Saturday, March 25, 2017

This Week's Frugals!


I listed and sold a few more things from the basement, and I started on the measured drawings of the intended basement finish.  Our regional building department allows for homeowner-drawn plans, which saves me a lot over hiring someone to do it (and trying to explain what we want and how we want it).  The lines are not as faint as they appear here, and it is still a work in progress.


I gave Husband a haircut.

I gave Daughter a haircut.

I stocked my desk at work with some of the things Husband has gotten free or low-cost recently.  Now I have some Shout Wipes, Vitamin C gummies, Trident Gum and TicTacs, should I (or a co-worker) need any of those things at work.

We went for a day trip to the Sand Dunes National Monument.

From the dunes:

Early butterflies were flitting about!

The dunes are just beautiful....

...even from the hiking trails.


The creek is just beginning to flow.  The water is all snowmelt, and very cold!



While we were at the sand dunes, we rented a sand sled and had a lot of fun.  I didn't have the camera along for that part, to protect the camera.  Daughter fell off the sand sled and found 56 cents on the side of a dune!

Two days after the above photos were taken, we had a blizzard, resulting in a snow day at home.  The weather here is not terribly predictable!

We enjoyed the day of hiking and play, and also stopped off at some land we own in the vicinity.  We took photos in preparation for listing the land to sell.  If you're in need of 5 acres of beautiful solitude, let me know!  We can help you out.

Our land down south:

We have Pinon Pine and Sagebrush...

...expansive views...

...a beautiful view of Mt. Blanca...

...and some nice secluded areas.


Pinon pine is the one that gives us pine nuts!

There are some yucca here and there...

...and the Sagebrush smells fantastic!

Many of the seeds I re-planted have sprouted.  I have a couple of things that just don't seem to be doing well, so I borrowed fresher seed from the seed library that is housed inside our community library.

We borrowed books and media from the library as well.  I had started a book series that several co-workers recommended to me.  I liked the first book, but really disliked the second one.  I'm glad I waited and got them at the library, rather than purchasing them.

Kohls sent me a post card for $10 off any purchase of $10 or more.  I got a set of portion containers for meals, completely free.  I've had my eye on something like this (but more expensive) for a while, and I'm giving them a try this week.  If you think that these are pretty much just measuring cups, you're be right, but the containers do come in handy for putting meals together, and they have lids.  While I'm not following this strictly at this time, it's helping me see where I need more of some components, less of others.


I did a little mixing and matching in my closet this week.  See...every Sunday, I put together my work outfits for the week.  It saves me a lot of time and stress.  I want to maximize what I have and use things in different combinations, so I've been looking at new ways to assemble various separates.  I 'discovered' a couple of new outfits this week that I really like, and didn't spend a penny.

I made some lovely chicken stock from the frame of a chicken we ate (well, we ate some, and froze some for nest week's meal plan).

How was your week?  What did you do to spend less, save more and make do?

8 comments:

  1. In an effort to get more exercise for us, hubby especially, we visited 2 local parks and walked for 45 min. Our county has an abundance of parks and in the 13 years we've lived here we've previously only visited a couple. This month we've been trying for 2 a week. They are free and most are really nice.

    Because I've had no luck with growing veggies this season (we're in SW FL and we are in drought conditions and much warmer than usual) I used my radish seeds for sprouts using a jar covering the top with cheesecloth - almost every one sprouted! I use them on sandwiches.

    Like you, altho I'm retired, I plan my week's wardrobe on Sunday. I keep my pants in black, navy and 2 pair beige, then alternate plain colored or patterned t-shirt tops. I add a long sleeved overshirt, I need sun protection as I've had too many skin cancer spots, that is plain or patterned. Found a nice black overshirt for $1 at the local thrift store. Also found 2 pair of expensive name brand strappy sandals for $4 each - in my size 5 they are very hard to find.

    I read a lot and only use the library or services they offer like Hoopla. I've found so many on Hoopla that I want to read I've complied a list so I won't forget.

    For TV we have an antenna, Roku and subscribe to Hulu and Acorn. This costs us less than $20 per month, much much lower than cable. Acorn will be dropped in 2 months - we had subscribed for a year to save money. We find many shows on the internet sites of the networks and on Youtube. We also find some of the Youtube offerings on gardening, DIY and health to be more informative than regular programs.

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    1. You reminded me that I should get my sprouter out and make some sprouts for sandwiches and salads - thanks! I have not played with Hoopla yet, but our library does offer it too. We have a TV antenna and Netflix - between those two and library offerings, Youtube, etc., we are satisfied as well. Have a great week!

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  2. Thanks for the great post. Very positive, love seeing what other people do while trying to be thrifty. What does your daughter do with money she finds? Just curious. Have a great day! :)

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    1. Thanks! As for the found money, I'm not sure what she has planned. She is a pretty good saver, and she has a generous heart.

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  3. Beautiful pictures! I loved seeing the dunes and your property. I would love the views and the solitude!

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    1. Thank you, Lana. It's really lovely there, but we don't get down often enough. At one point, we thought we'd build there, but I do not think that's going to happen...so we're hoping to find someone who can utilize it better than we are. :)

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  4. The Dunes are lovely. I'm not familiar with that area. Are they near the ocean?
    It looks like you had a great week.

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    1. They are nowhere near the ocean, which continues to amaze me. The sand blows over the mountain range and deposits there, almost like a snowdrift. The park is in southern Colorado!

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