Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! We've had a good week here. We went to town last Friday to pick up groceries from Food City, and Miss B made a trip to pick up the free remains from a yard sale. The seller left her the items on her porch, so it was a contactless pickup. Other than those two errands, we've stayed home this week as usual. 
The weather here has been rainy for the most part keeping the back porch and steps soaking wet at the beginning of the week. After the rain, cool weather set in, although it would warm up in the afternoons. 
Food City sent me a text last Friday to alert me about a sale on ground beef, which was $1.99 a pound. We perused their sale ad and did a small curbside pickup that afternoon. 

They only let me buy five pounds of the ground beef and I also bought 2 cans of salmon for $1.99 each, 2 packages of cheese @ buy one get one free, and two ten pound bags of potatoes for $3.99 each. 
We only eat salmon patties about once per month. I already had two cans in our pantry and with the addition of two more cans I now have enough to last until January 2021, which by that time it will go on sale again, and I will be able to stock up again. This practice of grocery store items going on sale every 9 to 12 weeks, is part of the pantry principle system. 

While we were in town Papa John's texted me with an offer, and we decided to use our  $10 Papa Rewards. We bought two of the Papadias, which cost $6 each, so I ended up only having to pay $2.20 for these two pictured above. 
Food Shortages?
This week I read a comment on Princess Prepper's YouTube channel from poster hooliganbroome that gave me pause. 

I'm a truck driver that hauls food. Ya'll haven't seen the food shortage yet. The warehouses I go to are getting empty.  I make the same run up north weekly, and pick up from 5 different places to run back down and deliver to several different warehouses. Been driving for 14 years, always food. I've never seen the warehouses as empty as they are. Stock comes in and goes straight to retail. There is not the usual backup stock I'm used to seeing. Has been getting slimmer for about 2 months now. Seems like its getting unloaded in 1 door and getting broken down and sent straight to retail out another door. I've been around all these same warehouses for years and never seen it like this before. I delivered a truck load of an item to my local Publix warehouse and went to my retail Publix 2 days later and they were out of said item that I just delivered 2 days before.

My takeaway from reading that is, anyone who is stocking up now while they can is vey smart.  Could be that people are panic buying, which may be causing this, but I don't know for sure. I think it's wise to stock up while you can. 

In My Frugal Kitchen
The last time we bought a big grocery order was on August 17th, which was six weeks ago. As a result, we are running low on several things. I've babied the eggs, not making them for breakfast in the last week, and am down to one egg. We have one piece of bread left and it's a heel at that. LOL We will definitely have to do a grocery order in the next week to replenish items. 
One day I finished off the jar of strawberry preserves, although we do have a jar of blackberry preserves. Miss B likes strawberry, so I was able to use up two packets of strawberry jelly that we had from Hardee's. I was also able to use up the grape jelly packets I had from there a few days later. It's so great to be able to use up these items. And serves as a reminder that it pays to keep those items because you may need then later.
This week I saved maraschino cherry juice and pickle juice in my refrigerator. I will use these items at a later date to make fruit dip and chicken sandwiches. 
Meals This Week
Cheeseburgers, Seasoned Fries, Carrots with Ranch  Hamburger Steaks, Soup Beans, Carrots & Potatoes  Chicken Fajitas, Mexican Rice, Broccoli, Grilled Onions  Pork Roast, Potatoes & Carrots, Green Beans & Onions Ham, Soup Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Corn Bread
Saving Money on Entertainment
On movie night this week we watched She’s All That, which is a 1999 teen romantic comedy adaptation of the 1964 film, My Fair Lady. After being dumped by his girlfriend, Zack Siler boasts he could make any girl in school popular. Miss B said it was definitely a 90s movie. The trailer was rather good, which is what made us want to watch this one. 
Other Frugal Things
Rather than use the checkbook register that comes with new checks, I regularly use a notebook as my check register because it will last much longer than the register. To save even more money, I use both sides of the paper. 
I've let my family members know that we are not going to be participating in any Christmas gift exchanges this year. That way they will be prepared and know what to expect ahead of time. 
My laptop has been acting up lately and I thought there was a short in the cord, so I bought a new cord on Amazon. Then this week the laptop completely died and we couldn't get it back up and running. So, I've been using my tablet to comment and post here. 
Well, guess what? 
There was a Dell Laptop included in the free yard sale stuff Miss B picked up this week. We had no hopes for it as it was free after all. But, Bailey was able to reset it for me and so far it is working well. 
We had even taken money out of the emergency fund to buy a new laptop, but ended up putting that money back into the emergency fund. And I've already opened a return at Amazon to return the laptop charger that I no longer need. 
Other free items from the yard sale that we will use include a brand new Avon body wash still sealed, small garbage can, jewelry, and she was able to get multiple clothing items to sell in her online shops, all for free. 
We trimmed the back of each other's hair this week. This is the hardest part to cut if you cut your own hair, so we do this for each other. No need to visit a salon and we save money by doing it ourselves. 
How was your week?

