Check me out..A guest post!

I love doing crafts and the cheaper I can support my addiction, the better! I have a guest post at

Check it out!

Weekly goals

Last week got away from me so not a lot was accomplished! Which means, double timing it this week,blah. Thing 1 also has 2 basketball games and I have a sewing class.

Here's the plan:

Ongoing

Declutter

Stay caught up with library books

Weekly:

wash truck

Clean oven

Steam clean couch

Set up Amazon Affiliate

paperwork, paperwork, paperwork

Do taxes

Clean out fridge

Clean dining room, top to bottom

Call in prescription refill

Take pics of pups and list

List items for sale

Errands: grocery, Sam's

Go to sewing class

Put laundry away

Take change to bank

28 Days to Hope for Your Home

Cleaning. Yea, admit it, you don't really like it. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that has to be done. A couple of years I discovered some one who gets it. A kindred spirit. A slob trying to do good despite the odds stacked against us. Nony at  A Slob Comes Clean. Yes, folks, there are other people out there that struggle with piles, dirty dishes, cobwebs, and dust bunnies.

Imagine my joy when she announced she was writing an e-book! Squee!

Oh yes, there is help for us!

This is not for the mildly disorganized. This for the rest of us who struggle with piles of laundry, kids under foot, science experiments in the refrigerator(intentional or not!), dusty corners, and fingerprints.

Personally, I get so overwhelmed I don't know where to start most of the time. Nony gets it. She has 3 kids, a husband, and commitments outside of the home. She struggles with this whole cleaning process. She gets piles of laundry, broken dishes, cobwebs, expired food in the pantry.

All of it.

And she's here to help. Now, this isn't a book that's going to get you completely organized in 28 days. It's a book that will get into 4 habits that will help you continue on your journey.

28 Days to Hope for Your Home includes:

• Twenty-eight days of specific instructions to help you develop four basic (but essential) home management habits.
• Insights into why these concepts seem foreign to you.
• Practical tips to keep you from giving up.
• Bonus sections with realistic strategies for laundry management, meal prep, and decluttering.
• More than 45 pages of all new, exclusive content!

All of that for the low price of $4 through the end of February.

$4!

At the end of February, the price increases to $7.99. Still a small price to pay for someone who "gets it"!

$4 for an instant download to your computer(or Kindle!)

So what are you waiting for?

Disclaimer: this post does include affiliate links. I was provided a copy to review, all opinions are all my own

Pantry Challenge update

Wow, January flew by! I think we have enough in the house that I'm going to continue on for awhile! If I keep my grocery bill under $36 this week, we will come in $200 less than usual!

Here's some of the things we did:

Thing 1 made some sugar cookies and used up 2 odds of frosting in the fridge

I made some muffins, using up 3 mixes and a bunch of cupcake liners

I had a cake mix and frosting in the pantry so I was able to make my mil a cake without having to run to the store!

We continue to menu plan/eat around what we have

I did buy 3 whole chickens...I already cooked one and plan on making yummy homemade broth for chciken and dumplings this week

The Things are still using up yogurt in smoothies

I plan on making Puppy Chow and Rice Krispy treats this week with some cereal I still have hanging around.

Here's my menu for the week

I do plan to continue on..I still have freezers full of stuff that needs consumed. I plan on carrying over my extra grocery money and use that for restocking!

Menu Plan Monday

The month of January has flew by! I'm still working on cleaning out the pantry and freezer so menus are being planned around with what I have(with a few purchases).

Here's the plan:

Breakfasts

Granola

Cold cereal

oatmeal

eggs

all served with fruit

Dinners

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn

Beef fajitas, salad

Beef stew

Italian sausages, baked sweet potato cubes, bread

Chicken and dumplings

Fish, homemade fries, green beans

Social media and selling your stuff

There are tons of places around the web to sell your wares...Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon, the list goes on and on.

One place I recently discovered was online selling groups on Facebook. Through a few groups, I've been able to clear out some stuff and make a little money. I've also spent a little money buying DVDs cheap. It's also a great way to get into old fashioned bartering and trading!

So check for local Buy and Sell groups in your area, or start one of your own!

This is posted to Works for Me Wednesday, Frugal Friday, and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways

Pantry challenge update

Still trucking along although I did have to go buy some pork chops and a few other things at Sam's this weekend. That's ok. I plan to continue on with the challenge into February. The crew is doing pretty good with the challenge, only a couple of wants this week :)

Here's what we've done

I only bought a pack of pork chops this week. if I had inventoried the freezer like I should have, I would have found enough, blah.

The Things are on a smoothie kick which is using up yogurt in the fridge and fruits in the freezer and pantry(Thing 1's Mango Peach was delicious!)

