thrifty thursday.

(this post is from the beginning of June...)

i like to have routines.  like mondays i wash bedding.  thursdays i wash towels.  mondays we grocery shop for the week.  tuesdays we go to the library.  thursdays we go thrifting.

the first week we lived here i found a few great items a the D.I. but wasn't overly impressed.  there are no other thrift stores in town either...bummer, but it will save me money!

i got a great 1980's globe for $3.  i already have a very similar one, and just sold another before we moved...so here's to making some cash!  major score!  i paid $20 in the past when i could find one.

also found a cute sign with perfect colors for the kid's bathroom, also $3

and a bunch of great vintage books, 0.50 each.  always love adding to our library.



i figured i'd give the D.I. another shot.  i've been looking for side lamps for the couch in the living room and really don't have many options here in town.  i've already scouted wal-mart and home depot here, and other than paying some outrageous prices at the one and only furniture store i was out of luck until i went into salt lake.  our new living room has no overhead lighting, which is ok with me because i prefer softer lighting anyway.  overhead lighting tends to give me headaches.  the only lamp i brought with me for the living room has a short-circuit in the wiring and decided to die after only a few days here.  so, aside from the entry light we have been in the dark.

today i found a matching pair of lamps for $5 each! score!  i didn't necessarily need the lamps to match but i do prefer it just so they're at the same height on either side of the couch.  i still need to find lampshades for these lamps and the pair in my master bedroom that i bought at D.I. months ago...

                         

also scored a brass lamp for $5 that is a hideous little guy right now but i have another similar one in the garage awaiting a paint job and the two of them will be perfect in the family room/play room downstairs.  my goal when i furnish things is to do it for the minimal amount possible- love when i find things i can use!

i've been wanting a real picnic basket for a while.  we got one for our wedding but the wicker in it was brittle and it broke easily.  this one for $6 is super sturdy, made with some sort of roping and has sturdy handles.  i can't wait to spruce the inside up a little...i'm thinking i'm going to love having this tag around with me on many a summer day or night!

 i plan on making a fabric covered bottom for the basket

this eyesore is a baby crib and i'm pretty sure it was homemade.  who ever loved it before decorated it for me with stickers, and although i'm happy that made them happy the stickers will be going.  i instantly thought of re-finishing this with paint, a little fluffy mattress, cute pillow and quilt for olivia's baby doll.  eventually it may be so when she has a bigger room.  right now her room is full with the few things she has in there.  so for now, i'm going to paint it and have it pull double duty to hold something like books, or yarn, or stuffed animals in the family room/play room. not too shabby for $4 bucks.

more vintage books.  cute animal stories. my kids always love reading about animals.  and this julia child cookbook?!  i love it!  not only will it be fun to cook with, but look at how pretty it is and it's hardcover and in PERFECT condition for only $2!

brady scored some much-needed shorts for this summer (2 pairs, $3 each) and a couple shirts for school in the fall (also $3 each).  he also got some glasses with a side microphone to use for dress-ups. olivia got a pink "laptop" for the car.  no luck for zach today.

we got a little sea turtle stuffy for cousin lexi (the kids want to give it to her when she moves next month to north dakota) and olivia got another unicorn (this time a "baby" one) for her growing collection.

i think probably the best score was this beautiful rocking chair!  it's sturdy, has no problems at all and is attractive as is.  i am sure i will paint it and distress it.  i may keep it for a while or sell it and use the profit to save for something else...i snatched it up as soon as i saw it for $8!!!

a cute three-tiered wrought iron candle holder, $1.  will sell for a profit.

lastly, i found a $2 queen-sized sheet of this vintage-look fabric that i plan to use for maybe a picnic blanket or as part of a quilt for that vintage camper i'm dreamin' of!

a good day at D.I.

