Five Frugal Things for the third week in February
Well, really it's mostly just from the past two days, since we're not very far into the week!
1. I cut up stale bread for future crouton-making.
I had a few homemade whole wheat rolls that were getting a bit dry, so I cubed them and stuck 'em in the freezer for the next time I need garlic croutons.
2. I organized my fridge and took inventory.
Knowing what's in my fridge is about 95% of the battle in avoiding food waste. If I regularly inventory the contents, I am way, way more likely to use those contents.
Case in point: after organizing the fridge, I cut up a cucumber that I found, prepared some mushrooms for sauteeing, and cut carrots up into sticks. It's all stuff I'd have forgotten about otherwise.
3. I froze spinach that was getting to be elderly.
It wasn't bad yet, but its shelf-life was running out. So, I put it into a (re-used) plastic bag and froze it. For smoothies, it doesn't matter one iota if the spinach has been frozen or not.
And since I make green smoothies every weekday morning, there's a 0% chance I'll let this spinach get freezer burnt.
4. I used a CVS $5 coupon.
I used a promotional offer ($10 off of $15) to try their curbside pickup service, and shortly thereafter, they sent me a survey which I filled out to get the $5 coupon.
Incidentally, I've recently discovered that CVS will send electronic receipts (yay for less paper clutter) and also that you can load coupons and such directly onto your CVS card instead of having to print them.
So when I see an email offer come thru, I just click thru and add it to my card in case I end up needing to stop at CVS. So convenient!
(I am not affiliated with CVS.)
5. I....
...used some frozen homemade bread crumbs to top a sauteed mushroom recipe, filled up with gas at Costco while I was close by, dropped some men's clothes at the shelter when I was nearby, and dropped off Goodwill donations when I was already going to be in the area.
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Readers, the floor is yours!
I think all my major hits happened yesterday... lol
I was off work and the husband is traveling this week.. so my plan was to BATCH COOK and organize the freezers!
1) defrosted and cooked a whole chicken to use in a casserole filling...
2) turned chicken bones into a thick flavorful stock! ( using the rest of the bag of veggies parts!) -score!
3) Scored 10.5 lbs of ground beef JUST marked down onto managers special( ran to the store while the chicken was roasting at 830am!
4) found the bag of bread crusts and random buns I had save JUST because I saw it on The Frugal Girl and pulled out the food processor! half a gallon bag of fresh breadcrumbs later..
5) used said bread crumbs to make a almost 50 meatballs and flash froze them for future meals...
6) used more breadcrumbs to make a meatloaf out of meat deal and fed that to kids instead of finding an excuse to go out to dinner
7) Made a few mason jars of smoothie and tossed into the freezer- used the last of a bag of blueberries, the last of the frozen spinach, some frozen peaches, a frozen banana, a fresh banana and a few cara care oranges on the counter.. Looks ugly tastes healthy!
8) packed my lunch for work( for Wednesday)- using the last of the baked potato from the fridge, the piece of chicken breast I held back from my casserole making, the last of the bottle of buffalo sauce and some cheddar.. ( now I won't be lazy and call Jimmy John$)
1. Having bought cream for 75% off and not using it up. I looked for something to make that was not sweet, my go to. Decided on creamy scalloped potatoes made with some Christmas ham from the freezer. So good and different since I usually use skim milk.
2. Last year bought a car for cash. Today I will be paying myself off.
3. Since the first of the year I've been saving $1 a day. Along with a small raise, it has ended up being a easy $50 each month. This money along with coupons and other small savings is what I use for birthdays and Christmas.
4. Have been watching new movies from the library. They take a long time to get here but the cost is right. Plus some movies I'm happy not to have spent money on.
5. Was going to buy a new wall clock for my work room. Then remembered I have one hanging in another room that is really not needed.
