Christmas in June

For the 2nd time I purchased my Christmas tree at a garage sale.

This one, for 5 bucks, is prelit, and is very full and realastic!

Finally, the best part compared to our last tree is that the stand, and the tree both are able to stand up. Not being broken in 2 different places and wanting to constantly fall over means this one is a winner!

Grab-n-Go

In preparation for a busy and potentially stressful week I've made a bucket o' lunch goodies. Pre-bagged grapes, breads, sandwiches, and other various lunch items. Then in my stupor each morning I can pick a few different items and go. If you've seen my lunches, you konw they don't always go together as a nice ensemble. These might not either, but they will be fast!

It worked!  Lunch was just about the easiest part of my week!  Yea for planning a head!

THANK YOU

Thanks....it is amazing!

Joint gift

.

SMART frugal shopping.no...not from a dumpster....although...if...

Thanks for a wonderful gift! Oh the fluffy goodness we will enjoy.

Anyone have any amazing tips or suggestions for recipe's that are to die for with a Kitchenaid?

Fixing it

Sad day: Blow drier stops working one morning. Spend week without blow drying hair. Some questionable hair days.

Happy day: We take apart hair drier, clean, clear, wiggle wires, put back together. Blow drier works. Bad hair days can no longer be blamed on broken hair drier.

Now what?

I looked at Target while I was waiting to have time to take it apart and found that hair driers are anywhere from about 18 dollars and up. Some cute patterned ones were 20. I could swing 20 bucks so my hair doesn't look like my head is exploding chaos. But by doing that, I'm spending 20 dollars on something I already have, and throwing away something that obviously could be fixed.

I'll start scoping out good hair driers in the event it breaks again, but for now an old hair drier is still working and blowing my hair in all directions.

New Bag + Books

Saturday

Quality Garage Sale Time with friend

Land's End bag after washing - school, purse, and lunch bag all fit!! $1

32+ Bernstein Bear Books $5

[sidenote] Just about EVERYONE I know or have been close friends with is PREGNANT.

I'm SUPER happy. However, I do not have a baby, want a baby, or need a baby right now.

But I can buy things for those babies...

And when life gets tough, get a new job title.

[sidenote II]

It has nothing to do with a new job.

But I would like to retitle my job..

It should be something like...

a

cattle wrangling

dog training

supply sorting

Saturday working

paper sorting

needs to be sleeping

FOOL

Ten Cent Wonders

Cupstacking cups for indoor recess (or if our gym teacher needs another pack) for .10 cents

Pastel cardstock, mini cupcake clear stamps, oragami paper, and heart notepad for Valentine's Day Cards. 10 cents each

I got 6 pencil pouches for school for when other ones break etc. to hand out to students. for .10 cents each.

Wire basket for further storage / pantry organization.
10 cents

8 bucks for school

It is so easy to start spending money for a classroom and not stop! I at least try to do my spending at garage sales to keep it cheap. I've purchased a few Lincoln Logs before. They are such an EXPENSIVE toy but are high quality and very appealing...to...all ages.






Lincoln logs, roof and accessories, and train tracks in plastic storage tub. Five dollars. (I know, kind of expensive for me...)











Finally, I got these games for classroom (except maybe Cranium) after I talked them down to 5 for 3 dollars.

Woot!


Saturday I know of at least 1 church garage sale...here I come!

Garage Sale Delight

This weekend a neighborhood had a big garage sale and I went with my mom. We got several baby outfits for the mystery-gender baby that already has lots of clothes and some other general items.

Pictured above:

Polar Bear PJs - .50
Bunch o'magnets - .25
Pink nylon strin - .25
teal layered necklace - .25
bead layered necklace - free

Nothing that was amazing came along, but I am pretty excited about the free necklace. I asked the lady if it was supposed to be in the free box. She said, " Yah, I can't get it untangled and gave up."

4 minutes later in the car - great "purchase"

I hope the Colorado polar bear baby stay's warm!

Refrigerator Teacher's Note

I have a hard time passing up the free photo deals that are all over the web every few months. So last time I decided to make some refrigerator/business cards to send home with students that would have easy access to the information needed to contact me.

I first did this when the school picture company gave teachers 30 postcards with their teacher 'portrait' on it. I thought, what on earth am I going to do with this? So I sent it home with the school phone number and email address printed on it and promptly forgot about it.

Fast forward to the next major sugar-infested holiday party (my soapbox is at school and it's summer so I'm ignoring that one) when parent's were in my classroom. Several thanked me for the picture/postcard and said that I was on their refrigerator. (What??!?!)
One apparently (though I didn't really believe them) had to explain that I was the teacher, not her daughter's friend to a visiting house guest. Thus the end of the teacher-portrait-postcard tradition.

Enter the nice picture for refrigerator tradition. Free, fifty, and simple. It's a good thing!

How To Be Frugal II

Being that I broke 2 things, (well, fractured my arm) and rule #10 of my "How to Be Frugal" post recently I'm taking another look at how to sustain some of those frugal goals.

1. Stay healthy. I am still waiting to see how the bills add up for this crazy bike/arm accident, but I know it will be more than $0, which is what I would have preferred.


