All My Stuff......Where Does It Go?

 A commenter(I think it was T'Pol over on "Frugal @ Istanbul")asked recently about all the deals I get and what happens to all the "stuff" that Hubs and I(plus sometimes Ex-College Boy)don't/can't use.

Here's where it all went in 2020.......

* First I give food/toiletries to extended family, which includes a Brother in-law, the Nephew and my Brother and his wife when I travel down to Virginia to see them(I always take a bag or two of goodies with me to VA).  When we travel and stop to see friends we take toiletries to hand out but the only trip in 2020 that included seeing friends was to Daughter's wedding in early January.  I believe I asked but the two friends we stopped to see didn't want anything so we only brought some items to Daughter on that trip.

* Next are the Giveaway Boxes.  I gave away 15 boxes of goodies in 2020.

January saw 2 Giveaways!

First this one....

Then this one.........

February was this one....

March was this one...

April--2 more Giveaways.

First a Pandemic Themed(Stay at Home Amusements")one........

                                      

Then a regular box of goodies..........

May saw this box given away.......

June saw this box of goodies leave my house.....

July's box was for the menfolk......

August........This was a different giveaway.  A free book written by my cousin/friend Sonya Ann to promote her latest novel, "Their Hellfire" which is still available for purchase through Amazon.  Though I gave her book away, I didn't do a box of goodies that month.

September saw this bunch of goodies given away.....

October was this array of items.......

November saw THREE Giveaways.....

Then this one..........

And then this "Girlie" box of goodies.....

December's giveaway rounded out the boxes given away in 2020 at 15 total......

Plus I had to cover the postage for all 15 of those(ranging for $8-$13 each)which came to quite a bit of change OOP! ;-)

*  I also made two donations of goods to the local food bank in 2020.....

All this baby food was gotten in February but I had to hold onto it until April since the food bank closed to donated goods for awhile during the early part of the pandemic.

I was finally able to take in the above donations in April.  Not going out much and the worry about being able to buy food due to supply chain issues early in 2020 meant less of a donation from Chez Sluggy.

Between everything in this photo above(which I was unable to bring in in November, and everything in the snapshots from my car below(didn't have time to set up a photo shoot of it all before I had to take it in).........

It all went to the food bank in December. I didn't write down what I brought so I can't tell you everything in those bags but it was mostly cereals, detergent and a few boxed pantry items. The table shot is pretty self explanatory. ;-)

* The local American Legion also put out a call in November for donations to send to US military troops serving overseas for care packages for the Holidays.

I filled two large shipping boxes with snacks and toiletries and had Hubs drop them off at the local Legion Hall.

Oodles(2-3 dozen tubes)of Toothpaste in the bag on the chair on the left........

Oodles(again 2-3 dozen packages)of razors in the bag on the right on the other chair......

Closeups of what is on the table......blister stuff, feminine needs, contact lens solution, shaving gel, protein and granola bars, lip balm....

Shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, dental floss, toothbrushes, cough drops......

 

bar soap, body wash, body lotion and topical pain relief(ben-gay type stuff).

* I also sent some friends online some boxes of goodies, sort of a random act of kindness thing for folks who I knew were struggling during the pandemic because of a job loss or other reasons. I even hesitate to mention this as I like to keep some things in my life private. 8-)

*  In other years/times I've been known to have Stockpile/Garage Sales or go set up at the Flea Market and sell stuff(buyers get a deal and I get a few $$s back in my pocket to get more deals)or sell on a local FB site.  But none of that happened this year.   Three guesses why?....Yep, Covid.  Plus I just didn't have to "oomph" to organize myself enough to do this.

We keep some and we give a lot of it away to spread the love. 8-)))

Sluggy

I Finally Woke up Today & Planned my Menu for the Week

Now I'm wide awake at 10pm at night so I'll get no sleep tonight.ugh

I've decided that I need to move to this town.  Not only does the name fit me but there aren't alot of people there.  Figures, if it's located in the US-land of McMansions and massive consumer debt- a town with that name would have few fulltime inhabitants......

I finally cobbled together a Meal Plan for this week.  Lots of stuff going on the next few days(appts./meetings/school events/dh working late)so I've got a mish-mash of meals going on.

Monday--Pork Chops with Plum Glaze, Stuffing(the box stuff), Mixed Veggies
Tuesday--Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Salad
Wednesday--Beef Pie(like Shepherd's Pie but with Cornbread topping, not taters)
Thursday--Haluski(finally getting to this....maybe lol)
Friday--Chicken Marsala with Shiitake Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes,Asparagus
Saturday--Spaghetti with Meatless Balls, Salad again
Sunday--Leftover Delight(whatever you can find in the fridge)

What I need to buy for this menu....
salad greens
cuke(maybe)
cabbage
milk(maybe)

I think I even have everything on hand to make that crockpot peanut butter and chocolate cake thingy too this week.

