Frugal Accomplishments

This past week was kind of a whirl wind for us, since we were traveling for the weekend.  We still managed to save quite a bit and stick to our frugal ways, though!

• Travel was primarily for school, so fuel expenses will be reimbursed.  We could combine it with a visit to family, so that was nice.
• Radio in the "new" car needed replacing, so Benny ordered one online and he and his dad spent most of the day Saturday replacing it.  Much cheaper than paying for a new one, though we still have to figure out how to program it all.
• Packed our own snacks from home for the road trip, so we didn't pay for snacks or drinks along the way.
• All meals were made at home including banana bars for breakfasts, bagels and cream cheese, egg and cheese sandwiches, Thai beef over rice, and guacamole and hummus with pita chips (I honestly don't remember what else we ate for meals!)
• Continued with our regular composting, recycling, and waste reduction lifestyle.
• Accepted two gallons of milk, crackers, and fruit from the food pantry.  
• Gleaned four cheese sticks, several snack packs, carton of yogurt, and three apples from school cafeteria.
• Reused tea bags a few times for hot tea, saving on the cost of them and stretching them a little further.
• Gratefully accepted some hand-me-downs from a coworker for little man.
• Went to Costco with family, saving by purchasing wholesale and didn't have to purchase a membership.  We bought:  almonds, organic raisins, two large cartons of Greek yogurt, grape tomatoes, wild caught salmon (frozen), maple syrup, honey, and a set of clearance pjs for little man in a size that will fit next winter.
• Enjoyed shared meals with family, saving on cooking and food costs.
• Took a few walks and spent time at a park, getting free exercise and vitamin D!  Nice to have some warm spring weather!
• Continued to breastfeed and pump for baby, compiling a freezer stash of milk to help when I have to be away in a few weeks.  This will also help when the boys have colds for a little immune boost.
• Benny loves watches.  He offered to write a forum post for one company that he really likes in exchange for a new watch and band from them.  Win, win for both!
• Found a headboard we like on Craigslist for $30 (much cheaper than a similar one we found online), so hoping it is still for sale.  We'd like to give it a face lift with white paint and finally get around to really decorating our bedroom.  We love the boys room the most in the house, and our bedroom has taken a back seat.  We've chosen a new wall color and hope to give some of the existing furniture a face lift with a little paint, find some new curtains, and generally spruce up the space.  

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

We've been doing really well with our savings this month, even with the water leak (see the last post).  I've tried to only buy essentials at the grocery store and really work down some of the things that are in the freezer and pantry.  Our new upstairs tenant moved in over the weekend (yay!) and she is a wonderful fit for us so far.

Here's how we saved this past week:

• Cooked all meals at home from scratch including mac and cheese with broccoli, sweet and sour veggie and chicken stir fry with egg rolls, crock pot cabbage and sausage with corn bread, chocolate whole grain waffles and fruit smoothies, veggie pizza, and crock pot Thai beef (a new recipe that needs some tweaking.. not spicy enough or enough veggies for us!).
• Gratefully accepted six avocados, kiwi, melon, mushrooms, grapes, peppers, onions, and two gallons of milk from the food pantry gleaning.  Much of it was processed and frozen, though the fruit is almost gone.  We also accepted a whole bag of Panera bread including loaf bread, cinnamon raisin bread, and at least a dozen bagels.  I still find it amazing that many of the clients would prefer white sandwich bread to this, but it often goes bad on the food pantry shelves, so they have learned to save it for us.
• Gleaned six packs of Goldfish crackers, two packs of Chex mix, one yogurt, one apple, and four cheese sticks from the school cafeteria.
• Brought home leftovers from Greek Day at school including olives, cheeses, pita chips, and hummus.  I will make an olive and sun dried tomato pesto with the olives (tomatoes from CSA last year).  The cheeses were used in mac and cheese and will be for snacking, as will the pita chips and hummus.
• Continued with all regular composting and recycling to reduce waste.

• Continued with regular laundry activities including cold water wash, line drying, and cloth diaper use.  We're glad the weather is warm enough some days to hang things on the clothes line again.
• Did our usual cloth napkin and rag use to cut down on paper items.
• Benny had put in his notice at work, so he worked his last shift on Saturday.  Before he left, we used his employee discount to purchase all the paint and stain we will need for the near future.  He is so grateful to not have to work every Saturday now, and we're glad to have a little more flexibility for family time.
• We made a birthday gift for little man to take to a birthday party, our usual tie dyed t-shirt.  We included some small things of play dough we had around and some free sticker sheets from the doctor's office.  Little man decorated a repurposed store bag as a gift bag with paper punches and colorings.  The little boy was thrilled with the gift (especially the Ninja Turtles stickers!).
• Made a bulk spice order from San Francisco Herb Company, combining our order with a friend's to save on shipping a bit.  It will be so nice to have some of these things again!
• Made homemade vanilla using vanilla beans from the freezer and vodka we had purchased earlier for this use (we find that making one bottle will get us through about a year).  It is MUCH cheaper to make your own than to purchase the tiny bottles in the store, and so easy to make.
• Began using chives from the garden and noticed a little mint coming up.  I will begin using up the mint in the freezer for tea so that we have room for more as this season's crop grows.
• Carpooled to work three days, saving on gas.
• Used our medical savings card to pay for a dentist visit and cleaning.  Three of us got our teeth cleaned, one had x-rays, so it was nice to be able to use the rest of this card (it resets in April).