I do plan on buying some whole chickens that are on sale this week. They will give us several meals(including some yummy chicken stock!)

I inventoried the freezers and threw away some gross stuff, organized the refrigerator freezer better, and I already have next week's menu planned!

I have a few things I found(frozen sweet potato cubes and soybeans) that I need to look up online on what to do with them.

The snack table is getting more cleared off daily. Thankfully. Thing 2 has friends over practically every day so that helps!

The cereal is disappearing. I found some Chex cereal that I prob just need to make into Puppy chow since I doubt anyone will eat it otherwise.

Our library is having a Food for Fines trade off this week so those canned beets and vegetarian beans in my pantry(along with a few other things) can be put to good use!

That's my week, I'm glad this stuff is making its way out of my house. My grocery bill is slightly lower. I plan to save up any leftover from this month and next to restock the freezer with meat.

Weekly goals

Another week. I got a few things cleared out last week and hope to continue!

Here's the plan

Ongoing

Declutter

Stay caught up with library books

Weekly

Clean office from top to bottom(I did the living room last week!)

Steam clean couch

Wash the truck(depends on weather)

Deworm the pups

Take pics of pups and list available

List stuff for sale

Set up my affiliate for Amazon

Straighten and inventory freezers

Take change to bank

Errands: Walmart, Aldi's, Country Fresh, Hobby Lobby

Go through stockpile to take Food for Fines

Take books back to library

Get laundry put away

Make MIL a birthday cake

Make homemade laundry soap

Menu Plan Monday

Wow, almost the end of January. I continue on with the Pantry Challenge. I did have to buy some meat(when I said I wasn't). Thing 2 had a friend stay Saturday night and I didn't have enough pork chops. Plus, several stores are running awesome sales on whole fryers, so I plan to get some and stick in the freezer.

Here's the plan

Breakfast

Eggs

Cold cereal

Oatmeal

all served with fruit

Dinners

Ham, mashed potatoes, corn

Fish, homemade fries, green beans

Whole chicken, baked potatoes, carrots

Sloppy joes, mac and cheese, peas

Chicken meatballs, homemade fries, salad

Eat out for mil's birthday

Scheduling Myself

Staying caught up with everything is something I struggle with all the time. I'm easily sidetracked by Baby Girl, Facebook, the animals, Facebook, errands.....did I mention Facebook?

One thing I have to do is pretty much schedule my day. Breaks included. I try to get all the time consuming stuff done when Baby Girl is gone, and then the easier stuff when she's home.

　

Here's a sample of a day:

Between Wake up(usually around 6 am, has been as early as 5 am) and then 8:30 I get up, get breakfast for Joseph, get kids up and off to school, wash the dishes.

 Around 8:30-9:30 make the bed, deal with pets, eat my breakfast, internet time

9:30-11:30 or so, I do heavy cleaning, decluttering, etc or if I have errands, I go during this time

11:30-12:30 fix some lunch if I'm hungry, watch a little tv waiting on Baby Girl to get home

12:30-1:30 play with Baby Girl

1:30-2:45 run errands if I didnt do it in the mornings or Baby Girl has some quiet time and I do something easy like put up laundry, catch up on tv or reading, or internet

2:45-4:30 Get the Things(Thing 1 has a couple of late days a week due to club meetings or cheer practice)

4-ish-5:30 work on dinner, The Things play with Baby Girl

Dinner

6:30 dinner cleanup

7-9 Watch tv, read, go to games, play with the crew, etc.

I usually crash about the same time as the crew unless it's the weekend and I'm trying to catch up on a book!

Of course, this can all change with the additions of appointments, practices, club meetings, games, play dates, etc. Or if I don't want to do anything, lol. Fridays and the weekend this is REALLY lax cause I try not to do a whole lot of extra cleaning/housework those days(aside from dishes, cooking, and cleaning messes)

I'm not perfect, there are days I've scheduled for decluttering and I'd rather sit and watch Storage Wars on the DVR. Or just play with Baby Girl.

It does give me some sort motivation since I'm a fabulous slacker!

And that, Works for Me!

Pantry Challenge-Update

Two weeks in and I don't even think we've made much a dent :/

Seriously

You would think feeding 5 people, stuff would be disappearing but it's not. I seriously think I might have to continue into February to make any sort of progress. I guess I should add, we are doing good on freezer stuff, fresh, and some dry goods. I have a ton of canned goods, bottles of juice and some baking supplies that need used. It has been unseasonably warm, so the urge to make oodles of baked goods hasn't been there. Or the urge to make soups or stews. 

We shall continue on! There is 2 more weeks and I need to utilize some of the canned goods better in my menu planning. (it would help if it got cooler!)

