Monday, January 22, 2018

Frugal Accomplishments

This past week was a really frugal week.  We were able to glean a lot from the food pantry (it was closed due to snow and poor road conditions) and Benny ate lunch there at the soup kitchen on Thursday.  We made a short road trip to do belated Christmas and birthday celebration with my in-laws, which cost a little in terms of gas, but was overall a good visit.  We also made a stop at Aldi on the way home, which was a nice break for the boys, and a good place for us to restock on some things we needed.


  • Cooked all meals at home including berry and white chocolate waffles, smoothies, roasted veggies, chicken sausages, turkey bacon, steamed salmon and salads, Thai chicken soup, and pizza we had in the freezer.  Several meals were leftovers.
  • Took some veggies and soup with us to in-laws so that I'd have something I could eat (a lot of their meals are protein and carb heavy with few veggies).
  • Continued with composting and recycling.  Saved veggie scraps for the chickens as well.
  • Collected about 18 eggs from the chickens the two days we watched them.  Production was likely down since it was so cold.  (But we collected a dozen yesterday, so production seems back up.)
  • Continued to eat what is in the freezer and pantry as much as possible.  Made an electronic freezer inventory to help us keep track of what we have and what needs to be used.  We've already used tomato basil soup, turkey bacon, turkey carcass, bananas, and chicken sausages.  
  • Had several things from Costco given to us from in-laws, including almond flour, whole almonds, pasta sauce, cumin, pasta, coconut water, and a few other items.
  • Enjoyed lots of fresh produce (much of it organic) from the food pantry including:
    • salad greens
    • spinach
    • kale
    • berries
    • asparagus
    • green beans
    • bags of mixed veggies
    • pudding (for the boys)
    • shredded carrots
  • Had several snow days, so we stayed home, saving on gas.  Benny was able to work a few extra hours, so that was good.  We also got little man out for sledding, which was awesome.  I think he really enjoyed his first few runs and is looking forward to another good snow so that he can sled with some of the other kids in mom's neighborhood.
  • Cleaned out a few more items for the 400 item goal, including some clothing and toys.
  • Gratefully accepted Christmas gifts from in-laws.  It was nice to get some new clothes for the boys and some snacks they'll enjoy.
  • Stopped at Aldi and restocked on:  chia seeds, flax seeds, frozen wild caught fish, bone in chicken breasts, blue corn tortilla chips, celery, avocados, cranberries, and fresh pineapple.  We also picked up a reward snack for little man in the form of frozen soft pretzels.  They are a treat at our in-laws, but we figured they'd make a good sticker chart reward.  Spent about $40.
  • Chose little man's birthday cake for his party Saturday.  He's asked for this chocolate bundt cake with strawberries around it.  I have all the ingredients on hand, except the strawberries.  So, it will be a relatively inexpensive cake to make, and I can eat the strawberries, even though I can't eat the cake right now.  We have a friend, who owns a bakery specializing in gluten free and alternative ingredients, making a dessert I can eat for our family gathering.
  • Because of the snow days, the boys stayed in pajamas most days, keeping laundry down.  When we did do laundry, we washed clothing on cold and hung to dry.
  • Continued with cloth diaper use.
  • Saved produce bags and washed ziploc bags for reuse.
  • Used beeswax wraps (Christmas gift) instead of plastic wrap to cover leftover salad one night.
  • Used reusable tote bags for shopping.
  • Made turkey stock using a carcass and some leftover chicken.  I added some rosemary stems too for extra flavor.
  • Used the cold to our advantage and kept extra refrigerator items on porch when we were low on fridge space (since we rent the upstairs space, we share the kitchen and fridge).
  • When we were in need of an activity, we pulled out brown packing paper (a large sheet) that we save from shipped packages and had the boys color it.  It's great wrapping paper for birthday gifts, and was a fun activity when they needed a diversion.
What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

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