Made a delicious Greek rice dish yesterday and had 1/2 container of broth I had thawed for it left over. This morning I steamed some broccoli and carrots with that broth and have broccoli soup now. I can add a little cheese/milk and it's good for a few meals plus I still have rice left over. I have really been rocking it in the kitchen!
So far this week I:
1. Flipped my couch over to look at "broken" springs and discovered they had just popped out of their brackets. I was able to push them back in place with my son's help. Now I don't need a new couch!!!
2. Cooked meals ahead so packing lunches is easier and dinner prep takes little time. We have two nights of activities (rabbit hopping, karate, and 4-H) this week which always makes those evening meals difficult.
3. Discovered a neighborhood "Freestore" where folks drop off unwanted things and can take home anything they need. People even drop off good (there is a fridge). I've gotten rid of some stuff and was able to find a "new to me" clock for my office, some canned soup, and some books.
Yay for 4-H! I grew up in 4H (it's where I met my husband!) and we are still very active in our county fair. What kinds of projects do you children take?
How sweet!!
Ack! I need to clean out my fridge and freezer--it's my least-favorite chore. Also, we haven't eaten in a restaurant in almost 2 months! Woot! And we're not even whining about it! Woot! Woot! 🙂
~Jenny
http://www.introvertsguidetosobriety.com/
Two months is fantastic! Kudos to you.
I'm in the thick of my last two chapters of my dissertation and revisions for the next few weeks, so I'm giving myself a bit of a pass on nights (like last night) where my packed food was NOT cutting it: I ordered food to my office while I was working on my dissertation. I think I packed enough food for today, though!
Also, I dropped my car off at a local shop for a tire rotation/oil change. Even though I'm spending money, keeping up on the maintenance helps me not have to replace the tires early ($$ ouch $$).
I'm struggling a bit with my entertainment expenses since I'm new to town and don't have a solid group of friends that I can propose a potluck instead of meeting at a restaurant. If I can work on keeping my other spending down, I can manage the increased entertainment expenses for the time being and still hit my goals.
In the last state I lived in, we were welcomed and embraced by a small group of people who went out to lunch every Sunday after church. My husband and I rarely ate out and didn't have that kind of eating out cost built into our budget, but we made it work because at that stage of life it was worth the investment. We are in a different state now and a different stage of life which puts us back in a rarely eating out stage, but we don't regret the extra money we spent towards time building those friendships.
Incredibly beautiful weather here which has made getting outside tasks done much easier!
1. I used free turquoise paint from a garage sale to paint a two shelf cabinet to hold towels in the upstairs bathroom. It now matches the picked from the curb wooden ladder we painted originally brown for VBS that now displays white towels and brightly colored hand towels in the same bathroom.
2. We also have been enjoying newly released videos from the library. What a bargain with home popped popcorn!
3. I'm still organizing what is in the garage from our move using the sturdiest packing boxes and packing material which were all free originally. I did pass along some of the boxes to someone who was moving.
4. I helped decorate for our church sweetheart banquet for 220 people at a local venue. Using borrowed wedding decorations, we spent a whopping 25.00 on votives and glass stones shaped like hearts to decorate all 23 tables. We're blessed to have a professional event coordinator who is currently at home with small ones who coordinates this event and she was thrilled with the setup.
5. As we continue to settle into this new house, I keep sorting through what we already own to make it home. My garage sale pile is growing but I don't want to buy storage or decorating items when I have things I already love. If I can't use them here, then into the garage sale pile they go!
I can't believe I have 5 Frugal Things and we are only at Wednesday!
1. Used my new dehydrator (best birthday gift ever!) to dehydrate some strawberries that weren't going to get used up.
2. I have finally implemented a formal recycling area so that my family knows what to recycle and where. Our county's solid waste district FINALLY developed a robust recycling program and a local area for drop off which is so so so great.
3. I cleaned out our refrigerator on Sunday, made sure to "shop" our pantry, so I only spend $30 on groceries for the week.