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

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Frugal Fall Fun

 Fall is my favorite time of year for so many reasons, and one of my favorite things of all is the change in temperature. We had cool days in the summer time back in Illinois where I grew up and have even sat outside with blankets on the Fourth of July. But Tennessee summers are HOT and the cooler weather of fall is a welcome relief.  This is the time of year to get outside because there are so many great things to do outside.  It’s not too hot or too cold and nature provides plenty of free entertainment.
One fun thing for children to do is to collect leaves and acorns and make a home out of them. My friends and I spent hours doing this when we were children. We would rake up all the leaves into a big pile and then we would “draw” the outline of a house on the lawn. Then we played house in all the rooms we made. We used our imagination and had a lot of fun. 
Gathering black walnuts or pecans, or whatever nuts grow in your part of the country. You can spend your time shelling them and tucking them away into your freezer to save for the holidays. You can roast them as well, which is another frugal activity for the fall months. 
Another fun fall activity is apple picking or any of the multiple apple festivals they have during this time of year.  There’s an annual apple festival here every year and it’s a great place to have some inexpensive fall fun by playing games, listening to good music, or enjoying the foods that normally coincide with this time of year such as caramel apples,  apple cider, or apple pie.
Many apple orchards allow you to pick your own apples from their orchards, and several here offer treats such as fried apple pies and apple cider, and even allow you to take a hayride with your family.
What better fall fun is there than visiting a pumpkin patch?  Picking out the family pumpkin to carve or decorate for Halloween is a great fall tradition.  Have a contest among family members to see who can come up with the most creative pumpkin. Back when I worked at the hospital we had a pumpkin decorating contest every year and it was so much fun to see all the entries. 
Speaking of favorite fall foods, here is my favorite recipe for spiced cider. This recipe came from an elderly lady who attended the same baby shower as I did back in 1990 at the Methodist church in Dayton, Tennessee. The recipe calls for 3/8 cup of brown sugar. Her and I figured that 4/8 would be a half cup, so this recipe would call for slightly less than half a cup.

Spiced Cider

Ingredients:

• 1 quart apple cider
  
• 1 stick cinnamon
  
• 2 allspice cloves
  
• 2 whole cloves
  
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
  

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together.
   
2. Boil for 5 minutes with the spices.
   
3. Enjoy!
   

Notes: This is a very old recipe, consider the 3/8 cup of brown sugar. I figure it is slightly less than 1/2 cup and that works well for me in this recipe. Also, I have substituted apple juice for the apple cider with good results. 
What about you?  What activities and traditions do you have for taking advantage of the fall season?

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Meals to Make with Dried Beans

Both of my parent's families came from Kentucky and although I grew up in Illinois, my language and cooking definitely has southern roots due to my heritage. Dried beans were always a part of that heritage and continues to be true to this day. 
Dried Beans 

Dried  beans are one of the most economical dishes you can feed to your family and they taste great when prepared properly. A one pound bag of beans generally costs anywhere from $1.00 to $1.50 and sometimes up to $3.00 a pound for some specialty beans. 

You may think there isn't much savings when buying a bag of dried beans verses canned beans, but there are savings to be had not to mention the added flavor of home cooked beans. 

A one pound bag of dried beans will cook up to make the equivalent of around three 15 ounce cans of already cooked beans, so when buying dried beans over canned beans you will be saving money. 

I make all kinds of dried beans in my frugal kitchen. Great northern beans, lovingly referred to as soup beans, pinto beans, cranberry beans, lima beans, yellow and black eyed peas, 15 beans, navy beans, yellow and green split peas, and lentils. 

If you need directions on how to cook beans from dried, you can find that information here. 

