Frugal Happenings Last Week of January

I'm slack about keeping a jotting of what we do that I consider frugal and then I have to think back to do these posts.  This past week I've tried to be a little smarter and I've recorded things in my household binder.

Sunday 1/22
We inventoried the freezers and ground grain.  I planned our menu out based on what we had on hand.  I only needed to pick up a few things at the store.  I cooked a whole hen, which became the base for several meals. We rode out and priced new folding drying racks since I am down to one.  The only store that had them was over priced.  We left them at the store, came home, and rigged my "redneck" clothes dryer.  I have two handles hanging on my extra dining room chairs. These weren't being used anyway.  I was able to hang 4 loads of laundry to dry this way.  (My goal is to only dry bedding and towels in the dryer if at all possible.) 

Monday 1/23
It was an insane day, but we still managed to eat on plan.  Our new stove was delivered, and I baked a cake using on hand supplies.  I also timed it for as the sun was going down.  It helps the transition feel warmer.  Cooked Chicken Alfredo and used up a partial box of pasta.  We love this sauce recipe.

Tuesday 1/24
Tuesday we had guests and I was able to pull together a simple meal from things on hand. 

Wednesday 1/25
We picked up the car from the dealership and thank goodness the repair was far less expensive than we had expected.  We had guests over again and had a great time.  I tried two new to me recipes that I shared here.   

Thursday 1/26
I redeemed $36.50 earned from taking surveys last year.  I used this to order a pattern book.  This pattern book will be used to make several gifts for family members.  I still had a bit left from the card and I ordered a used cookbook from Amazon for $4.00 including shipping and handling.  I used as near to the $36.50 as I could get.  The cookbook is one I check out repeatedly from the library and I know it will be well used. 

I also spent half an hour working on our grocery list after making sure I had faithfully updated what we had used up this past week.  Through careful shopping I'll have one birthday gift covered and several bathroom items free.  (The bathroom items will go into my linen closet for future use.)


Friday 1/27
I heated the last of the jar of honey and managed to get enough for two large batches of honey wheat bread out.  (I made one large loaf and two smaller.)  I portioned out ham and froze it to make sure I wasn't tempted to use more for the planned meals.  I paid bills online to avoid postage.  Homemade pizza and a trip to Michaels on our girls' night.  I used a coupon to buy some stickers at 40% off and I bought clearance card stock (2 large packages) for $2 each.

Saturday 1/28
I picked up some additional storage containers from Dollar Tree.  I cleaned and organized my kitchen cabinets and my pantry.  (Next week I'll hit the kitchen drawers!)