2. Increase freezer emergency meals. Cooking with 1 arm, or when busy is NOT fun. (I'm able, but I prefer not to!) When the school year starts I'd like to know I've got x..y..z.. in the freezer ready to go.


3. Use the garden. The zucchini are about to take off, green peppers & jalapeno are ready, as well as the 2nd batch of lettuce. I've spent so much time in this garden, I better be ready to use it. Recipes need to be ready, companion ingredients purchased, and any surplus frozen. And those bloomin' sunflowers sure bring in cheer!


4. Take more pictures. For life, good. For blogging, good. For not wanting to type, BEST!

When Calling the Company Works

Shiny new pastry blender!

I love when things work!

One strategy to save money is to call companies that you use their services for to see if they can give you a better deal.

A while ago (year or more, but relevant to this post) my tea kettle broke that was 3 years old. Not a big deal but didn't seem like the whistle pour cover should have cracked. Emailed the company and they sent me a new teapot! Working item #1

I called our Internet provider recently to complain about dropped service we had been experiencing. I wasn't exactly wanting to drop the company but did want some compensation / better deal. Twelve dollars per month off was their offer which works for me. Working item #2.

While making a quiche my pastry blender had one of the 'blades' snap off and out of the handle. Another not that old product led me to the manufacture website where they had a form to fill out and (not so great, I have to mail in the product, good thing this wasn't the teapot) get a replacement. Postage to ship it was $1.90.

Oh Baby! Garage sale version

I've had some fun shopping for a new genre of garage sale items. Sometwo people I know are expecting and I'm SUPER excited. (note: neither of these people are me!)


As always I'm always looking for anything for school that might be useful as well, so that leaves a pretty open category of items that I might.."need.."

Dollar storage container. For crafts, office, school, or a kid if necessary.

Since starting to write this post I decided to use it for our office. It holds most everything!

Great for school to help with character development in writing lessons. Or for a kid.

Could use these Lincoln Logs for some indoor recess. Or for a kid.




The most adorable hedgehog outfit ever. Didn't know there were hedgehog outfits but this one wins first place. Obviously, for a kid.

CRAZY good deal of baby clothes for $5. Not all for the same kid. Or if the wrong color for no kid.

Clean and airing out clothes. For a kid.

Toilet Paper, Target, and New Shoes

I haven't been to Target in months. (Read 3-6 months probably)

I love Target. Target shoes, target clearance, target is great. However, I find myself wanting things I don't need and feeling disappointed. So I decided not to go there if possible. And I hadn't for months. Most other necessities I got at the grocery store and the rest I 'magically' did without.

Last week I had not been paying attention and we were on our last roll of toilet paper. Eeek! This desperate time crunch is exactly what the frugal shopper doesn't want. I wanted to look at ads for a few weeks and wait until the tp was on sale. Instead, I just looked at a grocery ad and Target ad and Target had the better price.

I found a few other coupons for some free trial size items to get and went off to the big red Target.

Wow. I had forgotten or never noticed how much...junk is at a store like Target, Kmart, or Walmart. Aisles of things I don't need and couldn't dream of spending money on. I looked in a few of my favorite spots like the clearance rack and realized even these items were not something I would need, at any price! I was tempted by the shoe clearance but reasoned myself away since I had just gotten an awesome pair of Puma shoes at a garage sale for fifty cents earlier in the week.

So I left paying for toilet paper, 3 free after coupon travel size items, and a new sense of pride in realizing how little I really do need to live. I know I'm not swearing off Target, and they have great deals. Yet knowing how many more productive places that money could go is a real motivating factor.

Here's the proof that the Target shoe selection lost v.s. garage sales last week:

Being Frugal Looks Like...

For me being frugal is important to help those times when penny pinching is important. However, I think it is more of a lifestyle and can feel great even when there are more than pennies in your pocket.

With a tip of the hat to http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ for her list / inspiration for this post.

1. Living on a budget to help keep track of spending and limit spending to stay within our means.


2. Cutting down on eating out (we've only paid to eat out 5 times this year, those usually paired with a coupon or special deal.)


3. Buying groceries with a sale + coupon deal to make them rock bottom prices and buying ahead.


4. Cooking as much from scratch as I can.


5. Shopping at garage sales and thrift stores (this is a #1 for me as I find amazing deals in peoples front yards!)


6. Get books and entertainment at the library...even better the mobile library that comes to a shopping center nearby so there isn't driving involved!


7. Stay at home. Fewer vacations, camping trips, "errand trips", etc. means spending less.


8. Keep haircuts simple, colorless, and manageable.


9. Reusing and figuring out alternative solutions to items we want to purchase.


10. Stay healthy. Fewer germs, fewer health problems, fewer bills.


11. Finding new ways to stay busy (board games, reading, gardening, cooking, projects, blogging).


12. Sewing anything that is less expensive to sew than purchase (not everything is!).


13. Gardening for fresh delicious produce. (also see #11).


14. Making the most of my job to make sure I don't miss any opportunities to earn more money.


15. Enjoy the simple life of having a friend over for breakfast instead of going out for coffee


16. Not having kids...yet.


17. Keeping the windows open on cool summer nights and buttoned up tight during the winter to mitigate those utilities.


18. Realize our life doesn't have to look the same as other peoples.


19. Have faith.

Front Yard Bargains

A large neighborhood garage sale in a nice part of town, a church garage sale, and a high school sale produced some great finds. Not quite the quantity I might have imagined for so many garage sales, but still great finds!
school stuff. and cheap!