4. I called around to re-shop insurance rates for our vehicles. While we are still getting the best bang for our buck, I think it's a frugal win.
5. We used some Christmas money to purchase a Roku and we love love love it. We won't use it to replace our cable though because our cable is built in to our city bill along with water, electric, sewer, trash, and wi-fi (our city has a co-op).
1. I walked my daughter to daycare, then took public transportation to go to work.
2. Packed a lunch for work.
3. Used up all the leftovers in my fridge for dinner last night.
4. Listed some books and kid stuff on a local sale/trade group.
5. Bought second-hand clothes for my daugther through same group.
6. Traded my moisturiser for plain coconut oïl.
7. At the beginning of the month, signed up for "Alcohol-free February". Even if I don't drink that much, giving up alcohol for a little while does make a difference on the budget.
1. We cooked pancakes (when I would rather have eaten out). Then went to the park for a free family fun night.
2. Borrowed a movie from the library.
3. We are heating our house this winter with our wood stove. All of our wood is free (other than the labor of harvesting).
4. I used up odds and ends in the fridge to make dinner last night.
5. Our family car died before we were ready to replace it. Instead of taking out an expensive loan we bought a small car with cash to drive while we save. Frugal on gas and on interest payments!
I wish I knew someone that used wood for heat. We have just had three very large trees removed (I am extremely sad about the loss of my beautiful maple that provided a green canopy for iur back porch) and the yard is filled with huge piles of branches and trunks.
Haha, I also hoard bread for croutons. 🙂 I also like to blend them up, toast them, and make bread crumbs. Great for meatloaf!
This week:
1. My birthday is this weekend so I signed up for several birthday freebies. I plan to drive around and munch on some free goodies like donuts and ice cream this weekend. 🙂
2. I'm eating leftover soup for lunch that would otherwise have been thrown away.
3. Mr. Picky Pincher ate a sandwich for dinner last night--on his homemade sourdough bread. This stuff goes for $3 at the store and he made it for pennies. Woop woop!
4. I have a small collection of tin cans that I need to craft with. I plan to paint these for a toy bowling pin set for our nephew.
5. I used my homemade room spray to keep our couches smelling fresh. I love coming home to a clean-smelling house.
Happy birthday to you!
It's been a fairly quiet week at our house. I came down with a sinus infections and bronchitis so I didn't get out as much as usual. I was home from work 2 days last week, but I still managed to be a little frugal.
1. My husband thought he heard the brakes dragging on my car so I made an appointment to have them checked and have the tires rotated while there. My husband took the car in and the brakes where fine. They rotated the tires FREE of charge.
2. I made an appointment to get my hair cut. It was after this I received a $3 coupon off my haircut.
3. When our local K-Mart decided to close and began liquidating their inventory, I bought my grandson a battery operated car for his birthday. With my VIP rewards, their price reduction, and the overall discounts they were offering, I got the car for about $75.. His birthday was this past week.
4. My youngest grandson turned 1 today. His birthday celebration will be Saturday afternoon. Since I did not get a blanket made for him when he was born, I have been working on it for his birthday. I already had all of the supplies so it is actually costing me $0.
5. Saturday afternoon I went to my cell carrier to take care of several different items and was able to come out saving $10 off of my monthly phone bill.
Even though I was sick, it was a good frugal week.
I haven't done one of these in awhile...let's see...
1. Potentially having furnace issues, so I've asked my dad to look at it before calling a repair company. He thinks he may be able to help and save me the money. Dads are the best!
2. My boyfriend and I have a standing Wednesday night date night. We're making tacos at home and watching a favorite TV show.
3. Cleaned out the refrigerator. While I had to throw out a few things, it gave me a chance to meal plan to use up several items.
4. I made homemade hummus this week and have been thoroughly enjoying it with veggies in my lunch.
5. Some coworkers wanted to go out to lunch yesterday, so I ordered a reasonably priced item and a glass of water. It also filled me up so I had a very small dinner.
