frugal accomplishments | The Big White Farmhouse

June 23, 2020

No.416: A List of June’s Frugal Accomplishments

JUNE’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ File this under “Things I Should Have Known, But Actually Had No Idea”: after digging around blindly in the small opening of our lint screen for over two years, I discovered that it actually opens! (Insert face palm.) I also cleaned out the lint that gets trapped in the vent to the outside of the house. Better air flow should help with less drying time (= saves money) and makes less of a fire hazard too.

+ I made a natural fertilizer for the garden from egg shells. I also cut up a waaaay too ripe banana (too ripe even for banana bread) and buried the pieces in the soil for an extra potassium boost.

+ We lasted until May 23 before we turned on the air conditioning. We lasted 71 days, which is amazing for Virginia. We can thank this cooler than normal spring.

+ We replaced a ceiling light with one that we’ve had stored away in the garage. I purchased the schoolhouse-looking light for my old house right before we decided to move, so it’s just been sitting brand new in the box. Mark installed it for me and it’s perfect! I hope to be able to sell the old (perfectly nice and functional, just not our taste) light in the months ahead.

+ I unclogged my shower drain again using my trusty recipe.

+ Mark watched a few hair-cutting Youtube videos and then gave the two big boys haircuts.

+ I made a chalkboard from an old piece of artwork that we got when we were first married, almost 15 years ago! The glass was broken and it didn’t really fit our decor anymore, so we turned it into a chalkboard for our garage gym. Mark had a piece of plywood cut to size and then I painted it with chalkboard paint. Super simple project and now the boys have a place to write out their workouts and rep tallies. I’m really happy that we could give something new life instead of just throwing it in the trash.

+ My daughter saved the sticks from her popsicles, painted them and glued them into frames for her artwork.

+ I sewed a potholder (using this tutorial) to replace one of ours that has seen better days. The fabric is extra special because it was given to me by my grandmother, who has since passed away. The potholder is definitely imperfect – my sewing skills are rusty! – but I’m so happy that I was able to create something useful and I know I’ll think of my Memere every time I use it.

+ I made my own refried beans using this recipe.

Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?
P.S. I pin frugal ideas to this Pinterest board if you need some inspiration too!

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

2019: JULY // AUGUST // SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER // NOVEMBER
2020: JANUARY // FEBRUARY // APRIL // MAY

May 21, 2020

No.401: A List of May’s Frugal Accomplishments

MAY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ We’re following the square foot “method” for our garden, but wanted to save a little money by skipping the cross-hatch pieces that make the squares. Instead, I constructed a temporary version out of strips of cardboard. I use it when I plant and then keep it in the garage until the next time.

+ My front door rug was moving everywhere and bunching up, which was driving me crazy. I cut up an old unused rug pad to fit underneath and now it stays in place! I can’t believe it took me this long to make a two-minute fix.

+ I planted wildflowers from seed kits that never sold from the old Big White Farmhouse shop. I found them tucked away this winter and couldn’t wait to put them to good use in the front flower beds. I didn’t know what to expect since they were over three years old, but the germination rate still seems to be good! I have little sprouts everywhere.

+ We’re getting a 15% credit on our auto insurance policy due to being stuck at home during the outbreak.

+ As of this writing, we’re still going strong without having to turn on our A/C! I’m grateful for this weirdly cool spring.

+ Our sourdough starter has saved us quite a bit of money since we can make our yeast stretch further.

+ We had a bit of an ant invasion near our side door. I made a homemade ant killer, which was equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle, and that helped kill the ones in the house. For outside, I made a concoction of equal parts powdered sugar and baking soda in a small, shallow container and it worked within hours.

+ Mark has been chopping down dead/dying trees around our property and cutting them into firewood pieces.

+ We’ve become even more cognizant about our food consumption, especially as prices seem to be slowly rising. Regular “Refrigerator Cleanout Nights” have helped us have very little waste.

Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?
P.S. I pin frugal ideas to this Pinterest board if you need some inspiration too!

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

2019: JULY // AUGUST // SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER // NOVEMBER
2020: JANUARY // FEBRUARY // APRIL

April 23, 2020

No.387: A List of April’s Frugal Accomplishments

This post is a combination of March and April, since I missed it last month. Is there any better time to focus on frugality than in a pandemic?!

APRIL’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I borrowed and read six books from the library.

