Frugal Friday

A number of years ago I purchased a little book called The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Childs.  I love one of the things she had to say in the book.  "The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of the gathering up all the fragments, so that nothing be lost. I mean fragments of time, as well as materials."

 

I find that true in my own life - gathering up the fragments.  I had such a productive week and a lot of it was because not only did I use up, make do and do without but because I worked hard at not frittering away my time on the computer.  I took a few moments here or there to check emails and different sites but the majority of my time was busy at work.  When I think of all the absolutely wasted moments that I cannot get back because I was sitting in front of a screen, it makes me cringe.

 

When I look back on my life, I want to feel useful and productive.  I want to know that I squeezed every last second out of every day and nothing was wasted.  I'm not always good at that but I am trying.

 

I did very well in using up my freezer and pantry items this week.  I spent a TON of time in the kitchen, mostly because not only was I cooking dinners but I was cooking for my son who brings his lunch/dinner to work and I wanted to use what I had.

 

 

Most of the meals this week centered around a package of 4 boneless chicken breasts and stretched much further than normal because my husband and son were off at a conference. It was just me, Nathan and Emily at home.  The veggies are scarce and I didn't get to the store so we are scraping the bottom.

Monday -
Lunch - Homemade calzones
Dinner - Oven fried chicken, scalloped potatoes, peas (using up the freezer and pantry was a great idea because I found the peas buried in the bottom of the freezer)

Tuesday -
Lunch - Parmesan chicken over penne pasta
Dinner - Stir fry chicken & veggies, rice

Wednesday -
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Sent Nathan off to work with grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and snacky type items. Took Emily out to dinner.

Thursday -
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Pan fried trout, rice pilaf, steamed carrots, pears

Friday -
Lunch (big meal because I'll be away during dinner) - Corned beef, potatoes & carrots, biscuits, apple sauce
Dinner - leftovers/sandwiches

Saturday - (gotta go shop because I'm really down to nothing)
Lunch - Macaroni & cheese (still using up pantry here)
Dinner - Chili, rice, corned bread, tossed salad

Sunday -
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Vegetarian fajitas with homemade tortillas, Spanish rice, tossed salad



This week in the frugal department:

$ Cut Dan & the boys' hair (saved $45)

$ Bought eggs from the local postmistress ($1.50 for extra large, farm fresh).

$ Will have my items at a local shop and was looking for a smallish quilt rack to hang my table runners on.  I mentioned it to the owner and she gave me one she had in storage.  It just needs to be fixed (some loose screws and missing doodads) but it was free! :-)

$ Added about 1/8 cup of hot water to a jar of spaghetti sauce and shook it up to get every last bit out.

$ Made soy candles for sale at the local farmer's market.

$ Composted veggie scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds.

That's about it this week.  For more inspiration go visit Rebecca's blog.