Tuesday Tidbits

 

The end of another month and I finished entering budget numbers and filing the paperwork. 

We were under budget once again, but not by much. In fact I have a feeling that Harvey hid some receipts on me. Not much I can do about that though. 

I am going to see if I can somehow cut a bit more off some of our spending. Mind you with the dental work I need to go through and another trip to Regina to get the results of my tests from the cancer specialist, this could be a bit of a problem. The cutting might just have to wait until April. 

I finished one altar cloth and after I find a coordinating purple the second one should be quickly finished. I made a real boo-boo and didn't get enough fabric for the length needed. I just kept thinking of width. Oh well, I will do much better with the red when I manage to get it. 

I pulled all the fabric for some spring and summer clothing. One of my goals for this month is to get all the patterns cut. Trying some new top patterns this time around. 

Harvey made a Hummingbird house. He used a 3 inch or so in circumference branch from our woodpile. Took him all of about an hour to get it done. I have a feeling he will make a few more to hang in the tree in the backyard by the deck. I will take a photo of it and the bird feeder and post them tomorrow. 

While the weather has been pretty nice the last few days but according to the long term forecast we are going to be getting a good dose of winter once again. I will be glad to see spring arrive. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Well just a few more days this month, which meant I had to set up next months menus. I am almost done using bits and bobs of frozen meats from the fridge freezer, and I hope never to let it get that messy again. I hope to have all cleared out by the end of the week. That means I will need to make split pea soup sometime this week to get rid of the ham bone still residing in one of the baskets. Some will be frozen to use at another time

Monday

Sloppy Joes and I will add some mushrooms and celery to the mix to get in more veggies.

Tuesday

Leftover Ham made into a casserole.

Wednesday

Leftover Sloppy Joes.

Thursday 

Leftover ham casserole.

Friday

Glace, potatoes and eggs.

Saturday

Leftover pork roast made into a stir fry. Served over rice.

Sunday

Roast chicken, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots.

Any leftover chicken will hopefully be used up in other meals in the month of March.

Everybody have a wonderful evening (or afternoon).

God bless.

Saturday Roundup

 

As it has been so cold out I stayed home and did small jobs around the house. I actually finished my monthly cleaning tasks early for a change. 

I worked on large and small projects, and finished a few which I will post pictures of tomorrow. Started some medium sized projects, which because of not looking at measurements properly am still working on. Hopefully one will be finished tomorrow, and after picking up some more fabric when I go shopping I should be able to finish the second one very soon. 

I put away the cut out dress patterns as those are more suitable for winter (and hopefully that is almost over) and pulled fabric for some spring and summer wear. I don't need much, a couple of tops, some shorts (2 or 3 pairs), and some capris (another 2 or 3 pairs). I also pulled the fabric to make Harvey his spring/summer light weight robe. I plan on cutting out a few of these tomorrow. 

I spent an hour today talking to my youngest brother on the phone. Since he is schizophrenic that can sometimes be a chore. I usually have to decipher what he is trying to tell me and listen to the same thing over and over again. At least this time I didn't have a bad headache when we were done. I love him, but he is tiring. 

I have planned next months menus and there are plenty of times I can use an appliance to cook rather than my oven. Most meals are using the top of the stove, the microwave, toaster oven, electric roaster, or air fryer. I need to get the Instant Pot into the rotation as well. I am pretty sure those will help with a reduction on our electric bill. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

There has been a great deal lately about living a thrifty and frugal life like Grandma. Lots of people no longer have or never did have a grandmother or grandfather that grew up during the depression or during the war when rationing occurred. 

Because of this we rely on other's stories, and those who are lucky enough to continue the frugal ways of their Grandma.

Living an old fashioned frugal life gives you back control. Control of your cash and control of your environmental impact. 

You are no longer chasing the latest, best or biggest whatever in the neighbourhood. 

These tips and hints will probably be repeats of things I have mentioned in previous posts, but hopefully there are a few new ones that you can use in your day to day life. While I use all of these, it has taken me many years to incorporate them into my daily/weekly life, and I am still trying to make them all habits.

1. Cook from scratch.

2. Bake your own bread. You know exactly what is in each loaf. In our case we go through less as the loaves are larger and seem more filling.

3. Use cloth instead of paper towels. I just use paper for very messy clean ups.

4. Save eating out for celebratory occasions. Ordering in can be less expensive, and date nights are perfect for watching a movie with popcorn.

