anchors
- used a hammer to flatten the raised area
- spackled
- sanded
- painted
And her wall is looking fresh again.
Plus, Zoe learned some new skills, which will probably be useful to her in the future.
I'd stored Zoe's leftover wall paint in a glass jar, so it was super easy to get out for this job.
See Zoe's room go from aqua to gray; a painting project from last summer.
2. I ordered a replacement clipper blade.
Zoe's undercut needed some freshening up, so I gave her a buzz.
And I noticed that our clipper blade had two broken prongs.
So, I hopped on eBay and ordered a replacement set for $20 (it includes both blades).
Considering that clippers are very hard to find right now, and that every trim I do at home saves at least $20, I figured the money was very worth it.
ALSO: I took the screws out, removed the blades, and found a lot of hair lodged back there. After removing the hair, the clippers are running much more quietly.
3. I helped Sonia tailor a shirt she made.
She used a vintage pattern for this one, and the shirt came out way too big.
(So frustrating to buy the materials, cut them out, and assemble them only to find the garment doesn't fit.)
We were not about to let all that go to waste, so I had her put the shirt on inside out, and I pinned the sides to make it more fitted.
She basted it, we took notes about where it didn't fit, marked some new lines, and she basted again.
Once we had it right, she sewed the seams for real, and we trimmed the excess material away.
Here's what Sonia is embroidering, in case you were wondering.
4. I used an old frame for Sonia's embroidery.
Once she finished the above embroidery, she wanted to frame it.
Obviously, right now is not a good time to go frame shopping (!), so I dug through my pile of old frames and we found a frame and mat that would work.
We cleaned the frame and glass, then sprayed the embroidery with starch, ironed it, and placed it in the frame.
5. I...
- made more chocolate zucchini bread to use up the zucchini
- made another two-week menu plan
- froze my extra shredded mozzarella for a future pizza night*
- drank coffee made at home (!)
- downloaded a free ebook copy of An Old-Fashioned Girl.
*the semi-soft mozzarella I buy for pizza molds pretty fast once opened. So, I shred it all on a pizza night, use what I need, and then freeze the extra in a ziploc bag.
Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?
P.S. A lot of you have said that you've been glad to see more frequent posts from me of late, just because they feel like a slice of normal life.
If you want even more words from me (!), I just wanted to remind you that I have a little second blog, Kristen Prompted, where I write short essays based on prompts, usually Monday-Friday.
You can subscribe to that one, and there's also a link to it up in my header here (easier to see on desktop vs. mobile).
I have a question about the clippers. We got clippers as a wedding gift almost 17 years ago, and it seems the blades might be getting dull. We've avoided buying new because we'd read that often there's problems with getting them aligned right. Did it seem you had any problems at all in that regard?
Now, 5. Hmmm.
1. We made French macarons-- way cheaper than any bakery.
2. I mended my son's knife pouch that attaches to his belt.
3. I sewed together a chopped-ff t-shirt and a skirt (thrifted for nothing or next to i) to make a nightgown for my daughter.
4. I used YouTube to try to figure out why my sewing machine was jamming up instead of throwing it across the room. This prevented a lot of expensive damage and also gave me skills to motivate me to want to try more sewing in the future.
5. Instead of driving the 5 miles to town to take an order from my Etsy shop to the post office, I saved gas by requesting (online) my mail carrier to pick it up when she delivered the mail.
The new blades just arrived yesterday, so I haven't installed them yet. The Wahl website has some info about aligning the blades, so I'm going to follow that and hope for the best!
Yes to #4! 😀 I always tell my husband that it isn’t a real sewing session without a fight between the machine and me.
I just finished re-reading An OldFashioned Girl - wonderful book and perfect story for these times.
Alright, I am new to this, but I will give it a shot.
1. I have had 3 no spend days (4 if you count only paying the water bill, and 5 if you are hopeful that today will be one)
2. I made no bake cookies with ingredients I had on hand. I had to use some maple syrup instead of sugar. I accidentally added mint instead of vanilla. Surprisingly they are edible/good even. They have peanut butter so I was skeptical, but you can't really taste it. I will reduce my food waste, and get to save the stockpile of snacks I ordered online for another day.
3. I sent my mowers (yes I have two- it is a long sad story) out to be serviced and repaired. Hopefully to be fixed so I do not need to buy a new one.
