Frugal --- What day of the week is it already?
Wow - this week has gone both super slow and super fast! The children and I started school this week, John has been "off" while waiting for his Call to start but doing TONS of stuff around the house, I've been teaching extra Jazzercise classes due to vacations/illness/maternity leave, and then Buddy came down with a massive head cold and had to stay home from school. I was so glad today was Saturday - at least I *think* it's Saturday! I feel like I've been trying to figure out what day it is all week! Starting on a Tuesday threw me for a loop and with Buddy having to stay home one day, it's been a bit confusing!
We had a pretty frugal week, all things considered. John doesn't get a paycheck until October so we're trying very hard to spend as little as possible. We did make a couple of grocery purchases where we actually ran out of something but other than that we didn't spend much and used several things we already had.
Here's what we did this week:
* Had a bonfire in our backyard fireplace using wood from our yard. We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores using leftovers from our camping trip. It was a great family night!
* We have been having a problem with mildew in one of our bedrooms - the exterior wall is chilly and we get condensation behind a piece of furniture. We moved the furniture around so that won't happen again, washed the wall with bleach and sealed it - we did have to buy a can of sealant but we had everything else we need to repaint the wall afterward. I like this furniture arrangement better than the old one and we painted an accent wall in that bedroom that I really like as well. We had paint (we bought it two years ago for another project but ended up not needing it), roller, roller tray, edger/brushes, painters tape and drop cloth already so it only cost us the money for the sealant and the time to do this.
* John also patched, primed and painted the stairwell and back entry. We have needed to do this for a long time. Someone had done a very poor job of hanging drywall in the past and my Dad and John fixed most it in May. We hadn't had the time and the weather (it's been crazy humid and wet!) finish the project yet. We use our back entry as our primary entry and it's very small, so having it all taped off and waiting for paint to dry when people are in and out all the time is difficult. John did all of that while the rest of us were at work or school. Hurray! It looks wonderful now.
* I did a major weeding job on the front flower beds and dug out two volunteer trees that had ended up in my rose bushes. I might have to do one more weeding job out there before winter. That makes me happy!
* My mother-in-law sent us a back-to-school box that included a new shirt each for me and the children. I really needed a new long-sleeve t-shirt and the children are growing like weeds right now, so that was perfect! I love my new t-shirt!
* I picked flowers from the garden for our kitchen table.
* I picked tomatoes and green beans from the garden this week. We have 19 pumpkins, 7 butternut squash and 6 acorn squash that we will need to start picking soon.
* Our daughter painted my toenails and her toenails using polish we already owned. My toenails are now sparkly turquoise!
* I baked French bread and made No-Bake Energy Bites for us to eat this week.
* I blanched and froze green beans and kohlrabi.
* I made more pickled beets, some using a new recipe that my cousin sent me. I'm looking forward to trying those!
* I re-hemmed two pairs of pants for my son - he's grown in the last month so I had to let them down.
* I did bunch of ironing - blouses for my daughter and me, shirts for my son and my husband and a few dresses for me.
* I taught two additional Jazzercise classes this week, so I'll be paid more than normal this paycheck.
* I read aloud to the children from a book we already owned and we put together several puzzles we already owned as well this week. The puzzle in the photo at top is one that our daughter and I put together on our camping trip and that John and Buddy put together this week.
* John and the children sanded and repainted our patio furniture using paint we had purchased earlier in the summer on sale for that purpose. They look fantastic once more!
* John organized our wood piles so we now know which wood is safe to burn and which needs to cure before use. Our back yard looks better too!
I have several posts half-done from last week. I hope to get those completed and up this week - I'm hoping I have a bit more time this week than last. First week of school is always crazy! And with John's Ordination coming up we have all sorts of additional things to squeeze in around everything else. We're working hard this week to get things into a rhythm and have time for everything plus important stuff like sleeping!
What did you do this week that was frugal?