We can make a meal out of just beans, although cornbread is good to go with them if you have those ingredients on hand. Other meals you can make with beans include...
Ham & Beans
Chili
Chili Tacos
Bean & Cheese Burritos
Mock Tuna Salad
Bean Tacos
Hurst Pizza Beans
Barbara G's Homemade Beanie Weenies
Bean & Cheese Enchiladas
Vegetarian Red Beans & Rice
Refried Beans

Amy Dacyczyn, writer of The Tightwad Gazette, stated that beans should be considered a staple of the tightwad diet and are nearly always cheaper than meat.
Amy's recipe for Maine Baked Beans was printed in the first TWG book. 
Amy's Maine Baked Beans
Ingredients: 2 pounds dried beans (4 cups)1 teaspoon baking soda1 medium onion1/2 pound bacon or pork salt1/4 cup brown sugar1/2 cup to 2/3 cup molasses2 teaspoons dry mustard1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:Soak the beans overnight in cold water. In the morning pout off the soaking water and parboil the beans with baking soda in fresh water until the skins crack when blown upon. Cut the onion in quarters ad put in the bottom of a bean pot or large casserole. Add parboiled beans. Put cut up bacon or salt pork on top of the beans. Mix brown sugar, molasses, dry mustard, and salt, with a pint of water. If necessary add more boiling water while baking. Bake at 300 degrees for 6 hours or more. 
Homemade baked beans are less expensive than store bought baked beans. And if you regularly cook from scratch, you'll probably already have these ingredients in your panty, so no need to make a special trip to the store for ingredients. If you don't have molasses on hand you can substitute dark corn syrup. 
Do you cook with dried beans in your home? If so, what kinds of beans do you serve? Do you have any recipes to share with us? We would love to hear all about it in the comment section. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Comparison Shopping with a Price Book?

Have you ever looked at the cost of an item on the grocery or drugstore shelf and wondered if you could find the item at a different store even cheaper?

If so you have just applied the concept of a price book. Amy Dacyczyn believed in the value of a price book. You can read a letter from her regarding saving money on your food bill where she also mentions price books here.

Amy who wrote The Tightwad Gazette, wondered if "the various sizes and brands was part of a huge conspiracy to confuse consumers?"  She says the keeping of a price book "revolutionized our shopping strategy more than anything else we did". 

If you don't know what a price book is, it's a frugal tool that people have used for years to purchase items at the lowest possible price. It is also how some frugal people build up their stock pile. When I find a good deal, I buy enough to get me through until the next sale, which is usually twelve weeks, although I usually buy them in quantities of ten. 

This week Food City has canned salmon on sale for $1.99 per can. I already have two cans of salmon in my pantry and we have this item for dinner about once a month, so I bought two more cans, which is enough to last the rest of the year. During that time I'm sure it will go on sale again and I can stock up again.  

A price book is related to the concept of watching the sales, but takes that tactic a step further. Some people use their price book to track actual retail prices of specific items on a week to week basis. Some people do not go that far into the details, but either way will work and I would use the one that you know you will do and works for you. 

Image Credit: The Tightwad Gazette

In a price book each page will contain prices for one item like the photo above. The pages of items will be in alphabetical order for quick reference. Amy includes her code for the name of each store, the brand, the size of the item, and the unit price. Doing this really gave Amy a feeling of control over her food budget. 

Some people today may consider a price book to be archaic. With a computer or smartphone these days people can go online and find the lowest price while staying at home. Or, if you are standing in a store it's easy enough to check the price of the same item in another store if you have your smart phone with you. 

Recently I needed to purchase Ibuprofen. I simply went online and compared the price of each bottle at Walmart and Amazon. I checked these two merchants because I can get free shipping with them. 

500 Ibuprofen at Amazon $9.99 

1,000 Ibuprofen at Walmart $13.98

As you can tell here, Walmart had the best deal on the Ibuprofen the day I checked. That might not always be the case though. It pays to check before making a purchase. 
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, my price book consisted of all the items I bought and the price I paid on a Word document. It was easy enough to change the prices as needed or check a price and I could easily print it out as it was only one page. 
If you'd like to read how Trent over at The Simple Dollar dos his price book, you can read about that here. 
Whatever system you use this is one frugal tool that will help you save money on your food bill. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Frugal Friday

Welcome to another edition of Frugal Friday here at the Frugal Workshop. We stayed home again this week, so no gas money used here. 