What did you do to live and save green last week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

We did all of our usual frugal things last week.  The highlight was probably our frugal date, which was the first in over a month, and so much fun.  (More on the date later.)  It is wonderful that my mom is close and will keep little man overnight once a month for us.

We also saved a lot by accepting gleaned items from the food pantry.  I was also able to share some of this with friends, which was really nice.  So, without further ado, here are last week's accomplishments:

• Participated in free professional development two days.  Lunch was not provided, so I took my own instead of going out.  I also took my own drink the second day, since drinks were not provided either.  The sessions were great, though, so it made up for the lack of food! :)  The workshop was local, and actually closer than driving to school, so I saved on gas too.
• Cooked all meals at home including banana nut muffins, overnight oatmeal, pasta bake with ricotta cheese and veggies, homemade pizza with pesto, veggies, and pepperoni.
• Accepted another box of bananas from the food pantry (we freeze them for baking and smoothies), as well as a gallon of milk, yogurt, partial carton of strawberries, avocado, three packages of portobello mushrooms, and bagels.  
• Gleaned three apples, three cheese sticks, and two cartons of yogurt from the school cafeteria.
• Made homemade salad dressing with the leftover marinade from a jar of artichoke hearts and repurposed a glass bottle for storage.
• Continued with all regular composting, cold water laundry, and cloth diaper use.
• Made homemade shower spray cleaner with dish soap and vinegar.  Used a repurposed spray bottle for the mix.
• Used existing supplies to make a birthday banner for baby boy!  Can't believe he's turning one this week!
• Enjoyed a date with Benny on Saturday.  Mom kept little man so that we could go out early.  We stopped by thrift stores before meeting friends for dinner.  We used a coupon for dinner, then went home for dessert and a Netflix show.  
• We found an $8 bread machine to replace our old one (the mechanical housing had rusted and wasn't working reliably anymore).  It seems to be a good brand, and for $8, it is cheaper than ordering one pizza out would cost, so it will have paid for itself by the time Friday night pizza night rolls around.  Benny and I each also found a clothing item, which was a nice little treat.
• Not so frugally, we had a water line burst in the apartment downstairs.  Thankfully, it was over the bathroom, so there's no major damage to fixtures, etc.  The insulation and drywall has to be replaced,   Thankfully, Benny knows some contractors, and got things rolling quickly for replacement.  Our tenant has been super gracious about things.  We are grateful to have enough in savings to cover the repairs.
• Enjoyed a shared meal with Mom last night.  It was pretty enough for a short walk with the boys too, which was some nice exercise.  
• Continued to exercise with You Tube videos, saving money on gym or subscription fees.
• Enjoyed some time in the garden seeing hellebores and daffodils coming up.  The forsythia that we split last year are starting to bloom now, which is fun.  I wish things weren't coming so early, but that is the way it goes.  I will just be grateful for a longer growing season this year.

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  What are you grateful for?

March Menu Plan

This month will again be about using what we have.  We're still working on using up things we have in the pantry and freezer to make space for our CSA goodies when the shares start coming in late May.  Here's the plan:

Breakfasts: 

• egg and cheese sandwiches
• breakfast burritos with onions, peppers, and mushrooms (frozen)
• banana-pecan-chocolate chip muffins
• overnight steel cut oatmeal with raisins, flax, and pecans (crock pot meal)
• overnight french toast casserole with freezer blueberries, pomegranate seeds, cream cheese, and pecans
• smoothies and cinnamon toast
• bagels and cream cheese
• baked oatmeal

Lunches:

• leftovers
• egg salad sandwiches
• turkey salad wraps
• yogurt parfaits with freezer fruit

Dinners:  

• broccoli and cheddar quiche (with freezer pie crust and broccoli)
• crock pot Thai beef
• crock pot black bean chili with corn bread
• roasted turkey with herb butter (both in freezer), crock pot roasted veggies (sweet potato, onion, carrot, and beet)
• homemade pizza x 4 (pesto, cheese, freezer veggies, artichoke hearts, olives, turkey, pepperoni toppings, depending on night)
• winter squash waffles with smoothies and sausage or eggs
• crock pot loaded mac and cheese with broccoli and keilbasa
• crock pot tomato, bean, and green soup with sausage (using freezer greens, sausage, canned tomatoes, and dried beans)
• beans and rice with fixins (Greek yogurt, salsa, and frozen guacamole) and corn bread
• tacos with leftover turkey, black beans, and fixins on tortillas or hard shells (both in pantry/freezer)
• turkey salad sandwiches with fruit
• lentil sloppy joes with roasted broccoli or oven fries

Batch Cooking:

• homemade veggie stock using frozen veggie scraps
• homemade turkey stock using turkey carcass from roasting
• banana nut muffins or banana oatmeal bars

Snacks:

• smoothies with frozen fruit
• popcorn with garlic salt or cinnamon sugar
• fresh fruit
• homemade trail mix with raisins, nuts, and dry cereal 
• cheese and crackers
• yogurt

How are you living and saving green in the kitchen this month?  I'd love to hear from you!