4. I sewed some fabric raised bed/containers for a veggie garden this summer. I had garden fabric on hand and used some old thread my mom had (retrieved at a social distance). I am also currently trying to plan out a no-till garden location, and seeing how I might be able to re-purpose things for it. It might be a project for next year.
5. I took inventory of my freezer. Hopefully this will let me use up what I have instead of buying more.
Thank you for doing these. I find them a nice motivation to think about what I am doing and track them.
Yay! A new five-frugal-things club member! 🙂
I am very impressed that the mint worked with the peanut butter. I would not have expected that.
Me either! I would not recommend it on purpose, and I do not think I will ever recreate it intentionally, but it was a nice surprise that it worked.
It gives hope that there may be a way to fashion some mint no-bakes without it which would probably be delicious. Maybe almond or coconut butter?
I don’t like peanut butter in mine so I have a recipe with no PB. I’ve never thought to add mint but I am going to try it because I love choc/ mint. Search on line for recipes and you’ll find it.
Many thanks! I will take a look.
Connie - thanks for the no PB cookie idea. I googled a recipe and will make today for my husband who does not eat peanuts.
LOVE❤️ The Embroidery!
1. Drove nowhere this week!
2. Watching Broadway shows on Broadway app. One month free! Did not even have to give financial info so I do not need to remember to cancel.
3. Getting ebooks from overdrive app and public library. FREE
4. Got some rusted porch chairs for free. Sanded and spray painted them matte black rust oleum. They look great from the curb. Pretty good from up close.
5. Decided NOT to buy hanging flowering plants this year and hung up two bird feeders that I had on hand in their place. Trying to spend less as we are earning less in pandemic.
Stay safe at home!
1). Staying out of the grocery store one more week (making it 3 weeks between trips). I did sign up for a produce delivery from a local farm. I think we will still end up saving money and are supporting our local farmers.
2). My husband and I have been taking advantage of the free HBO that’s being offered right now.
3). We are continuing to be super diligent with meal planning and using up leftovers.
4). Using Libby and Hoopla apps to read ebooks from our library.
5). I am a big fan of a Fitness Blender workouts and have been thinking about buying their Strong program. I just bought it while they are running a sale of 70% off. It was something I was already planning on buying.
I completely dread clipping my sons' and husband's hair every month (the sons, at least, always make it way harder than it should be--hiding, squirming, etc.), which I have done for years now, but I'm glad now that I already do it. Because what I would dread even more would be trying to deal with longer hair on three young boys. I have no interest in styling anyone's hair. Not even my own. 🙂 Number 2 buzzcuts for all!
My husband had a satisfying find yesterday at our "new" (abandoned, old) house next door: In a random box that mostly had masonry tools--also a good find for him, as that's one of his side jobs--he found a cuchillo. Cuchillo is just the Spanish word for knife, but this was a particular kind of knife--very long blade with a curved end--that used to be the standard carrying knife for the Spanish people here in New Mexico. Anyway, this is a really old, hand-forged one, and my husband had been wanting one, and there it just showed up. Serendipity.
Haha! I feel so much the same about haircuts. I give my boys a choice: 1, 2, or 3. We call them "summer haircuts" because we can see the ticks better when they're outside so much in the summer (which is really spring, fall, and a lot of the winter, too).
Sonia's embroidered art is so pretty! She is so talented!
My 5 Frugal Things:
* notified my insurance agent that we would like to temporarily suspend my husband's truck insurance (he is working from home, truck parked in garage) for 30 days. We received a nice little premium refund.
* made a robust grocery shopping list for 2 weeks' worth and stuck to it
* we continue to strictly have at-home coffee
* enjoying a low cell phone bill with Ting (all 3 of us are at home all the time so weren't using any data)
* used a Subway coupon ~ buy 2 subs, get 1 free ~ for a take-out dinner
Our ting bill is VERY affordable right now too. Heh.
GOOD DAY TO YOU KRISTEN. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SONIA'S EMBROIDERY WHICH TURNED OUT VERY NICE. WHAT KIND OF STITCH DID SHE USE TO FILL IN THE MUSHROOMS? I DO FRENCH KNOT PICTURES. THANKS IN ADVANCE. LOVE YOUR DAILY VISITS. MISS SEEING YOUR SON FOR YEARS IT SEEMS NOW. BYE FOR NOW. GOD BLESS.
The aqua one is satin stitch, and then for the red one, she said she used short and long stitches. She's working on a sunflower embroidery now, which uses french knots in the middle of the flowers. French knots are a lot of work!