In My Frugal Kitchen 

I used up a can of meatloaf starter from my pantry when I made a batch of chili last Friday. I didn't want to add it to any of my meatloaf recipes because I want my meatloaf to taste a specific way and didn't want this to change that. I'm glad it has finally been used up though.

Meals This Week:

Crispy Onion  Chicken, Rice, Brussel Sprouts

Bruschetta Chicken Bake, Broccoli, Dressing

Salmon Patties, Dressing, Green Beans with Onions

Macaroni & Cheese with Ham, Green Peas

Ham, Soup Beans, Carrots

Gather The Fragments

This week I took a small bowl of pumpkin and a small bowl of pizza sauce I had in the freezer and put them both into the chili I made. It was an easy way to disguise these items and use them up with no food waste. It also opened up that space in the freezer. 

Other Frugal Things

As usual, we use our cloth napkins exclusively.  We spend no money on paper towels. 

We also use cloth handkerchiefs. They are both pretty and save money. We have no need to buy tissues anymore, which is also a money saver.

We always save the twist ties on our bread bags. They come in handy for keeping extension cords neatly organized. I also use them to hold my fan cage together after the original clips broke.

We've been able to turn the a/c off at night every day this week, the cooler weather is a welcome relief. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I'm not going to debate the issues with homemade laundry detergent today, but wanted to share what we did this week. 

Image Credit @BaileyAlexInc

We haven’t been couponing for a while now and especially since the pandemic started and as I've been telling you lately, we are running out of commercial laundry detergent. ⁣

⁣

Bailey made a batch of homemade laundry detergent years ago and that batch lasted about three years. This week she mixed up a new batch, grated in the bar soap, and added in her favorite scent beads. 

Here is a breakdown of the cost:

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda - 55 ounces/7 cups - $4.12

Purex Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar -  5.5 ounce - 97¢

20 Mule Team Borax Detergent Booster - 65 ounces or 9 cups - $4.47

Optional:

Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda - 5 lbs/10 cups - $3.88

Downy Unstopables Scent Booster -  20.1 oz  - $11.97

OxiClean Stain Remover - 3 lbs/6 cups - $7.73

We spent $35.08 on our batch of laundry detergent and we dated our container to see how long it will last. We used all the optional ingredients, but you don't have to use them if you want to save even more money. 

Arm & Hammer washing soda is an excellent booster and whitener to commercial laundry detergent. I like to add some into my wash even if I'm using commercial laundry detergent because I can tell a big difference in cleanliness and whiteness when I do. 

Image Credit @BaileyAlexInc

The homemade laundry detergent cleans so well and only uses one or two tablespoons per load. We just keep a jar of it in the laundry room and have the tub in storage. ⁣

Image Credit @BaileyAlexInc

This is a good way to save on laundry detergent if you can’t or don’t have time to coupon. ⁣

The path to good money management will be a long road for some,  but people can change if they want to. We’re living in an age where we have plenty of resources at our fingertips that we can use to teach ourselves how to make the best use of our money, resources, and time.

How was your week?

  Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday to all my frugal readers. September is definitely in the air right now as we have woken up to some very cool mornings this week, which feels great. 
In My Frugal Kitchen
Do you remember when I wrote that Bailey didn't like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch creamer? Well...I decided to make French Toast the other day and used that for the milk and guess what? She loved it! So, we will still use it up, avoid food waste, and not waste the money that was spent on it. 
We made more Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches this week. 
Kroger has peanut butter on sale for 99¢ this week along with eight ounce blocks of cheese for 4/$5.00. 
My Amazon grocery order arrived this week and now we are stocked up on tuna and green beans.
Doing the math this week, I refigured what it cost me to make one gallon of tea these days. Look for an upcoming blog post on that soon. I also figured the cost of eggs right now, which works out to 8¢ each according to current Walmart prices. Eggs are always a good and frugal food to have on hand. 
Other Frugal Things
I made a goal this week to list one item on eBay everyday and I succeeded. 
I've been watching Prepper Princess videos again on YouTube this week. She used to have mostly prepper videos on her channel, but now has multiple videos on saving money, which is right up my alley. 
PP mentioned in one of her videos that she adds 20% of water to all her shampoos and soaps. I use Neutrogena T-gel shampoo, which is expensive at $8.50 a bottle, so I added water to mine this week to make it s-t-r-e-t-c-h farther. I already do this with my Dawn dishwashing detergent to make it stretch as far as possible. 
I earned a $10 gift card to Amazon from Microsoft Rewards this week. I used it to purchase 12 cans of Hormel Ham for our pantry. I have this ham as one of my subscribe and save items on Amazon. The price I've been paying for the ham for the 12 cans is $9.71. 
I don't know about you, but I've been watching the prices on Amazon fluctuate widely lately. This ham is going for $45 right now and the price I paid is nowhere to be found. I've noticed that the prices on some of their items is so high. I can't wait until we can go back to grocery shopping the way we used to do it. 
Miss B and I both cut our hair at home this week using this Wahl hair trimmer. It's cordless and I can take it outside to do my own hair, which makes for easier cleanup. I used the two inch comb on my hair, which is just the way I like it. Last time I cut my hair I used a smaller comb and it was so short I didn't have to trim it again until now. 
This week I rearranged my office space and it is much more functional than it was before, which is a win-win for me. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Monday Frugal Report