1. Not exactly on the menu planning wagon but did cook several meals in advance, both for brown-bag lunch and at-home dinners.
2. The fridge of the people who keep some of my banana haul broke, so I have over a gallon of defrosted bananas. Made some smoothies, smoothie pops, and banana bread. I may compost some because ...
3. ... there is a coupon+sale opportunity on shrimp. I love me some shrimp - it's tasty, nutritious, and quick. I'd rather fill my freezer with shrimp than bananas, especially given that on-sale shrimp are hard to find but overstocked bananas are not.
4. Continue to compost, coupon, brown-bag, wear the clothes I have, and double-check the insurance statements.
5. Considering growing spinach, lettuce, and cilantro this year. I like the idea of gardening but not the actuality.
Frugal Fail: I'm hiring someone to fix a bunch of dry-wall problems in the house instead of doing it myself. He's coming to fix several things that are outside my competence so I'm having him do the other spots as well while he's here. As some of these spots have been around for 5+ years, I have come to the conclusion that I'm not doing these myself. On the plus side, I batched the work so the cost will be less.
I think that sounds like a wise expenditure. Sometimes, you just have to come to terms with the fact that you are not going to get around to something!
(spoken from personal experience.)
Sadly, I have this same issue. I have the materials and have been looking at them for 3 years. I see some internet research and you tube in my future. My dare devil side is coming out.
1. Made baby food for my son.
2. Bought a pineapple and cut it up on the SAME DAY! This is a big deal for me. It was ripe. I didn't procrastinate and let it go bad. I'm quite pleased about this.
3. Used garlic to help get rid of a cold. It was my friend's suggestion and seems to be working! Much cheaper than buying Cold-eeze or something like that.
4. Made dinner last night even though I felt kind of terrible. My husband offered to pick something up, but thankfully I had an easy meal planned.
5. Reused egg cartons and the bottom half of milk jugs to start my tomato and pepper plants for this year's garden.
I hate it when I let a pineapple get too ripe. So, yay for you!
Should I be starting seeds for peppers and tomatoes already??? I've barely got my spring garden going!
It depends what on your growing zone and when your last chance of frost will be. Tomatoes and peppers like warm soil:)
I'm also starting a little early intentionally. I had a bunch of crops start tanking at one point last year and ended up in a mad dash to get enough pepper plants that were of decent size by the time they need to go out. So I'm just trying to make sure I have enough solid healthy ones for when the time comes.
Not only do I have 5 frugal things, but it was during a cross-country trip to visit our daughter and son-in-law.
1. Brought our own snacks for the plane ride, and empty bottles that we filled up in the drinking fountain at the airports. Even pointed out the fountains to fellow frugal travelers who wanted water but didn't want to pay airport prices for bottled water.
2. Meal planned with my daughter on arrival and bought groceries at the base commissary - cheap! - and limited eating out to twice for the visit, which leads to...
3. Brought home much of what we had budgeted for spending money, which will pay for half of the car rental.
4. Walked almost everywhere, so gas for a week in the rental, including a two-hour drive each way from the airport to their house, cost $18.
5. Found a rocking chair with ottoman in excellent shape (but no cushion) at Goodwill for $15, but got to the register and realized it was 1/2 off day! So a rocker for $8, and my husband did new cushions and recovered the ottoman using a sheet of foam that the kids already had. Although frugal fail, we did let the guys go to the store to pick out the fabric, and they didn't choose a very frugal option. 🙁
Not sure it will ultimately be a frugal trip, though. We spent virtually no money on *this* trip because my daughter was sick almost the whole time...with that 9-month "flu"!! So we have to see how frugal we can stay with the first grandbaby on the way!
Congrats on the coming grandbaby! Yay!
Congrats on the baby!
Yay for babies!
