But, here are some frugal accomplishments for the last two weeks!
1. Grocery shopping: we spent $11.03 at Aldi, and $27.55 at Kroger. Some of the things I bought at Aldi weren't cheaper than Walmart, so that was a little disappointing. But other things were cheaper, so I suppose it was a wash in the end. At Kroger I bought some fun items at regular price (the canned cinnamon rolls and Reeses), as well as boring items at regular price: the sausage was $2.00 for a pound, and the raisins were also $2.00.
2.Thrift store: VOA had their 50% off sale. After going to William Sonoma on my birthday, I made a list of all the things I wanted for my "dream kitchen". Even though I love the idea of buying my entire dream kitchen at WS, I can save several hundred dollars by finding those same common kitchen items at thrift stores and garage sales. I already have everything I need in my current kitchen, but I'd like to make upgrades like replacing my plastic serving spoons with wood or stainless steel ones. At VOA I found several of the things on my list: a cookie jar, a tall glass pasta jar, and a lazy susan. All of the items were good quality.
3. Free GARAGE SALE! The church around the corner had their semi-annual free garage sale. A couple days before the event, I dropped off a load of things to donate. After the sale, I came home with.... well, probably a few more things than I donated. LOL! Below are some pictures of what I got:
There were also a ton of little kid shoes. I found a pair of shoes/moccasins that she can wear right now, plus pairs in a few sizes up. On a very good day, I can find a pair of leggings for $2.00 ($1.00 at the half price sale) at a thrift store; same deal for shoes and other clothing. $1.00 per piece on a very, very good day. I'm guessing I saved over $50.00 by finding so many baby clothes at the free garage sale.
In addition to the baby clothes, I also got three packs of stationery, a flag-shaped cookie cutter, highlighter, board with hooks for clothing, five cookbooks, seven other books, candles, and two beautiful glass candlesticks.
5. Cooking: I made pesto with the massive basil harvest. I also strained and bottled some white wine that I made with free grapes from our orchard. I've designated Friday as "baking day" around here, so last Friday I made some sour cream cookies from one of my vintage cookbooks. They were good, but there are other cookie recipes I like better.
6. Cans: Baby and I collected cans on various bike rides. We also returned the cans and earned around $8.00.
Also, I just wanted to give a big thanks to those of you who answered the 10 questions in my September newsletter. It was SO fun to sit down and read about your favorite books, movies, music, what you drive, etc. Several of the answers overlapped, and I could see what we all had in common. Most of us are homemakers, we like the Bible and T-shirts, and Little Women is pretty popular. LOL! Now I just wish I could meet all of you in person!
Til next time,
Bethany