Week #4 Low Spend & Declutter Challenge....I'm Done!

I have officially finished CARLA'S FEBRUARY DOUBLE CHALLENGE MONTH.....yay!  Here are my results with photos for Week 4.

First the Mini-Challenge....which was to put yourself FIRST!  Do something for yourself for a change.
And I did but with mixed results.
I spent a whole $1.99 on myself and rented a movie I had been wanting to see.
The movie?...."The Help".  I also want to read the book but will do that through the local library.

While I didn't feel guilty for spending the money and taking the time to watch it twice in one sitting(lol), I do, in a way, regret watching it.
Loved the movie, loved the fine acting.
But it made me ball like a baby!
Seriously.
Boo.
Hoo.

Even now I think about the story and I start getting weepy.
I am trying for the life of me to figure out WHY it affected me so.
I am not someone who cries at movies.....
Weird.

Onward to the Low Spending Part--
Feb. 22....spent $26.25 taking #2 Son out to Red Robin.  His meal was free! ;-) Went to Rite-Aid but no actual money was spent.
Feb. 23....no spending
Feb. 24....Went to Rite-Aid but no actual money was spent. Hubs & I got take-out, spent $19.50.
Feb. 25....$13.61 spent on groceries.
Feb. 26.... no spending
Feb. 27....$3.98 spent on groceries and I filled my car with gas-$48.01.  ouch....*sigh*
Feb. 28....$4.90 spent to mail our federal taxes.
I'm adding in Feb. 29 and I am staying home and don't plan on spending anything that day either.

No frivolous or unconscious spending this week....food, gas, taxes.  While the eating out is not a NEED, we can afford this little bit and budget for it, so the week is all good. 8-)

Onward to the Decluttering Part--

This final week was the DREADED CHALLENGE.
At my house, that is the garage.
We don't park cars in the garage.
I use it for storage.  With a large food & toiletries stockpile and selling toys now and again(which also means I need storage for shipping boxes), I have a lot of crap in my garage.  Add in storing certain household goods out there, a christmas tree, Hubs tools and workbench, window air conditioners, extra paint and flooring and anything else the kids & Hubs throw out there, my garage is quite a beast to tame.

Here are the pics I took BEFORE and then AFTER spending an hour or two out there 5 of the last 7 days.

From the middle of the end of the garage driveway BEFORE.....

And AFTER......after putting things away, putting things back where they belong and moving the tubs of toys into the living room...ugh.....

The left side of the garage from the driveway BEFORE......

And AFTER.....not much moved but straightened....

The rightside of the Stockpile BEFORE.....

And AFTER rotating some, putting bags away, organizing some.....

The right side of the garage near the door into the house BEFORE.....

And AFTER, not quite showing the same spot....the boxes are empties for shipping stuff and the tubs are our recycling storage set-up.  I did get rid of enough toys to empty 2 plastic tubs, which I can now freecycle.....

The other side of the Stockpile, standing at the back of the garage looking out BEFORE.....

And AFTER.....a little can straightening and a lot of shipping supplies straightening....

Standing in the same spot, shooting to the right instead of the left BEFORE.....

And AFTER......shipping stuff is organized and shelving taken apart but still deciding what to do with it....

 By the door into the house  BEFORE....

And AFTER-2 different shots because I didn't stand in the same spot for this After shot.....bags of food put away, boxes relocated or emptied, etc.....

Hubs workbench area is still a disaster but it's not MY disaster so I didn't show it. lol
I still have work to do out there but the garage is much improved and easier to find stuff.

I am glad for participating in this Challenge mostly because it got me moving on some things I've been putting off or ignoring.  Having to be accountable helped me just DO IT!
Now it's on to MARCH and to decide what to undertake going forward.

So how was your February?
Did you get some task started or completed that you've been putting off or dreading?

Sluggy

Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaway Box......Enter Now!

  The BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY 2012 Edition is OPEN!

Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY is Ready!