5. Meal plan around what you already have. I do a monthly menu plan and even though things get moved around I know what we will be eating. My shopping trips consist of purchasing dairy, veggies, fruit and sale items (meat) that will be used to plan menus in the coming months. It did take me awhile to get to this point.

6. Reuse plastic bags whenever possible.

7. Have a meatless meal or soup and sandwich meal once a week. Making your own soup is a great way to save.

8. Cut back on the portion size of meat. We all eat rather larger portions then we should. A portion is no bigger than your palm.

9. Make your own snacks and sweets.

10. Wear an apron to protect your clothing from stains.

11. When using your oven fill it.

12. Use butter wrappers to grease your baking tins. My Mom did this all the time.

13. Use residual heat whenever possible to cook things like pasta and hard boiled eggs. Bring the water to a boil, add the pasta or eggs, cover and remove from heat.

14. Substitute for ingredients you don't have.

15. Use all your leftovers. Freeze them if you need to. I freeze spoonful's of leftover veggies in a container and when there is enough use them in soup.

16. Reuse your plastic containers and glass jars. 

17. Mend your own clothes.

18. Make your own clothes using recycled fabric of purchasing on sale fabric from stores or yard sales.

19. Recycle old clothing, sheets, and pillowcases into quilts.

20. Learn how to knit or crochet so you can make mitts, hats, and scarves. 

21. Line dry clothing. 

22. Buy secondhand whenever you can.

23. Turn down your heat by 1 degree. It might not seem much but can save you a great deal.

24. Wear extra layers if you feel cold. I wrap up in a knitted shawl or snuggle into a quilt I made.

25. Grow your own food if possible. Many types of veggies can be grown in containers.

26. Learn how to preserve the food you have grown.

27. Use scrap paper and the blank parts of envelops for your shopping lists.

28. Reuse gift bags and wrapping paper. Make some reusable gift bags.

29. Exercise for free using books and DVD's from the library. Or if you have YouTube there are lots of exercise channels.

30. If you have a baby use cloth diapers instead of disposables. My babies couldn't wear disposables as their poor little bottoms would get bright red. My mom made me lots of diapers.

31. Combine errands to save on gas.

32. Make sure lights are off in rooms not in use. 

33. DIY whenever possible.

So there are a few of the ways I live a frugal life. I hope there are a few new hints in the list that you can use.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

While it has warmed up a bit temperature wise we got snow earlier this morning and then after that the wind came up. All that to say I had another day of doing little and larger things around the house. Still working on the green altar cloth as I decided to do the hemming by hand. 

Part of being thrifty is making good use of what you have and that is what I have tried to do this week. 

I fixed a seam on a pair of my pants. 

Sewed a button on one of Harvey's shirts.

Meals have been fashioned using what I have here at home. Much too cold the last few days to even think of running out and purchasing an ingredient that I don't have so I have been doing lots of subbing of ingredients.

Using good old soap and hot water (along with a bit of elbow grease) for cleaning. 

Fixing my sewing machine (though why I waited a year to try changing the bobbin...duh that should have been my first move). I love having my really good machine up and working once again. Though the one Kurt purchased me for Christmas a few years back saved my sanity until I realized what needed to be done.

Knitting my sweater with orphan balls of yarn. This will cut down my stash a little bit. 

Got a cheque from our insurance company for my excess dental costs. It still cost me almost $100.00, but that is only 1/5 of the cost. 

Hubby is using up some of his bits and bobs of wood down in his work room to make a couple of bird feeders.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

 

Midweek, Baby It's Cold Outside

 

Woke up to some serious cold temperatures this morning. This meant hunkering down and doing small tasks around the house. It also means lots of pain for yours truly in her lower back and hips. I end up working for a bit and then moving around, sitting for a bit and then walking around the house. Hopefully this bout won't last long.

So what did I do today.

I prepped the green altar cloth for sewing tomorrow (supposed to be fairly cold again), made the larger draught dodger for Kris's side door, made the prototype for the face warmer (for my friend), cleaned the shelves in the fridge, washed and folded rags, and cut the fabric to make the mesh produce bags (got three ready to be sewn).

This is the purple altar cloth.

Though it looks kind of blue here it is a deep purple (also pretty blurry for some reason). 

The mesh fabric cut for the produce bags. 

My Babylock machine up and running once again. I thought I would change the bobbin and that was what was causing the problem. I purchased more while in Fabricland that will work in this machine. 