1. I made homemade garlic bread using your recipe and I thank you for that
2. We borrowed books and movies from the library
3. Our neighbor gave each one of us (my girls and I) a sandwich ice cream
4. I made my husband his lunch to bring to his work
5. My daughter and I ate leftover goulash for lunch today
1. Went out to eat Sunday for FREE!. My husband won a bonus at work and they picked up the tab(set amount). I love his company for so many reasons. Brought home lots of leftovers.
2. Monday took a shift(don't usually work Mondays)because they needed extra help with the holiday.
3. Brought my lunch with me to work, husband and kids ate leftovers at home.
4. Helped out at church event Tuesday with the kids. Its $25 a person but volunteers are free.
5. At the end of the event they asked everyone that stayed to clean up if anyone wanted leftovers? Yes please. I came home with marinated beef tips, garlic mashed potatoes, rice and beans, coleslaw, a dozen rolls with a container of butter, half gallon of milk and a container of half and half. So many people said no when asked. I would hate to see it go in the garbage. One lady took a whole tray of pasta home. Kids are off of school this week so they can eat leftovers.
Free food ROCKS -- restaurant, leftovers -- it's all good!
Today isn't going to be too frugal, because we had lunch out for an employee who is leaving our company, and tonight, I already had planned to attend a meal out with a small group, although part of that cost will be covered by a gift certificate. I normally go weeks without eating out, now twice in one day. I chose the lunch special today, so my meal was $8.79 plus tip. I'll choose a low cost meal tonight, too.
Here's where I was frugal, though:
1. I went to Goodwill and found a casual outfit for around the house that's decent enough to run to the store in -- I had zero of those left -- and a nice outfit, that doesn't involve hose and heels, for things like showers, church-sponsored events or casual parties. I was down to one of those. I also found some Lands' End shoes that I think will work for my upcoming mission trip. If not, I can still use them at home, as my housework/yardwork shoes have bitten the dust and are now past anymore repair.
2. I brought an error on a bill for a food delivery to the attention of the farmer, and he gave me a credit on my next bill. I always hate to embarrass someone over an error, but I don't want to give my money away, either. I made sure to be nice and polite.
3. I refilled my pet's prescription at Walmart again. $10 for 3 months' worth sure beats $30 a month at the vet's.
4. Trimmed my spaniel's long hair myself. Trimming makes it so much easier to keep her from knotting and tangling. She looks pretty cute with her hair cut, too, like a puppy.
5. Cooked a birthday dinner for my husband. He loves shrimp, and we can eat it for a whole lot less at home. It's so easy to cook, too. The local grocery store had a BOGO on one pound bags of wild caught, head-off, shelled, frozen shrimp, so I got two and put one in the freezer.
This sounds like a very fun day, though! Sometimes it's a nice break to eat out twice in a day.
1. I went to the large prom store and mentioned we had been buying from there for 9 years. I rented my son's tuxedo for 100.00. Most of his friends paid 200.00 plus...... enough to make me cry.
2. Purchased a GROUPON for bowling. 2 hours for 6 people includes soft drinks. Not bad for 3 couples. 40.00.
3. bought 300.00 textbook for 13.00 for next semester.
4. made note to register son for college on 21st next month to waive registration fee.
5. I have decided to stop using debit cards and use a cash envelope system. Will teach son this method since he recently discovered how much he spent by swiping.
6. taking daughters at college requested milk and cereal . BOGO and Aldi.
7. having tires rotated at Sam's tomorrow. Will treat myself to 2.50 pizza deal at food court.
8. Bought nice king size sheet set at thrift store for 5.00. They are Costco brand, clean and the fitted sheet is not stretched out. College daughters roomie has a Great Dane. While pet sitting, I let him help me make the bed. We accidentally ripped sheet. Those things are expensive.
1.I have been well wearing my shoes..no new purchases for some time..But after tossing multiple of worn out basic professional dress shoes... In need ( not want!) of new heels for work. Found a great deal at DSW
....typical $100 shoes...
