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Frugal Accomplishments ~ Week Ending 27 May 2018

The past week has been another quiet one for us, especially with taking the holiday weekend off of a lot of things. I had big plans to go do fun things, then ended up with a tweaked spot in my back and a lot of hobbling when I made it off the couch. Ah well – the upside is that we didn’t end up at the zoo, firing range, or any place else that would have cost an entry fee. Silver linings, right? Here’s my wee list of frugal accomplishments, to go along with Brandy’s post for the week. (Be sure to pop through to her blog if you’ve been waiting for her baby name announcement!)

  • Opened/closed windows/blinds/curtains to keep house cooler
  • Purchased food to take with us to the airport and air museum vs buying at there. My daughter’s flight for visitation was around lunchtime, so she had lunch and some snacks with her. I was going to take my son to the air museum (we have an annual membership) after she flew out, so he and I ate in the truck before going to wander the displays, and had snacks for the road home afterward.
  • Used drying racks and wool dryer balls as needed (only my husband’s laundry was run in the electric dryer).
  • Ate from the pantry most meals and snacks.
  • Used cloth handkerchiefs and personal wipes.
  • Purchased more LED bulbs for the house – I originally only needed one for a table lamp, but spotted a large package of the candelabra-base bulbs for putting in the rest of our ceiling fixtures. We also took advantage of a sale on charcoal: double-bagged charcoal was half price, so we got two bags for $9.99 vs $20.
  • Used the Sun Oven to bake a lemon pound cake and to reheat a large stromboli (purchased at the farmers market) for our Friday meal while husband and son were swimming at the base pool (free entry).
  • Used naproxen and essential oils already on hand to treat my sore back.
  • Read multiple books borrowed on Kindle Unlimited and Overdrive.
  • Downloaded and read a free cookbook on Kindle.
  • Received a free food preservation e-book as a subscriber to a “cheapskate” e-newsletter; downloaded that to read later.
  • Received two free e-books for signing up to the e-newsletter of an author whose work I enjoy; they are prequels to two of her series I have already read, so I downloaded those to read later as well.
  • Used ceiling fans instead of air conditioning as much as possible.
  • Drove the truck as little as possible, outside of our trip to the airport. Since my daughter will be gone for a month, I will have much less driving to do for a while, which saves diesel. Her fall GED classes won’t begin for a couple of weeks after she gets back, so that will save some as well.
  • Saw a DVD set of all six discs of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies for $20 at Walmart; picked those up and we had a family movie marathon over the long weekend. Snacks from the pantry too!
  • Son played various free space and flight apps on my phone and worked on his Spanish and German lessons using the free Duolingo app.
  • Used homemade cleaning supplies around the house.
  • Reused plastic shopping bags as bathroom trash liners. (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that lately – but I don’t buy trash can liners for the little cans, and haven’t for about 20 years! I use my reusable shopping bags as much as possible, and save any plastic shopping bags we do accrue as trash bags.)
  • Read blogs online and chatted with friends via text (free entertainment and fellowshipping, right?)
  • Entered Swagbucks and InboxDollars codes whenever I found them and did the daily SB survey.
  • Son had a dental exam and cleaning; he received a free toothbrush and sample sizes of floss and toothpaste, as well as a token for a small toy.
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Frugal Accomplishments ~ Week Ending 20 May 2018

Things stayed fairly quiet on the home front, so I saved up two weeks of frugal accomplishments to share with you. Payday came and went, so I did do a bit of shopping early last week that I’ll break down today.

For more frugal inspiration, check out Brandy’s post at The Prudent Homemaker. If you’re new to reading these posts, be sure to read through the comments there as well. Lovely community of folks joining in each week and lots of ideas no matter where you are in your frugal efforts!Happy Monday, all! Continue reading →

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Dealing with Pantry Pests, Part Deux

Remember my first pantry pests article for The Organic Prepper, which focused on insects? Well, I mentioned in that piece that discussing rodents would be outside the scope of that piece. Luckily for me (and any readers trying to battle creepy crawlies), Daisy Luther very kindly asked if I’d be up for doing a companion article about rodents. I sure was! It’s now live on her site: Dealing with Pantry Pests: Rodents.

Y’all, I gave myself chills several times during the research for this article. I hope you are grateful for the lengths I went to for you! 😉 No, I’m kidding – you deserve my best.

Keep in mind that in areas where snakes can be an issue (I’m looking at you, Arizona and Texas…….), keeping the rodent population under control can be a big help. A fellow we met when touring homes in Texas years ago taught us that getting rid of the nesting areas and food options for the mice would help keep the snakes down as well. That’s stuck with me for, oh wow, almost six years now. I remember that particular home and property like we toured them yesterday. (In truth, it was also an amazing house. *swoon*) So whether you have concerns about rodents OR snakes, or cleaning up from the aftermath of a rodent infestation, this article may be useful for you. Let me know how you like it!

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16 Ways You Can Prepare Anywhere

Hello out there! As some of you may recall, I’m working on a nonfiction book entitled Prepare Anywhere. Life, however, sometimes means that a part-time writer needs a bit more parts of time than originally expected. 😉 While this manuscript is in progress, I enjoy giving little snippets and sneak peeks to those who are interested – and with summer coming, I know a lot of you will be attending events and traveling all over the place. I thought I’d share a few things that will help you feel more prepared for any upcoming trips, or give you ideas of things to look for at touristy spots that you can check off as both fun and preparedness-related. As for the number I chose? Well, that’s just because it’s May 16th and I thought it would be a fun way to make a list. Remember – I’m all about preparing on a dime and in small spaces, so don’t feel like you have to spend big bucks and please, please, please don’t whip out the credit cards to do any of this! Do what you can with what you have, mmkay?

So let’s get going, shall we?

Continue reading →