This is a small container that my brother-in-law made on his lathe. I use it to store my rings in when I am cleaning. Love it. 

Tomorrow I will take pictures of the face warmer, the draught dodger, the mesh bags and hopefully the finished green altar cloth. 

I am trying to get more of the smaller projects done so I can cross them off my list. I will still have plenty to carry forward to next month.

Off to get supper made or at least started and then I will be back to visit you all.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

I woke up this morning to lots of wind, it did die down, but the temperature did not rise very much at all.

I worked around the house most of the morning and then traveled about a block to visit my friend for coffee. This will probably be the last time I go for pretty much the rest of the week. I checked our weather and was shocked to see this.

ALERTS IN EFFECT

Extreme Cold Warning

Issued at 15:39 Tuesday 21 February 2023

Extreme wind chill values in the -40 to -45 range are expected tonight for most of southern Saskatchewan as a bitterly cold Arctic airmass settles over the region.

Temperatures are expected to return to near seasonal values this weekend.

###

Extreme cold puts everyone at risk.

Risks are greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter.

Watch for cold related symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes.

Extreme cold warnings are issued when very cold temperatures or wind chill creates an elevated risk to health such as frost bite and hypothermia.

Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to SKstorm@ec.gc.ca or tweet reports using #SKStorm.

Not at all conducive to wanting to be outside, and while the temperatures could rise the remaining days of the week, I still do not want to be out and about. 

I have lots that I can do around the house, so staying home is no problem. I have things to sew, projects to work on, and baking that I can do.

Harvey has started to make a couple of bird feeders for outside. He checked on line for the costs of buying them and found that he could make a few with the scraps of lumber he has downstairs for half the cost. This, even after purchasing some plexiglass and small hinges. It also gives him something to do during these last few weeks of a Canadian winter. 

I hope all of you who have pancakes today enjoy them, we will be finishing off the pork stir fry....  I forgot all about Ash Wednesday so of course I needed to make a menu change. I think Perogies tomorrow and then the homemade pizza, pancakes on Friday and Saturday we will finish off the homemade pizza. Just needed to change things around a little bit. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

Now hopefully there will be no more menu changes this week.

Monday

Turkey noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Tuesday

Leftovers from Sunday. 

Wednesday

Homemade Pizza. I will be using up a couple of Sweet Italian Sausages, some diced peppers from the freezer, and a bit of the ham in the meat keeper. Hmmm, wonder if I have some canned pineapple.

Thursday

We will finish the leftover Pizza.

Friday

Pancakes, in other words breakfast for supper.

Saturday

Shake and Bake Chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Sunday

Leftover roast beef from the freezer along with leftover mashed potatoes and corn.

Slowly but surely using things up in the fridge freezer and cleaning it out just a little bit.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

We had a lovely visit with Kris and a great trip to the Regina Floral Conservatory. 

Here are a few pictures from the Conservatory, a place that I will definitely be visiting again. Kris says it is a wonderful place to have your lunch on those really cold days in the city.

I took many more pictures, but will share those with you another time perhaps. An oasis in the middle of a cold winter.

Kris has been growing veggies in his basement, hydroponically. He set up his system by himself.

Things are growing really well. He has three peppers and a tomato growing. Lush and perfect. He even has flowers that he is hand pollinating so as to get the fruit.

I didn't manage to get all my shopping done, but since I have to go back at the end of next month for my results I will finish it then. 

Off to visit as many of you as possible before I have to finish putting together our supper. Which has been changed (yet again) as I pulled out leftover pork roast instead of chicken.... Must label things better.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tuesday Tidbits

 

Well dentist visit is over for a bit. I do need some work done after about 15 years of no work. Three fillings, the fixing of a crown (must be replaced) and I will need to see a specialist for the other problem which is an infection at the bottom of another crown. More visits to the dentist some coming up very quickly. What will be, will be I guess.

Other than the just over 2 hours in the office I did manage to get lots done. Well my whole list plus a couple of little extra things that I had put off. No, the cookies aren't made. Perhaps tomorrow or I could bake a cake instead. 

I also did not complete my shopping. I will do that tomorrow and get gas as well. I am hoping it stays at $1.39.9 a liter and doesn't go up overnight.

I looked at my monthly menu and made a decision. I am definitely going to try and use up all the bits and bobs in there. Pizza night will see me using up some Italian sausage from the chest freezer, but that will be the only new item pulled out to be used. 