...so that was last week.

today we had a very specific task at D.I.  we are going camping tomorrow and i needed a sweatshirt that would fit my pregnant belly.  my favorite fleeces' zipper broke and i tossed it back in I.F. walked into the store today, found a nice warm one and it zips too, which i much prefer to a hoodie.  $6.  not too bad!  looks almost new, nice dark gray color and super warm.

my other task- i needed at least one frying pan to use while camping.  i found this guy for $1, which is on the smaller side but will work great for bacon and eggs.

we quickly browsed the outdoor area (i was trying to see if i could find a large water jug with a spicket...no luck) but found another brass lamp with great shape for $5.  another project to paint and sell.  have to find pieces like this so i can make my sending money!

i had forewarned the kiddos that we weren't buying any toys this time.  i did want to quickly peruse the bedding/fabric area and within a few minutes i found these curtains!  i was so excited!  $4 for each panel, 2 panels for the family room/playroom.  i had just been thinking yesterday that i could get some fabric JUST.LIKE.THIS.  my friend, charlotte had these curtains in her playroom and i loved them.  couldn't believe my luck!  i would have preferred to pay $4 for both panels, but $8 is still cheaper than i could have gotten the fabric for even half off at Jo-Anns.

and as i strolled down the glassware aisle to get the kiddos playing in the toy aisle...found this super sweet jar.  i would like to keep it and fill it with some cottonballs for the masterbathroom, but for $1, I can make at least a $5 profit on it.  so it's going to get sold too.  

got to love thrifty thursday!

DI deals and steals.

RANDALL milk glass bowl - $1
white platter - $2
letter Z - $0.75

                   

purse - $4

                   

                 
hardback books:
The Secret Garden - $2
The Tale of Desperaux - $2
Black Beauty - $1
LDS Piano Hymnbook - $3

toys:
car bridge - $0.50
toy laptop - $3
car playset - $0.75

What I've been up to...


I've had several goals for a while now of things that I wanted to do and I got them done this past week!!! Here's what they were:

1.) Order Food storage from the cannery (hard red wheat, dried black beans, powdered milk to start this month) I'm going to be ordering new items every month from the cannery and also focusing on a few things a month to stock up on for a year's supply.


This month I did "Beginning with the Basics" so I got what I ordered from the cannery. I only got 25 lbs. or wheat and 25 lbs. of beans and 12 #10 cans of powdered milk but the next time I go I'm getting my year's supply. I also got brown short-grain rice from Costco (12 lb. bag)


This month I also focused on getting all of my fats/oils for food storage. I have done a lot of personal research this last year on health and nutrtion and have concluded that I will not include hydrogenated oils in my food storage, meaning I will not be using them in my home. I stay away from as many foods as I can that contain hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in them.
This means that I'm an avid lable reader and have become pretty informed on what products contain what ingredients etc. What I'm willing to sacrifice and what I'm not.


If you're wondering why I'm staying away from hydrogenated oils then you will have to wait for my more detailed post (I'm starting posts about health on "Wellness Wednesdays!!!") Now aren't you excited? But basically, hydrogenated oils are often rancid and old because they have been processed through a method that chemically changes them from liquids to solids. These are also known as Transfats which can intefere with many of our bodies' functions.


So what am I getting for fats/oils?

• Peanut Butter (natural peanut butter is best but I personally cannot stomache it so this was one product I'm not willing to sacrfice)
• Mayo/Salad Dressings (again, contain transfats, but do not use enough to be willing to sacrifice this from our diet)
• Olive Oil Extra-virgin, first cold-pressed
• Coconut Oil Extra-virgin
• Butter (real butter, not margarine etc. I will do a post about this also)
• Powdered Butter (available through food storage sites, I can give more info if you're curious)
• Spray Oil (I also use olive oil in a diffuser most of the time but for baking I like to use PAM even though it isn't the healthiest)

Toiletries: I also got a year's supply of toothpaste, mouthwash, dishwasher detergent and dish soap. I plan to make all of my cleaners (I'll post about that later).


If you're interested in how much of each product I got/how much you'd need for your family you can email me. Also, the church has it on their website: http://www.providentliving.org/



2.) USE MY FOOD STORAGE EVERY DAY:
This means learning how to use my basic staples for everyday meals. I want to incorporate more rice, beans and whole wheat not only because they are very inexpensive foods but because they are whole foods that are very nutritious for our bodies. The goals I accomplsihed this week for learning how to use my food storage:

• Ground my own wheat (I used my blender but I'm going to order a hand wheat grinder. I want to have a hand-operated one in case of power outages etc. but eventually I'd like to get an electric one as well)