Shopping in the stockpile yet again this week.
Processed crap used....Stove Top and Marsala mix.

Chicken breast is .99¢ this week at the local independent store chain so I might hike up to the location that I still have a gift card for and get some free chicken.
And we are running low on bread so I might hit the bread outlet on the 1st so it's on next month's budget...sneaky, sneaky.lol
The only Catalina deals locally are for junk food....again!....so I won't be doing them.

The goal is to keep the food spending under $20 this week.
Last week we spent $13.64 on food.  Another week of me staying out of the grocery stores.  8-))

What have you got planned for meals this week? 
Any great deals in your grocery stores this week?

Sluggy

STOCKPILE Cheers & Jeers for 2009

So how did you do with your Stockpile in 2009?
While I've always had a pantry of foodstuffs & a closet of toiletry extras, this year was the first time I had stocked and maintained an actual Stockpile of food and toiletries.

My Best Stockpile Buys for 2009....

1. Marcal Small Steps FREE Toilet Paper/Napkins/Facial Tissue
2. FREE Bags of Iams Dog Food
3. Sugardale Bacon for $1 a package
4. Free or almost free Gillette Products
5. Free Crest Toothpaste (large hauls from Weis and Wags)


My Worst Stockpile Ideas for 2009....

1. Free or almost Free Soy Joy
2. Free or Under $1 Cold Cereal
3. Free Diabetic Meters
4. Moneymaker BC Fruit Snacks
5. Almost Free Kraft Salad Dressing (good to get but just not so many at one time)


My Toiletries Stockpile went from this in March....

To this in early October.......wait for all the photos  lol......

those photos are a 2 year supply organized and put away.
There was also THIS EXCESS STUFF beyond that 2 year supply....

Those 18 Boxes and a few Bags of stuff are what ended up going to the Flea Market in October and this is ALL that came home with me from there.....

The Flea Market Report is HERE if you'd like to read about it again.

My Toiletries Stockpile multiplied faster than Bunnies in those 7 months from March to October!
It got out of hand so fast!!
And that amount of Excess Stuff is AFTER I had a Garage Sale in July too!lolol
So with what I sold at the Garage Sale added in, the overall stockpile was even larger than what you see in the photos!

And just to remind you......this is JUST THE TOILETRIES STOCKPILE!
I'm not even talking about the FOOD STOCKPILE/PANTRY.
Oh, you don't even want me to show you photos of that!!


So, what is the state of my stockpile today?
I still have my 2 year Toiletries supply organized and put away.  I've added a few things to it that we weren't stocked up on, but not more than I have room for in the organized storage.
But more excess has crept back in.
Excess meaning free stuff we don't need more of....like toothpaste, shampoo, soap, razors.....

My Toiletries Stockpile Goal in 2010 is to replenish as we use up items in the 2 year supply.
I am also going to try to only "buy" other toiletry items if they are free or $1 or less with coupons/sales.
I will collect these other toiletry items until May, at which time I'll evaluate how to dispose of them-by either donating them and/or setting up at a flea market again.

So what state is your Toiletries Stockpile in?
The new year would be a good time to take stock of what you have, what you need, organize it and see what you need to get rid of by donating, selling or passing on to neighbors or friends in need.

Sluggy

March Food Budget....torpedoed by Heinz & Kraft & Hormel

Ok, first off, I am insane.

Insane to think that I could anyway possibly stick to a self-imposed food budget of $250 in March for both buying needed grocery items for the weekly menu AND continuing to add to the stockpile in the pantry.

HA!

I sort of kept the weekly spending on food for the menu under $150 as planned. As reported in previous posts I only had to buy 3 or 4 items the last 2 weeks in order to prepare the dinner meals. Add to that the bread, juice & milk we run through quickly w/my 3 teenaged eating machines and you come out at around $150 for the month. That left $100 in the food budget for stockpiling deals I found for the whole month.

Then Price Chopper lured me in with TRIPLE COUPONS & awesome markdowns in their Dairy Dept. at the beginning of the month.

Then I had to take advantage of the Ronzoni Pasta coupons combined with the sale on Ronzoni at the stores in my Teeny Tiny Town to stock up on 14 boxes of pasta @ 50¢ a box.

Then I had to use those dog/cat food coupons to get Pet Kibble for cheaper, to stretch my $$ for the donation to the local Animal Shelter.