I worked on my quilt block embroidery for a bit, but as it is getting darker out I set it aside. Knitting will be happening tonight. 

Only one more day before we visit with Kris. Looking forward to that.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Menu Monday

 

This will not really be a full weeks menu as we will not be home for a couple of days. Of course we will be eating, but on the first night we will pick up food and the next night I plan on bringing the main dish meat. If Kris can put us up for two nights, saving us at least $200.00, we can supply some of what we will be eating. 

Monday

Tacos, using up the leftovers from a couple of nights ago.

Tuesday

Butter chicken, and I will cook up the leftover cauliflower and broccoli. I also have some rice we can use and there will be a tortilla or two we can use if we want.

Wednesday

Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Going to use up the soup I brought up from the chest freezer for a meal last week which didn't get eaten.

Thursday

Pick up supper before heading to Kris's.

Friday

Porkchops and whatever Kris has to go along with them.

Saturday

We should be home in the late afternoon and so supper will be quick. I was thinking Denver sandwiches.

Sunday

Leftover Chicken made into a casserole. Should give us another meal on Tuesday.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

Another week of the month gone, almost at the midway point now. I think the older I get the faster the days, weeks, months and years zip by. I know others find that the days go by just as quickly.

Not much has really been happening that is new here on the old homestead. I am still busy making lists, getting ready for appointments, working on projects and keeping the house clean. 

I didn't do much in the way of decluttering, but I hope to get more done this week. I actually procrastinated on a few things as well. Those things will need to get done in the first half of the week.

I have been working on my sweater in the evenings, and the embroidery during the day. 

This is how far I have gotten on the first of the 15 blocks for the first of what will hopefully be three quilts by the end of the year. Slow going for sure though things are picking up a bit as far as my speed.

Not going to post a picture of the sweater as of yet. Kind of a boring stocking stitch right now. Hopefully soon the colour will change and things will begin to be a bit more interesting.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Frugal Friday

 

Another sunny day here. The old homestead is slowly but surely losing snow. I can almost see all the gravel on our driveway. It isn't so much the temperature as it is the sunshine. 

So what frugal things have I been up to this week.

1.  Gathered supplies already on hand to at least start the embroidery project. I will have to purchase more, but am planning on using up as much as possible before doing so. Mind you a few colours (like the green floss shades will need to be purchased when we go to the city).

2.  Using up lots from the fridge freezer and things that are getting close to their use by date.

3.  Filling the dishwasher as full as possible.

4.  Cut more rags from old pj's of Hubby's. I may be needing to make him some more very soon. 

5.  Finding free reading material and patterns online.

6.  I think I might have fixed the printer (wasn't doing a great job of printing). At least I hope.

7.  Baked my bread once again using the machine and not the oven.

8.  Mostly used the top of the stove and microwave to cook this week, and today will be no different. I will use the air fryer, and the top of the stove to make our meal. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

I always have thought of thrifty as being cool, and now more and more people are turning to old fashioned thrifty and frugality to make ends meet.

There are many of the old youth group I keep in touch with and I smile when I read their posts on Facebook. They are learning how to plant a garden, how to mend clothing, canning, freezing and even in some cases getting thrifty over how and when they spend their money. Some are even bartering!!! So great to see.

So what thrifty things are happening around the Phillips homestead.

1.  I fixed a hem on another pair of Harvey's pants. Repaired the seams on a nightie I made a couple of years ago.

2.  Using up what I have in the house, and my shopping just seems to be stocking up or getting food to use in the much distant future. 

3.  Decluttering the house and finding items that I can hand on to Kris. Kurt pretty much has everything he needs, though I may purchase him an Instant Pot eventually. Kris can't find his slow cooker so that is on the list to get for him. I am hoping to find them second hand. 

4.  Shopping at home is working out very well. It is amazing what one finds hidden in dark corners. 

5.  Only running errands every second week is working as well. Next week is slightly different. A visit to the dentist, and travel to see my doctor will mean using the car a bit more. 

So that's what has happened on the thrifty front here. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Mid Week, Oh My

 

We missed the rain that Regina got, or at least I think so and so I went for a bit of a walk this morning. I am hopeful that all the ice will be gone from the roads very soon. In looking ahead at the weather forecast...the snow/rain mix for next week that was predicted is no longer there. Really great, especially as it was supposed to occur the day before we need to travel for my specialist appointment. 