+ I recently had a winter coat and a pair of dress pants dry-cleaned and I forgot how expensive that is! To avoid that cost for awhile, I invested in an at-home dry cleaning “kit” (affiliate link). Hopefully it will work!

+ We had a bunch of old Jenga blocks strewn around the house – I’m not sure how they got all over the place and if we even had enough for a game! Inspired by this blog post, I gave two of the kids the blocks and our tempera paints and off they went! The blocks turned out beautifully and have been played with daily ever since. So fun to give a cast off toy a new life!

+ I gave Sophie and three of the boys haircuts.

+ One of our sinks was clogged and would not drain at all. I tried my handy declogger recipe with no luck, so off to the Internet I went. I learned that the issue might be the P-trap, so after watching a Youtube video, I got to work. I removed the P-trap with a wrench, sprayed everything out well with the hose and reattached the pieces back together. Definitely my favorite frugal accomplishment of the month.

+ I unsubscribed from almost a dozen email lists. Less temptation for things that aren’t on the priority list right now.

+ I used the paper created from shredding our junk mail for our compost pile.

+ We turned the heat off on March 12 and barring any random snow storms, we should be able to last awhile before we need to turn on the AC!

+ The big boys and I took out the remaining boxwood shrubs from our front flower beds and transplanted them in the backyard.

+ We’re saving tons of gas money by not going anywhere!

+ The rolling wheel part of the top rack of our dishwasher broke. Since we can’t really have any repairmen in the house right now, Mark did a little research, ordered the parts online and was able to fix it himself.

+ We’re making a garden! This is not exactly a cheap endeavor, but doing all of the work ourselves is saving us quite a bit of money. For example, Mark built all of the beds from untreated lumber, which was significantly cheaper than buying pre-made kits.

+ J and I made some garden markers for our veggies out of Sculpey clay and alphabet stamps (affiliate link). They are so perfectly imperfect and I love how they turned out!

+ Did you know that you can reuse parchment paper up to three times before throwing it away? This has been especially helpful right now when I can’t get to the grocery store often.

Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?
P.S. I’ve been pinning frugal ideas to this Pinterest board if you need some inspiration too!

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

2019: JULY // AUGUST // SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER // NOVEMBER
2020: JANUARY // FEBRUARY

February 19, 2020

No.354: A List of February’s Frugal Accomplishments

You know how good habits beget good habits? I feel like frugality is similar. All it takes is one tiny win (like getting a stain out of a sweater that you thought you had ruined) and the wheels start turning: What else can I fix? There’s got to be a way to keep this looking like new. I wonder if I can get a few more uses out of this thing. It’s addicting! Breaking my materialistic, wasteful habits has been tricky and I’ve experienced a steep learning-curve, but I’m so glad I was brave enough to take the first step.

FEBRUARY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ We started the process of growing two avocados from seeds. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of growing new plants from scraps, so on a whim, we decided to give it a try! We’ll hopefully start to see some growth in a couple of weeks.

+ Sophia had four well-loved pairs of leggings with holes in the knees. I considered patching them (doing something like this) but ultimately decided to chop them into shorts. I cut the first pair a little too short, but I think they’ll still work under dresses. The rest turned out better!

+ A few of the kids were a little…boisterous when blowing out our Advent candles last December and spilled dark purple wax all over my table runner. I’ve been chipping away at the hardened wax, but didn’t really know what else to do. Thank goodness for a little Internet research! First, I tried the paper bag method: “Place a paper bag over the wax. Put your iron on a low heat setting and run it over the bag on the waxy spot. The wax will be absorbed by the paper.” I then spot-treated the stains and threw it in the wash. It took a few tries, but I did get most of it out. My biggest frugal accomplishment of the month!

+ I needed tomato paste for a recipe, but had more than half of the can left over. I measured out one tablespoon blobs onto parchment paper and froze them, then combined them all in a freezer bag for future use.

+ I machine washed most of the bed pillows using the instructions from Clean Mama. I’m embarrassed to say that I never even knew this was a thing…when our pillows started looking a little worse for wear, I’d just toss them in the trash and buy new ones. Definitely adding this chore to the regular cleaning cycle from now on (I read that twice a year is sufficient).

+ We buy the big tubs of peanut butter, but it’s always tricky to get the last bits at the bottom of the jar. When looking for frugal inspiration, I found a tip recommending the use of a spatula…and it’s a total game-changer! We got out at least three more servings.