• Not pictured - 3 men's shirts (one Banana Republic!) - $3
• Not pictured - white tablecloth to decorate for a party someday - $2
• Previous Post - freezer basket - $2

Pictured:

• 9 kids books in amazing condition (either award winning or from fabulous authors), 1 storage container with pony beads, gallon size bag of colored pencils, bear postcards - $2
• receipt tape - free
• foam Christmas craft - .10
• brown heels - $1
• cookie cutter - .25
• baby hats for gifts - .30

total: $10.65

(and from one of the online survey companies that I get surveys from I got instead of the normal $3 check, an $10 check today. SWEET!!)

Freezer Fix Up

So far this is almost one of the best Garage Sale finds to date. The extra chest freezer was free a long time ago from some people, but came without any kind of storage help. Usually most chest freezers have some kind of hanging basket system, which mine did not. I tried to use boxes and other systems but they were each a systematic failure. So typically it has been just piles of food that I occasionally dig through to find the bottom. All in all, pretty disastrous. (aka, not willing to take a "before" picture"). But for $2 today I found a basket that I'm sure came originally from a freezer and lo' and behold...it fit!!!


The new basket in a freshly defrosted freezer - AMAZING!!!

Here's what is in there now. Also, as I put items back in I made a list of what was in there so it isn't a surprise what's there!

Now I should probably look at the small freezer to see what is in there that needs to be "fixed-up".

Weekend Garage Sale Finds

white salad spinner (#1 on my list of items I wanted !!) 1.00

Writer's Express - Young Writers - free

Kids hardback book - Eric Carle - 0.50

3 packages cards and envelopes - .50

3 size biscuit cutter - .25

Pencils, luau party sticks, note pads, ribbon, paper bags, lantern decorations, tinsel, calculator, recorder, 3 sand buckets and 2 shovels, balloons, oh, more tinsel, and etch-a-sketch, 7 bandannas - 2.00 -

(obviously most of this is for school and was a great deal! Thanks generous lady who wanted stuff to go to kids that would use it!!)

Monopoly & Battleship (in perfect condition) - 0.50 each



Not pictured - 4 big bags of decorator 'flat' marbles - 1.00

I have to be careful not to buy too much stuff for school. But it makes learning so much more fun, and teaching so much more effective to talk about rates and use counters that grab their attention!

total: 6.25

Shopping Saturday With Mom

Great Deals area always just waiting to be found!

I'd seen this top at Kohls and loved the shrug but wasn't about to pay $68 for it, and a dress I didn't really need. (I know, $68?!)

Well, Mom had a 10 dollar off coupon and I had $17 in store credit from some returned earrings from Christmas. A few weeks later, the dress was on clearance and I ended up paying with 6 quarters :).

I am planning on adding a 3 inch black trim on the bottom. It isn't skanky short but a bit longer and I would be more comfortable wearing it. So some crafternoon I'll tackle that project.

In addition to my great deals mom got duplo legos for $1.50 and two 30qt storage drawers for $1 each! Wahoo!

I also got at a fundraiser garage sale a under armor hoodie. The last thing I really need is another hoodie, but none of mine are "generic" and either have highschool stuff and my maiden name on them or 1 from my sister's college. So generic hoodie here we come. It is freshly washed and clean and ready for a cloudy afternoon.

Good Thing..Its Saturday...Its Spring...

Signs of hope keep popping up and bringing smiles to my face. Got to spend time with mom this morning including grocery shopping, Frappachino deals, free earrings at Kohls, and a spontanious garage sale that took a few extra turns to find but worth it. The frugalista within was so happy.

I'd like to come up with a garage sale rating system that includes, but is not limited to: good people, my 'kinda' stuff, good prices, willing to bargain, good neighborhood, and easy enough to look through. Based on that system I'd give this garage sale a 5/6 and found some stuff for me and school. I'm particularly excited about the skeleton gloves for the upcoming human body science unit. A few seams are pulled apart and I could ignore that or quickly whip stich them back together. Also, 6 pairs of scissors for a dollar and a few exacto knives thrown in as well made for a sweet deal! Now kids will have scissors instead of always loosing them!

Finally, when I realized it was an amazing warm day I took out my 4 month old poinsetta for a few hours of direct sunlight. As I just retrieved her from the back steps, (and the inspiration for this post) I saw this in the bed by the back steps.

ITS SPRING!!!!!!!

If anything green comes out of the ground I'm happy and this is proof that the world does indeed still have life within! I realize for those calendar hindered people this might be a bit of a stretch but after week after week of blah, gray, cold, dark, depressing winter I'm claiming spring just as I needed it!