Joshua lives about an hour away now, and since we're social distancing, it's just Mr. FG, me, and the three girls here. 🙂
That embroidery reminds me of a Christmas embroidery I did long ago and framed. Every Christmas, for over 40 years now, I set it out and it always makes me smile. Forty years from now, how sweet would it be for Sonia to have her little mushrooms sitting on a table or hanging on a wall?
1. I'm not going many places, but when I do, I am using my two wide cloth headband masks that wash and dry quickly. I also hang them out in the sun to dry, for extra protection. I bought them for $1 each on clearance last year.
2. I'm glad that I've concentrated on perennials in my yard these last few years, so that I have flowers coming up without any need to go to a store and get some. This isn't just frugal, these days.
3. I built an enclosure/trellis for my semi-trailing blackberry plants, reusing posts pulled up when part of our fence was replaced a couple of years ago, and extra wire we already had.
4. I earned another $50 gift card for an Accelerant research survey. I chose a grocery card this time. My grocery bill is so high this month -- anything I can do to help it next month, I'll do.
5. We had a milder winter plus I used a programmable thermostat this year on the upstairs unit, to keep the heat up there quite low during the day, and those combined to bring down my electric monthly budget plan payment down by $11 a month. I hope to keep it down, as long as we don't have a summer like last one.
A lot of little things, none of which add up to much.
1. Continuing to exercise using the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit.
It's surprisingly engaging and while the whole kit was not cheap, it cost about the same as 3 months' gym membership, and of course, any number of people can use it. Regular exercise while s/t/u/c/k/safe at home has been very important in keeping my equilibrium.
2. Learned how to do chocolate fondue on the cheap.
The Fruit Fondue Basket my father sent had clearly suffered from pandemic shortages: it came with chocolate chips instead of melting disks. The internet being my friend, I learned that chocolate chips + hot milk = pretty good fondue dip.
3. Avoided the supermarket for an extra day or two.
This is, in part, due to the Fondue Basket, which had 13 bananas and 6 lbs of strawberries. Yum!
4. Got several credit card charges & costs reversed.
Three were from a small gym that hadn't processed my quit forms. The other two were from the credit card company itself. I successfully argued that since the reason I couldn't pay on time was because I couldn't access their online system, I shouldn't pay the late fee or interest.
5. Made Banana-Yogurt Bread to use up bananas and yogurt.
I already had 5-6 bananas when the 13 from the Fondue Basket arrived, and the yogurt was something I tried and didn't love.
6. Didn't go to the store when I ran out of milk.
Instead I opened a quart of shelf-stable that I bought for just this circumstance. I hope I'll be able to replace it when I next go shopping.
7. Unplugged electronics when I'm not using them, to avoid zombie electric usage.
I continue to unplug electronics while I'm not using them, including the cube fridge I use for produce overage. The list also includes the exercise TV, the counter oven, screens, electric kettle, etc.
8. No food waste this week.
9. Replanting veggies.
I'm experimenting with replanting the stubs of the lettuce heads (sold with roots) and leafy carrot tops.
10. Bought another half-bushel of apples from the farmer's market. Bulk price isn't bad and we're eating a lot of apples these days.
Not Frugal:
- Paying $48 to ship the Morning Glory Muffins to my father.
- Buying sushi for dinner (contact-less curbside pickup).
- Tipping the restaurant $10 for take-out, rather than my usual no tip.
- Tipping the supermarket baggers at least $10; they work for tips and under normal conditions, $5 is a good tip.
Regarding no. 4, it drives me absolutely crazy that when I charge something to my credit card at a store, it's hit the card by the time I arrive home, yet, when I'm receiving a reversal of a charge I'm often told it might take 1-2 billing cycles for it to show up. I just don't believe it. And when I do it online it often never goes through. One more thing I have to track down on the phone with a poor customer service rep.
Also, where on earth does your father live that it cost $48 to send him muffins.? I'm actually picturing a remote village in Katmandu that only delivers by yak back once a month. 😀
Anne, I couldn't agree more about the timing of the charge-backs. I used to work for American Express Travel Services so I bumped up against the credit card guys occasionally. Even so, I still don't know of a good reason that the timing is so off.
That said, the reversed charges showed up on the very next statement.
I used USPS, which charges the same rates within the US no matter what. The issue is muffins are heavy and stale quickly, so it had to be overnight/2 day. Doesn't matter - it was worth it to do something nice for him.
would you share your chocolate zucchini bread recipe... mine always sinks in the middle so I would like to compare and see what I might be doing wrong. Thanks
This is the one I use: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/double-chocolate-zucchini-bread-recipe
It involves squeezing some of the moisture out of the zucchini first, which helps a lot.
