Frugal Accomplishments This Past Week


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This past week has been a bit of a crazy week in our house. The kids are on spring break, and since my husband works in a school, he also is on spring break, so we took the time to do a lot of spring cleaning. Frugality wasn't uppermost in my mind- cleaning was... And taking it easy. Meaning, I took it easy, for the most part, and directed my husband how to clean my house. :-D
I didn't keep track this week, as the week went by, what I did frugally, so the list is more sparse than usual, because, after a whole week, who actually remembers what they did each day that week? At least I don't...

Here's a few things we did as a family that I do remember:


  • Used a homemade salve made from foraged plants to deal with a diaper rash.
  • Exclusively cloth diapered the baby.
  • Exclusively line drying the laundry. 
  • Cleaned out the fridge and freezer and stove using homemade cleaners- just a paste of baking soda and water.
  • Foraged rosemary and olive leaf for tea.
  • Friends went to a clothes swap and bought me some baby clothes there they got free.
  • My friend went away for the week so off loaded some of her produce on to me.
  • Someone was giving away a box of my husband's favorite cereal, so I got it.
  • A friend was giving away a hunk of horseradish- I got some to use for various recipes (mainly condiments)
  • Met a lady on the bus a while back, and we started talking about various diets and lifestyles. We see each other occasionally, and we discuss our respective healthy diets, and she knows I am "into" healthy foods, etc... I just bumped into her and she asked me if I eat seaweed- I do and I love it, but don't use it often because it is so expensive so I can't afford to buy much of it. She said she bought it for her use, but it doesn't agree with her, and asked me if I wanted what she bought. Of course I said yes, and now I got a huge amount of seaweed, for free. :-D It pays to strike up conversations with people on the bus!
  • Family made a bonfire, using only foraged wood.
  • When spring cleaning, discovered a lot items that had been missing that I needed, so now I don't need to go buy another set. (Among them- my breast pump, arnica cream, camera charger, and essential oils.)
  • Made a few legume meals.
  • Experimented to make a homemade buckwheat and short grain rice flour bread, with no eggs or xanthan gum. It came out great- just need to tweak it a little bit before I post the recipe.
What did you do to save money this past week?

Penniless Parenting

Mommy, wife, writer, baker, chef, crafter, sewer, teacher, babysitter, cleaning lady, penny pincher, frugal gal

4 Comments

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  1. This week was a little slim for frugal works, but I...
    - used the library
    - bought a jug with a gift certificate I had been given
    - line dried some laundry
    - didn't drive
    - used baking soda and four drops of dishsoap in the dishwasher
    - planted lettuce seeds and then planted them in the garden
    - planted Woodrugg seeds (edible plant)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dug in the garden, though can't plant till June. It's supposed to freeze tonight anyway. (And snow.)
    hung the laundry up while the sun shone
    found a free book on Near Eastern history in the thrift shop giveaway pile. Amazingly, it was one I was looking for...amazing because not a real common thing to find in the pile.
    Cleaned, measuring carefully from my (not-Earth-friendly) cleaners. Using less works better anyway.
    Concocted a major failure from fridge finds. Ate it anyway.

    Glad you're taking it easy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is the first time I have seen this, and it really is a wonderful way to motivate yourself to be more aware of what you are using.
    This week;
    Upcycled a fabric conditioner bottle with paper mache (flour/water mix and old book) to make a vase
    Homemade glue ( flour/water/sugar mix) ready for glazing the vase and doing my son's homework project.
    Line dried clothes
    Managed to get a free highchair for my little one.

    After seeing this page I will definately be trying to keep an eye on what is being used and how.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KellyK (@RNCCRN9706)April 20, 2014 at 6:09 AM

    Started a batch of lemon vinegar cleaner
    got my hair cut for free as well as my sons
    purchased the supplies to make another batch of homemade laundry soap( my mom bought the Biz, Zote and 20 Mule Team Borax)
    sold some broken gold chains for cash at an antique store
    got free e-books for my Kindle
    watched my favorite TV shows via OnDemand on my computer (its free as I'm already paying for Cable--I could totally do without cable but the hubby insists on it)

    ReplyDelete
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