+ During this same time, I found an article listing some “extreme” frugal tips and read one about cutting the bottom of the toothpaste tube to get out a few more portions. My first thought was “Hmm, that does seem a little extreme…” followed by, “Maybe I should see how that works.” Don’t knock it ’til you try it, right? I snipped off the bottom at an angle (like you would with a pastry bag) and squeezed the toothpaste down and out that way. And you really do get a few extra portions – I think I counted five?

+ J and I made a homemade hot cocoa mix together. He loves his daily cup almost as much as I love my coffee, but I had this gut feeling that something in the store-bought mix wasn’t agreeing with him. We used this four-ingredient recipe and he says it’s delicious!

+ I started on Sophia’s spring/summer wardrobe. Being the only girl, I don’t have many hand-me-downs to rely on! I challenged myself to see how far I could get by choosing secondhand first and wanted to start early so I wouldn’t feel rushed. Boy, did I hit the jackpot! Using this graphic as a guide, I browsed ThredUp and was shocked to see how much I could find. I even found a coupon code to sweeten the deal! (If you sign up with my link, you get $10 to spend on your first order!)

+ I borrowed and read two books from the library.

+ I roasted a chicken and then made broth from the bones and veggie scraps I keep in the freezer. I also got to use my Souper Cubes (affiliate link!) again, which made me happy.

Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?
P.S. I’ve been pinning frugal ideas to this Pinterest board if you need some inspiration too!

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

2019: JULY // AUGUST // SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER // NOVEMBER
2020: JANUARY

January 23, 2020

No.341: A List of January’s Frugal Accomplishments

Six months of frugal accomplishments! (This post is a combination of December and January, since I missed it last month.) Yesterday, I came across a post from The Frugal Girl, Marketers do not want you to be content, and it really resonated with me. During November and December, I spent a lot of time “browsing” the Internet as I searched for Christmas gifts and I could feel the discontent brewing. Suddenly, my list of woes against my furniture and my home decor and my kids’ wardrobe and my homeschool grew and grew. But isn’t it funny how a self-inflicted No Spend Month can completely change your mindset? I purposely don’t browse online stores or even Pinterest. I don’t open the sales emails, despite how tempting they sound. I have the head space to look at my house and be proud of it, despite its imperfections. I can clearly see the things I really need – like hand towels and shower liners – instead of what social media tells me I need. It’s freeing to be content.

JANUARY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I read and reviewed two free books from Netgalley.

+ While unpacking our decorations, I found a handful of old Christmas cards (received from others) from years ago. To give them one more life, I cut off the tops – the side without the writing – and used them as thank you cards for my Poshmark/ebay packages.

+ I used up four rolls of Christmas wrapping paper from last year and all of my tags. I even used the (sorta ugly, but completely useful) free sticker tags I received in some junk mail. Feels good to know that I can start fresh next December!

+ We committed to No Spend January and have done okay so far! Little things have popped up – like dental copays, an oil change, and a new phone for Mark when his old one wouldn’t hold a charge – but we’ve been able to pay for these things fairly easily. I’m really enjoying the challenge of being creative with what we have in all the ways: in the kitchen, in decorating, and in toys and books.

+ The boys’ sheets were looking dingy, so I added 1/3 cup of baking soda to the bottom of the washing machine before starting the load. Now they look as good as new! Baking soda is also a deodorizer, which is an added benefit because…boys.

+ I gave two of the boys haircuts and trimmed my own using the ponytail method.

+ I gathered up all of the random makeup and skincare samples I’ve accumulated and put them in a vintage glass container on my bathroom counter. I’m hoping this little action will help me actually use them up!

+ I started adding more potatoes to our meal plans. Potatoes are cheap, filling and are a starchy alternative to bread. (Mark may have a minor gluten sensitivity). And bonus: the kids love them in all their forms and eat without complaint!

+ I made my own Soap Scum Cleaner (from a “recipe” I found on Pinterest) using dish soap and vinegar. It worked fine but wasn’t amazing, so I won’t share it here. I’m on the hunt for another option.

Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

JULY // AUGUST // SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER // NOVEMBER

November 21, 2019

No.320: A List of November’s Frugal Accomplishments

NOVEMBER’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I sewed the button back on my wool coat. A two minute fix and it’s as good as new!

+ Instead of hiring a photographer, we decided to take a family photo ourselves. We used a tripod and lots of bribery…and it was worth it! We got a decent picture and saved at least $150. I also ordered Christmas cards from Basic Invite while they had a promotion for 30% off, saving us around $20.