I got the outsides of my kitchen cupboards washed with Murphy's Oil Soap and oiled with Lemon Oil. They look so nice and shiny now. I really need to do that a bit more often. 

I also got many of the pictures from my phone moved over to the computer. Still have a few to do, but I will get more moved tomorrow.

This is the Prayer shawl/blanket I have been working on for one of Kurt's good friends. I have actually become a friend of hers as well. In fact I may have adopted her. She is a wonderful artist, very talented, and is struggling with quite a few health issues. I will be mailing it up to Kurt to give to her early next week.

Now I think I mentioned how I seemed to have inherited all Mom's crafty things when she left us many years ago. I don't often do stamped embroidery, unless it is something she left. I actually finished off a set of sugar bag dishtowels for my niece for a shower gift that Mom had started. I have done a few tablecloths which I use regularly and a couple of dresser scarves. This week I decided to see what was left in the box. 

I pulled out what I thought was two sets of quilt blocks. Well, it turned out to be three sets!!! I decided that perhaps I should work on these. So, I cut apart one set of 15 and started to embroider today.

This is how far I have gotten.

This is going to be a great deal of work, but on cloudy days should keep me occupied. I believe that Mom was going to do them and get me to make three different quilts. At the time there

were only three other females in the family. My sister, her daughter and myself. I am not sure who to give them to now as my brother has three daughters. I will just have to think about that a bit more. 

I will also consider this a bit of decluttering and using things up in the sewing/craft room. Something that is definitely needed at this point in time.

There is another set of different quilt blocks in the box as well as a couple of dresser scarves and I think enough sugar bags to do at least 5 sets of dish towels. Could keep me busy for a very long time. I don't do hand embroidery as quickly as I used to. 

Still using items up from the fridge freezer and the chest freezer. Today I am making a curry and am using up a package of frozen tomatoes, the leftover chicken that I didn't use yesterday, and some tortillas that have been in the fridge freezer for awhile. My curry will be going into a wrap kind of thing. Served with the leftover salad it should fill us up nicely

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless. 

Tuesday Tidbits

 

It has been another quiet day here on the Phillips homestead. I got all the tasks completed once again. I guess after being retired for 12 years I have finally gotten the hang of things. 

Mending done, some knitting completed (more done later) and lots of decluttering and making lists. I even managed to get a bit of a walk in.

Things are quickly melting, some of the main roads are completely dry. I know this won't last but I will enjoy it as long as possible. 

My list of fixit's has been made for this year. Most are very simple, but the deck painting will take a bit of time as will the painting of some of the outdoor furniture. Plan on starting those two things as soon as the weather gets to where it needs to be. Perhaps even Easter if we are really lucky. 

I have been looking for three bedroom apartments or condos. Any three bedroom condos are 2 floors and we want to get away from that. I started thinking that a two bedroom would work as if we are in Regina, Kurt could stay with Kris or us (planning on bringing the couch that pulls out into a bed), as we would try to find something close to Kris. The second bedroom could be my sewing/craft room and library. 

Then there is the TV thing. Harvey does not like what I watch, and I really don't like watching sports or the news all day. My solution is to perhaps set up my TV either in the master bedroom or in the second bedroom.... Thoughts only. 

Still using up whatever we can. Meals are mostly cleaning out the fridge freezer or perhaps an older ready meal from the chest freezer downstairs. It is definitely a very frugal thing to use up what I have available.

Finishing up Three Pines on Prime. I probably will only get two episodes watched today, but will finish the last two tomorrow. I think if I was by myself I could actually get rid of most of our MaxTV and just do the streaming thing. Probably work out much less in cost over the year. Between Prime, Netflix, Disney+, and BritBox my TV watching is pretty much covered. I hear there is lots to watch on YouTube as well (haven't checked that out yet). If I get the android box up and running again on the mini computer attached to the TV I can watch the series I love as well. 

I am still using more appliances than the oven and I am hoping to see a decline in electrical costs. If I use the oven I pack it as full as I possibly can, which is something I learned from all of you. Also making sure that all lights are off in rooms not in use, and hanging as much clothing as I can on lines downstairs right now.  

Not having to pay for a hotel room when we go to Regina for my appointments saves us a bundle as well. Buying a few meals or bringing them up while we stay with Kris saves him cash and us as well. We will be up there visiting and taking advantage of his hospitality for a number of days while stocking up and visiting my cancer specialist.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless

Menu Monday

 

A new week has arrived. One would think that my fridge freezer would be cleared out.... Not a chance. So once again we will be making meals around what is in that freezer. With the occasional meal from something new. 