Earning Money
This week I sold two items in my Etsy shop for which I am very grateful. We've noticed that since the $600 weekly unemployment benefit ended on July 31st that my daughter's Poshmark sales have went way down. 
My daughter had a desk in the place where she recently installed a shelf, so she listed the desk on Facebook Marketplace and it sold for $40 this week.
Avoiding Spending
We did not buy any groceries this week. I've been continuing to make food we have here, which included beans and rice several times, but that is OK. 
These types of foods, which I do enjoy, may not always be what we want to eat, but the important thing is that we are fed and I'm grateful for that. 
My daughter gave herself a haircut this week. I've not needed one since I cut mine really short last time. 
In My Frugal Kitchen
This week I made hummus using my own dried beans. 
We've been enjoying the plums and apples that came in our Misfit Market box last week. 
We also enjoyed cucumbers that came in our MM box. I sliced them and sprinkled them with everything bagel seasoning and it made them stand out!
I threw out the onions we had here due to the recall, so will need to order more this week. 
This week I will use up the last of the Palmolive dish soap we bought a few years ago with coupons. Honestly, I'm glad it is gone because it does not clean as well as Dawn, which I will be buying this week. 
Saving on Entertainment

We played two classic board games this week, Monopoly and the Game of Life. Life was one of my favorite games when I was growing up. 
Have you installed Peacock TV on any of your devices yet? I installed mine and have been watching it this week. I love that it is free. 

I've been watching Mrs. Volfie on YouTube. She made some strawberry lemonade and some watermelon lemonade concentrate and canned it this week. She says it will taste great this winter and I agree with her. 

This week I'll be taking my Dad for cataract surgery on his other eye. We are also ordering groceries this week. What plans do you have for the upcoming week?

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Yard Sales in 2020

Bailey originally shared this on her Instagram account and I thought it was really good and wanted to share it here. If you would like to follow her Instagram account, you can do so by clicking here. 
Written by Bailey
My yard sale bag waited in my office all year to go on adventures again, but quarantine happened. 😒⁣
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I’m doing some office rearranging and I still thought I would share what I keep in my yard sale bag. Hopefully by next summer all of this will be long behind us. 🤞🏻⁣
⁣
𝘐𝘒𝘌𝘈 𝘉𝘢𝘨𝘴: These are great to have on hand for large rummage sales where it’s not as easy to make a pile for yourself. Also, I keep two in the trunk to throw everything in as I go. ⁣
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𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬: I write down how much I spend as I go. This makes bookkeeping super easy when I get home.⁣
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𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬: I know, I know, but it’s super convenient! I can count out cash with one hand and hold a bunch of stuff in the other. It also has a pocket for pepper spray and hand sanitizer. 👍🏻⁣
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Hat & Sunscreen: ☀️ ⁣
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I also keep water, wipes, snack, etc. when yard sale season is active. ⁣
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I’m really sad this isn’t happening this year, but I know it’s for the best. Stay home if you can. This won’t last forever. ❤️ Bailey ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Frugal Friday ~ July 24, 2020

