the Renaissance Housewife
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Saving >
      • Kitchen >
        • Food >
          • Recipes
      • Bath & Laundry
      • Medicine Cabinet
      • Office
      • Electricity
      • Gardening
      • Foraging
      • Animals
      • Weekly F. A.'s
      • Printables & Downloads
    • Earning
    • Investing
  • Books
  • About
    • RH Recommends
    • Newsletter & Updates
    • Travel
    • Beta Readers
    • Legal Stuff

Frugal Accomplishments Last Week

3/5/2018

3 Comments

 
Picture
At the bottom of the metro escalator!
We spent most of last week (Monday-Thursday) in Washington D.C. to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. It was a blast! The weather couldn't have been better for February (in the 50s), and it was, by far, the most planned trip we have taken together as a couple. Of course, not ALL of the trip was planned out, but we reserved a hotel in advance, thought of a list of stuff to see in advance, and I even brought some food and snacks along with us. For me, that is a big deal.

That being said, I did spend the weekend on some frugal projects that I'm happy to share. I'm also going to include a few things I did the week before last, which I didn't get around to writing about because we were gone.

1. Groceries: we bought $30.00 worth of groceries in Washington D.C.; bread, mayo, salad/lettuce, apples, carrots, cereal and instant oatmeal. I thought we would buy these things at Walmart here in MI before we left, but instead, we decided to start early and didn't get a chance to buy groceries until we were in D.C.

2. Gardening: This week I started tomato, hot pepper, thyme, lavender and delphinium seeds. I also pruned one of our peach trees and used the trimmings for a table centerpiece, and started some sweet potatoes in water. I am SO excited to be gardening again!! It's still way too cold to plant anything, but just being outside is a balm to my soul.

I also got my new beehive in the mail and painted some of it. I chose to get the bottom part assembled and the honey supers (top stacking parts) unassembled. 

3. Books: I received two books from the library's interloan system: 
Picture
​They are both historical gardening books (combining two of my favorite things!!!) that I've immensely enjoyed reading. It was especially fun to learn about Monticello gardens right before we saw Mount Vernon because I was able to compare the two. I've got the books for another two weeks, so I'm hoping to finish the Monticello book and pick up some practical tips from the other one.

4. Cans: before we left on vacation, we had some spectacular warm weather. I was able to go on three walks and pick up over $5.00 worth of cans (as if getting some fresh air wasn't benefit enough!). As I mentioned last week, my can money this year is going to extra cloth diapers. 

5. Diapers: speaking of diapers, one of Baby's cloth diapers busted a seam. I left a review and picture on Amazon, and the company offered to give me a refund. So that's another $5.00 that I can put in the "cloth diaper account." I did end up fixing the diaper then (it was an easy fix, but I wanted to leave a review for mamas who don't sew) so I can still use it.

6. Vacay savings: we reserved a cheap hotel ($80/night), and I brought food along for breakfast and lunch. Bringing food from home saved at least $20.00 per day, but probably more. Plus it was more convenient to have lunch on the go than stop for an hour to eat. We also took the metro inside the city instead of paying for parking all day. This saved at least $20.00 per day, plus we didn't have to waste time finding a parking spot. 

As far as sight-seeing, most of the things we did were free. Mount Vernon was $20.00 each, and the Bible Museum was $15.00 per person. Otherwise, the Smithsonian museums, Arlington, and the different memorials were completely free.

Baby did fantastic during the whole trip. Hubs carried her in the front pack most of the time, and I carried our backpack-turned-diaper-bag. By the end of the three days we were TIRED from so much carrying and walking, but that didn't make it any less fun. Since Baby is still nursing, food for her was cheap and easy. She did have a major blowout our second night there. I ended up hand-washing her outfit (one of my favorites ! 😔 ) in the toilet, then scrubbing the stains out in the sink with a bar of hotel soap. Then I let it dry overnight and put it in the window to sun. When we came back later that day, I couldn't believe how much the stains had disappeared! 

