Sunday, February 17, 2019

My Frugal Ways this Past Week 2/17/19!

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It finally warmed up here enough that I felt the grand kids could go out to play without freezing. We took them on a little snowy four wheel ride and then we took them sledding the next night. They had the best time and were completely exhausted. Perfect!

This week I have had a few surprises and it was so fun. I won 4 tickets to see a children's play that I took my granddaughter to yesterday. It was so cute and we had a great time.

My biggest win came from our local car show that we went to. They have a lot of vendors with giveaways and I made sure to enter them all. It paid off because I actually won a car starter!  Our van's car starter quit about a year ago. It's been so nice these past few days to just click to start the car from inside a warm house. I mean we have done without one for a year but there is such a joy in staying warm inside now. Installation was included but we paid for the door locking mechanism. Total spent was around $33.00.

When we went to the car show we paid $16.00 for both of us to get in and $5.00 for parking. We felt like we got a lot of that back with all the freebies they were giving out. Here are the ones I can remember: two large snow/ice scrapers for the car, multiple little canisters of sanitizing hand wipes, lots of wrap around can cooler things, some kind of moist towels that work like magic to clean off everything it seems in your house (I'm buying a big tub soon -from O Rally's), bottles of car wash, and little bags of Kleenex.

I made yogurt.

I dried banana chips in the dehydrator.

I winter sowed 10 more jugs this past week.

My goals for this week:

Winter sow more jugs. I need to sew peppers, more tomatoes, marigolds, and lettuce. I also need to buy more potting soil.

Finish stenciling the last pull out drawer of the pantry using the stencils I was sent from Stencil Revolution for my honest review. This hasn't been hard but I find it's like one thing led to another and I'm working on the whole pantry! I'm at the finish line now so it will be done in a few days. I'm excited to show you the complete finish with my review! Here is a peek:

What are the ways you've saved this past week?

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Saturday, February 16, 2019

My Grocery Shopping Total this week 2/16/19!

My Aldi's has Almond Flour! I was so excited and worried they might not carry again I bought four bags. It was a great price too for $5.99 a lb. Have you seen it at your Aldi's?

You can tell by some of my purchases that we still have grand kids here frequently for snow days. The weather has not been the greatest so far this February.

For those who are new here, there are 3 of us living here plus we love and watch 2 grandchildren when we are needed. I'm trying to keep our grocery bill down to $240 a month (so far this month we are not keeping on track).

Aldi's

4 bags of 1lb Almond flour $5.99 each
5 Advance Bars $4.99 each
2 turkey snack sticks $3.49 each
2 half and half $1.55 each
2 quarts of strawberries $1.39 each
Tomatoes $1.79
2 large jugs of vinegar $2.39 each
Bananas .70
2 dozen eggs .75 each
5 dry gravy mixes .39 and .29 each
Biscuits .99
Cinnamon rolls $1.15 (not as good as grands)
Celery $1.19
like oreo cookies $1.55
Instant potatoes $1.29
Lettuce $.79
2 gallons of Whole milk $1.69
Bag of oranges $2.19
2 whipped toppings $.79 each
3 loaves of low cal bread $1.79 each (gave one to my daughter to try and we put one in the freezer)
chocolate Almondmilk $1.69
Peanuts $1.89
Tea bags $1.89
Cheese $1.69
Toilet paper $6.29 (12 roll pack)
Heavy whipping cream $1.55

Total $108.92

I bought my dress shoes at Aldi's!

I always look in the discounted bin while I'm shopping and I found a nice pair of dress shoes for me. There were half off so they ended up being $6.49. I did a little happy dance!

How was your grocery shopping this past week?

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Free Kindle Books for Today 2/16/19!

Free Kindle Books for today 2/16/19 Make sure you check the price before you buy, Amazon prices can change frequently. If you don’t have a Kindle you can download your favorite Kindle Book on any tablet or smartphone with a free Kindle Reading App

Daughters of Deliverance (Kate Bushnell Series Book 1)

The Road Home (North Georgia Days Book 1)

Evicting Erlene (The Elmo Jenkins Novelettes Book 1)

One-Pot Cookbook: Family-Friendly Everyday Soup, Casserole, Slow Cooker and Skillet Recipes for Busy People on a Budget: Dump Dinners and One-Pot Meals (Healthy Cooking and Cookbooks Book 1)

Waffle Iron Snacks and Fun Foods: How to Use Your Waffle Iron to Make Delicious Food Fast and Easy

2019 Book-Writing Planner

Milo & Ze: A Bull Terrier Puppy Adventure (Mark Watson Children's Books Book 2)

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Friday, February 15, 2019

My thoughts on Marie Kondo's Tidying Up Series

Curiosity got the best of me a couple of nights ago and I decided to watch Marie Kondo's Tidying Up episodes on Netgalley. Really, I didn't expect to learn anything new because like you see, I know everything about Spring Cleaning (ha ha). Plus, I had in my mind people just blindly getting rid of stuff and throwing it all out to the curb. I was in for a big awakening.

My attitude changed really after I watched the first episode. That's where I watched how to fold clothes a different way. I'm so in love with this method! I immediately went into the dresser drawers and started folding. I was amazed and excited about how much more room I have left!

I hollered at my husband, who's game was in half time, and we sorted through a lot of his clothes too! I think he was never so glad that half time was over.

I have watched three episodes so far and I can't wait to watch more. I'm inspired to go through my kitchen and organize with baskets. I need to buy baskets for my drawers, soon!

Did they get rid of a lot of their stuff? Yes, they did get rid of a lot of stuff but really they needed to! Since I do spring and fall cleaning I don't have as much stuff built up but I did manage to fill 3 trash bags full to give to the thrift shop.

I also just love Marie's personality. She is so nice and never looks down on anyone. She understands how life can get the best of someone and helps them make their house a home they can live in.

So, I take back my blinded one sided opinion and encourage you to watch her show if you can. Oh yes and make sure you visit the thrift stores for the deals too!

Be sure to sign up for my daily email list and never miss a post! You can also follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook,and Bloglovin where I share my frugal list, gardening, recipes, Free Kindle books, and more

Free Kindle Books for Today 2/15/19!

Free Kindle Books for today 2/15/19 Make sure you check the price before you buy, Amazon prices can change frequently. If you don’t have a Kindle you can download your favorite Kindle Book on any tablet or smartphone with a free Kindle Reading App

A Stranger On My Land (Civil War Romance Series Book 1) by [Hart, Sandra Merville]

A Stranger On My Land (Civil War Romance Series Book 1) You can read my review here.

Elizabeth of Saginaw Bay (Great Lakes Romances Book 12) by [Winters, Donna]

Elizabeth of Saginaw Bay (Great Lakes Romances Book 12) You can read my review here.

Poor Mans Cookbook

The Apple Book+

That's Special: A Survival Guide To Teaching

The Shark in the Park (Mark Watson Children's Books Book 1)

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Free Kindle Books and Deals for Today 2/14/19!

Free Kindle Books for today 2/14/19 Make sure you check the price before you buy, Amazon prices can change frequently. If you don’t have a Kindle you can download your favorite Kindle Book on any tablet or smartphone with a free Kindle Reading App