I don't bake my loaves nearly as long as they specify...I check them at 50 minutes to see if they are done.
made another two-week menu plan
Have you always been doing this?
Nope, usually I just do a week at a time. But since I'm trying to shop less frequently, I'm planning more meals at once.
Made rice pudding with leftover rice
Used home grown frozen rhubarb to make a treat for my husband’s work.
Made orange cranberry muffins with the juice from a can of mandarin oranges
Made homemade birthday cards for my niece, nephew, cousin, and father in law
Got some galvanized tubs to use for vegetable gardening for $5 on Facebook, and planted a bunch of seeds I had in the freezer leftover from last year.
1. Shopped around to find the best option for a balance disc for my chair. Turns out that fancy pants office chair at work was helping me to keep my back comfortable. I did quite a bit of research and found that a balance disc is a great option and doesn't involve trying to sit professionally on a yoga ball in Zoom meetings.
2. Made my own dry shampoo. I usually buy cans from Amazon. Since no one is seeing me in person, I figured I should try DIY. It's not going to be a long-term solution, but it's working for now. I used cornstarch, a little baking soda, the contents of an activated charcoal capsule, and a pinch of cinnamon. It smells good, but it does leave black dust under my nails if I touch my hair. But...I'm washing my hands a lot lately, so it's okay. 😉
3. I'm using up freezer meats. I stocked up on meats for the last year or so. I can sometimes get pork loin for $0.99/lb in Texas and I accidentally overbought. We've been eating pork chops and pork roasts pretty regularly while we're trapped at home.
4. I have a gangbusters sourdough starter. It nearly triples in size when I feed it and I'm getting good at making bread. It's nice to make a very inexpensive loaf of artisan bread to supplement the regular store bought bread we usually buy.
5. I am drinking a lot more water than I have in the past. I love diet soda, even though I know it's poisonous. I haven't been craving it in the same way since we've been home all day, so that expense is decreasing. Yay!
Try some of the flavored sparkling water. I rarely drink soda now and drink flavored Perrier.
A tip for the too-big pattern, I used to have the same problem until someone told me this. Pattern makers often include way too much positive ease. So even if you take your measurements and choose your size carefully there will be 4-6 inches of ease and the finished garment is huge. If Sonia lays out and measures the pattern prices at the bust and waist, adds the measurements together and subtracts the seam allowances she can find the actual garment size which makes it way easier to choose the size you actually need.
Thanks for that tip!
I wondered if anyone else had this experience or if I'm imaging things. It seems to me that when I sewed clothes 20, 30 and 40 years ago those patterns always ran larger than a store bought garment. I had to size down to sew.
I briefly took up sewing again 5 years ago and this no longer seemed to be true.
Any of you (ahem) "oldies" out there have an opinion on this?
(It certainly couldn't be just that I got bigger. :D)
It does seem like the new vintage-style patterns we've bought have fit Sonia better than the actual vintage patterns, even though the bust/hip measurements are the same.
So, I wouldn't be surprised if you are correct!
What a nice little embroidery! I ordered an embroidery pattern and yarn to be shipped to my mother who is housebound and lives alone, I hope to see it when it's finished.
Meanwhile, my frugal achievements this week,
1. We finally had enough in our savings account to pay off a large credit card balance.
2. Increased my 401K contribution a little after a small annual pay increase.
3. Running low on toilet paper, I hopped on a website that tracks stores with TP in stock. Would not have dreamed of having to do this a couple of months ago! Vitacost was one that had it in stock, so I placed an order of TP and some other things. Signed up to get 20% off my first order.
4. Ordered a meat delivery from a small local farm where the animals graze outside and are well treated. It ended up not being much more than the grass-fed meat we usually buy in the grocery store, so I think we might stick with this in the future. I'm a vegetarian, but my family loves the meat from this farm.
5. Arranging my twins' birthday, I have asked friends and family to send a little video clip that I will assemble to a birthday movie. A virtual "party" doesn't cost a dime. Will do a takeout dinner which is pretty rare these days, and a homemade ice cream cake.
Congrats to you for paying off the bill!
Thank you! Feels good.
