Frugal Friday Week #30
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I always feel like I post many how-to’s and not many “real lifes”. Although I do try and incorporate that into my newer posts, I’ve often thought that it might be even more helpful for my readership to get a better glimpse inside of what our simple/homestead/from scratch/frugal life really looks like.
Frugal Friday Week #30
So I’ve started a series called Frugal Friday and need your help. My idea for this series is to share some of the projects/recipes/things we worked on this week and, in general, just what life looks like.
I need your help because I’ve tried something similar before, and I gave up after a while. I got bored, felt like no one was reading it or cared, and I moved on to other projects. So what I need you to do each week is to share what your week looked like in the comments section. I think it could keep us ALL accountable and may serve as an encouragement to others!
Meal Highlights
Here are some of the meals that we enjoyed this week:
- Black Bean Tacos (with homemade tortillas)
- Roast
- Buffalo Steak with Fried Veggies (a bottom of the freezer find!)
- Breakfast Sandwiches
- Turkey Sandwiches
- Homemade Pudding (my husband had oral surgery)
- Burgers
I’m down to some interesting things in my freezer and pantry that need to be eaten up so our meals are starting to get pretty random!
Shopping We Did
I put in an order from Target this week for a few more groceries to add to the fridge. As I mentioned above, what I have left in the freezer and pantry is pretty random, but we are trying to use it up better with a few additions from the store.
Other than that, not a very exciting week for shopping. My daughter still needs a pair of shoes for the wedding this weekend. We are still trying to make our summer shoes last until they fall apart and then we will switch to new shoes but she does need something for the wedding. 🙂
Not shopping I did this week, but we have had tickets for our favorite band for months now and the concert was finally this week! It was a welcome break during a busy time.
How We Lived Frugal This Week
We’ve been busy lately so we honestly haven’t had much time to do anything else, which I guess is keeping us frugal!
We have officially sold our business, and the takeover is in a month. Training the new family that will be running it has been taking up quite a bit of time. It’s a good thing though! We are excited to see what our next adventure will look like.
We picked what was left in our garden (after deer, MORE hail, and just letting it go for the rest of the summer) yesterday (pretty much only onions, cherry tomatoes, and leeks) so we will work on using those things with our meals. Our first freeze was last night.
We’ve been getting out every day that we can and enjoying the amazing fall temps. Hiking, off-roading, and walking are always our activities of choice since they are free or only cost a little in gas.
Blog Posts I Wrote
- Easy Pumpkin Bread – We love this simple recipe! It’s on my meal plan for this next week.
- Homemade Cleaners Recipes – I updated this post of homemade cleaning supply recipes. They all have just 3 ingredients or less!
- Saving Potato Water – One of the most popular posts on the blog, I always love discovering what to do with things I’d otherwise throw away!
- Easy Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting – These are the perfect fall treat!
- 153+ Grocery Staples You Can Make – If you need some inspiration to cook at home and stay out of the stores, I updated this post for you!
- How to Make Buttermilk – Another way to stay out of the stores, make your own buttermilk for recipes. It’s so easy!
- Scone Mix Recipe – It’s time to start thinking about homemade mixes that we can use for gifts. This is always a fun one to give.
Looking Ahead to Next Week
We will be continuing training for our business takeover next week, and that will take a lot of our time again. I’m still hoping to get out and enjoy some of the nicer days of fall! My brother is also getting married this weekend so we are looking forward to a weekend of family and friends.
So tell me….what did life look like for you this week? What did you do, make, or plan to do?
Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.
What I did this week to live more frugally was to clean out my chest freezers and take an inventory of what is in there. I am planning on eating only out of my pantry and freezer for a few weeks to deplete that inventory and stay out of the stores. I have been watching a couple of different homesteading and self reliance youtube channels mainly as a reminder of the things I can be doing and the things I am already doing. I will be planting garlic tonight and putting my garden to bed for the winter on Sunday. It has been a good week. Being frugal is always a work in progress for me.
It has not been a very frugal week for me but I’m trying and I look forward to your post and hope I have something to add next week. Love Rend Collective.
Thank you for your pumpkin break and cookies recipes. I just printed them up and will make one or both this weekends.
I’m buckling back down with menu planning. I’ve been doing it too loosely and therefore spending way too much.
I’m also trying to pick the last of the garden goodies, just a variety of tomatoes now.
Any different plans once the business is sold?
You said you sold your business? Is this a family business or your husband’s business? I was just curious what business you owned? Congratulations though!
Good read. I like your food recipes and family stories. We currently work 2 jobs so we primarily worked 8 am to 9 930 pm. Thanks for sharing all you do. Enjoy the wedding.
Always enjoy your positive attitude towards life. I realize I may have just missed the info But wondering what business you are selling? Are you moving again ?
Loved your video of the strawberry lemonade, it looked delicious. I’ve not been well this week, so my son has taken up the slack! He’s taken the last of the beans off now. Had loads of apples in the UK this year but the pears did didn’t do well. Just letting the rest of the rhubarb leaves wilt, so that this puts some goodness into the crown before Autumn really kicks in.