+ I have been keeping and reusing almost all of the boxes and packing material I receive in the mail. I’ve been selling a lot of items on ebay for my 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge and this has kept packing supply costs down to a minimum.

+ I used Rakuten (formerly ebates) for cash back on my online purchases. Each little bit counts and it adds up! The sites I used: Chewy: 3%, Fat Brain Toys: 4%, Carter’s: 1%, Old Navy: 4%, Book Outlet: 5%, and ebay: 2%.

+ I invested in “Iron Knee” leggings (affiliate link) from Lands’ End for Sophie. They are more pricey than the Target ones I usually buy, but I’m hoping the reinforcement will help keep them in one piece a little longer. I waited for a coupon and got 2% back with Rakuten.

+ I gave my son a haircut and my daughter a trim.

+ I borrowed and read a book from the library.

+ We filled up our propane tank while the company had an early bird promotion. It feels like an exorbitant amount of money to spend, but it’s at least $300 less than what we usually pay.

+ We made it until November 9th before turning on the heat. This was three days earlier than last year, but waking up to 59° in the house forced my hand. Still so grateful for that small 36-day relief on our electric bill!

+ We paid off our cell phones. Our cell phone bill is just ridiculous (and we don’t even have fancy phones!) so we decided to pay off our balances early and look into a different carrier. Currently in research mode!

Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

JULY // AUGUST // SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER

October 22, 2019

No.308: A List of October’s Frugal Accomplishments

Month #4! This month, I focused on looking critically at our possessions, dealing with the things we no longer need (creating the 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge!) and trying to take good care of everything else. I’m so happy to be tackling this during our children’s fall birthdays and before the Christmas season.

OCTOBER’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I gave my son a haircut.

+ I borrowed and read a book from the library.

+ I reused an empty jam jar as a water pot when the kids painted with watercolors.

+ I bought the huge bag of dog food, even though the price makes me cringe. When I did the calculations, I actually save over a dollar per pound, making it the better deal.

+ With the kids in more activities this fall, we tried to save gas and do errands when we already have to be in town: meeting people to pass off things from Trash Nothing or Facebook Marketplace, popping in the grocery store for an ingredient, etc.

+ We moved our oldest into the basement bedroom and I was able to rearrange our furniture around to give him everything he needed, including a nightstand, dresser and even an old loveseat. The only thing I purchased was a new lamp. He’s got quite the man cave now!

+ I unclogged our troublesome master bathroom shower drain with a homemade solution I found on Pinterest. Definitely my favorite frugal accomplishment this month! Here’s the “recipe”:

DIY Drain Unclogger

8 cups boiling water

1/2 cup baking soda

1 cup vinegar

1 cup very hot water

8 cups boiling water

Boil 9 cups of water. Reserve 1 cup and dump the rest down the drain.

Sprinkle the baking soda down the drain and let it sit for a few minutes.

Mix the 1 cup of reserved water with 1 cup vinegar and pour slowly down the drain.

Let sit for 10 minutes while you boil 8 more cups of water.

Pour boiling water down the drain.

+ I made more homemade chicken broth and finally got to use my new Souper Cubes (affiliate link).

+ Ebay had a 3-day promotion that waived the listing fees for 200 items. I listed 23 items, saving me over $8.

+ When our oven started taking forever to preheat and then not cooking evenly, we paid the $125 fee to have our home warranty send someone to look at it. There was a whole host of issues including a broken bottom coil and glitchy front panel, which would cost $1,200+ for parts and labor. I hate paying that home warranty bill each month when things are good, but sing its praises when appliances start breaking!

+ I learned a laundry trick to get grease stains out of clothes by using plain white chalk.

+ I turned off the A/C on October 4th and now we play my favorite game of the year: how long can we go before having to turn on the heat?

Your turn! What did you do to save a little money this month?

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

JULY // AUGUST // SEPTEMBER

September 23, 2019

No.297: A List of September’s Frugal Accomplishments

Month #3! This month, I tried to focus my frugality lens in terms of consuming: not in the sense of buying more, but instead using up the things I have already purchased and own. What good are things, even if they are neatly organized in drawers and shelves, if you never use them? This new way of thinking has been eye-opening for sure.

P.S. I have another new blog to share with you this month: The Frugal Girl. Another great resource to inspire you on your frugal journey!

