Week #2 Decluttering & Low Spend Challenges with Photos

 I'm taking part in Carla's February Challenges which you can find HERE.

First the Low(No)Spend Challenge.
Feb. 8....$3.50 @grocery store
Feb. 9....$0.00
Feb. 10....$0.00
Feb. 11...$25.96 @grocery store
Feb. 12....$0.00
Feb. 13...$0.00
Feb. 14...?  Hubs and I are going out to eat so I'll fill this in later.


Onward to the Decluttering.
Week 2 was a "Family Space".
I chose the Den.

Before Pictures--
The TV cabinet

 The Den shot from the kitchen for the full cluttered effect.....

Next to my desk.....

My computer desk which is in the Den.....notice the stack of crap on the printer and the bottle of coconut rum on the half wall behind  my desk.....lol

The chair behind the sofa....yes there is a chair under all that....notice the roll of Star Wars Xmas paper next to the chair(Christmas was HOW LONG AGO?!?lol).....

The top of the dog crate behind the sofa.....stuff I never put on eBay in Nov/Dec......and air fresheners I bought in Oct. at the Dollar Store that still are NOT put away.......ugh.....

The stack of newspapers on the ceramic garden seat we keep for the incontinent chihuahua and for wrapping eBay goods for shipping(either or, not for both!lol) with a box of papers that need shredding(about 5 months worth of papers)on top.....

There was a lot of stuff that was just not in the proper place.....

Like this stuff that needed to go back into the garage.....

And these things going to Salvation Army, except the bag which is prize material for giveaways.....

This box & 1/2 of eBay stuff that needs to be sorted and donated or sold.....

Another box of eBay goods to sort through......

And this stack of eBay goods.  They have all been sitting in the den around my desk since Nov.  I need to go watch some episodes of HOARDERS so I can release this crap! ;-)
The little step stool was for the chihuahua so she could get up and off the sofa(we use to keep her bed there).  We had to stop letting her up on the sofa because, though she learned how to climb the steps to her bed she still can't figure out how to climb down them to the floor(either that or she just won't use them to get off the sofa). Yes, she is brain challenged.  She will only jump off the sofa and she is old and she is injuring her legs when she jumps off.  So her bed is on the floor now to keep her safe and the steps are going to Salvation Army and not sitting unused in the den any longer.

And here are the AFTER pics of the room.....

I know the stack of newspapers looks worse now, but I sorted out all the glossy sheets and located the dog towels(for when it's raining/snowing)and the extra dog blanket in one location so it's more organized.

I still have some work to do in this room but it's vastly improved!

For the BONUS Mini Challenge this week, of writing a letter, I composed one to my eldest son at college.....

I picked up 2 bags of his favorite flavor pretzels(last month at Ollie's)and will enclose the note/letter and mail it off this week when I go to mail in daughter's tax return.....ever frugal here, doing errands together.  8-)

That's it for me.
Onward to Week #3 in a day or two.

Sluggy

Some Love to You All!

I've noticed that the Follower Count is on the uptick lately.
Ok....I more than casually 'noticed', I confess.  I'm one of those blogger types that checks my 'numbers' every time I log on.
I live and breathe my Follower Count.
When I get a new one my heart smiles.
And when I lose one I beat myself about the breast, look to the heavens and shout, "Why?...Why!?!?  What did I do to so offend?!"

Well knowing how I am, it's really NOT a shock when I lose a Follower.
With my sarcastic wit, love of all things ribald, love of all things artsy-even show tunes!, and unorthodox approach to life and societal norms, I KNOW that Sluggy is not everyone's cuppa tea.

And there is all that boring stuff too that I am famous for.....couponing, homemaking, hoarding/decluttering, personal finance, fiscal responsibility, political views, frugal hacks, raising kids, ranting against those that offend me, living below ones means, sewing & other projects, and not buying meaningless crap in order to fill one's perceived meaningless life.
It's a wonder some times how ANYONE puts up with me for longer than a week or two! ;-)

This is just my quirky, strange way to say Thank You to everyone who puts up with me and my blog.
To all the commenters and all the stalkers lurkers and everyone in between, Thanks for being here!!