Then the chain grocery store in Teeny Tiny Town had Catalina Deals Week. Our Catalina Deals aren't as awesome as the ones at Kroger, Publix, etc. but it's all we gots here, so I had to buy those 10 bottles of Heinz and those 10 LARGE bags of Kraft Shredded Mozzarella(b/c my $1 Hellavu Cheese deal didn't include Mozzarella last month & we need italian cheese in this house, by gum!).

Then I had a stack of coupons for Hormel Chili I had to use before they expired & the grocery store's price freeze on Hormel Chili ended. We go through A LOT of chili here. the Eating Machines have to have something to go with those homemade Burritos, right?

Then the chain grocery store in TTT had boxed Green Giant Veggies for $1 & I had coupons that made them 50¢ a box.

Then that warehouse Grocery Store across the river had really really good price on Toilet Paper for which I had $2 coupons, so how could I not buy 10 packages?

Then it's time to fill those EASTER BASKETS, so finding candy cheaper is put on my radar and eventually purchased.

Then the chain grocery store in TTT clearanced their entire organic grocery dept. to $1 an item. How could I not purchase things we need/use at such low prices through the tears I shed over it's demise?

Then the hubby goes and decides to pick food things up at the store without consulting me.

Then that blasted chain grocery store in TTT said I had to use my Rewards Point last Wed. OR ELSE lose them & the 20% off one entire grocery bill shopping trip discount I had earned by buying stuff there. (This is 20% off BESIDES all the coupons I use!)

Then K-Mart had to go and have another DOUBLE COUPONS Week and I did have some coupons for things that I could stock up on.

In between all this, WAGS & CVS lured me in to get cheap or FREE Toiletries. Cheap doesn't sound dangerous to a budget, but cheap isn't Free and if you buy enough cheap, it DOES add up! Granted some of the cheap toiletries are going to find their way to the local women's domestic abuse shelter in April, but even so....

All this adds up to a combined total expenditure of $855.39 in March for Food & Toiletries.

To put a positive spin on this......

It IS $368.72 lowever than February's total.

And it IS less than the US Govt.'s food plan budget amount for their LOW COST Option of $1038-the option I decided to follow.

So I am not going to beat myself up over this mont's total. It was silly to try to stick to this little amount for 5 adults/teens especially when I was still building a stockpile.

What about April?

Well, let's see......now that the stockpile is pretty much done, I will not have to buy any of these things in April;pasta, ketchup, cheese(except parmesan), tomatoes or spaghetti sauce, chili, soup, cereal, granola bars, canned fruit, bacon, ground beef, frozen veggies, frozen fish, soy milk, sugar, toilet paper, napkins, facial tissue, paper towels(I'll rant about those another day), soap, crackers, seltzer, soda, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, razors, hair coloring, air fresheners & bandaids.

Heck, I shouldn't have to buy any of the toiletries except the paper goods for 1-2 yrs. from now!

So where does this leave me in terms of a food/toiletries budget?

I'm going to try for a $500 limit for food/toiletries for April and I'm going to post a weekly update this coming month in order to try to keep a closer reign on my spending. If I have to check in with weekly totals, maybe I'll be less likely to be suspectible to the Torpedoes the stores have aimed at my budget.

Sluggy

Whatever You Do Unto One of the Least...

I am not a traditionally religious person.
I was raised Catholic.
Because of some experiences in that faith, & then in a Protestant faith, I have serious personal issues with organized religion.

This does NOT make me a bad person or a non-spiritual person.
I have as many morals or ethics as the next person, in some cases I'd dare to say I have more?
I just don't spend my time studying or professing my spirituality in a church or temple.
There are many paths to god, or enlightenment, or whatever you wish to call it. Everyone needs to find their own way.
And other people need to respect every one else's beliefs and pathways.

At the root of all religion(or should be) is the directive to love one another. To put it in the current vernacular, People trump things.
I think anyone would agree with that.
That's a basic tenets no matter your religion.

Things are not inherently bad or good.
The way in which we use things give those things either label.
We should use things to HELP people or any of
God's creatures.


Which brings me to Stockpiling.

Getting things we need in our lives for free through legitimate channels(like rebating/couponing) is good.

We save money on the things and can use that money for other meaningful purposes in our lives.

Acquiring A LOT of things....like more tubes of toothpaste than we will ever use in a lifetime, or so many boxes of cereal that we can't eat them all before the expiration date....that kind of acquiring is not so good.

That is putting things first.
Not people.

So what should we do when the Stockpile gets unwieldy?


We sell stuff. If your family needs cash to pay bills and you have an excess of food &/or toiletries in your stockpile, have a yard sale or put items on eBay/Craigslist/local trading post.


We donate stuff. If you know a family who is struggling, load up a bag of goodies. If you have a local food bank, load up a bag of food for it. If you have a local medical clinic, load up all those free glucose meters for it. If you have a local women's shelter/homeless shelter/senior community center, load up a bag of toiletries & snacks for them.