Monday

I have pulled the last container of chili out of the freezer downstairs. Serving it with toast.

Tuesday

A bag of leftover chicken will be turned into something wonderful I hope. I am going to try and find a new casserole recipe. There is also a bit of salad to use up.

Wednesday

Cream of celery soup from the freezer downstairs and I think I will make egg salad sandwiches.

Thursday

Leftovers from Tuesday. I will make some coleslaw to serve with the casserole.

Friday

Fish Fillets, hashbrown patties, and the remains of the coleslaw.

Saturday

Lazy Perogy casserole. 

Sunday

Butter chicken, rice, mixed veggies.

So this will clear out a package of chicken from the fridge freezer along with the remaining hashbrown patties and the remaining fish fillets.

The chili and soup are pulled from the chest freezer so clearing a bit more of that up as well. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Sunday Ramblings

 

I have decided I live a rather boring life. I get up most mornings, have coffee, moderate the forum I am a member off, check emails, check Facebook,  and follow the list of tasks I have set for myself. Day in and day out my life is planned. Planned almost to the last minute. Heck I even put reading down on my to do list......

I often wonder if I don't have a form of OCD or even Autism. Never been diagnosed with either, but I do have some symptoms of both. More towards the OCD side of things though. Funny thing is though whenever I make a project I will purposely add an error somewhere as no living person is perfect. Certain things need to be just so, but others I could care less how they look. 

All this to say the idea of downsizing and moving is scaring the crap out of me. Like what will happen to my books, or my sewing machines, or fabric, or yarn. How on earth will I manage to do without my things. 

Will I be me, Jackie, without what makes me, me. Or is it only that I think my things are what make me who and what I am. 

Tough decisions are ahead, but I am sure I will eventually find my way through the maze that my mind is setting up.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Wind up Saturday

 

We had a lovely day today. After a bit of rain early this morning, the skies cleared, the sun came out and we had a sun shine, warmish day (at least for this time of year).

I managed to get most of my household tasks done well before 10 this morning and so decided to put on my cleats and go for a walk. Loved it. Fresh air is always so invigorating. 

Back home and did some knitting (which I will continue tonight), put my knitting projects into bags so I can pull them to work on, and just had a very lazy day overall. 

Lists made of things that we should take care of around the house this year. I will make a new one next year and again the year after. That should see all done.

Tomorrow I will start the list of what needs to be decluttered. I think if I do a bit at a time, I can manage better. The only thing I am really concerned about is my books.... Wonder if I could scan them and then put them on a thumb drive. Or at least I could do my favourite books that way.

Still working on using things up from freezer and fridge. I am hopeful that I will have things very much under control. I just hate the way things got out of control over the last six months or so. 

Everybody have a wonderful evening. 

God bless.

Frugal Friday

I don't know why I post Frugal Fridays when I try my best to be frugal every day. I guess it is because many others do this as well, and it is a good way to list the frugal things a person has done in the past week. 

I find myself listing the same things every week most times. I suppose it is because those thing have become habits. I need to get some new frugal habits started, especially since Harvey has decided that we will need to move in the future.

So what new frugal habits am I picking up.

1.  Planning on what is going to who of our larger yard items. Since we will probably move to Regina, and am not too sure about where I think we will give our rototiller to our youngest who lives there. All of a sudden I though hmmm, we could share a garden and the way to expand said garden would be for him to work up the yard a bit more. Hence why he would get the tiller a necessary tool for that. 

2.  Kurt would get the snow blower if he wants it (must be fair).

3.  Kris would get the chest freezer as we could share it for the gardens bounty. 

4.  I will check with both of our sons to see what if any baking trays and pans they would like. So many doubles as I got many of my Moms when she passed away.

Harvey also has a very large water barrel that we could in fact move if we wished. Just not sure if we would and who it would go to....

Now on to frugal things that impact our day to day life here on the prairies. Hopefully some new habits starting. 

1.  I am becoming more adept at using items up in my fridge freezer. Still more to get through (when there is only two eating things add up quickly) but I am planning menus a bit differently. 

2.  Only driving a couple of times in a two week period. My fuel in the car has lasted well over a month and if I didn't have a specialist appointment for my yearly cancer checkup would have lasted two months easily.