Landed two pairs for a total of $84...whoo hoo!
2.Other than shoes..shopping from my closet. It is amazing what I can create from my separates.I use Pintrest regularly for inspiration outfits.
3. We have not been home much, but cooking dinner every night with the exception of a lovely dinner out Saturday night. Do not bother to be impressed dinners have been very simple.
4. Working very hard . Investing time and commitment to the job will always pay off.
5. Frugal Fail....could have done significantly better with food waste..tossed some baked chicken, a serving of a pasta dis hand some jasmine rice...ugghh..just hate that....I recommit to reducing food waste
....starting now.
I love these posts--it's great to hear about everyone's actions. I'm not sure I have five today.
1) I rode my bike to a dental appointment this morning--around 4.5 miles. Luckily it wasn't raining, and I arrived at work feeling energized as well as minty fresh.
2) My mom took me out to lunch today (so nice of her!) and I managed to save half my pesto omelette and home fries to eat for lunch tomorrow.
3) Working on slowly switching from coffee to tea.
4) This is a little sad, but I put my dog on a diet. The vet thought he was losing his waist and could stand to lose a few pounds.
5) I do have five! Speaking of my sweet chocolate lab, I filed his nails. I'm too frugal to have them professionally cut, but when I tried to cut them myself I accidentally cut into the quick--it was traumatic for both of us. So now we use an emery board every few months.
Wow, I enjoyed reading about your frugal tips! I am also trying to taper off of coffee into tea but the headaches are downright awful!
I also bought trimmers for my Shihtzu who kept getting traumatized at various groomers. It takes me all day but it gets done and she looks okay... I will get better.
I really like the emery board idea, I don't know why I never thought of that.:) I feel ya we both don't like to trim her nails. I was about to pay the groomer to trim her nails then use the emery board to file as the weeks go by.
Here's my five:
1) Went to dinner with friends and ordered soup and sushi. A waitress said there wasn't any sushi available at this restaurant (it's a chain). So all I had was salty soup. 🙁 I got home and emailed the chain. Corporate responded that morning and spoke to the owner about my issue. They're sending me a free"it's on us!" card. I'm still in the mood for sushi.........
2) Groupon sent me a offer for Target- get a $10 gift card for $5.
3) We don't get out much. But Groupon sent me a offer for tickets to a local train show. Basically, half price tickets. AND all Boy Scouts in uniform get in free! Our youngest is a Scout so we're all going for a total of $12 !! I hope we win a door prize!!
4) Our oldest got scholarships at college. A total of $12,000. COOL.
5) My electric toothbrush finally gave up. I really didn't want to buy a new one for $65. I was going to go online to check out prices until DH told me that we had an extra one in the house. Sure enough, he was right!
Yea for door prizes!! I hope you win one too!!
Congrats for your oldest child!
I am working diligently to keep my costs down.
1. I went to Costco and spent around $20 (AUS). Found out they are going to build a Costco closer to my home. I am pleased.
2. Found a pharmacy that will save me $7 a prescription. Each prescription last three days. This saving soon adds up.
3. Because of the diet my dietitian put me on I am having to make more stocks etc than before. I managed to gain a price reduction at the end of the days trade and saved about $5.
4. Eating more from home due to the pesky diet I am on.
5. Shopping for Kindle freebies can sometimes save me a lot. There is treasure in amongst the trash. I think I have bought four novels in the last three years.
Well done for us, we bought foods and snacks for a birthday next weekend, and managed not to "try some" in the past fortnight. I bet we'll enjoy them all the more on the party day.
Otherwise only the usual cook dinner, eat leftover lunches etc. Plus took an inventory of the pantry to see what we need to buy in the next months or so, so we can look out for discounts and special offers.
Ooh - and bought some new towels with a coupon 30% off which is not bad.
