Frugal Accomplishments 1st Week of May

We did a lot this past week to work with what we had.  We're always trying to make things special for our kiddos but also keep it within our budget.  We've been working hard to side hustle a bit and pay off some bills, as well as saving for the new house.

Here are some of our accomplishments:

• Cooked meals at home including: smoothies, overnight oatmeal, salads, guacamole, herb crusted chicken, roasted veggies, breakfast for dinner (sauteed cabbage and sausage, eggs, bacon, and fruit), pasta with salad, energy bites, and chocolate caramel popcorn (we used walnuts rather than peanuts because that's what we had, though peanuts would be cheaper)
• Saved glass jar from olives and salsa for our home fermented veggies and food storage
• Found some items at school that were being tossed that we can resell on Amazon or eBay
• Walked several days with the dog, getting us both some exercise for free.
• Participated in our children's council parent support groups, appreciating the free meals, childcare, and support.  Yoga was great with a new teacher.  We earned baby bucks for our participation, getting us closer to a Walmart card.
• Took part in a county wide conference on Saturday to find ways to be a more compassionate community and support those going through trauma.  It was great to work with community organizations like DSS, Montessori schools, and others in the school system.  The school paid for my registration and it included breakfast and lunch (both of which were fabulous!).
• Have enjoyed visiting a new church.  The boys have really enjoyed Sunday school there and have much larger peer groups.  It is also closer to home and they offer an early service, which gives us more time on Sundays as a family.
• Enjoyed some shared meals with family and friends.  We shared some veggies and chicken and helped prepare the meal.
• Had a lovely visit with a friend we hadn't seen in a long time.  She shared some plants with us including tomatoes, raspberries, and herbs.  We're looking forward to planting these and then taking many of them to our new property once we move.
• Stopped at Aldi on my way back from a workshop.  I stocked up on avocados, cilantro, frozen berries, organic coffee, and more.  It was more than I normally try to spend for the week, but many items will last us several weeks.
• Benny brought home a flat of tomatoes from the restaurant.  We used them in salads, guacamole, and just ate them in wedges with salt and pepper.
• We gleaned several items from the food pantry pick up.  Farmer's market season has begun for us again, so we're helping with the gleaning project from the market for the food pantry.  Some of the items won't last from Saturday to Wednesday (greens are really sensitive and the food pantry doesn't always have enough fridge space to store ideally).  This meant that we came home with three bags of greens (radish, spinach, and mixed greens) and some turnips with greens.  We also were able to get some fruit from the grocery pick up and mushrooms.
• We're finalizing our details for vacations this summer.  We plan to use credit card points to pay for flights and hotel.  The hotel will include breakfast and have a pool, so it will help with food costs and entertainment.  We'll be visiting a family friend, so many of our meals will be shared with him and we'll source things locally through the farmer's market there.  It will be an exciting trip and we can't wait!
• I saved egg cartons to give to a coworker in exchange for fresh eggs.  What a deal!
• We began planning for our outdoor clothesline at the rental house.  There's a logical place for one, we just need to get the line, which I think we can get with a Walmart card that we earn for free.
• The boys are thrilled that their seedlings are beginning to sprout in the garden!  We should be harvesting radishes and greens in 3-4 weeks.

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