I apologize for today’s post; there might be some thought loss due to the big football game! I love football! I just wish Notre Dame would start playing well! *smile*

This post has been neglected since before Christmas because if I had posted, I would have ruined a lot of Christmas presents! I also tried hard to save money and use what we had, but that didn’t happen entirely. I have figured out that we also need to start Christmas a lot earlier – shopping, planning, making presents, and being more intentional about the whole holiday. Hopefully, I will remember this the whole year!

This week’s frugal happenings were:

1. Downloading free Kindle books.

2. Using what we have in the fridge instead of letting it go to waste for meals. I bought vegetables for a veggie tray that I ended up not making for a New Year’s party. Part of the battle is finding recipes that the kids will eat. Apparently, some of my kids object to eating “little trees,” aka broccoli and cauliflower.

3. Made another batch of laundry detergent.

4. Made body scrub.

5. Shopped a few after-Christmas sales. I bought a few rolls of wrapping paper, gift card holders, stickers for next year’s stocking stuffers, and candy canes for next year. One tip I have is to buy plain-colored wrapping paper to use all year round for birthdays and other holidays. Right now, I can buy wrapping paper for 70% off. A great deal!

6. Also shopped the clearance sales at K-mart. Not that I like that store, but I wanted a few accessories to jazz up my wardrobe. I got a shirt, belt, necklace, and scarf for 50-60% off. Yeah!

7. Going to the local thrift shop and getting 20 books for $1.00. I have gotten some great finds for my kids and myself. I have been going in about once a week for the last four weeks. Evidently, they have had an overflow of books to get rid of.

8. Signed up for several freebies and coupons for free items. I always love free!

9. Have been looking for free ways to promote this blog. This week, I set up a Facebook page for updates on this blog. Please feel free to like it and share it!

10. Made homemade cleaner. I have been doing this for a while, but I can’t get over how easy this is!

11. Tried making homemade dinner rolls for the first time. I think the recipe would have been a success if I had set the oven rack one higher. We cut off the burnt bottoms and they were still delicious! Lesson learned!

That is about it for this week! A lot was accomplished considering I was a bit lazy due to the holidays and a four-day stomach bug.

Thanks for reading,
Erica

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