You reminded me of when sonny was on a school trip on his birthday. We borrowed a vhs recorder and interviewed family. Then I took a lot of pictures ranging from birth to his current age and scattered them out on the floor. I put the Romantics What I like about you and the Beatles birthday song on, and panned around getting random shots. It was fun, didn't cost anything but time and we enjoyed seeing it. Now I wonder where that tape is?
Happy Birthday to your twins!
I saved the root ends of our green onions and planted them. With groceries and produce in short supply this will hopefully ensure we have some scallions in the future.
Our garden beds are ready for plants so we will be adding plants as soon as it is warm. We hope to use this as a way to supplement our massive produce bill that has doubled with everyone home all day. (We feed 6, 3 of which are teenagers).
Trying to get my sourdough game off the ground. First two loaves were a little flat so hoping that today’s loaf will be better.
First Five Frugal things post ever, here goes:!
1. Repaired a pair of my leggings, a top and two pairs of my eldest son’s shorts. Really pleased that my hand stitching was neat and seems to be holding up! Sweet memories of my Nan who taught me to sew too!
2. Managed to get a supermarket food home delivery and not only get food for us but also my parents and in-laws who both gifted us biscuits and treats when we socially distance delivered to their doors.
3. Found two packs of ham at the bottom of the freezer which I incorporated into a delicious pasta sauce which won approval from hard to please, always ravenous, sons and DH.
4. Researched and persuaded my DH to swap our broadband supplier saving ££s per month plus much, much faster download speed!
5. Enlisted the help of my youngest son to get my sewing machine working properly again so that I can sew some new cushion covers for my outside furniture. I’m repurposing a duvet cover that has seen better days, fingers crossed it will turn out well. We’ve had glorious weather recently but now have rain forecast so at least I can finish this project in time for the next sunny spell.
That’s all for now I think!
So glad to have you join us!
Some clipper tips:
Clean hair out each time you use them.
Lubricate the blades. Use the clipper blade oil that comes in a tube.
On some better clippers there is an odd screw set into the side of the body that adjusts the tension on the blades. Turn them on and turn the screw until they run the quietest. Experiment with the direction you turn it.
If the blades pull at the hair they are either dirty or dull. Clean them with Blade Wash or get them sharpened. Try a hardware store for sharpening service.
I used to service clippers and sharpen blades! Happy trimming!
Thanks for these helpful tips!
Yes, thank you!
1. Removed one auto from insurance and got a nice rebate
2. Made vegetable soup ground beef rather than more expensive cut and froze some.
3. Ordered groceries for the month from Aldi and will get perishables when needed.
4. Cooked most meals from food to use-up and always made enough for leftovers.
5. Made an eating plan and sticking to it tightly so as not to gain the “shut down 25 lbs” This is also frugal - not buying or making junk food or overeating.
I love Sonia’s embroidered mushrooms in the frame! So cute.
This week, I planted some grocery store potatoes that had sprouted eyes earlier this year. I was going to throw them in the compost, until my son reminded me I could just plant them. Lots of other things going into the garden now, too. I plant from saved seeds to save money and reuse lots of old food containers ... everything from margarine tubs for seedling pots up to bakery frosting buckets for full-grown tomato pots.
I also made some more clothes for my daughter’s stuffed kitties out of no longer wearable pant-legs.
1. Picked up 2 pairs of Winter boots and a pair of rain boots for my daughter and 2 pairs of Winter boots and a pair of sandals for my son from a mom's Facebook group I am in. All were free and in larger sizes. So, I cleaned them and stored them away for when they fit. I got a nursing bra and sports bras, for myself, off the group too. I have been needing new bras!
2. I got a small raspberry plant and an oregano plant off my local Buy Nothing Group.
3. I found a retro lamp in someone's garbage this weekend. I am selling it to someone from Facebook Marketplace today for $50.
4. My husband installed a fire pit in our backyard, put down a new floor on our porch, and started our garden. The garden will be twice as big as our last house, so we are excited for our bigger harvest. We were paying to be part of a community garden before buying this house also, so we save $30.
5. Got rid of a bunch of stuff on Buy Nothing or Facebook for free. I am definitely a minimalist, so keeping my home decluttered decreases my stress level. It is not exactly frugal, but you spend less when you know exactly what you have. And you have less to clean!
Hi, Corrine,
You might already know this, but oregano will spread wherever it can find room to do it. This could be great, or a real problem, depending on where you plant it, and how much oregano you use. I air-dry any excess for use during the winter months. In my area (SW Ohio), it is a perennial.
