Recent Frugal Efforts

I printed a page with shapes and colored them in for a makeshift shape and color poster for my son's wall.

I bought two kindle books that I've been wanting for a long time with the free digital credits I got from Amazon.

I took the survey on the Fred Meyer receipt for fuel points.

We went to the library and brought home a stack of books and DVDs for the little one. He immediately spent an hour stacking and sorting them all. I already requested more books for next week.

I reviewed items I got for free or at discounted prices from AMZ Review Trader. It's a website where sellers approve your request to review their products on Amazon. Some things I've gotten are a compost bin, toys, LED light bulbs, watercolor pencils, and more. They have food, clothes, etc. items are always added because sellers are always looking for honest reviews. Tip: I choose slow shipping for these items so I get a $1 digital credit to use to buy ebooks or shows on Amazon Prime.

I went on a job interview, and I'm applying to several jobs that pay more. They say if you want a raise you need to get a new job. (so true...)

I checked out some ebooks for free from my library's website.

My son got a play kitchen for Christmas, but some of the hardware was stripped. I emailed the company directly, and they sent me replacement hardware for free. What great service. My son was thrilled with his kitchen and plays with it everyday.

Moments of Pause #1

I took this when outside with my toddler recently. The ground was wet after a steady rainfall. Little flowers were starting to pop out of the soft ground. The air smelled clean and fresh. He pointed gleefully at the little flowers when he first laid eye on them.

How often do you just go outside and look at the ground?

March Goals and Beyond.

It's a new month! I took some time to "brain dump" some ideas on where I want to take this blog, and if I wanted to continue. The consensus: Yes! I want to take this blog and make it my home, my creative outlet. I want to take my readers on my journey to simple living, financial freedom, and a healthy-ish lifestyle.

It's easy to get lost in the busyness of life and lose sight of what is important. So I wrote out a list of topics I want to cover, and the list keeps growing. Some of the things you can soon look forward to:

• Frugal efforts. I enjoy sharing the ways I try to save money. I also spend a lot of time on the internet reading ideas from other people. I'd love to do it weekly and have readers comfortable enough to share their ideas too.
• Frugal fails. I'm not perfect. I think it's important to show that sometimes things do go wrong. It's okay to laugh and to learn from mistakes.
• Meal planning. It's still a struggle. I think part of the issue is that I haven't found a system that works for me. 
• Decluttering efforts. I wish I could say my home is completely minimized down to essentials, but it's not. I'm a full time working mom of a toddler and a full time college student so I have to take it slow or it won't get done at all. I'll post my small decluttering wins.
• Money saving tips. I love reading personal finance blogs and forums. I love saving money. I want to share some of the best tips I stumble across with you.
• Streamlining. I want to make my family's lives and my life as simple and easy as possible to manage...and live, so I'll share tips that work for me.
• Minimal celebrations. It would be exhausting to go all Pinterest for every birthday, holiday, and special occasion. So I'd like to share some special ways to celebrate without spending a lot of time and focusing on stuff. I'd rather have memories than stuff, you know?
• Simple living tips. This goes along with streamlining, but I'd like to share some tips that will help slow down your life so you can spend your time doing what you want to do.
• Low cost stress relief. I'll share ways to relieve stress that are free or low cost. And fun.
• Moments of pause. I'll share pictures I've taken as I go about life. It's important to slow down and really see and admire the world around you.

I look forward to an inspirational year of blogging and a slower lifestyle. Thank you for reading!

What are your goals for March?

Last Week's Frugal Efforts

I reused some wrapping paper for my husband's Valentine's Day gift. (a stack of blank playing cards for 56 reasons why I love him that I got free thanks to a Swagbucks gift card.)

I purchased a used drying rack from the Amazon warehouse so I still get the great "warranty" in case something is wrong with it. I tried it out, and it works pretty good. I'm hoping it gets easier as the weather warms up. I'm shooting for a dramatic decrease in my power bill.

We turned the thermostat down by 1 degree, which is amazing because  my husband is dead set on a certain number.

I brought my toddler's uneaten leftovers to work for lunch so it wasn't wasted.

I unplugged three landline phones and a lamp that we don't use.

I started using Bing and InstaGC more frequently so I can use those earned gift certificates for upcoming gift occasions.

My son and I made some Valentine's Day crafts using scrap paper. We made paper chains, necklaces, bracelets, and pink snowflakes. He had so much fun. :)

We were finally able to return our Comcast modem because we bought our own, which is a savings of $10 a month.

What have you done to save money recently?

Recent Frugal Efforts

My husband and I attended a free Kindergarten prep class. They provided free materials and tools (toys) to help prep our toddler for Kindergarten. These free classes are from birth to age 5. Check here to see if there is a program in your area.