SEPTEMBER’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I took apart and then reassembled my vacuum cleaner after one of the kids sucked up a colored pencil. A most ridiculous accomplishment, but you would not believe how many vacuums we’ve been through in almost 13 years of parenting!

+ I took a yard of orange fabric (that I’ve had stored away) and ripped it into strips to use as ribbon for my Poshmark/Ebay packages. I love how cute it looks and it was free!

+ Our living room chair is almost nine years old and was in sad shape. The removable back cushion was saggy and the arms were stained. I fixed the back cushion by wrapping a blanket (this cheap one from Walmart – we used them as furniture blankets when we moved here to the farmhouse and they’ve proved to be quite handy) around the insert and then cramming plastic grocery store bags in the sides to fill it out a little. Add a $25 slipcover and I have a brand new chair! So excited about this little project.

+ I got a sourdough starter up and running again. Hoping to get into the habit of making fresh bread at least three times a week. So far I’ve made an everyday loaf, a cinnamon raisin swirl, and waffles.

+ I made a big batch of ditalini pasta to accompany our dinner one night. I froze the leftovers and will use them in a soup once the weather gets cooler.

+ I used up all the birthday wrapping paper I had left from last year before buying new rolls. I also found a few gift bags I had stored away, which I can reuse for all the kids.

+ I made my own broth after roasting a whole chicken. I’ve had a full “broth bag” of veggie scraps in the freezer for over a month! It will never fail to amaze me how you can make something so delicious from things you’d normally just trash.

+ You know me and rabbit holes…one night, I got sucked into the world of bullet journals on Pinterest. So many beautiful books and inspiring ideas! I immediately wanted a brand new Leuchtturm notebook, highlighters and pens. ($$$) Instead, I took one of the extra composition books I bought for the kids (only 50 cents!), covered it in scrapbook paper I already owned and I love it all the same.

+ I moved the potatoes from the pantry to the fridge after reading this post. It seems like commonsense (potatoes were traditionally kept in root cellars; root cellars = cool temperatures) but I never took the time to really think about it! Hoping for much less waste with this small change.

+ I bought a “soap saver” to use up all those little bits of leftover soap. Love that I was able to support a maker on etsy too.

+ I sold four bar stools (that have been collecting dust in our basement for two years) on Facebook Marketplace. I’m happy to get them into a new home and really happy to get $100 for them! That money allowed us to cash flow a little day trip to go apple picking and have lunch near our “old-old house”, which is about an hour away.

+ I made soap from supplies I’ve had for years! I made this recipe for goat’s milk grapefruit mint soap once before and still had half of a container full of the melt and pour product. I made another batch (5 bars) and loved that I could actually use up something that was in my craft “stash” as well as make something useful.

+ I redeemed Swagbucks points for a $10 Amazon gift card.

+ I borrowed and read three books from the library.

+ I started buying supplies for our emergency closet: water, snacks and canned goods. Winter (and possible power outages) will be here before we know it!

+ I went to a few thrift stores with my mom and found 12 pieces of clothing for four members of the family, two books, a big mixing bowl and three of the same Crate & Barrel glasses I own for under $40.

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments:

JULY // AUGUST

August 21, 2019

No.285: A List of August’s Frugal Accomplishments

Month #2! I’m really enjoying this challenge of noticing and recording. I’m trying to change my knee-jerk reaction of buying instead of making do/mending/fixing and this monthly post is helping. I’m starting to look around my home in gratitude, taking care of the things we’ve purchased, and being thankful that we have all that we need.

P.S. I have a new blog to share with you this month: The Non Consumer Advocate. Maybe this is just me, but I prefer blogs that don’t tell me what to do, but instead show me what they’re doing. I’m always inspired after reading her weekly “Five Frugal Things” and think you will be too.

AUGUST’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I became very vigilant about turning off all the lights in unoccupied rooms (I’m turning into you, Dad!). I gave a reminder talk to some of the kids who were especially guilty of this.

+ I have had a small hole in one of the throw pillows on my bed for years. I’ve just propped it up on the opposite side all this time, but finally decided to sew it up! It took all of five minutes and now I feel ridiculous that I didn’t do that sooner.

+ After reading about fast fashion and different types of fabric this summer, I gave myself two goals when purchasing clothes going forward: seek ethical companies (made in the USA even better!) and look for breathable fabrics like cotton, linen and silk. These goals are tricky because the price tags tend to be $$$. BUT! While I was shopping on ThredUp for fall clothes for Sophie, I found a linen-blend black v-neck tee from Dolan (I think that’s an Anthropologie brand?), made in the USA, and only $3!

