My weekly "frugal" goals for this week:
~cook from our freezer/pantry (use up some of our "stockpile!")~doing great at this! All of our meat this week has come from our deep freezer (didn't buy any meats at grocery this week); have used up some other "staples" that were stored in our pantry!
~spend less than $40 on groceries this week (mainly need some perishable items later in the week)....went over by about $25, but it was on needed things---apparently we were out of a few things that I didn't realize!
~no eating out~DONE!! We have done so good this week....no grabbing anything (not even a drink) while we were out---I packed a lunchbox with drinks and snacks from home, so we wouldn't be tempted!
~no wasting food~DONE! We have eaten all the leftovers; no produce has gone to waste!
~limit travel/gas as much as possible~did really well this week! Put about 150 miles on the van this week....which considering that it's a minimum of 17 miles roundtrip to the closest town, that's pretty good! Have used right at 1/2 tank of gas!
~re-organize my coupon binder~going to do this tonight (Sat. night)
~continue to work on decluttering/simplifying our household. ~ (got rid of 3 large bags this week)....this is definitely an ongoing mission!

Hoping to gather enough produce from the gardens of friends to not need to buy any! LOL. Tomorrow morning I'm going to another LLL mama's house to pick pears and plums.

I have the kids in a Vacation Bible School this week, and I know it will be tempting to get fast food right after (pick up at noon) and I am going to try not to do that.

Try to buy no groceries as we are pretty-well all stocked up except for produce (see above).

Conserve gas as much as possible. Going to and from VBS isn't the greatest for that, but I think the kids are really bored and this is at least a free one.

Kerri

Got a cold last week so only finished half of the apples. Pretty much I am going to do nothing else this week except can can can...

~Can three boxes (68 lbs) of peaches *DONE*
~Can a bushel (50lbs) of apples *About half went to compost*
~Can 5lbs of pickling cukes *DONE*
~Gather and freeze the beans that are ripe in the garden *DONE*
~Gather and freeze the tomatos that are ripe *not enough yet, but I have been handing them out to family*
~Dr apt with U/S today at 1:10pm *DONE> BOY!!!*
~Pick up Alex from the airport on Wed night *DONE*
~Meet my brother for dinner on the way *DONE*
~Put Alex's new fish tank in his room before he gets home and change his bedding, etc. *DONE*

I haven't gotten past Wed. There is too much to do between now and then. Ugh.

My goals:

* buy no groceries - except for the farmer's market tomorrow

* no eating out (havent so far this month!)

* drop off boxes/bags of stuff at thrift shops

* sell baby things I didn't end up needing (which is most everthing I bought,of course)

* figure out how to get baby to let dh hold her long enough for me to plant some greens,beets,herbs & such.

* either sell furniture in garage on craigslist or have a garage sale on Sat

???

*blog menu *did a couple of days before lagging behind*
*Work on customs *several done*
*Finish nephew's bday card
*Don't waste food *done but haven't ate well*
*Make bread *it was soooo nasty* LOL
*Make yogurt (lol)
*Finish organizing garage, pc room *garage 3/4 packed, desk clean in pc room*
*Ship gift for friend and FedEx package on Tue. *done*
*Will & POA done *DONE- both DH and I*
*Finish getting ready for block sale on Sat. *nix this, took it all to thrift shop*

I've frozen about 13 lb of blueberries, a bag of strawberries and am waiting for the blackberries and apples to ripen...so not much work for me on that front this week.

*prepare muffins/cookies for school snacks(DONE!)
*grocery shop with an eye to school snacks/lunches (starts Monday!)(DONE!)
*research maple sugaring for next spring, keeping eye open for sugaring supplies (we have 40 mature sugar maples on our property!)(DONE!)
*go through kids' clothes and school supplies and fill in any gaps with sewn items or a plan to make them next week(working on)

Basically my goal is to make efficient use of my time this week, so that next week I can make efficient use of the four days the kids and dh will be in school. I have lots to do next week, from overhauling our computers via full backups and fresh reformats to advocating for Jake at school to planning the year's work (one example, I was sick at the end of last year and didn't do end of year gifts for teachers/aides/etc, so I'm hoping to schedule time for knitting them each a scarf) to decluttering the basement to getting back into the swing with writing. The cleaner the house, the more organized my lunch/snack making, the more time I'll have while the kids are at school.