And if you are new, try not to be put off if I don't comment on your comment.  I am really bad, nah!....infamous!! for neglecting to respond to comments.  It is something I continue to work on about myself but progress is slow.  I have the comment feature on moderation just so that I NEVER MISS READING A SINGLE COMMENT THAT IS LEFT FOR ME.  It's not that I don't trust what people will say, I moderate because I don't want to miss anything any of you want to say to me without having to slog through every post I have ever written every day. ;-)
If you truly need my attention straightaway, instead of leaving a comment, please email me directly.  My email addy is there in my "About Me" thingamabob.

I'm not one to get all giddy about Valentine's Day.  Do we seriously need a forced Holiday to remind us to show our affection toward those we love?  If so, I'd venture to say that the human race is doomed.....
So as not to be a downer on this artificial lovely Holiday let's hear how you plan to celebrate your love this Valentine's Day.

Me?  I'll put in phone calls to my eldest two kiddos and I have a present for my youngest which he will enjoy.  I have sweets for my sweetie(Hubs) and a card(a funny one of course!) and we'll share a date tonight at a small romantic spot.  Afterwards, we'll return home and he'll busy himself in front of the tv watching some combination of political news and sports coverage before falling asleep in his recliner.
I'll spend some time working on this year's FAFSAs(we get the honor of doing 2, yay me!), pour myself a glass of wine and read some blogs before crawling into bed by 2am.
Ah, the romance of the old married couple......

Take time today and everyday to show your loved ones how you feel about them.

Sluggy

February Food Spending Week 2, Meal Plan February Week 3

*I am taking part in Precious' MONEY SAVING CHALLENGE again for 2012.  You can find her blog FRUGAL MAKES CENTS and a list of other participants and their blogs  HERE.

Check it out.  You might find some new ideas for incorporating frugality into your life there!*


I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by.  These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's or earlier. 

This week I give you the 1940 Polka Dot nightmare.....

Love the linoleum floor with the black line design, hate the pink color on the metal cabinets but at least it's not as intense as the pink on the chair covers.   It's got a good  working "triangle" layout(the stove/oven is behind the black desk thing/opposite the sink and the fridge is just off the left edge of the picture).  A large chunk of the space is taken up by that clunky black desk and area next to it where you can see the sewing machine too.  Our neighbors at the first house I was born into had a kitchen table and chair set like that, minus the polka dots.  The table was metal and could be folding in upon itself or unfolded to make it larger and there was a drawer in the table like in the picture where they kept their flatware.
My most favorite part of this kitchen?  All that glass block!  Glass block became popular back in the 1930's at the end of the Art Deco period(notice the Deco design on the floor too).  When I was growing up and well into my adult years, having glass block in your home was very unpopular and dated your house as being old and unstylish.  The first apartment Hubs and I shared was a basement dwelling in Baltimore.  One entire wall in the bedroom was glass block.  I suppose in order to legally call it a bedroom, it had to have that block since there were no windows in the room, as 3 sides of the room were underground.
I think it's about time for a resurgence of using glass block in home design. ;-)

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)


Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Subway Sandwiches(Hubs Super Bowl request)

MONDAY--leftover pizza or grilled cheese and soup

TUESDAY--Lasagna(with some shredded veg), Tossed Salad

WEDNESDAY--homemade Boston Baked Beans, Cornbread, Green Beans

THURSDAY--Enchiladas, Mexican Rice w/peppers

FRIDAY--Hot Dogs on rolls, Carrots and Cauliflower
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Pretty much had what was planned.
I talked about what I bought at the stores last week HERE.

The weekly spending was $36.26.

2 Weeks in and I've spent $120.63 of my $300 February food budget.  $179.37 left for the month plus $92.32 leftover from January that didn't get spent.

Going into February Week 3, we have leftover Lasagna(1 large portion), a small helping of BBBeans and leftover Enchiladas(a meal's worth). I froze a portion of the Lasagna and the extra enchilada sauce I made, to use/eat at a later date. 

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Burger King burgers(in celebration of an excellent report card, at #2 son's request)

MONDAY--leftover Enchiladas

TUESDAY--Hubs is taking me out to local Asian restaurant, I'll make cheese steak for #2 son

WEDNESDAY--Spaghetti & Meatballs(homemade meatballs leftover in freezer), Spinach Salad

THURSDAY--Quiche, Green Bean dish

FRIDAY--Roast Chicken and Veggies
SATURDAY--Leftovers-from spaghetti/quiche/roasted chicken

This menu gives us 1.66 meals out/take-out, 2 nights of leftovers and 3.33 newly cooked dinners.
I plan on using up some frozen items.....homemade meatballs, a pie crust and some swiss cheese that's been hanging around.  I'll see what veggies I have languishing in the freezer that I can throw into the quiche too.  We'll also use up the leftovers from last week plus the bags of salad still left(2 bags) from what I bought a week ago Saturday.