Hey Liz! Yes oregano grows like a weed. We dry it in our dehydrator and use quite a bit of it, so I planted that sucker right in the garden! I live in NY so it is also a perrenial here. We had a great herb garden at our last home, but we moved this past summer so are trying to build up the herb garden again. Thanks for the tip!
Hmm, let's see:
1.) Ordered some stuff from Target.com that was cheaper than buying it in the store. I don't know why but hey, free shipping with the Red Card and one less annoying and depressing trip I have to make.
2.) Missing thrift shopping and garage sales but I haven't *needed* anything so in general, I'm okay.
3.) Mended another garment with a small hole. I do have a sweatshirt hoodie where the sleeves are all stretched out. I don't know how to mend this so if anyone knows how to make the elastic at the cuffs fit again I'm open to suggestions.
4.) Not wearing gloves or masks (unless I'm forced to) so that's one less thing I have to spend money on.
5.) Going to be doing some home repairs and it's really quite nice to be able to qualify for some discounts because you aren't financing and are paying in cash.
You can buy sweatshirt knit cuffs from a fabric store. Just cut off the old cuffs and sew on the new ones. New cuffs are a lot less expensive than a new sweatshirt.
You can also get sewing/knitting elastic, and run it through the sleeves. The elastic will show, though.
Here's an example:
https://www.joann.com/gutermann-thread-elastic-11-yards/prd48328.html
You can cut the cuffs off of socks and use them to replace those on your sweatshirt. Sounds odd, but it works!
I didn't realize that you could freeze cheese. Does the texture change when you thaw it out?
Frugal things: I have been cooking dinner every single night. This is the most that I have ever cooked in my entire life. My son just finished his last final exam for his first year at Ohio State...so, since he has nothing else to do, he will be helping me cook dinner nightly to give him some cooking skills. Last night, it was pancakes, eggs & sausage. Tonight, porcupine meatballs and salad (I can't plan a meal more than one day at a time!) It is really weird trying to plan a meal with whatever food I have in the pantry. No tomato sauce at home so we are using Campbell's tomato soup in the porcupine meatballs. I am learning about substitutions!
A block of cheese does not freeze well. Or, I should say, it doesn't thaw well. Ha.
But if you shred your cheese first, it works out nicely. I have no idea why that makes a difference, but it does!
Good job with all the cooking. You are doing amazing.
I've been freezing grated parmesan for years - no need to thaw just spoons out like normal, grated tasty works great but does need to thaw or cook. The parmesan I freeze in a plastic jar, the grated tasty/mozzarella is best frozen in flat packs slightly loosely. I prefer to grate my own if I have time as commercial grated cheese has additives to stop clumping & I don't find it necessary & prefer to minimise numbers in my food.
Love Zoe's embroidery. My oldest daughter was like Zoe...heaven forbid we forget to take crafting materials on a vacation!
1. My daughter gave me two old dresses to use for making masks. A bonus is that they are pretty prints so I'll have something other than the ones I've made out of some black pillowcases we had lying around.
2. Went through freezer, fridge and pantry BEFORE I made my grocery list. Planned meals around what we had. Only had to buy produce and bread products.
3. Had a lovely takeout lunch provided by a gift card my daughter got from her internship
4. I guess having my daughter living here for the duration is making things frugal! Except the grocery bill is higher cooking for three, three meals a day.
5. I want a second bird feeder and my hubby has some wood to make one. He even said I could just show him a picture of one I liked instead of having to find plans. Cuz he's that creative and handy!
1. My husband has been working from home and needed a little more/better work space. I spent an afternoon doing zero dollar decorating by moving around side tables, storage baskets, lamps, trays, etc. until he had what he needed. The only expense was a new extension cord.
2. He and I built a permanent set of pet stairs for our three dachshunds so that they can safely get on the huge ottoman the lounge on. He used wood and carpet from his fix-it stash and I used the paint used on the exterior house trim, which is tough enough to stand up to pupper feet. Only cost was a set of rubber feet and a router bit.
3. We continue to shelter in place and have close to zero food waste. Some cherry tomatoes got past me this week by getting pushed to the back of the fridge for too long.
4. I had not been to the drugstore or gas station in nearly a month. Bought ¾ of a tank of gas for my subcompact car for $11 and used a $10 off store coupon at the drugstore to get a couple of free items. I'm good for another month!