Here are my goals for the rest of the week.

do NOT go to any stores!
no filling up with gas till Friday 8/25 DONE
stick to menu! DONE
fill up grocery sized bag everyday of stuff no longer needed DONE
do inventory of school items
no going out for ice cream!!!!! :rolleyes: DONE
make chore chart for kids

no going out for ice cream!!!!! :rolleyes:


I solved this by getting Klondike Cones in the big box. That way the kids get the same treat factor, but we only pay $4 a box. LOL! (And I had a coupon too... so it was $3 for a box of 10) Stuff like this is a must in my house, treats and such in the summertime. So we make sure to try to do it as cheap as possible and not skip it. I want my kids to have those memories of jumping up and down on the trampoline with the sprinklers on and then coming in for icecream... you know?

Val

I solved this by getting Klondike Cones in the big box. That way the kids get the same treat factor, but we only pay $4 a box. LOL! (And I had a coupon too... so it was $3 for a box of 10) Stuff like this is a must in my house, treats and such in the summertime. So we make sure to try to do it as cheap as possible and not skip it. I want my kids to have those memories of jumping up and down on the trampoline with the sprinklers on and then coming in for icecream... you know?

Val

It's dh and I getting the ice cream after the kids go to bed. Saige and Alex can't have dairy so they get there share of Rice Dream. A few times a week at 9:30 dh says "how about Culvers?" so off he goes and that's what needs to go.

So, how is everyone doing with their goals for this week? I updated my original post to show what has gotten done, etc. It's been a great week!

As an update, I did manage to scavenge enough produce to last the week! Got cucumbers, beans, plums, apples, pears from my LLL co-leader. It's all so delicious. We're already planning next year's garden. I will not be left behind again. LOL.

Didn't buy any other groceries or gas, although did spend a little on thrift-store shopping. The store had a stuff-a-bag-for-$5 deal and I got 4 church dresses and a pair of church shoes for Naomi, 4 nice shirts for Cole and a pair of church pants for him. Also a couple of pairs of jeans and a t-shirt for me. Good stuff all for $5.

David helped a friend of his from work do some landscaping today and they gave him $100! I couldn't believe it. He didn't want to take it, but they insisted and cooked for him all day too. He could hardly walk out of there. LOL. And he took the boys with him and they had fun so it was just me, Naomi, and Noah at home. Honestly, I can't believe how EASY it is to just have two kids at home. Wow. I got so much done! I hung the corkboard I've been meaning to do for the last 5 months. Installed blinds in Naomi's bedroom and moved her clothes and dresser downstairs, picked apples and made an apple pie (even made pastry.) When school starts I might even be able to start on the painting I haven't been able to get to for months. I need to stop feeling guilty and realize that it really hasn't been possible over this long hot summer to get much done besides try to keep everyone occupied.

Oh yeah, I also spent a little extra money on some clearance plants and bushes I bought. I got a blackcurrant bush, a gooseberry bush, perennial basil, and chives, all for under $10! I love those end-of-season-everything's-almost-dead sales. Because I'm always able to revive everything and it's just so darn cheap. Slim pickings, but I'm still grateful. So far our whole front yard has been planted that way last summer and this summer.

Kerri

Kerri that is an AWESOME deal on plants sister! OMG! And I have always wanted a goosberry... I will have to go see if my local nurseries have some. Thanks for the idea. Check out my black currents:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y299/bluerosemama/Garden%20Pictures/IMG_3078.jpg

I have two plants, one that is sweet and one that is good for drying and not so sweet. They say to put the two in the ground and next year they will cross polinate and be better for drying.

Anyhow... for the rest of the week I spent upset because of Don's job situation (I can explain, but it is totally ot and I don't have much to say but we are waiting... again... anyway) and a few other small things and I really didn't feel good (Little is WAY low right now, and pushing on all sorts of stuff he shouldn't be) so I relaxed, and then yesterday kicked into high gear again and cleaned the house with dh's help while my dad took the kids to the sand castle festival down at the peer. So I am tired, my house looks great, we are waiting on good news via a job, and I haven't thrown up in two days. (Even at 5 months, that is a long time for me this pregnancy)

So all is good... peaches are canned, applesauce is almost done, blackberries are ripe and ready for picking, and I am feeling ok. What could be better than the bounty of a late summer harvest, right?