Frugal Accomplishments

I made up some home-made glass and window cleaner that I found here.  I am really happy with the performance.  I posted about my version here.  The link to my version also talks about other uses for this cleaner too.

I attended a local crochet/knit/needlework group.  It's free to attend, and the fellowship and idea sharing is a lot of fun.  Since the group meets at our local library, it's also a great opportunity to stock up on books and media for free!

I received my first free issue of Family Circle this week - I was offered (and accepted) a free subscription.

I gave Husband a haircut, and also trimmed my bangs.

One of my friends gave me a yarn ball winder - it's really cool!  She had two and prefers the other one for some of the yarns she uses, but I am going to keep this one busy, winding up all the odds and ends that have been given to me that need to be neatened up.  Thank you, Kelly!

We used some of our Jr. Frosty coupons to get a free treat when we were in town.  Back at Halloween, you could buy booklets of 10 coupons - $1 donation for all ten.  We have been enjoying them as an occasional treat.

I purchased some used (but like-new) books at the friends book sale - a Lego idea book for daughter and an Indian cookbook.  It was 1.50 for both books.  If daughter had not been with me I might have saved the Lego book for a gift opportunity, but that didn't work out...but it's all good.

I watched some videos on youtube and learned a new crochet stitch - Tunisian knit.  I'm still working to get it even and nice, but I have the stitch down. 

I was sharing some fabric with a friend of mine - we were cutting it into strips for a project.  When all the strips were done, there was a pile of scraps - all too small to do anything quilty with, really.  I laid all the strips out in a 'stack' and then tied them in one big knot to make a cat toy for Tallulah.  It has lots of ends and straggly bits, but she's not quite sure about it yet.  I may need to put it in a baggie with a little bit of catnip, just to convince her.  We tied on a length of yarn so we can toss and drag it for her.  Still, she's watching, but yet to pounce.

We made a lot of foods from scratch - pizza, focaccia, fried rice, Mexican rice, salads, chicken strips, chicken parmesan, minestrone, Italian dressing and more.  I used little scraps of things, including the 'end' of a ham, broccoli stems and half a mushroom in stir-fry.  Even the 'waste' peels and such were fed to our hens, so there was no kitchen waste.

Laundry was washed with homemade laundry soap and hung on drying racks to dry.

I combined errands whenever I could to save on time, trips and fuel.  Sometimes it means waiting a day for something.  We are OK with that.

I got some new-to-me clothes at Goodwill.  Between those items and the items that were recently given to me, I have items that work well together and are interchangeable, but for not much money.

Did you have a good week?  What did you do to save more and spend less?  Leave a comment, pretty please!

Blessings,
-Laura at TenThingsFarm