Just to recap, I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  A Reach Toothbrush
2.  A package of 2 AA Batteries.
3.  A 2 bar package of Olay Soap
4.  A handcrafted  Madri Gras Ty HALO Beanie Baby

Yes, this is my handiwork.  Hand dyed holding a mask and wearing his own Mardi Gras beads.


If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways HERE.

Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I post another set of items for the Giveaway--which is usually about a week.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.  Leave your name/email addy and a comment for a valid entry on THIS POST only.  When I post again about this BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY entries on this Post will be CLOSED and you must post on the New Giveaway Post to enter.  I hope this isn't too confusing. ;-)  There will be a link on the top of the side bar to the current Giveaway Post.

Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get extra entries....

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with the URL of your blog. If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in your extra comment.
2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog or on a Message Board.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with a link to your blog post or the message on the board.

Again, you can enter on this post until I put another Giveaway Post up and then you need to enter on the NEWER Post.

Any questions?  Just email me.

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

February Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan February Week 4+ & March Week 1

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-1970's or earlier.

This week I give you another kitchen of 1945.....

 Even though it's post-war there is still heavy linear design influence from the Art Deco styling of the 1930's.  The color scheme is very period, but in a pastel palette played against pops of black detailing.  There is a coordinating breakfast nook or morning room past the sliding glass door on the left.
The big deal here is the massive "picture window" located over the sink.  This feature became the standard into the 1950's and beyond for most any suburban tract home kitchen.  Moms across North America could now watch their precious kids playing in the back yard while still taking care of kitchen drudgery like hand washing dishes.

This nifty feature sort of distracted homemakers from complaining about not having an automatic dishwasher that was touted heavily in those "kitchen of the future" ads during the 1920-1930's.  We know the technology was developed so why the gap in production once the war was over?  I am sure if men stayed home in the traditional homemaker role of that era, automatic dishwashers would have been standard in every kitchen! ;-)

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--Toasted Chicken with Veggies, Stuffing(boxed)

MONDAY--Quiche, Tossed Salad

TUESDAY--Pork Chop with Maple Glaze, Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

WEDNESDAY--Red Robin Free Meal for #2's birthday

THURSDAY--Breakfast for Dinner(Hash and Pancakes)

FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out for Hubs/I, #2 Son was out with friends
SATURDAY--homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Most everything as planned but on different days.  Instead of leftovers night I took the leftover roast chicken and veggies, added a bit more veggies to it and made a large pot pie.  Hubs finished it up on Sunday for lunch.

The weekly food spending was $51.51. Most of that was buying whole roaster chickens at .88¢ lb.  Approx. $20 of stuff at Big Lots, some apples and onions and a gallon of milk and that's about it.

Almost 4 Weeks in and I've spent $207.26 of my $300 February food budget.  $92.74 left for the month plus $92.32 leftover from January that didn't get spent.  I've got 3 days left in the month so I doubt at this point if I'll exceed my budget for February.  Yay me! ;-)

Going into February Week 4+/March Week 1 have NO leftovers!  Imagine that?lol

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Hubs/#2 Son had Burger King, I had a big salad with nuts and fruit

MONDAY--Ravioli, Salad

TUESDAY--Pecan Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower/Carrot blend

WEDNESDAY--Meatloaf, Green Beans, Smashed Potatoes

THURSDAY--Fish, Rice, Teriyaki Veggie Melange

FRIDAY--homemade Pizza, Salad
SATURDAY--Leftovers

This menu gives us 5 new meals, 1 eating out and 1 night of leftovers.  The fish meal moved from last week's menu since it wasn't cooked/served.  Meatloaf is Hubs request and Pecan Chicken is #2 Son's request.

Items needed to buy for this menu are... salad greens.  I've got everything else here already in the freezer or the pantry.
We'll be buying milk as usual. The only stocking up opportunities I see so far this week are salmon for $5.99lb., and tilapia for $3.49lb.(and I have Qs for the tilapia, so $1 less per lb.)

Those bagged salad kits are on sale for $1.99 this week, so I'll be eating those a lot for lunch and serving them with 2 dinners.