The week was more frugal than I thought actually! 🙂
1. Hung 3 loads of laundry on line on a lovely windy day. Love the smell on sheets!
2. Donated tea bags I can no longer drink after cleaning ONE shelf. It's a start towards decluttering.
3. Made a quick stir fry with leftover shrimp, rice, and veggies lurking in fridge, along with one bag of frozen stir fry veggies. Improvised sauce.
4. Made soup out of leftover corn beef and cabbage/carrots. Also an improvised task. Not as good as the one I made last year after St. Patrick's Day. 🙁
5. Mended the hole in shirt made by the dry cleaners when they failed to unbutton collar first. Sewed button back on. Put button back on a pair of slacks. Yay, 2 things off that pile!
6. Made a couple of mini boxes (ornaments) out of my stash of Christmas cards to give back to the senders. They are too cute.
Thank you for the tea! You can declutter tea my way any time. 😉
1. Sold an item on ebay
2. Going to physical therapy. It costs $$ but far less than surgery, and its working. 🙂
3. Having friends over for DH bday. Making the main dish and signature drink, others are byob and bringing a side dish.
4. Our workplace has a "free pile" in one of the workrooms. Got rid of 6 (why do I have 6?) hair dryer diffusers and some matcha tea, got a few magazines to read and return.
5.Used wrinkly cherry tomatoes in a pasta dish. So good.
I appreciate how friendly and positive you are, Kristen! This blog has an encouraging vibe.
Aww, thank you for your encouragement. I really, really appreciate it!
Deep sighs from SoCal -- too many fails to list. But managed to eke out a couple of wins:
1. Library books returned on time after several months to finish one mammoth epic.
2. Credit card paid in full on time by phone avoiding any interest charges.
3. Breakfasts during the week used up last of free cereal, milk, free grapefruits, eggs and last of Aldi's pumpernickel bread. Also last of some delicious pineapple jelly which must be replaced.
4. Forced self to make lunches most work days (salads) except for one Del Taco slip. As for dinners, ahem, husband out of town so I visited a pal over the long weekend and celebrated a positive review at work with dinner and brunch out. Also brunch with fabulous daughter. Yeah, not my finest week . . .
5. . . but the upside is: very little spent on groceries -- under 20 dollars. Also, very little waste. Okay, reaching here but will make Frugalwoods robo-meal for dinner tonight and subsequent work lunches using Aldi's super cheap' shrooms, canned beans and last of bargain-bin barley. Which sounds like an Edward Lear character.
6. Bought seriously reduced Valentine's chocolate for work and will use my last 62 cent quick bread mix to bring for treats tomorrow. Picked up reduced white choc. chips to mix in and use for icing if I do manage to turn them into biscotti per the side-of-the-box.
You all rock -- and inspire!
1. Made rice pudding with leftover rice.
2. Made a bunch of thank you cards from paper I already had on hand and a couple of rubber stamps.
3. We're sending gifts back to the US with our in-laws. They'll mail them from there so we don't have to pay for international shipping (we live in Africa).
4. Watered our plants with used water, like the water I rinse vegetables with.
5. Made a casserole with leftover bread.
These posts are some of my favorites, plus reading what others do.
You're too young to remember The Tightwad Gazette, but may have seen it in book form. I read it and followed her ideas religiously when I was a stay-at-home mom to 3 under 4. One of the things she said that I will always remember is that being frugal is almost always (though not ALWAYS) good for the environment and healthier.
Reusing, recycling, walking instead of driving, line drying laundry...
My 5 things this past week:
1-made croutons from stale bread
2-while the oven was on, decided to make granola
3-the bread that was actually going a little moldy will go to the chickens
4-instead of going out to eat on Saturday, we are having a potluck with neighbors and playing games here
5-bought an antenna for the guest room TV so we can stop paying the ransom to the cable company each month (it only gets used about once a month)
Keep up the ideas and keep being an inspiration!
Yep, I have the book that compiles all the issues into one big volume!