5. Bought a 2 inch clipper guard that fits our Wahl hair trimmer and gave my son, who has super thick and curly hair, a clipper cut that suits him. It needed some neatening up with scissors, but was a huge improvement over the more than an hour it takes me to cut his hair with scissors. With shipping, the guard was $15, but it paid for itself on the first haircut.
Since our income has been cut by half and will likely be cut in half again soon, we have been EXTREMELY frugal as of late...
1. I found a book my youngest will need to read for summer reading for $2
2. I found a FREE scrabble game on our neighborhood resale page, it even had all the pieces
3. I've been brushing up my bread making skills. I can make a loaf of bread for like $.50 so much cheaper than store bought.
4. I've been making pudding pops for the kids, a box of generic instant pudding is $.50 a box and will make 6 popsicles in the molds we have. Much cheaper than a box of popsicles!
5. I rearranged our loft area and gave it an entirely new look for $0 using things we already had on hand. In addition I sold a rug we didn't need anymore from that loft and made $45.
1. Eating parsley and chives from our garden that successfully overwintered.
2. We are replanting one of our garden beds and I think I have figured out existing plants we can pull from other places in the yard to fill things in without having to go to the nursery.
3. We got back on the making bread at home bandwagon after many years of buying from the store.
4. My kids are excited to eat ‘snacky’ meals made from leftovers and random things found from cleaning out the pantry. Today they got to share a snack-size pack of goldfish crackers which was cause for much excitement. 🙂
5. My seeds circa 2015-2018 are germinating! Probably at a lesser rate than if they were newer, but this will work for me.
Not a frugal thing, but I have fond memories of my Mom reading my sister and me An Old Fashioned Girl many, many years ago.
Good job on the embroidery Sonia.
I'm usually frugal so this fun, love your blog Kristen.
1. When I freeze cheese from a big block that I purchase at Costco, I measure out 2 cups and then add a 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. It doesn't clump together when you thaw it. I put in chili powder and some spices for Mexican cheese for tacos.
2. I've been using up my stash of quilting fabrics and bias tape to make masks for a senior living center, librarians, first responders staying at a facility to quarantine away from their family.
3. Cleaned some drawers and found old panty hose that I cut into "rubber bands". These work great for bundling up a variety of things.
4. Cooking every meal at home, good thing I love to cook, only baking once a week so my clothes will still fit!
5. Waiting to wash blankets so I can hang them out to air dry.
Missed my grandkids but they are safe at home so counting my blessings
My FFT:
1. Petrol for 92 cents/L not sure if this is frugal or just weird...(was 1.70/L not so long ago)
2. Doing way better with meal planning & found some new yum healthy quick recipes & rediscovering some old faves
3. Life-group online such a good time each Wed nite, so grateful for this & no drive (or fattening supper lol)
4. Got some long sleeve tees to wear under work clothes in winter & at checkout was offered membership; got 20% discount
5. Found my shampoo & conditioner comes in 1L bottle nearly half the price per ml - v happy
Again, not exactly a frugal thing, but...
There's a new baby in our extended family! My sister-in-law finally had her second last week. Her first just turned 1 in September, so she has her hands full! Both she and her husband are furloughed (he's a high school drama teacher, she's a preschool aide) and at home, which has been lovely for family time and not great for the budget.
So as I'm cooking dinner this week, I'm doubling everything to make a batch of freezer meals we're going to take over on Saturday for a drive-by welcome for the baby! No-touch drop-off, of course. Yesterday I made mac and cheese with kale and turkey kielbasa, today I'm roasting 2 chickens (from our local farmer!), then using the meat to make plain shredded chicken they can add to other meals, and a batch of enchiladas, plus the broth from the bones.
My daughter is also going to be making her some oatmeal cookies - that's kind of our signature delivery for new mamas. Easy to grab and eat one-handed while nursing!
On a super frugal note the husband was worried about how were were almost out of hand sanitizer and started to worry that we would have to make some- I went downstairs and found my supply! lolol No making! ( our oldest works in a grocery store so we have him keep a bottle on him for repeated use between customers.. the store has not been able to restock this so we refill his bottle daily- otherwise soap is what is best!)
Made a batch of bread last week in a fit of frustrated energy use (kneaded out my frustrations!).. and for some reason my people ignored it! so after a few days it became french toast and NOW they care!
Had a rock ding my windshield pretty severe... Safelight filled it for free under my insurance...It is still an obvious spot but we filled it quick enough it should not spread.. husband is not happy but I refuse to pay $100 for a new windshield.. so it stays
bought more batteries at office max with the 100% money back rewards deal.. so the next time I need office stuff I have a credit built up.
eating up all the leftovers and fresh produce before it goes bad!