+ I collected all of the free samples we’ve been receiving in our “goodie bags” from the dentist and put them in a milkglass bowl I already own. Now they’re all easy to find and we’ll be good on floss and toothpaste for awhile.

+ I didn’t buy a single book for myself. Book Outlet even had a sale and I kept my debit card in my wallet, hah! Still working through the stacks on my nightstand.

+ The white quilt on my bed was looking really dingy from the dirty feet of my children. (Full disclosure, I immediately started daydreaming about buying new bedding from Pottery Barn.) Instead, I bought a bottle of OxyClean, washed my quilt and it looks brand new again.

+ I put out a request on Trash Nothing for a deep freezer. No luck yet.

+ Ebay had a 4-day promotion that waived the listing fees for 200 items. I listed 40 items, saving me $14.

+ Speaking of Ebay, I sold a handful of homeschooling books we no longer use and made a nice little profit…which went right into buying more supplies for the current school year. An educational circle of life.

+ I borrowed and read two books from the library.

+ One of my favorite coffee mugs has a crack inside, so I re-purposed it into a pen holder.

+ I made two banana breads with bananas that were starting to turn brown.

+ I went through my entire fall/winter wardrobe and looked at every.single.piece. Perks to being the most boring dresser ever: almost all of my clothes are navy blue, olive green, gray, white or black! I threw everything on my bed and inventoried what I had and what I needed. So for example, I noticed that I could use a new plain black long sleeve tee and a chunky black cardigan, but I’m all set on gray sweaters and anything striped. This process gave me a very specific shopping list, which will ultimately save me money in the long run.

+ I invested in a dryer lint trap brush (I bought mine locally, but it’s similar to this). So many pros to this little $5 gadget: it will help prevent fires, less lint in the trap will increase dryer performance (faster loads = money saved) and it even helps with pet hair. A worthwhile purchase.

+ I made a double batch of buttermilk waffles during our “Big Sunday Breakfast” and froze the leftovers for easy breakfasts during the week.

+ I gave some of Lucy’s puppy supplies to a lady through Trash Nothing. I’m happy that another dog will have them since they were only used for such a short amount of time.

+ Lucy (almost 7 months old) suddenly become very picky about her breakfast/dinner, turned her nose to it and refused to eat. After ruling out any illness, I did some research and decided to try the least expensive option: adding a little rice and/or chicken broth. And it worked! She’s gobbled up her meals without complaint ever since. Silly dog.

+ I made a batch of homemade taco seasoning using this recipe.

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments // JULY

July 22, 2019

No.277: A List of July’s Frugal Accomplishments

Do you read The Prudent Homemaker? She has a weekly series called “Last Week’s Frugal Accomplishments” and it is awesome and inspiring. The comments are great too! I’ve wanted to make an effort to notice and record my own frugal accomplishments and July seemed like the right month to start.

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

And I would add, if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ We added a ton of brown matter to the compost pile and that seems to have helped with the unwanted animals problem.
+ I passed on a big box of P’s outgrown clothing to another mama on Trash Nothing.
+ We recreated a few “fancy” Home Chef meals, using the recipes cards we received back when we got the boxes.
+ I opened all of the windows first thing in the morning to let the cool air in and went as long as we could stand before turning on the A/C.
+ We started brainstorming and researching ways to reduce our cell phone and Internet bills.
+ I watched a lot of Poshmark/re-selling videos on YouTube. They’re like business development courses for free! So helpful.
+ I mended three small holes in the knitting on Sophie’s Cuddle + Kind bunny.
+ I also mended a pair of my black pants where the stitching was starting to come undone. A two minute fix and they’re good as new.
+ I made a homemade weed killer using this recipe.
+ I cut the little boys’ hair at home.
+ I easily fixed the wheel on my Ikea cart after thinking it was broken for a year. Face palm. Now it rolls like a dream!
+ I redecorated our side entryway by using things we already own. I splurged on a new houseplant for $10.
+ We bought a new dishwasher during the Fourth of July sale, saving us $150.
+ I stuck to my list on Amazon Prime Day and then resisted temptation by staying off of social media and not reading blog posts for the rest of the day. No impulse shopping for the blissfully unaware, although I was tempted!

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