Hello everyone! I have been very busy over the past week or so and have some things to share.
1. I canned pears and tomatoes. Canning pears takes SO much time! 2. I harvested about 2/3 of the pears from our pear tree. The ones I didn't harvest were pears that I couldn't reach with a ladder. I put most of the fruit I picked into the fridge, and I will gradually bring it out to ripen so I'm able to can it or use it fresh. I'm hoping to have fresh pears this way at least until Christmas. 3. We had an inexpensive birthday celebration for our toddler. I made four wooden peg dolls for her and my husband built a dollhouse. I did purchase some Safari LTD animals (afl. link) for her, which cost $28.00. The animals cost a lot of money ($2.00-$8.00 each), but what makes the price outrageous is the $10.00 shipping. The company makes it a better deal for those who spend more money. Orders over $50.00 get free shipping. They give you "points" for subscribing to their social media sites, placing orders, etc., but you can only spend the points with a minimum purchase; to use a $10.00 off voucher, for example, you have to spend $65.00. I don't think most people have an extra $50.00 laying around to spend on toys, but if you want to get the best deal per animal, that's how to do it. I should really write up a whole post about this, since you can also get certain animals at craft stores, with a coupon, etc. As I was writing this post, I looked up the total for my order and realized that I had only received three of the four animals that I ordered, bring the total cost per (received) animal over $9.00! Yikes! I contacted the company about this. Hopefully they will send the last animal and that will bring the total cost per animal down to $7.00. In the future I might consider saving up the $50.00 to spend all at once so I can buy animals at their actual listed price. Sigh. In addition to the two inexpensive/free gifts, I also decorated with balloons and streamers left over from other parties. I made a cake with an $0.88 cake mix and let our toddler decorate it with leftover Easter candy that I bought on sale (don't worry, it was still good!). We did spend quite a bit of money on chips, veggie trays and ice cream for 15 guests (all family). This is something I can improve on in future years, for sure. It will just require some extra planning on my part. I am going to make a "birthday box" for future birthdays; a place to store birthday-specific decorations, candles, etc. I may also put in a "to-do" or "to-buy" list so I can get everything ready ahead of time and utilize sales and cheaper stores, rather than buy everything last minute like I did this time (and several times prior). 4. I finished a lot of projects that I've been putting off. I ordered some pictures from Walmart for an album I've had in mind for months now. I returned ALL of the cans and bottles piling up in our garage (probably $40.00 worth) and I painted the upstairs hall floor. I did a faux wood finish that took three layers of paint plus one layer of varnish, and I want to put a second layer of varnish on after I get another can of it. Of course I still have a lot of house projects to finish up, but as I finish more and more of them, I feel like I can be present for everyday life; for things like cooking, cleaning, homeschooling and gardening. I'll enjoy these things far more when I'm not just "trying to get them done" so I can start hacking away at the massive pile of unfinished house projects. The massive pile has become more of a medium-sized pile. 5. And here is my favorite thrifty thing for this week! I bought the book Presidential Profiles, about each president and their Enneagram/Myers-Briggs type. This was on my to-read list for a while, but I couldn't find it at the library or on Scribd (afl. link... get 2 months free reading!). That would mean paying $5.00 or so for the ebook. Imagine my delight when I realized that I had enough Amazon promotional credits (from slow shipping rather than 2-day) to get it for free!!! So I have been reading that on my Kindle at night, rather than reading my phone. It is so interesting, and also keeps me from scrolling endlessly, which helps me sleep better. Well, that's all for today. I know it was a bit of a ramble, but between birthday and special projects, I didn't do many clear-cut thrifty things. I hope you all, too, are enjoying fall and getting a lot of things done! TTFN, ~Prudence~
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About PrudenceI am a Christian homemaker who lives in the Midwest. I enjoy sewing, gardening, reading and thrifting. Archives
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