Thursday, April 5, 2018

Frugal Accomplishments for the End of March and First of April

We worked really hard over the past two weeks to side hustle a bit, clean out more, and stick to eating primarily from our freezer and pantry.  This has yielded some great results, which will go towards our emergency fund and upcoming medical bills.  We also got our tax refund amount, which will be helpful once it's deposited.  The house has been prepped for sale, trim touched up, doors cleaned, working on ceiling fans, etc.  It's looking really good, and we're wondering why we didn't do some things sooner!


  • Cooked meals at home including a double batch of quiche, homemade pizza, picnic (homemade hummus, veggies, crackers and cheese, chips and salsa, hard boiled eggs, and fruit), overnight crock pot oatmeal, smoothies, and bagels and cream cheese.
  • Enjoyed shared meals a few days with Mom over our break.
  • Took advantage of Grandfather Mountain's discounted days for local area residents over vacation for a cheap day trip.
  • Used our science center membership for another relatively inexpensive day trip for vacation.
  • Benny worked a full day on Monday, which gives a few extra paid hours this week.
  • Sold more items on Craigslist and eBay, cleaning out and putting a little more in the emergency fund.
  • Continued with all recycling, composting and reusing efforts at home to save on trash.
  • Took several more things to Goodwill and the library for donation.  Saved tax receipts.
  • Washed most laundry in cold water, except diapers, and hung to dry.
  • Reused a door from a previous time to rehang on the back door.  It is a 15 light door, so it lets a lot more light into the kitchen, making it look brighter.
  • Painters/carpenters got a lot of work done downstairs, prepping it for sale.  We've got a call into someone for a little electrical work and some tree trimming.  Hoping all this will come in for under $1000.
  • Continue to work to pack boxes around the house.  I haven't met my goal of 15 boxes for the week yet, but I have managed to take several things to Goodwill/Craigslist sale, etc. so I guess that's progress.
  • We're using free boxes from the paint store for packing.  They're a great size and really sturdy.  It's nice that they're all similar size so that they stack well.
  • Gratefully using Mom's garage for storage of items while we stage the house.  We plan to rent a storage unit, but are holding off on that expense for as long as possible.
  • Continue to eat from the freezer and pantry to lessen the items we have to move.
  • Working towards a cleaner diet for us all.  We're still buying conventionally raised produce and meat, but I think this summer we'll be able to stock up some on good quality meat from the farmer's market and our CSA farm.
  • Glad to have the use of our new neighbor's truck.  He generously allowed us to borrow it for moving some things and picking up items from the building supply store.  We so rarely need a truck that it doesn't make sense to own one, but it's so nice to have a neighbor in the new neighborhood who is willing to share.
  • Worked in the garden on Tuesday adding more compost and straw to raised beds and trimming back blackberries, etc. that needed to be trimmed.  Little man was a big help and it was a beautiful day.  Great to get some good exercise and vitamin D in!
  • Worked out using free YouTube videos at home and did free yoga class through the Children's Council.
What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!



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