• Make homemade bread (this was a little labor-intensive because I kneaded the bread by hand for about 12 minutes). The bread came out wonderful and the smell of fresh warm bread was heavenly. Brady, Livy and I gobbled up 4 slices right away! Even Chris who HATES whole-grain anything thought it was good! I plan on getting a Kitchen-Aid or Bosch sometime this year. I would use a breadmaker but I don't like the shape of the loaf (I know, weird)

Here's the bread recipe I followed:

Basic Whole Wheat Bread Recipe:
Makes 2 loaves

2 C. warm water
1/3 C. honey
1 T. yeast
1/3 C. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1/3 C. gluten flour
5-7 C. freshly ground whole wheat flour

Directions:

1.) In a large bowl or in a large mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid or Bosch type) combine the water, yeast and honey. Let sit for a few minutes to give the yeast a chance to start working.

2.) Add the salt, oil, gluten flour and 3 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Continue to add more flour until the dough does not stick to the side of the bowl and does not feel sticky to the touch.

3.) Knead for 4 minutes in a Bosch mixer or 7 to 10 in other mixers or 12 to 15 minutes by hand.

4.) When dough has finished kneading let it rise once until doubled in bulk (unless you are using a Bosch type mixer and in this case you can skip the 1st rising). Punch down dough and divide it into 2 pieces and form into loaves and set in bread pans.

5.) Let it rise in a slightly warm oven (this means that you turn the oven on for just 2 or 3 min. or until you can feel the heat and then turn it off, if it is too hot then it will kill the yeast) for 15 to 25 minutes or until the dough is 1 inch above top of pan.

6.) Turn oven to 350 (without taking bread out) and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until golden brown.

3.) Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

Chris thinks I'm completely crazy (and not normal) for this undertaking but it was suprisingly easy and I plan on continuing this. Here's the recipe:

2 C. borax (20 MuleTeam) 2 C. washing soda (Arm & Hammer)

1 3/4 bars of soap (Fels Naptha, Ivory or other mild soap) grated

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large pot with 1 quart (4 C.) water. Bring to a gentle boil and stir until well dissolved. Pour into a 5-gallon bucket and then pour 2 1/2 gallons of boiling water over the top. Stir well, cover and let sit for 24 hours. Use 1/4 C. per small/medium load and 1/2 C. per large/super load.

*Can add a couple drops of a nice mild essential oil to the detergent and mix well for a nice aroma. Mine smells fresh and clean without using any essential oils. Texture of detergent will be a runny/gelled texture. Mix before using. Fine for High Efficency Washing Machines; leaves no residue on machines or clothing.

Why MAKE your own laundry soap?

1 load of laundry normally costs me = 0.15 cents (my brand-name detergent is $8.99 and washes 64 loads)

1 load of laundry using homemade detergent costs me = cents (total cost of 1 batch is $ and washes 128 loads when using 1/4 C. and 64 loads when using 1/2 C.)

• bar soap $0.35 per bar, so $0.61 per batch ($4.90 10 batches)
• borax $0.42 per batch ($3.36 enough 8 batches)
• washing soda $0.37 per batch($2.97, enough for 8 batches)

Total $1.14 per batch = $0.0089 cents per load (less than 1/2 cent per 128 loads using 1/4 C.) and $0.0178 cents per load (per 64 loads using 1/2 C.)

I can wash 1024 loads of laundry (using 1/4 C.) and 512 loads of laundry (using 1/2 C.) for $11.23 which is $2.24 cents more than what it would cost me to wash ONLY 64 loads when I buy namebrand detergent!!! That is AMAZING!!!!

Other uses for Borax: (all on box)

• Laundry booster
• Deoderizing odors from trash, mattresses, pet urine, sour milk, refrigerators
• First Aid: in eyes and when something has been ingested
• Cleaner: porcelain, hard water stains, washing delicates and baby clothes by hand, fiberglass, fine china, himidifiers and toilet bowls.

Other Uses for Arm and Hammer Washing Soda: (all on box)

• Cleaner:cooking grease, oils and crayon. Safe on walls, countertops, refrigerators, appliances, tile, sinks, tub/shower and toilet.
• Unclogging drains
• Increases detergent cleaning power
• Neutralizes and eliminates odors