Items needed for this menu are...eggs for the quiche, and a whole chicken.  Since I don't have a chicken in the freezer whether I buy a chicken will depend on the prices I find this week...if it's more than .88lb I'll go to Plan B.  I don't usually plan a meal around a protein I don't have on hand but I'm just craving roasted chicken right now!  If the prices are too high, I'll go with Pork Roast or Chops or Baked Fish instead of the Chicken.  Hey, when you are frugal you CAN have what you want to eat but sometimes you just can't have it WHEN you want it immediately!lol
I have the crust, filling veggies, cheese for the quiche.  I don't plan on buying cream though.  I'll use a combination of 2% milk, evaporated milk and dry milk....all items on hand.

Besides the needed food items, we'll be buying milk as usual. The only stocking up opportunities I see so far are cans of frozen OJ at $1.66 at the independent grocer.  I do plan on buying eggplant(.79.lb)and strawberries(BOGO-if they are FL or CA ones).

I'm figuring on $40 or so for this week's goodies. 

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

Something to Watch To Get Your Day Started

Now go have your coffee, tea or soda....whatever your eye opener of the day may be.....then go watch this TED talk.


I know, I know....asking you to think on a Monday morning.
But this video is so worth it.
It's Sir Ken Robinson on how our educational system fails our kids.
He's spot on about some of this stuff.
It's well worth watching. 8-)



And if you dig this kind of stuff, go watch this seminar too....




Sluggy

What I Bought Last Week....Boring Food & Toiletries Photos

Here is the extent of my shopping for this past week...Sunday to Saturday.

Hubs actually did this transaction for me last Sunday......

The independent grocer had a special on Chef Boyardee canned pastas at .88¢ a can.  I like to have this on hand for quick snacks for the teen that he can fix himself.  I'd rather have him eat a can of this than a bag of chips or a box of doughnuts. ;-)

There were $1/5 ManuQs expiring last Sunday(2/5) so my 10 cans for $8.80 ended up costing $6.80 OOP.   Reg. retail was $12.90.

I stayed out of the stores after that until Saturday.
I had $20 in +Ups expiring that day so I did this at Rite-Aid....

I know there was other stuff I could have gotten cheaper or for free but it wasn't stuff I needed.  That plus the items that were giving extra +Ups last week, I could find enough quantity of item to buy enough to trigger the extra +Ups in each deal.  Dagnabbit!

So everything I got was planned....the gum and candy for Hubs for Valentine's Day(shhh, don't tell him!!), the headphones(which were free with a raincheck from before Christmas)for #2 son for V-Day, the cookie mix for #2 son to fix himself for a snack, the lightbulbs  & facial tissue because we needed them, ditto on the TP(who doesn't need TP, right?lol) and the toothbrush?.....well I REALLY didn't NEED that after +Ups and stacked Qs, but it was free so whatthehell. ;-)
My total after Qs and $20 in +Ups came to .50¢, which I put on my free Rite-Aid gift card so no cash was used.  Reg. retail was $55.10.
And I got $5 in +Ups back($1 Toothbrush, $1 Cookie Mix, $1 Candy, $2 Light bulbs).

Oh, and almost everything I bought counted toward the Winter Resolution Spend $100/Get $20 +Ups Deal.  I had $31 toward the Reward going in and I have $50 toward it after this transaction.  Halfway there and I've only spent $4.77 in actual cash monies.....yay!


Then it was back to the independent grocer to stock up on a couple of items......

6 bottles of apple juice on sale 3 for $5.00.
8 cans of hash(corned and roast beef varieties) on sale for $2.00 ea.
Both are for #2 son.

Throw in a gallon of milk at some point for $3.50 and I spent $36.26 OOP on groceries last week.
I think 1 more week eating down the freezer and I can defrost it.  Got to get that puppy defrosted so I can stock up on meats again!
Spending so little of the weekly food shopping so far this month and last month, has left me with extra cash for a stock up when I get around to it.

Sluggy