This week has been all about summer coming to an end, and my husband preparing to go on a trip. I’ve been busy with harvesting herbs, baking and freezing pumpkin bread, getting my baking zone restocked (chocolate chips, flours, yeast, sugar, butter, etc.), and sewing a quilt top. My husband goes to visit his family in Rhode Island next week (I will be babysitting the dog), and I get to stay home and watch sports, sew, and not cook. I’m very much looking forward to it. When our kiddos were younger, he would take them for a 3 day trip every summer. We called it my “Mom’s Vacation”, and I watched sports, sewed for 3 days straight, and did not cook a thing.. Our kiddos are adults now, but he still likes to do this for me (plus he gets to hang out with his brother and sister, and eat lots of seafood that is hard to get in Ohio). We are expecting a frost, and much cooler temperatures this weekend. I will be making homemade tomato soup and freezing some for later. I will also be making raspberry jam, and freezing it.
We used wood from another project that we no longer needed to build a well house cover and another raised bed. For both projects all that was purchased was one piece of plywood, insulation board, paint, and top soil. We purchased topsoil in bulk to get it cheaper and just shoveled it out of the bed of the truck.
Always love your recipes and your updates! God bless you and your family and ministry/upcoming adventures.
What business did you sell, if you want to share. I am making homemade sauce right now to freeze and make a giant lasagna to freeze and share with my mom. Also making breadsticks (Olive garden copy cat), gluten free oat banana bread to freeze and eat! A huge pot of chicken chile soup to eat and freeze and feed mom…. Ran all my errand in one day this week, big pick up of holds at the library, that’s like Christmas to me!! Garden is having it’s last hurrah for peppers, but we are 88 during the day and 45 at night so it’s a bit confused! Have a great weekend!
Congrats on your library holds haul !! I know what you mean, that does feel like Christmas ! Hearing about the enthusiasm of another reader always makes me smile. Enjoy !
Best wishes on the business sale and family wedding. Our tree that is supposed to be a mix of different types of fruit had all peaches that tastes really good. My husband pickled some of them. We made 21 bushels of apple juice last Saturday. I’m going to a craft class tomorrow to make a spooky village. We picked lots of mushrooms in woods. Meals were chicken and rice with 59 cents per pound chicken. I tied a blanket for my husband to have for watching tv on couch. Leaves are pretty fall colors and falling.
Love the pics!
My mom was in the hospital so my week was running there right after work every day. Feel like I’m so far behind on everything now.
This too shall pass.
Love the northern lights, we had them in Washington state not as bright colors as you have. We have turned back to high 90’s in eastern California. We made homemade tacos with refried beans. I think I saw in your blog your selling the house to? Where do you guys plan to live or travel too?
We look forward to your newsletters so they are inspiring and enjoyable to read. I have school children, so the week mainly consists of school/work/sports and family evenings. Next week we will receive homemade milk, the first tangerines, so we are very much looking forward to it. Kind regards,
Suzana
I have been still going through things to dispose of now. We have eaten you taco salad recipe, made the 10 hour slow cooker roast use 2 cups of beef broth and at the 5 1/2 hour point added carrots, we then had mashed potatoes and gravy with roast and carrots the first night. Tonight I am making your sweet and sour sauce from the second book to use with sausage, veggies and serve over rice. Still learning to use my new sewing machine. Will be quilting a queen size quilt for my grandson this week. Cooler weather predicted for the weekend
Hi Merissa.
Congratulations on selling your business. The weather here has been wonderful too; we had a couple of warmer days at 79° but mostly has been high 60’s, which is heavenly. I put my last tomato plants to rest this week. I still have radishes, green onions, and a couple thriving hot pepper plants still going strong.
Your article on homemade cleaners was timely; I resolved to never again have a collection of cleaners taking up space under my sink, and then your article caught my eye. I am using up what I have and sticking to homemade from now on.
This week’s project is to mercilessly clean out my clothes closet. The less I have, the easier life is. I am very good about not saving unnecessary things, yet somehow my closet has become the depository for every blanket and pillow that doesn’t have a specific home and I have not weeded out my clothes after losing a bunch of weight.
Last week I was thinking of ordering the ice cream maker from the Frugal Friday article. I waited for a week to see if I still wanted it and I do. I will order it now from the link in the article!
God Bless you and yours!
I enjoyed reading about you and your family hiking and just being yourselves. I love all the outdoor life that you do together. Congratulations on selling your business and upcoming wedding to enjoy. This past week, I planted a few inexpensive, $5.00 each, decorative plants in ground and hiked. I also gathered free organic pears at a local public park (with historical society’s) blessings! I have plans for them. I/we reused leftovers for several meals this week. I treated our house to repel spiders for $15.00 instead of hiring pest control. In past, it cost $600 a year for this service. Now, it costs $15-$25 annually. I bought a colorful, zig-zag carpet $100 total ($4.99 a yard for a 12 x 15 foot). It will be my workout and stretching area. I don’t like big gyms and this is cheaper for Winter-time workouts.
A bit late to the party…
Well, that week, probably not much. Under the weather. This week I reorganized some (very important and constant in a small house), re-potted some herbs, put up some dry goods (@30 lbs of various foods), did a bunch of reading and asking around in preparation of replacing a thermostat, and some other stuff. Best wishes!