Five Frugal Things ~ 8/10/18

I'm sitting at my kitchen table having a cup of herbal tea, listening to the cicada song. As I write this, I occasionally lift my eyes to take in the view of our cat as he intently watches the birds enthusiastically calling out to their friends from our feeder, "lunch is served!" (don't worry, he's contained in his pop up kennel and can't get to them!). The weekend is on the horizon and quickly approaching.  I'm especially looking forward to this one as I will be spending part of it with my son and grandson as they do their back to school shopping!  This weekend is a tax free weekend and my oldest always likes to take advantage of that to optimize his hard earned dollars.

Before I get down to busying myself with my Friday homekeeping and wrapping up some odds and ends for this week's business however, I wanted to post my frugal five for this past week...

•  added a bit of leftover pickle juice to the last bits of store bought salad dressing to        thin it out and be able to get the last delicious drops out of the container.  (I mostly      make my own salad dressings, but I have had a hankerin' for thousand island                lately, which is not a dressing I have ever cared much for in the past.  Now that I          know I will enjoy eating it on my salads more often, I will try to find an easy,                yummy recipe that I can throw together myself.  If anyone has a delicious 1000            island dressing recipe they would be willing to share, I'm all ears!).

•  I had two store bought organic salad dressings that I bought a while back but didn't     care for them on salads.  I ended up using them as marinades for chicken                       breasts, which worked out well.

•  several times this past week, I was tempted to buy things but, took the time to               pause, take a deep breath and ask myself:  1) do I really need it? 2) do I have                   something alike or similar that I could use instead?  3)  could I make it with                   materials  I already have on hand?
    One such item that tempted me was a pot holder (yes, a lowly potholder!  BUT this       one was silicone.  Yeah.) since the ones we have been using year 'round are worn         AND get this, Christmas themed.🎄🎅  I had made them a few years ago, and     LOVED how efficient they were at protecting my hands from the heat of fresh-             from-the-oven pans!  Alas, I got distracted by the shiny things that each day brings,     and although each time I pulled those red and green potholders out to use, I                   swore that this was the week I would sew up some new, more day-to-day                   appropriate pot holders.  Oh, how I procrastinate!  (And ramble.)
    But this, this is the week I make new potholders!  The End.

Galahad in his pop up kennel

•  I continued to persevere in the garden, still experimenting, and trying to grow               things that I either have not grown, or had success in growing, in the past.  I have         enough seeds to keep me busy for a good while!  Still, I am keeping my main focus       on growing what I know grows well for me, mostly herbs.
    Knowing that the health of our soil is not the best right now, and is also a mixture       of clay and sand, I amend and mulch as much as the budget allows.

•  DD and I took advantage of our local dollar theatre's Terrific Tuesday to see a                 movie.  The movies aren't the latest releases but that isn't something that concerns       us.  The tickets were only .50 each!

What are your plans for this weekend?

If you have back to school shopping to do, have you started yet?

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ

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Five Frugal Things ~ 7/27/18

*posting this a tad behind schedule 😊

Well, it's that time!  Yes, time for another, infrequent installment of my Five Frugal Things!  Yahoo!

Lately I have...

•  collected seeds from my garden.  Four o'clocks, cilantro and contender bean seeds.      I love knowing I won't have to purchase these seeds for a good long time, if ever          again!

•  watered my houseplant with little bits of water and teas (no cream in the tea) that      were left over in glasses and cups.

•  I began investing an extra one half to one hour of my day, five to six days a week,         into my Avon business to give myself a raise.

•  have continued to add mulch to the garden to help cut down on the amount and          frequency with which I have to water.

•  we have been keeping all blinds closed on the windows that have them to help keep    the heat out and save on air conditioning.   We have several windows that don't            have blinds, allowing for natural daylight in the house.  We aren't completely living    in the dark, that would quickly become depressing!

And before I sign off, I wanted to share another of my favorite resources, Jerry Baker aka, "America's Master Gardener"!  Sadly, Mr. Baker passed away last year but I continue to glean from his good old fashioned tips and tonics for the garden.  If you aren't familiar with this wonderful man, please do yourself a favor and browse his website! And don't miss out on his blog!

Have you continued to be thrifty and frugal during the dog days of summer?

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ

Becoming My Own Barista!

I found bags of Newman's Own organic ground coffee marked down to $2 a 10 ounce bag a while back.  In my frenzied, frugal excitement, I grabbed every bag!   

BUT...when I brewed it, I realized it was a medium roast.  We don't drink medium roast.  We drink (what someone once said tasted like tar 😒. Lightweight. lol) dark, bold roast coffees.

So, I put those bags of coffee in Foodsaver bags and froze them.  I knew that I would use them, somehow, some way, some day.

For such a time as this...

The heavens parted one day and a blinding light woke me up from my sad, frozen coffee slumber.  It was then that I realized I was missing out!  All this time I could have been making my own cold brewed coffee! And so it began.

The DD and I now enjoy iced coffee anytime the spirit moves us, without spending the cringeworthy big $$$ at the coffeehouse or even at the grocery store.  Without even leaving the house.  And that medium roast coffee as cold brewed iced coffee? Deee-licious!  A perfect warm-afternoon-on-the-patio kinda drink!

I like mine sugarfree, she doesn't, lol.  I'm going to even start making a decaf version so we can indulge after noon (you know you're getting old when you avoid having caffeine after noon, lol!)

Do you brew your own cold brewed coffee?  What's your favorite concoction?  Please share!

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ

*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 
There is no cost to you, dear reader, by clicking on my affiliate links. We thank you for your show of support for the blog when you use the links to make purchases! 

