Last Week's Frugal Accomplishments

Frugal living has become a lifestyle for us, often with things we don't even think about anymore.  Here's a list of last week's frugal accomplishments, most of which are second nature now.

Miscellaneous:

We didn't run the heat or AC.  We put an extra blanket on the bed when we needed it at night.

Our tenant paid her rent for her upstairs room on time and cleaned her space prior to leaving for fall break, so we didn't need to clean upstairs.

I found a few clothes in storage that little man can still wear from last year.  He poked a hole in the toe of some pjs that I need to add to the mending pile, along with a pair of jeans he's worn a hole in the knee that need a patch.

I carpooled to work a few days last week to save on gas.  This also meant I could plan with her during the drive, saving on time too.

We used some evening time to work on projects downstairs so we didn't have to pay someone else to do these small tasks (cleaning, installing door hardware, spackling, etc.).  We're in the last 5% stretch to getting it done, so we should be renting that space out by the end of the month (know anyone interested?)!

We took walks for after dinner entertainment, when the weather allowed.  When it didn't, we worked downstairs or played upstairs with the little one.

Laundry:  

We washed our cloth diapers and wipes and hung them to dry on the drying rack or outside on the line.

We washed all other laundry in one large load in cold water and hung it to dry inside or on the line.

Groceries and Cooking:

We prepared all meals at home and took advantage of three community meals at church.

Sunday dinner was with my mom, as usual, so she paid for most things, and I cooked while she played with the little one.

We ate mostly meatless meals, except for BLTs one night, which were made with all local ingredients.

We made bread in the bread machine.

Breakfast for the week was 13 bagels from Panera, which we purchased with a gift card we had.  We bought cream cheese at the grocery store for cheaper than we could have included it as a "bagel pack."

We cooked acorn squash in the crockpot and processed it for the freezer (just mashed it up and put it in a freezer bag).  We used this to make "pumpkin" muffins Sunday morning.

It was super doubles at Harris Teeter, so we participated and purchased some things for free with coupons and some discounted diapers and wipes for a baby shower gift.  We got some peanut butter for 50 cents, which was a steal, and a boon to our pantry since little man is loving peanut butter right now.  We spent about $30 and saved over $50, so pretty good considering the bulk of that was disposable diapers and wipes we don't usually buy.

We cooked chick peas in the crock pot for a soup and a warm squash salad.

We "gleaned" extra apples from the food pantry at church, which got too many for clients to take.

I harvested a few herbs from the garden to season meals.

I planned out our bulk spice/baking order for next month, which will save us on these items in the long run.  We order from San Francisco Herb Company, and have been pleased with the quality.  We plan to order more sesame seeds, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, loose tea, and a few herbs.

We purchased some vodka to make vanilla for Christmas presents.  We'll use vanilla beans we purchase in bulk to make this.  I'll make vanilla sugar with the old beans from our vanilla jar.

I picked up our last week of CSA share on the way home from work (saving on gas and another trip out).  We were able to process some of this for the freezer to use later this winter when we don't have these fresh veggies coming in on a weekly basis.

We had free eggs from a friend, which we brought them some winter squash in trade for.  We used the eggs in baking and for egg and cheese breakfast bagel sandwiches.

What about you?  What did you do last week to meet your goals?  I'd love to hear from you!