Frugal Accomplishments 2nd Week of March

This week we did our best to spend as little as possible, including eating from the pantry and freezer, combining trips, and recycling where possible.  We did schedule some regular maintenance work on the cars.  Little man continued with his sickness, though no fever, but we were able to conveniently get a trip to the doctor's in at his regularly scheduled physical, so there was no copay.  The peds office is also on the way home, so it wasn't a special trip.

• All meals were made at home including:  oatmeal with raisins and honey (we're out of brown sugar), smoothies with fruit, greens, and nondairy milk purchased on sale, eggs and leftover roasted veggies, leftover chili over rice, homemade mac and cheese with leftover bits of cheese and noodles, baked sweet potatoes topped with leftover sausage and salad, dinner salads with hard boiled eggs and other toppings.  We also made homemade sloppy joes with Paleo bread (a bust of a recipe, but we ate it), and we had snack plates with cut veggies, hummus, and some sliced apples.
• Lunch was always leftovers.  Little man ate school lunch one day.  He gets to choose school lunch once a month, and usually chooses chicken nugget day.
• Saved an olive jar and used it to hold homemade pesto made with spinach, olives, and sun dried tomatoes.  This was used as a pizza sauce, and we may freeze some for later use.  It's always a nice addition to pasta, sandwiches, or salad dressing.
• Used juice from homemade sauerkraut in homemade salad dressing in place of vinegar.  This makes our daily salad habit a bit more healthy by adding probiotics.
• Made good use of foods gleaned from the food pantry pick up, including lots of frozen bananas.
• Made homemade chicken stock using freezer bag with collected bones, veggie scraps, etc.
• Purchased organic veggies on sale and shopped local stores for best price on canned coconut milk.  Began investigating a subscription to Thrive for some of our pantry staples to avoid GMOs and purchase organic at a reasonable cost.
• Continued with potty training.  This is cutting down on laundry for the most part (we used cloth diapers), and baby is really proud of himself.  We continue to use diapers at naptime and bedtime.
• Laundry was washed in cold water, aside from sheets, towels, and any dirty laundry from potty training.
• Worked out at home with YouTube and made an effort to park as far from entrances as possible to get in a little more walking.  
• The boys, including Benny, continued with their Tang Soo Do karate.  Baby (3!  not baby anymore!) begins class this week and loves his new uniform.  This is good exercise for them, and good character development too.
• We completed baby's application for half day preschool in the fall.  He got in for five days a week, and Benny is excited to get back to work a little more than part time.  Baby will have wonderful teachers and we're excited for him to have more of a social experience than he has at home.
• I made baby's birthday cake a week ahead and froze it.  I goofed and accidentally left it out overnight, so if it seems a bit dry, I think I can poke some holes in it and pour a little decaf coffee over it before I add the ganache and no one will know. (It's a chocolate bundt cake, so the coffee will be good.)
• We volunteered at the food pantry and came home with two boxes of things we gleaned, including some organic nondairy milk, organic yogurt, organic chicken, and organic fruit.  We also found a few things to restock our pantry with, so we're in good shape for this week and beyond.
• I picked up some educational consulting work with our local art and history museum.  I'll be developing lesson plans for their upcoming exhibits in an effort to draw in more local school groups.  This is work that's exciting, and it will pay reasonably well.  I'll continue to work to pick up other side hustles.
• I think I found a decent landscape design program for free through Better Homes and Gardens.  They have a pretty extensive plant library, and it looks like I can upload our images to begin to play with site planning.

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