I put old toddler snacks outside for the birds.

I put up a huge mural in my son's room that cost nothing. (thanks to a reviewer discount and Swagbucks gift card) This will deter me from wanting to spend money decorating his room. It will be a useful tool to teach about the colors, animals, etc.

I got a new toddler pillow for free. (thanks to a reviewer discount and $1 Swagbucks gift card)

Instead of buying learning posters for my son (shapes, colors, etc.) I decided I'm going to make some.

I continue to bring food and coffee to work and reuse zip lock bags and glass containers.

I pack my husband's lunch and prepare coffee on the two days a week where I'm before he goes to work. This saves on him eating out.

While my toddler and I went for a walk my husband took two huge boxes and made a fort. We've been decorating it with markers, crayons, and stickers. Hours and hours of fun for cheap!

I'm trying to be diligent about keeping light off, devices unplugged, and the thermostat down after receiving our monster power bill this month. I've tried before, but I'm being more mindful now.

I've been trying to use up some of the foodstuff in our pantry and freezers. This results in a lower grocery bill and cleaner shelves that we can be more mindful about when we go to refill them. I'm still struggling with meal planning, so hopefully this "clean out" will help make it easier and more efficient. I've been bringing things we don't want to work to share with others, and I've given my brother some items too. He's like a garbage disposal, and he enjoys the random treats.

I'm on week 5 of online courses. (thank you, Pell Grant!) Already I can tell my time management skills have improved, and my outlook and views on life are changing. I feel more optimistic and open minded.

I set up the double hanging closet railing I got really cheap a few months ago in my son's room. I'm using it to hang the clothes he hasn't grown into yet. This will help me keep track of the things he has so I don't overbuy because of a good flash sale.

Last Week's Frugal Efforts

My toddler's food scraps that are suitable for the wild birds (muffins, waffles, bread, crackers, etc.) are put outside on the deck railing instead of being thrown away.

I've been entering the Dave Ramsey $100,000 Christmas giveaway daily. It's free to enter, and I signed up for reminder emails. You can enter here.

I've been using Swagbucks, Bing Rewards, and Perk TV as much as possible so I can earn Amazon gift cards for gifts, household needs, and food items.

At work I've been listening to Dave Ramsey's radio stations for free.

Friday night I checked out four ebooks from the library so I'm set on reading material for awhile. I chose The Happiness Project and the first four books of Game of Thrones.

I signed up for Everydollar.com It's a free budgeting software. I still need to finish entering everything, but so far so good. (I feel like a broken record here. haha. It's also from Dave Ramsey. I'm not affiliated with him at all. I'm just a fan!)

I enrolled in online college classes for the Winter quarter. Yay! Officially a college student (again.)

I continue to try to be diligent about recyclables. Both at work and at home. It can be tedious to sort, rinse, and separate things, but it's good for the environment. And recycling is free at the local dump.

I've been taking coffee and food to work and putting in more of an effort to prepare my husband's coffee and food for work on my days off so he doesn't eat out as often.

My husband and I went to a free parenting workshop. We learned a few things, the toddler got some social interaction, and they gave him a book and two toys. I already signed us up for the next free workshop.

Things that have left my possession.

I've been following three places* where people post about items they've gotten rid of, and those random internet people have inspired a new sporadic post series for this blog. I will, from time to time, post a list (and maybe some pictures) of things that have left my possession.

Decluttering for me is a long process because I can't do a full sweep in one go. I have to strategize. I have to muster the energy. I can't let my husband watch me do it because if he sees what are in my boxes he questions things or takes them out. I'm not touching his items; just mine...or maybe a kitchen item from time to time.

What has left my possession recently? (well in all honesty many items are still being possessed, but are humbly waiting in boxes until I can donate officially.)

• At least two boxes of books. 
• Our old collection of kitchen utensils. We were gifted with an all metal set so we took our cheap crap to the breakrooms at work.
• A few coffee mugs.
• More than three pairs of pants.
• A small mountain of socks.
• A pair of slippers.
• A mirror.
• A few brooches.
• A watch with spare bands.
• A few kitchen gadgets.
• Some shirts.
• A jumpy chair.
• A baby activity chair.
• Two canisters of baby food.
• Vanilla beans. I'm not making vanilla extract this year like I wanted to so I brought the beans to work. They were excitedly taken.
• An ice cream scoop.
• A random assortment of office supplies.
• A pair of shoes.
• 2 Nail files.
• Expired medication.
• A scarf.
• Various stacks of paperwork.
• A cardigan.
• A dress.

*Those three places are:

1. Becoming a Minimalist
2. Annual Declutter Challenge Facebook Group
3. Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out the clutter

What has left your possession recently?