I've Been Bitten by the (de)Clutter Bug!

...But still wanting to enjoy the summer season and life and having to work my business, I have been sticking to my "just one thing" philosophy.

bird watching

see the video clip here on ig:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlL4By_g-e8/?taken-by=tjssweethome

Just one thing?!  "What does that mean?", I hear you inquiring.  Out loud.  To your computer screen.  (Lol, there goes my offbeat sense of humor/vivid imagination again *wink*.)

Wellllll... it simply means that, for instance, if I enter a room to do or fetch something, I do just one thing more (no matter how small).  That way, I am decluttering, cleaning or doing, just one extra little thing or task, at a time.  It allows me to make progress and not allow things to become stagnant or build up, but without a major added investment of time spent.

This especially helps me when decluttering.  You see, I have a hard time letting things go sometimes.  Especially those items to which I may have a sentimental or other attachment to (oh, who am I kidding?!  I have an attachment to all my stuff in one way or another.~ "My kid made that hardened blob of salt dough thirty years ago!",  I whine.  "I paid good, hard earned money for that at Dollar Tree seven years ago.",  I wail.  "So what that I've only been holding onto it for the past four decades?  I still might neeeeeed it someday!", I protest.  You get me.  I know you do.).  Since I am only asking myself to get rid of one thing at a time, on the fly, somehow it's easier for me.  I'm not sitting in front of a whole tub of sentimental knick knacks and paddy whacks telling myself I need to make a decision on EACH. AND. EVERY. THING. in the box. NOW.  And getting rid of one thing at a time as I'm quickly passing through a room or area?  I hardly feel or remember it.

And as far as cleaning goes, (which I detest.  LOATHE, to be quite honest.  But I do like my surroundings to be clean and relatively tidy.  So, what's a girl to do?  Just one thing!) a quick swipe, sweep, fold or put away, doesn't feel quite so painful.

And it all barely adds up to an extra minute or two of my time for each task.  Leaving me to attend to things that, by my calculations, really matter.  Like listening to a family member unburden themselves or share joyful news.  Or earning an extra dollar to pay a bill or put food on the table.  Or...bird watching.

I know I am not the inventor of this concept.  You may actually do it as well.  And if you do, I would love to hear about it!  You may have a way of doing it that's even better that would help me, and anyone else reading here!

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ

July 4th

my sweet grandson from a 4th past

Wishing you a safe, fun filled Independence Day!
Our weather forecast is for rain, rain and more RAIN! Honestly though, I personally don't mind, as I love rain.  I do feel badly for those who were hoping for a sunshine-y 4th though.  I would never want to rain on other folks' parade (pun intended). We had planned on doing some grilling for the holiday, but that can be done another day.

I will content myself with cozy-ing up with a good book in a favorite reading spot...

and maybe plan an indoor, oven bbq dinner.  Or maybe not.  There are some delicious leftovers in the fridge. 😎

How will you be spending your day?  Sending happy sunshine rays, and sparkly fireworks your way! ~TJ

Summer Mornings

We all have morning routines.  Whether carefully thought out, or organically created from what feels natural.  Mine is a little of both.  My usual morning routine goes a little something like this:

COFFEE!!! *ahem*

Then I have, what I call, my quiet time.  Time to greet my Lord in prayer and read His word.  I've found this helps me ease myself into the day, since I make no bones about the fact that I am not a morning person.

After that, and a second cup of coffee I turn my sites to the great outdoors.  This particular sunny, summer morn, I observed many wonderful things going on in my little microclimate.

The sun was shining!

The birds were praisin'!

(and scavenging stray bird food that dropped while loading their feeder!)

The lizards were leaping!

A butterfly was fluttering! 

And a dragonfly was dancing along to the cicada's song! (You can hear the cicadas over at my @TJsSweetHome Instagram June 5th post!)

Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! 

(See what a little quiet time does for this morning grouch?!😉)

I hope you are having a beautiful day! 

I would love to hear what your morning routine is like!

Thanks for stopping by! I always enjoy your sweet comments and encouragement ~ thank you! It means more than you know ~TJ

Five Frugal Things ~ 6/22/18

 

We have been enjoying this Summer season!  A little gardening  or grilling  during the cooler parts of the day.  Y'know, outside  stuff.  But when the sun is at its highest and the humidity is at its thickest, I busy myself indoors, fluffing our nest.  It's a nice ebb and flow of my days that has allowed me to welcome the season in all of it's sunshine-y glory as I never have before!

two girls a-grillin'

And as always, in (almost) all things, I'm still flexing my money saving muscles. Here's a few things I've done lately:

•  picked up a free package of organic celery from Randalls, and a free package of a Knorr meal starter from Kroger.

•  since the weather has warmed up, I have resumed taking "navy style" showers to        help conserve water.

•  contacted Chewy.com when a tub of wet dog food was improperly sealed when we      received it, causing leakage and safety concerns about feeding it to our dog.  They        were gracious enough to send us a whole new case of food, without requiring me to    send back the case that arrived with only one damaged tub.

•  placed a pitcher in our kitchen sink to catch water from hand washing, etc., and use     the water to water potted plants.  I also used the water from boiling eggs to water         potted plants after it had cooled.

•  I have cut back from two teaspoons of cream in my coffee to one teaspoon.

Yes, more drops in the bucket, but before you know it, that bucket is 

overflowing!

lemon balm tea & lemon balm plant (outside the window)

Cheers to summertime savings y'all!

Please share your frugal victories, I love learning new ideas!

Thanks for stopping by! ~ TJ