Weekly Goals

The weeks are flying by! The crew is out today(Monday) and then it's back to school. Hopefully I can get a lot accomplished this week!

Here's the plan

Ongoing

Declutter

Stay caught up with library books

Weekly

Clean off shelves in dining room

Clean out from under desk

Clean out lazy susan cabinet in kitchen

Straighten up back room

Clean out both freezers(more like inventory)

Box up books I cleaned off Baby Girl's shelves

List more stuff for sale

Take pics of pups and get ready to list available

Take spare change to bank

Play date on Wednesday with Baby Girl

Catchup Netflix DVDs

Wash blankets and sheets

Menu Plan Monday

Halfway through January. Wow. This month is flying by. Still trucking along with the Pantry Challenge. I have had to buy some things(and some I gave in and bought cause of the whiners, ugh) but I've spent less than $200 so far. Today I plan on sorting through the freezer in the fridge to see what's there, and then tomorrow look in the bigger freezer.

Here's the plan:

Breakfasts

Oatmeal

Eggs

Cereal

all served with fruit

Dinners

Breakfast burritos with smoothies

Ham and cheese roll ups with chips, fruit

Beef stroganoff with mushrooms, noodles

Chicken meatballs, homemade fries, carrots

Baked pork chops, stuffing, green beans

Taco night

Pantry challenge update

The crew has been so helpful with this pantry challenge! No complaining about what's to eat or anything. No begging for something else either. I have bought some groceries, Joseph needed some easy stuff to take out of town(vienna sausages, rice dinners, etc) AND he just had to have chicken wings for dinner, so of course, I caved. I need to make another trip for fruit, milk, eggs, bread, etc.

Here's some of the stuff we've done so far

3 end bags of chips have been ate

1 box of cereal finished, 1 more going to be used for Rice Krispy treats

1 box of oatmeal finished

almost empty container of cinnamon used to make up cinnamon sugar for toast

6 bread heels put in freezer to use for crumbs

Deli ham used up in grilled ham and cheese sandwiches

My cluttered table and top of fridge that holds bags and boxes is gettting cleared off! Hopefully by the end of the month, I'll actually be able to use the table  for the coffee pot(instead of having to sit it on the stove)

Weekly Goals

 

So much to get done! Last week was kind of a goof off week cause the kids didn't start school until Tuesday. Then it was Baby Girl's birthday. Then it was 60 degrees all week(woohoo!). Then it was chaos getting back into routines. Ugh. Here's the plan

Stay caught up with library books

Declutter(we are working on clothing this week)

Continue to list items for sale

Drop off any donations

Cut out coupons and organize

Clean off desk

Clean living room from top to bottom(another goal:focus on 1 room for the week, plus doing maintenance on the rest of the house, of course)

Lunch with Mom's Group on Monday

Thing 2 to Ortho(make sure I pay Ortho!)

Catch up with Netflix movies

Get material needed for Thing 1's present

Errands:library, grocery store, Sam's

Thankfully, no basketball games this week so we can have quiet evenings in!

Menu Plan Monday

Well, I actually stuck to the plan I had last week and cleared a bunch of stuff out. This week will hopefully do the same. I do have to make a run to the grocery store, we are out of fresh fruit, eggs, and milk but the bill shouldn't be too high since I'm sticking with The Pantry Challenge

Breakfasts

Cold cereal

Oatmeal

eggs

all served with fruit

Dinners:

Grilled cheeses and tomato soup

Ham and cheese roll ups, salad

Baked potato bar

Breakfast burritos with smoothies or fruit salad

Chicken meatballs with fries, salad

Steaks, fries, salad

Is this the first week in January?

January 6th? In SW Missouri?

Definitely a Finer Thing!

Super Savings Saturday

It's been a long time since I did some purposeful coupon shopping. My supplies are getting low and there were some deals to be had :)

Hyvee

 4 Crest toothpaste $.99 each- 4 .50/1=$.49 each

20 cans of tomato sauce @ 5/$1=$4

spent $6.32(w/tax), saved ?