3.  Downloaded two free books onto my ereader.

4.  Downloaded some free embroidery patterns.

5.  Working on using items up from my various stashes. I pulled some yarn to make two sweaters (one a pullover) from my yarn stash that I found patterns I loved. Pulled some cotton yarn that I want to make a spring/summer sleeveless sweater from, just need to find a pattern I really like.

So that's it for today. Forward planning and deciding what goes where (though Harvey hasn't had his say as of yet). I am also planning what needs painting and fixing before we try selling. That list could be my post for one of the upcoming days.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Thrifty Thursday

 

Brrr, it got very cold once again, and while the temperature is slowly rising and the sun is shining it still isn't warm enough to be out and about. 

Good thing I did my shopping yesterday.

I thought I would share some of the questions I ask myself in order to live a thrifty lifestyle.

The first question was why I wanted to live a thrifty and frugal lifestyle. In may case it was I wanted to have a lifestyle that did not make as large a mark on the environment. I am not saying we don't travel, we do, but by keeping our footprint as small as possible most of the time, things even out. I actually think saving money to pay off debt was a by product. 

I became conscious of the choices I was making. Slowly the bad choices, like shopping for entertainment disappeared.

Starting to use every last drop of what I purchased was the next little hint I took on. I paid for whatever it is and I will get my monies worth. 

This next hint I am still working on. We only have two small thrift stores here in my city and I try to use them as much as possible. Garage/yard sales and our cities many online sales sites are watched by everyone now and getting a deal can be a bit of a challenge. Still there are deals if one keeps their eyes and ears open. 

I always wait to buy clothing, soon enough the old seasons clothing goes on sale. Right now winter wear is down to at least 50% off. It will fall even more. However this year I promised myself I would only purchase myself a new pair of runners. All else will be made using fabric or yarn from my stash.

Stockpiling started when we lived in a small village 30 miles outside of the city we now live in. Back then I only had the fridge freezer so I needed to portion things out and make sure everything fit properly. I did can, but only fruits, pickles and relishes. When we got our first freezer I started to freeze veggies and baking. 

I did a bit of stockpiling this week. I am trying to stockpile some cleaning supplies and personal care products. Right now we have enough shampoo, bath soap, and my body wash to last a year. The same can be said for hand lotion and body butters. We also have enough tin foil to last 3 or 4 years, parchment paper for a year and garbage bags for a year. This week I added enough of my stove top cleaner to last a year, SOS pads for the year and the plastic I use to cut and seal for my FoodSaver. 

I also bought a rather large eye of round beef roast and since I already had a few beef roasts in the freezer, this was cut into small steaks for marinating and slow roasting. By doing this myself I managed to save about $30.00 as the steaks are much more expensive than the large roast. These are sealed in meal sized bags and in the meat freezer. I actually got some meat from the ends that I made into stir fry strips as well.

I am hoping by stockpiling certain things and food items, I can miss some of the inflationary costs we are seeing.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Midweek Once More

 

Wow, the middle of the week and a new month begins. Since a new month is starting I did our budget yesterday. Way under for groceries but over for household maintenance which covers cleaning products, paper products, and other such things. I am hopeful that once we finish (or I finish) stocking up on enough of those items to last us the year that will fall as well. 

I am still using things up in the fridge freezer and that is going well.

Today was shopping and I am still overwhelmed by how much prices go up in just over two weeks. I happened to purchase my usual Degree Antiperspirant today and was amazed that the price has risen $1.00 and the package has gotten smaller. 

Gas for the car has risen $0.20 a liter just since Christmas. Good thing we no longer use a lot. Combining errands and not shopping every day is helping us keep this under control. 

Menu planning and using up all that we can helps in the grocery area. However sometimes one just has to pay full price. This is what happens when you live in a small city on the prairies and one reason moving to some place bigger could in fact lower this budget line. The bigger centers actually have yellow stickers on some items. 

I did some baking this week. 

I used up a package of frozen rhubarb to make a rhubarb cake.

Used up some of the package of dried cherries to make a dozen cherry muffins for breakfasts.

Made a rather rustic apple tart to use up the remaining phyllo sheets, 4 rather wrinkled apples and the last few dried cherries. Harvey just loved it.

Continuing to use up, bake my own bread (thinking of doing my own English muffins as well), mend what needs mending, fixing things around the house, and just plain watching what we spend and how we are spending.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.