Sonia’s embroidery is super cute! Love it ❤️
1. Win/Fail: Since I grocery shop infrequently, I can't wait for the sales anymore and wind up paying a lot more for groceries. I miss that part of being frugal! On the other hand, I have upped my food waste game considerably. Wasting very little these days, so I guess that's frugal.
2. Speaking of food waste . . . . The cat likes to jump in the fridge every time she gets a chance. Last night she jumped in just as I was setting down a key lime pie to cool. Of course she jumped right in the pie! Instead of tossing the whole thing, I cut out the kitty prints. This accounted for maybe 1/4 of the pie. We will have odd-shaped pieces but better than wasting it.
3. Recalculating my budget to take into account the pay cuts we have been told to expect starting in July. Better to make adjustments now so that its not a shock to the system in a couple of months. I am just grateful to still have a job and know how lucky I am that I have not been affected by pay cuts already. Upping my savings in case things get drastically worse and I do, somehow, end up losing my job.
4. Instituted a 72 hour cooling off period before purchasing any more craft projects on line. It's getting a little out of hand. LOL.
5. Used a 30 day free trial of Microsoft 365 so I could work at home until the IT department at my job could set me up with a VPN. Remembered to cancel before I got billed for a whole year.
1) Put one of our cars in "storage" via insurance, as our shelter in place was just extended through June
2) Received a credit for the cancelled soccer season for the kids
3) Juiced lemons & oranges gifted to us from neighbors. Made orange muffins as a thank you gift for the orange tree neighbor
4) Shared potato salad that I'd made with our other neighbor, who gave me a quiche as a thank you. (We've also been walking her dog every day.)
5) Menu planning, avoiding waste, eating all meals at home. That type of fun. I baked oatmeal yesterday, so I'm good to go for breakfasts for a few days
We have cooked so much this month. And I'm proud to say we haven't wasted much like we used to. I'm definitely being alert to what is about to go bad in our food and make sure they get eaten first.
1. Deviated from my new norm of going to the stores every 2 weeks to stop in to our meat store that was having a good sale on chicken and pork. When I got home I immediately separated it all into portions and put them in the freezer.
2. Last year we had a groundhog that helped itself to our garden. We caught one Monday! We borrowed a trap from my dad and used leftover broccoli stems to lure it in. We saw one more, so we'll have to do it again, but hopefully it'll help our garden this year!
3. Lots of leftovers for lunches.
4. I got 4 gallons of milk to last us these 2 weeks but 3 of the 4 had expiration dates a week into the 2 weeks, so I took what was at the end of its life and portioned it out into amounts that I use in baking and put the bags of milk in the freezer.
5. I'm pacing myself with the library books I checked out for myself. It will probably be at least 2.5 more weeks until our library staff is allowed back in the library. I am tempted to buy books and magazines when I'm in stores, so hopefully this will help me fight that temptation another week.
Ruth T, re: your #2: If you're interested, my mom's 1943 Joy of Cooking has a recipe for groundhog. (Just in case times get harder for all of us, I may be cranking this one up myself.)
1. Walked outside to see the view the Blue Angels/ Thunderbirds fly over yesterday. Had a great viewing spot, total social distancing and it was free.
2. Steeping two cups of tea from one tea bag in a Pyrex measuring cup, using less honey for both myself and DD. We are happy with it.
3. Saw the cluttered kitchen view behind me on a telecom. Redecorated by removing things and finding a new home for them and throwing some trash such as expired coupons away. Total cost free.
4. Got some liquid hand soap with my kohls cash earned from birthday gifts that were mailed directly from Kohls. No shipping costs. Given all the hand washing we need the hand soap. No trip to the post office and possible covid exposure. Supporting a store I like.
5. Car insurance is giving a 15% refund as we have been in a stay at home situation for over 6 weeks. I filled up gas before stay at home and have not needed additional gasoline.
1) purchased wine at Walmart for $2.50 typically I spend between $2.99 and $3.99 a bottle.
2) my husband and I have been craving mac and cheese and bought at Costco on sale and saved $3.00.
3) reviewed weekly flyers for Fred Meyer and Safeway to find out which store offered the best sales price for meat. Safeway was the winner and bought ground beef and petite sirloin from them.
4) bought shrimp on sale.
5) bought baking supplies at Walmart since it was cheaper than Fred Meyer.