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Hijinx......Lotions and Satellites

When last we left out intrepid Rite-Aid shopper she had completed 5 transactions last Sunday and had finished off the $20 +UP Reward Deal on her card.

The last transaction done on the BIL's card tracked $11 in qualifying items and brought him to $84 toward the WR +UP Deal.
That transaction by my accounting should have brought his card to $87 toward the Deal, as there were $14 in qualifying items, according to the Buy & Save pamphlet.
So BIL's card stood at $84 in tracking, not $87 and I couldn't figure out why.

The Neutragena still hadn't updated....from buying the wrong 2 bottles, to returning them and then rebuying the 2 right bottles to get the monthly $10 +UP for buying $25 worth.  I think the cashier didn't actually rering the 2 correct bottles when I did the return and rebuy, so the system didn't recognize the correct bottles, I either had to call CS and explain all this or buy another bottle that cost at least $7 to get me over the $25 threshold.  I still had to make at least $13 in purchases anyway and I had +UPs to burn so I pondered just buying another $7 worth of Neutragena in that $13 I had to spend.

Then I did this transaction on Wednesday on his card....

4 x Hormel Compleats at $1.99=$7.96
1 x GE Lightbulb raincheck from last week using In-Ad Q$3=$.99
1 x Colgate Toothbrush on sale=$2.49
1 x Vaseline Lotion new one on sale=$2.97
SubTotal....$14.41

Coupons Used
2 x BOGO IPQ Compleats=$3.98
1 x $1/2 Compleats Load2card eQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 GE Lightbulb ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Vaseline Lotion ManuQ(AllYou mag)=$1.00
Coupon Total....$6.98

$14.41-$6.98=$7.43
I used $7 in +UPs and put the .43¢ on my gift card.
I received $3.50 in +UPs back($1.50 Colgate,$2 Vaseline).

*And I KNOW those Compleat things are nasty....but Hubs likes some of them to take for lunch at work.*

BIL's card showed $6 more in tracking(the lightbulb, the lotion, the toothbrush)toward the $20+UP Reward, for a total of $90, but my figures said it should be at $93.

I had now bought 3 bottle of Vaseline Lotion(limit 2 $2+UPs per card), 1 on my card and 2 on BIL's card.  I had bought 1 of each variety...Aloe, Coca Butter and Original and the Coca Butter had not tracked for the Reward on Sunday.  So went over and checked the shelf where it was kept and solved the mystery.....the Coca Butter variety had NO Buy&Save shelf tag, so it didn't qualify.  Weird 2 of the varieties counted and 1 didn't?
So I returned the Coca Butter and rebought another Aloe.
Nothing OOP and now the tracking is showing correctly at $93.

And then we come to Friday's Fun......*Sluggy rolls her eyes*.....

Still needing to buy $7 worth of stuff to get to $100, I bought this.....

 It came to $7.19 with my 20% discount.  I used +UPs to pay & put the .19¢ leftover on my gift card.  This purchase "should" have triggered both my $10 +UP Reward WYB $25 Skincare that was tracking at $18 pre-purchase AND my $20 +UP Reward WYB $100 in qualifying purchases that was tracking at $93.

But as my cashier(the manager)was completing the transaction, the Satellite went offline.
The Satellite that communicates with Headquarters and tells the register computer to print the +UPs on your receipt.  The other customer at the 2nd register was in process at the same time and lost their +UPs as well.
Plus the +UPs I used to pay were now "dead" and couldn't be returned to me to use again.
UGH!

So we waiting a few minutes for the system to get back online and tried a return and re-buy, the manager giving me cash for my now dead +UPs I had used to pay.
And my receipt printed out the message "Thank you for your purchases.  You have received your $20+UP for Winter Rewards."  They system thinks it printed my rewards out already and I got nothing.
**Face plant**

The manager went into the office and got on the phone with CS right then and they are sending the $30 in +UPs due my BIL's card.  She said they aren't allowed to just give me cash or a gift card this time, because $30 is too high a value. 