Walmart

 4 Dawn Dish soap, price matched $0.99-4 .25/1=$.74 each

4 colgate toothpaste $.96 each-4 .75/1=$.16 each

4 Colgate toothbrushes $0.97 each-4 .25/1=$.72 each

also got 20 ounce Dr. Pepper

total $6.55,(w/tax) saved $6.58

CVS

 I did 3 transactions here

1st

4 Dawn Hand renewal, 4 regular Dawn $0.99 each-4 .50/1 hand renewal -4 .25/1 regular

total $5.29(w/tax) saved $9.24

2nd

2 Oral B floss $2.99 each-2 $1/1= $1.99 each

total $4.28(w/tax) plus received $2 ECB, saved $4

3rd

4 Dawn hand renewal, 1 regular Dawn $.99 each-4 $.50/1-1 $.25/1

total $2.91-$2 ECB from Trans #2=.91 saved $8.15

Dillons

5 Soft soaps $0.88 each-3 .40/1 doubled= $2/5

3 Starkist Tuna $1.25 each-3 $1/1=.25 each

5 Kroger Cookies $2.50- 5 $1/1=$1.50 each

1 Private Selection Pizza $5.99- free product coupon=FREE

1 Private Selection Appetizer $7.99- free product coupon=FREE

1 Private Selection dessert $3.99- free product coupon=FREE

Also deducted $4 credit off Dillons  card

Total $6.49, saved $39.67

December Decluttering Update

Did I declutter in December? I think I did although it's hard to tell with the influx of Christmas presents for 3 kids.

I did do some, although not a whole lot. More stuff made it's way in than out :(

Here's the tally

1 Walmart bag full of expired coupons went to a local place that sends them to bases overseas

1 broken coffee maker(although, it was replaced)

1 broken bike helmet

1 big trash bag full of junk/trash removed from the kids room

1 Walmart bag of clothes donated to Baby Girl's school for accident spares

12 magazines sent to the laundry

2 wooden craft letters sold

1 carseat Freecycled

I definitely need to do better this month if I ever want to get ahead!

Save those bits-part deux

With Joseph gone, I just had some tomatoes sitting around so I decided to make one of favorite snacks for when he comes back.

The cast:

tomatoes

garlic

seasoning salt

pepper

Cut your tomatoes into bite size pieces. Place into a bowl with a good lid, along with any juices

Chop up some garlic. I seriously lack any knife skills so mines not pretty. Thankfully, Joseph doesn't care what it looks like(and he loves big pieces of garlic)

Put the garlic in with the tomatoes and add salt and pepper. Don't be stingy with either.

Put lid on bowl and give a good shake. Find it a cool place to sit for a couple days so it gets more juicy(this is why I make it when he's gone cause he can't wait a couple days before devouring it!)

Just a tip: I usually keep a bowl dedicated to this concoction cause the uh, smell will seep into it. I love reusing take out bowls or butter bowls for this because eventually, I can just toss the bowl.

Happy Birthday to....

my beautiful Baby Girl! Five years ago she blew into our lives with the force of a hurricane and has been causing chaos(albeit, the good kind) ever since!

Weekly Goals

Oh, my poor week is already messed up. The kids don't go back to school until Tuesday so I'm feeling "off"

Here's the plan for the week

Pay remaining monthly bills

Stay caught up with library books

Declutter

Cut out and organize coupons

Make grocery list

Get prescription refilled

Sort 2010 receipts

Get laundry put completely away

List more items for sale

Wash sheets and blankets for all beds

Research bunk beds

Put together financial plans for the year

Tackle Kitchen from top to bottom

Menu Plan Monday

I need an "I survived Christmas, New Year's and a birthday for a 5 year old" t shirt. Oiy. The kids go back to school tomorrow and Joseph will be in Oklahoma the rest of the week working. Thank goodness :) It will be a good week to kick off this:

 

and start using what we have in the house.

Here's my plan:

Breakfasts:

Cold Cereal

Eggs

Oatmeal

All served with fruit

Dinners

Bacon and broccoli quiche, fruit salad

Pancakes, sausage, fruit salad

Hot dogs, baked beans, carrots

Hamburger helper, green beans, salad

Deer chili with Frito's and cheese

Pork Chops, scalloped potatoes, corn

January Pantry challenge

 A new year means a clean out of the pantry. And the freezers. Little odds and ends make the shelves overfloweth. So, for the month of January, I'm participating in the Pantry Challenge. No, this isn't a complete stop of shopping, but a chance to utilize what we have to make way for new. My challenges are

1. Do NOT buy ANY snack stuff until what is here is gone. We have a fridge full of yogurt, puddings, and string cheeses. Freezers full of frozen desserts and popcicles. Shelves are full of fruit snacks,  granola bars, candies, crackers, and other assorted goodies. I want them gone! The only thing I'm buying is chips(and that cause they go in Joseph's lunches). I will make the occasional treat(cookies, cupcakes, rice krispy treats, etc in order to use up items!)

2. No more cereal or oatmeal for the month. I have plenty that need to be used before they go bad.

3. Use meat that is in the freezers. I had to toss some chicken the other day cause it was freezer burnt and it made me mad to do it. Money in the trash. Every little bit needs to make it in meals this month!

So that's my challenge. Hopefully in the process, my grocery bill will be a tad lower also!

Are you in?

This is posted to Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Friday

Happy New Year!

I hope you have an amazing 2012!