June Decluttering Efforts

My goal for June was to declutter 100 items. Below are the items I disowned:

• 7 magazines
• 2 pairs of toddler shoes
• 29 books
• 1 loom
• 1 wood burning kit
• 3 radios
• 1 puzzle
• 1 ice cube tray
• 5 toys
• 1 box of yarn
• 1 box from laptop cooler
• 1 ribbon
• 4 bottles of shampoo
• 8 mason jar lids
• 4 movies
• 2 cups
• 1 mug
• 2 bibs

Total items decluttered: 74

Darn. The month started out strong, but then I was overrun by schoolwork. I don't have a set number for July, but I will declutter as much as I can. Sometimes it's easier when a number isn't specified. I still have a ways to go until I reach that point where I feel "done" and move on to purely maintenance mode.

What have you decluttered lately?

Moment of Pause #8

My son and I were outside during a light rainfall, and he wanted to play with his chalk. When chalk is wet the color is more vibrant. Toddler graffiti: an innocent blend of shapes, colors, and letters.

What have you seen lately that made you pause?

Recent Frugal Efforts.

We visited a local U-Pick farm. We picked two containers of huge raspberries for $0.50 each plus some beautiful dahlias.

I was able to get a couple books for one of my classes from the library so I didn't need to buy them. For the textbooks I had to buy I rented them from Amazon for a cheap price, and when I return them they provide a free shipping label.

I took the survey on the Fred Meyer receipt for free Fuel Points. (gas discount)

I upped the automatic monthly deposit to my husband's Roth.

I set up an automatic extra principal payment on the mortgage.

I requested a few bags from donatestuff.com so I can declutter unused clothing and shoes. They pay the shipping label, and it's tax deductible.

My toddler and I did some "landscaping" outside. Free exercise, entertainment, and time together.

I am using an expired coupon as a bookmark.

I spent less than $10 on my sister's birthday gifts. (inappropriate coloring book, set of 72 colored pencils, pencil sharpener, candy bar, and freshly ground coffee)

I got some free and heavily discounted things in exchange for reviews.

My toddler and I signed up for the summer reading program at our library. He enjoys signing his chart each day.

I had some points with Recycle Bank that I needed to use before they expired so I used a lot of to enter $300 gift cards drawings and used the rest for free magazine subscriptions. I kind of cringe at this a little, but I'm genuinely interested in their content, and when I'm done reading them I'll save them for crafts and give them to others to read.

My son got some books and movies from the library.

I turned the oven off a few minutes before the timer went off when cooking. I do this when boiling stuff on the stove top too.

I requested free ebooks from my library's website to read off the used Kindle Paperwhite I got off Ebay last year. It still works great.

I set up a temporary homework area for me from stuff I had around the house.

I brought food, coffee, and water to work in reusable containers for the most part.

I started using Swagbucks, Bing, Perk TV, and Inbox Dollars again because there are some things I want to buy for the house (blackout curtains and a push mower).

My mom brought over a toddler play set for the yard that she had for years. It has two slides, a tunnel, and a little fort. He loved it! She's bringing some old outdoor tables/chairs for him this week.

We attended a free local event celebrating Independence Day. There was free admission, free food, free game, free prizes, and free parking. It was pretty fun. My toddler loved the huge field. He had so much fun running with wreckless abandon.



What have you done lately to save money?

Last week's frugal efforts.

My husband and son picked flowers from the yard.

I was able to complete two math courses in the same quarter so it's like getting one class for free and will enable me to be that much closer to being caught up on math.

I brought a reusable water bottle, coffee cup, and glass containers to work.

Something we always do that I forgot to put down here is recycling. We separate cardboard, plastics, glass, aluminum, tin, etc. to eventually take to the dump for free. This greatly reduces the amount of trash we have.

This might sound silly, but I watched some Youtube videos of a SAHM and how she manages her time and three kids. Her videos have inspired me to manage my time better.

I checked out some free ebooks from the library.

The weather is warming up so finally my husband isn't using the heat as much/as high at night. Our power bills go down drastically during the summer even when we use air conditioning often.

I filled out another survey from the Fred Meyer receipt for free fuel points.

I was looking through some cookbooks, and my son really enjoyed looking at the pictures so now he asks to look at cookbooks before bedtime. :)

What have you done to save money lately?

Moment of Pause #7

My son and I were outside enjoying the fresh air after a day or so of rain fall.

When walking around I saw these leaves stuck to the wooden fence. Super simple, but I just felt the need to pause and look at them awhile.

What have you seen lately that made you pause?

Frugal Fun. Toddler and Paper.

One day last year my husband brought home a $0.50 poster board for our son that had been sick. For months we all colored on it.

Eventually my son stopped coloring on it, and I got tired of looking at it so I decided we'd practice cutting with scissors and cut out some "mail" for his mini mailbox. I cut out a heart, put tape on the back, and he proudly stuck it on his shirt. The smile he gave was priceless.

He is pretty good at using scissors. He helped me cut out strips. I cut out a large rectangle out of the board and made an envelope so he could stash all his colorful little shapes. He loves playing with paper and mail.

He asked for more hearts, and he wanted to tape the biggest heart to the back of daddy's chair. The hearts eventually all ended up on our bulletin board. It makes him happy, and they're a reminder of a fun project.

Have you done any special crafts with your toddler lately?

June Goals

The year is half over already! Christmas is six months away. Time just keeps going so fast even though it seems to slowly creep along during the worst moments. I completed most of my May goals, and I got my blogging "oomph" back so I consider that a success. Here are my goals for the month of June:

Cleaning/Organizing:

• Move sandbox.
• Clean outdoor wicker chairs.
• Declutter at least 100 items.
• Claim a dedicated area for schoolwork and blogging.

Crafting/Creating:

• Make anniversary card.
• Make birdseed wreaths for our yard.

Blogging:

• Keep up with current types of posts.
• Comment more on other blogs.

Meal Planning:

• Continue planning weekly dinners.
• Eat down pantry and freezers.
• Make extra waffles to freeze.
• Make extra standard sized muffins to freeze.

Miscellaneous:

• Start journaling again.
• Clean out the armoire drawers! (this didn't happen in May)
• Try selling things on Ebay.
• Order a photo card for Father's day and some prints to decorate my work desk.

I have a week off between classes this month. I'm going to enjoy going to bed earlier and being able to read what I want to on breaks at work...maybe even do some coloring. I do plan on finally playing some of my video games that I haven't touched since this quarter began. I hope to spend some time decluttering my closet; I just haven't had the time nor energy to do so.

What are your goals this month?