I'm finished with the Winter Rewards and have $35 in +UPs and have $30 more coming, for a total of $65+UPs to spend.

I have $15 +UPs expiring on 3/11, so I may take next week off from Rite-Aid.
We both deserve a break from each other.....

Sluggy

The MOST Boring of Boring Blog Giveaways....It's Baaaack!

After a year in hibernation, I am bringing back.....

SLUGGY'S BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY!!


I did this a couple of years ago and it was a big hit.  I think it's time to bring some fun back into my blog, don't you?

Here is what you can win.....

And just WHAT IS THAT, I hear you ask??
It's the inside of a USPS Priority mail box of course!

It's empty just now.....
But it won't be when you win it!

Here's what I am going to do.

I am taking a Flat Rate mailing box.
And I will add prizes to it as the weeks go along and I'll post pictures of what I have added, when I add it.
And when it's full, I'll draw a name at random and one of my lucky readers wins whatever is in the box!

And just what are the prizes?
Glad you asked!

The prizes will be items I pick up in my couponing travels for free or almost free and/or samples I have requested from companies that I feel compelled to share with my readers.
So you won't win Ipads or a Free Car but it will be stuff you need/have to buy and use anyway, so why not win it and not have to pay for it! 8-)

These will NOT be company sponsored Giveaways!  No company will send me stuff to giveaway.
These boxes will be filled with items I have purchased myself.  Payment for the items and the postage is coming out of my pocket.  Ya see how much I must love y'all?lol


Now I have no clue how long it will take me to fill a box.  It all depends on the size of what I throw into the box and how many items it takes to fill it.  From past experience, the process takes 3-4 weeks to fill.

So what are the rules?
1.  There will be multiple ways to enter per week.  Details will be spelled out in each Giveaway Post.  I'll post that a New Box Giveaway is ready to start and then let the entering begin!
On the right side of my Blog, right at the top will be a LINK to the current Blog Post about the Giveaway  where you are to leave your entry/comment.

2.   Besides just saying, "Here's my entry" & leaving your email addy, you will have to post some kind of a comment in your entry.  Talk about an amazing deal you got that week, what a wonderful person you think I am(LOLOL), something that happened in your life, a goal you have or have attained, how you killed some debt that week, what your weather is like, a story or joke or a link to a website we might like.....just post Something!

3.  You MUST be a follower of my blog to enter AND when the Giveaway Winner is announced, you must STILL be a follower.  No following, entering and then unfollowing.  If the name I draw is not a follower,  then I will draw another winner.
If you don't know how to follow, just look on the right sidebar for where it says "followers" and there should be a FOLLOW BUTTON you can click on.  If you are still having problem, email me at my addy in my "About Me" section and I'll try to help you sign up to follow the blog.

4.  Since the box is being mailed Priority Flat Rate mail, you must live where this can be mailed to.....meaning only people with US mailing addresses.  
** Not to leave out my Canadian friends, if someone in Canada wins, I WILL ship the prize box to them, however, I'll have to change the box and it's contents a bit.  I can ship a plain box weighing up to 4lbs. via 1st class mail, which, while more than the flat rate Priority to US addys, is still affordable.  These prize boxes usually weigh 7 or more lbs. when full, so if the winner is in Canada, I'll let them pick and choose which of the items they prefer sent in their box, until the box weighs 4lbs.  I hate to have to do this(not ship ALL prizes to them)but I would hate it even more to exclude them totally from entering the giveaway.  The Frugalista in me just can't see paying the $35 just for postage to ship this to Canada that it would cost.
 
5.  When the Prize Box is full,  I'll post a LAST CHANCE Post with the last date/time to enter for the current Giveaway.  After the Giveaway is closed,  I will use Random Generator to pick the Winner of the Giveaway. 

6. I reserve the right to change or amend the rules or end the Giveaways at any time.   It's my Giveaway so we play by my rules. ;-) 

I think that covers everything that needs covering.

So look for the 1st Prize Box Giveaway to begin Monday!

Sluggy