Frugal Accomplishments

We're in the throes of the holiday season, which means our schedule is busier than ever.  But it also means that there are lots of community meals to enjoy, which means we're spending less on groceries.  We're also really trying to keep our gift spending minimal this year, using what we have around to make meaningful gifts.

Here's what we did this past week:

• Enjoyed shared meals three times; with mom, with friends, and with our parenting class.  We did homemade pizza night with friends, which was super fun.  They brought toppings, we made crust, sauce, and salad.  We watched The Grinch with the kids and really had a great time visiting.
• We made meals at home including lentil sweet potato soup, salad, beef and cheddar pie (date night!), turkey sandwiches, overnight oatmeal, and smoothies.
• We continued with our usual composting and recycling, minimizing our trash.
• Shared bulk purchased ginger with my mom, saving her a little money.
• Took several bags of things to Goodwill before the end of the year to get the tax credit and minimize our stuff accumulation.
• Continued to decorate with existing holiday decor.
• Enjoyed our shared Netflix account with my mom.  We watched The Great British Baking Show on our date night.
• Helping baby feel better with his cold using things we already have at home, such as baby Vick's, humidifier, and nasal aspirator.  
• Made a meal for a family with a new baby using things we had on hand.
• Took advantage of Super Doubles at Harris Teeter to stock up on steel cut oats, free yogurt, discounted coconut milk, and other staples.
• Used things in our pantry and freezer to plan meals.
• Made a gift for one of little man's teachers using a holiday mug we picked up at Goodwill last year, some hot cocoa packets, and a card that he made and signed.  It was sweet, and only cost us about 50 cents.
• Cleaned the house using existing cleaning supplies, including some homemade orange cleaner.
• Purchased a pre-lit artificial tree from Michael's that was on flash sale to use next year.  I had gift cards to use, so it only cost about $15 for the tree that was originally $229!  I called earlier in the day to have them set it aside for me, so that I'd be sure there was one when I got off work.  It will be nice to have this for years to come.
• Took advantage of our Playhouse membership for play time for the boys.  We also had the opportunity for both of them to make a Christmas ornament while we were there, so that was super sweet.
• Continued to look at house plans online, hoping to find one that will work for us if the new house thing comes through.  This was a lot of fun and has been good for us to have a little mini-date some nights after the boys go to bed.
• Had a realtor come out to our house to take a look at it and see if it would sell.  She seems to thing it's better to put it on the market sooner than later, so we'll see if this all comes to fruition.

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