Welcome to Friday, our 19th week of staying home and avoiding crowds due to coronavirus. No grocery shopping, yard sales, or thrifting. Some days are hard mentally, some days are easier though. 
In other news this week, my daughter received her stimulus check this week. She planned ahead on how she would spend this and managed to save part of it while also treating herself at the same time.
We did go out one day this week to pick up an RX at Publix, which was made contactless (paid online) through the drive through. 
The last time I filled up my car was on July 6th. I still have almost a full tank since we are not driving as much. At that time I paid $1.79 per gallon.     This week I placed a Walmart.com order to be delivered free to our home. The order included freezer bags, probiotics, mayonnaise, tortilla chips, walnuts, and Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, which I've been wanting to try. 
This week I already received a call to sub for this upcoming school year. 
Our dryer wasn't working correctly, so we called a repairman out on Tuesday. 
Turns out the heating element burned out. Total cost of the service call and parts came to $189, which is cheaper than buying a new dryer. 
So I'm glad we decided to repair this one rather than buy a new dryer. We did ask the repairman to wear a mask and disinfected after he left. 
Entertainment:

Tuesday night movie we watched Bridge to Terabithia. My favorite parts of this movie involve Miss Edmunds, the music teacher. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every student had a music teacher like her?

In my Frugal Kitchen:
I emptied a spice container of Mrs. Dash and cleaned it up. I'm going to reuse it for another spice as I like the size of these bottles. 
I stocked up on Chinese/Japanese oils and sauces this month. This week I'll be using oyster sauce in Sticky Pineapple Chicken and hoisin sauce in Chow Mein Noodles. 
My mom had me order her 24 cans of Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs, but turns out she didn't like them. So, she gave them to us and now we have 23 cans on our pantry shelves. 
How was your week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Frugal Friday ~ July 17, 2020

Image Credit

Graphic Garden has free calendar pages you can print from home if you're interested.  She also has free cards on her website if you want to print them from home as well. 

The other day I noticed a mouse dropping on one of my clean kitchen dish clothes. I had just put them in there less than a week prior to that, so I figured there was a mouse in the house. 
We've had the best luck with the Tomcat mouse traps. We put a small amount of cheese on one and set the trap and caught him the second night after we set it. I'm glad I figured it out and caught it. 
These mousetraps are effective and cost around $2.50 each on Amazon, which is worth every penny to me. You can even reuse these traps.
My word of warning here is this: Make sure all of your food is protected. Anyone can get a mouse in their house and they can cause damage. If you are stocking up on food right now during these uncertain times, make sure you're protecting it.   

Saturday night is game night here. We popped some popcorn and played two of our favorite games Boggle and Sushi Go. We usually always play a couple of games of Boogle on Saturday night. It helps to keep our minds sharp. 
Tuesday night is our movie night here. We made a small pizza and iced tea and watched The Secret Garden. It's one of my favorite movies and is a sweet, beautifully told story based on the classic story of Mary Lennox, a lonely orphan girl, who goes to live in her uncle's British manor house, Misselthwaite Manor.  
The Secret Garden was set in 1911 and I hadn't watched it since I've watched Downton Abby, which was set in 1915 and beyond. The similarities in both films was interesting to watch. 

In my frugal kitchen this week I grated cheese to be used in meals this month. I like to buy the two pound block and shred it all at once. We prefer our own shredded cheese over store bought as the taste is better and does not have any fillers. 

One day we had grilled chicken salads for dinner as I wanted to use up and not lose the fresh produce we had on hand. 

Image Credit 

Last week I ordered a shelving unit from Amazon because I wanted to have more storage room in my bedroom. The unit arrived on Monday evening and my daughter I put it together. It's so great to have additional storage in that room. 

Since I had a new place to put things, I decided to clean out my closet and store the small bookshelf, where the new shelf was going, in my closet. 

So, I condensed things, threw somethings away, went thru papers and tossed some, and set aside a few things to sell online. 

Another item I bought this week, to stock up on, was four boxes of the 100 count Johnson & Johnson band-aids. They were on sale for $4.00 per box. They are no longer on sale for that price, but are priced at $6.88 and 50% off one when you buy two ($5.16 per box). We like these because they are made with fabric and not plastic. 

We have a raccoon coming during the daytime to eat our cat's food. I thought about buying a small animal cage to humanely catch him, but they cost around $30. 

My solution so far has been to set a timer when I feed the cats and then go and get the food after twenty minutes and bring it back into the house. 

Some days I sit out there with them and wait until they are done eating and then bring it back in with me. We always do this at night because that's when they usually visit so this daytime raccoon is an odd ball. 

When we had chickens I had to be careful of the bears getting into the chicken feed and eating it. As much as I would love to feed them, I simply cannot afford to feed all the wild animals that come here. 

That's all the news to report from here this week. How was your week? I hope you have a homemade, thrifty week and look well to the ways of your household.

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

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