This post was inspired by someone I know on my yahoo newsgroup called The COMPACT. Most of us started over on The Compact group not buying new for a year with varying degrees of success, in an effort to re-examine our shopping lives. Those who choose to stay past that 1st year have modified their pledge a bit but in general choose to not buy new when avoidable and are much more conscious consumers with a heavy dose of being truly green and protecting our environment.


Anyway, this friend has been spending this Lenten time trying to do RAOK(Random Acts of Kindness)via Feeding Hungry People.

I think it's a noble cause!

I look up to this person for her efforts in this, especially given the load of responsibilities she bears in her daily life besides this Feeding People Cause.



A recent post about her FTH Challenge got me thinking about my stockpile of stuff & how I should help too. Then I read an article in our local newspaper about a local animal shelter that gave direction to my plan.

The economy has been very bad for not only people but for Pets too. People can't seem to find the money now to feed or otherwise take care of their pets. They also can't afford the Surrender Fees that most shelter's charge to give up a pet.

The article said that the personnel at this shelter arrive every morning to find dogs tied up to their chainlink fence and cats inside the 10 ft. high fence. (There is no exterior door in this fence. People are literally throwing their cats over this fence into the shelter's outdoor enclosure.)


As I have undertaken a 60K Savings Challenge this year, I don't have much left in the budget $ to give to the shelter.

But I do have a way to make my small sum of cash go much further.

Yep.

Coupons.



Over the last 10 days, while shopping for my family's needs, I incorporated some pet food shopping with high value dog & cat food coupons I had.

I was able to stretch my $20 cash into $68 worth of dog/cat food using coupons. Both sons assisted me with some of this shopping.

On Saturday we were able to take 12 bags of food up to the shelter.





#2 Son with the Pet Food for the Shelter.
I know it's only a drop in the bucket but it's a start.

Doing Unto the Least of God's Creatures.
Feeding the Hungry Animals.
We will continue to keep this as our Pledge.


Sluggy

A Busy Friday on my 2 Good Feet

Not much time for playing on the computer today. I have been to the dr. this morning and my foot is aok again....yah!
Since the foot is on the mend, I have a list of things to get accomplished today.

1. Packing up items to take to the Salvation Army & sorting the recycling to drop off tomorrow. It will feel good to get all this stuff done and gone! The clutter it caused was driving me bonkers.

2. I also need to put back all the stuff back under the kitchen sink that was pulled out & boxed almost 2 WEEKS AGO from when my favorite Countertop Installer was here putting in my new Countertops.
Have I mentioned lately how in love I am with my new Countertops?? ;-))

3. After that chore, I need to go through the toiletries box from the upstairs linen closet. I have a box on the floor of that closet up there with my spare toiletries. Since beginning the hounding, my box runneth over....literally!lol

I need to find a storage method for my ever-expanding stockpile of HBA. I think I'll keep the small box upstairs in the linen closet where I'll keep an immediate supply of restocking supplies(ie, 1 tube of toothpaste, 1 shampoo, 2 bars of soap, a package of razors, t.p., etc.)
I need to find a much larger area for the bulk of the stockpile....the garage perhaps?

4. After I get all of the HBA Stockpile cleared off my dining room table, I can get more items listed on eBay. I actually got a phone call from eBay yesterday!lol They really miss me....er, that is to say, they really miss the money I pay out in fees over there.
I really need to get back to selling stuff. I just let the eBay thing slide this month while I concentrated on bringing my Food/HBA Budget down, and now my March Savings Challenge totals will suffer for it. Well, yes and no....the food savings will help keep more of our income but the lack of selling will not grow additional income. In a perfect world, I need the discipline to achieve both.

Ok, I am off to get some things done now that I am cleared to use the foot again. If I have time leftover I may hit the store to return a couple of things.
I figured I'm going to be wiped out by day's end, so all bets are off for the Friday Menu Plan today. I'll see what creative meal I can pull out of the pantry tonight or just say the Heck-With-It and order a pizza. That's so not like me but change is good, right?lol

Here's a funny photo I snapped the other day. #1 son has become addicted to those Mickey D's Shamrock Shakes they sell every March. He drank one and left the cup in the wastebasket by my computer desk. That's a big no-no with 3 dogs who love to get into food garbage. I came into the room and found the chihuahua had jammed her head so far into the cup trying to lick that minty green goodness left in the bottom of said cup, that she had gotten the cup stuck on her face & couldn't extract herself!LOL

(I did take it off her face after taking the photo.)

There is always a new hilarious moment around every bend at our house....

Sluggy