Looking so forward to seeing your next sewing project, Brandy! The color combination you showed on Instagram is really lovely. Just yesterday I was reading back through posts and ran across a few that featured clothing Winter created … the beautiful red dress she made – and, the lovely Winter Ball white dress she altered. She’s so very talented and that’s no doubt thanks to your teachings – hope she and her little family are doing well! So sorry to hear that you had issues with your van, but what a blessing that you were able to sell it. Hoping you find a suitable replacement soon.
Last week I was mindful of getting the absolute most usefulness from the items we have or purchase … ensuring that they are truly being used to their full potential. This week, I will focus on having five dinner meals planned for hubby and I that can be made any day throughout the week. I’ve never gone about dinners in an organized weekly pre-planned manner and am anxious to give it a try. To avoid any potential waste, I won’t take meats/poultry out of the freezer ahead of time to thaw for the entire week, but will do so daily.
Frugal efforts this week:
*Grocery prices in our area for items we buy on a regular basis continue to remain steady. Bread, milk, fruit and dairy prices have not increased in over two months – some have even remained the same since January, surprisingly. The price for seedless grapes prices has actually decreased – from $2.98/# two months ago down to $1.38/# – and that’s a regular price, not an advertised sale. I’m uncertain why our area isn’t seeing the extreme price increases others across the country are reporting, but I’m very grateful.
*Hubby and I completed our sidewalk edging project rather than hiring it out. Hard physical work in 100(F) degree temps moving many large border stones (salvaged from our previous project) and bags of heavy river rocks. Buying the rocks by the load would have been a bit less costly, but without a trailer, the bags were within our capabilities of handling. Frugal win of the week: Saved hundreds of dollars by doing the work ourselves and repurposing large stones from our property.
*Shopped our pantry and the dollar store to create frugal gift bags filled with road trip treats for our daughter and grandsons.
*This week I was more mindful to prepare smaller meals for hubby and I that will result in fewer unplanned leftovers. Leftovers can always be tucked in the freezer, but in all honesty, in our home they often languish there until they absolutely have to be eaten. I want to be a better steward of this resource that God provides.
*Tried a new butter-less waffle batter recipe that hubby really enjoyed. They turned out light and fluffy – the “secret,” I’ve learned, is to beat the egg whites until stiff then fold into batter gently. Cost savings realized by using oil versus butter in the batter … 11 cents for oil (I used Canola) versus 46 cents if butter was used. The next time, will decrease eggs by one to determine if results are the same. Made extra for hubby’s breakfasts this week.
*Creating personalized Bibles as Christmas gifts for family members by tucking in within the pages copies of old family photos and recipes, slips of paper with childhood memories of family events, making note of verses that were special to our parents and grandparents, and creating an index of verses that are helpful for all occasions or events. Bought the Devotional Bibles online at deep discount from Mardel’s.
*Refreshing a two-drawer file cabinet we had on hand to slide under my craft table for storage. Painting it white to match my craft table, removing original industrial hardware and adding drawer pulls from my stash – for more of a furniture look, rather than office equipment. May add trim to the door fronts for a Shaker style look. Will be used for hanging folders to organize hobby-related papers and Bible studies. Did this frugal refresh also to a couple cabinets years ago in our former home. https://ourgildedabode.blogspot.com/2016/03/frugal-craft-space-file-cabinet-makeover.html
*Made use of three pieces of cooked lasagna noodles from our freezer. Thawed, cut in narrow strips, and served with garlic, butter and Italian herbs, they were reinvented as a nice side dish for hubby’s dinner.
*Darned another of hubby’s socks, saving it from being tossed (we already have a good supply of unsalvageable socks in our stash used for staining projects, etc.). Again using the wooden darning egg made by his grandfather gives me such a sense of nostalgia.
*Mended the hem of a dish towel, extending its usefulness.
*When hubby does outdoor chores (yardwork, projects) his “work” clothes end the day soiled and practically soaking wet (triple digit temps and high humidity in our area). I don’t want to run a load with just that one set of clothing, yet I don’t want to include them in the laundry with our lesser soiled clothing. And, tossing them in the laundry basket damp would lead to odors and mildew as they wait to be laundered. The solution I’ve found is to line dry his soiled damp clothing just as it is, and then pretreat any stains and place the dried clothes aside to await enough work clothes for a full load. This solves the dampness and potential odor issue and I accomplish my goal of running only full, large loads. I’ve had no issues with lingering odors or stains setting in.
*Clipped pup’s nails myself (quite a challenge) rather than paying to have it done by our groomer. Doing them all at once stresses her (and me!), so I do a nail or two a day and we both find it much more tolerable.
*Continuing to shop from our fridge/freezer/pantry for meals. Last week we tried a new method of seasoning salmon for herb crusted blackening on our gas grill. Discovered the “secret” is to be VERY generous with the seasoning. We used garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper, paprika, and herbs de Provence, and a little salt. Coat the salmon with olive oil and rub the seasoning in to thoroughly coat, let rest about 10 minutes, and grill 4 minutes on both sides. It turns out very nicely blackened – herb crusted on the outside and tender on the inside. Very good!
*Continuing to do all our typical frugal daily routine items … larger loads of laundry and line dried only; all leftovers refreshed for additional meals; lights/ceiling fans turned off in rooms we weren’t spending time in; unplugging chargers and small appliances when not in use; central AC thermostats set at 80F degrees downstairs and 84/85F degrees upstairs during the day; kitchen sink warm up water used to water outdoor plants; dehumidifier water used to water outdoor nonfood producing plants; bath water used to water areas of lawn during this period of extreme heat and drought; only turned indoor lights on during the day when absolutely necessary – we have lots of natural light; ate from freezer/pantry except one restaurant meal; continuing to use small batch DIY laundry liquid.
Wishing everyone a joyful and frugal week!
(Brandy – I apologize if my comments are submitted twice – I don’t seem to receive a confirmation on my end that they go through.)