You would think that washing poop off in the toilet would be nasty, but when the water gets dirty, you can just flush. Voila, new clean water! A pair of rubber gloves would have been nice though. Of course, I rewashed the outfit in a real washer when we got home, but I couldn't have baby poop in with our other laundry for three days. Overall the toilet and hotel hand soap did a great job.

For the most part, I have quit buying souvenirs when we travel. Sometimes I get a small trinket or functional item (blanket, cookware, etc.) but most of the time I browse the gift shops and don't buy anything. I did get a wax seal set at Mount Vernon for $16.00. I could have saved a few dollars by purchasing the set on Amazon. But I didn't.

There are plenty of meaningful "souvenirs" that you can get or make for free without filling your home with junk coffee cups, shot glasses and decorative plates that hang on the wall. I've made shadow boxes, Christmas ornaments and jewelry, as an example. You can also take home recipes (or just the name of a dish, then Google the recipe) or find a favorite local plant and buy it when you're back in the States. Most of the time, souvenirs are cheaper on the internet or if you don't buy them at a gift shop. My favorite thing to take home is ideas, which I found plenty of.

So... that's what I've got for last week!


​Til next time,
-Bethany
3 Comments
Julie A
3/5/2018 04:18:37 pm

Happy Belated Anniversary! What a nice vacation. My aunt in California comes out fairly often to visit me here in the Midwest. She really enjoys visiting our second hand/thrift stores. I also enjoy visiting grocery stores when I'm in another part of the country and buying different food items to try out. When in Hawaii I bought Japanese spices for noodles and fish that I found at Wal-Mart. Everyone laughed that I went to Wal-Mart in Hawaii. We take food with us to save money on meals at hotels too.. then have one special eat out each day of the trip. If its a buffet lunch, we don't always want dinner. Glad you had a great time.

Reply
Bethany
3/5/2018 09:58:55 pm

Thanks Julie! I love shopping in new places as well. :)

Reply
Amalia link
3/5/2018 10:51:47 pm

That sounds like a fun trip! I've never been to D.C. I try to bring food along on a trip, or stop at a grocery store and get some sandwich food--it saves so much money. (Besides, on a vacation, I usually have more interesting things that I want to do than sit in a restaurant several times a day!)
When I started traveling, I decided to buy patches as souvenirs. They're generally inexpensive and don't take up a lot of space. I made a quilt out of denim scraps and sewed all the patches on to it. I've added more patches than I ever expected to and it has so many fun memories for me.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Bethany

    Housewife, happy wife, and mama to one. :)

    Picture

    Picture
    The Housewife's Guide to Frugal Food
    How to Eat for $10.00
    ​per Week

    Picture
    The Housewife's Guide to Menu Planning
    A Weekly Menu to Save
    Time & Money
    Picture
    The Housewife's Guide to
    Frugal Fruits and Vegetables

    No Garden? No Problem!

    Watch Meals From the Bunker:

    Picture

    Check out my Youtube Channel!

    RSS Feed


    Picture
    Baby Girl's Birth Story
    Picture
    8 Cheap Ways to Eat Healthy
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Book Reviews
    Books
    Christmas
    Cleaning
    Clothing
    Cooking
    Couponing
    Education
    Ego
    Electricity
    Farmers Market
    Finance
    Foraging
    Frugal
    Frugal Accomplishments
    Frugality
    Garage Sales
    Gardening
    Gifts
    Grocery Budget
    Grocery Shopping
    Herbs
    History
    Hobby Farm
    Home Based Business
    Home-based Business
    Home Decorating
    Housekeeping
    Industry
    Languages
    Laundry
    Marriage
    Meal Planning
    Medicine
    Minimalist
    Network Marketing
    Organization
    Plants
    Product Reviews
    Quotes
    Recipes
    ROI
    Rv
    Sewing
    Simplicity
    Spanish
    Spending Report
    Travel

    Archives

    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Full Disclosure & Disclaimer

    Picture
    Picture
    I get cash back for many online purchases including wedding gifts and Ebay stuff!

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from dasWebweib, amanessinger, thewritingreader, diakosmein