June Wrap-Up & July Goals

I'm a bit tardy with the monthly summary. DH and I didn't have a chance to sit down and talk about about goals until this weekend.

Just in case you missed it our huge praise this month is for DHs job going to full-time. After a year of surviving on 3/4 salary we are back to normal. Keep in mind 'normal' for us is still pretty darn frugal but we are just so excited that all our bills are covered with DHs salary again.

We are continually amazed at God's provision. Even as God was engineering Ed's return to full-time work, He worked through many people to bless our family. We received several generous gift cards in June, a friend made me some beautiful earrings, another friend gave us a bike for one of our DDs, we had several instances of babysitting help, I was given many hand-me-downs and new things to prepare for DD #4, and there were lots of other wonderful blessings that I can't remember right this second with my pregnant memory. *sigh*

We have been looking at our budget and trying to decide which of the many things we have been putting off should get financial priority. For July we settled on new tires for the Suburban. We could wait a couple more months, but we thought it would be wisest to buy the tires when I have the Suburban in Oregon later this month so we can avoid about $70 sales tax. This is not a special trip to buy tires! I already planned to have the Suburban there since I have to haul a bunch of stuff home that won't fit in the Toyota.

My goals for June included:

• $200 on groceries (to include a Costco trip). I spent $228.51 which is close enough!
• List one thing on ebay or Craig's List. Uh . . . Nope. But I do think I'll manage some this month because a) we are reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and every time we ready it we end up selling a bunch of stuff, b) listing fees on Ebay are free for up to 100 items until July 12th, and c) I am coming across lots to get rid of as the Spring Cleaning progresses
• Finish the Spring Cleaning. Rats - I would love to have this done. I did get the kitchen chairs scrubbed and the ceiling fan cleaned which were both 'biggies' I had been avoiding.
• Use the dryer just 5 times. I did this one! Unless my mom used the dryer more than twice when she was here, which is entirely possible. She can be sneaky. Anyway - even with our terrible weather in June I managed to keep the dryer usage to five loads.
• Post about spring cleaning, chickens, and how I grocery shop. I got the How I grocery shop series finished, but no chicken posts and more spring cleaning to come.

Goals for July:

• Groceries under $200. We have a camping trip the first week of August I'll be preparing for and I am running low on all my meat except pork chops. I want to have enough budget to stock up if I find a good price.
• Finish the Spring Cleaning. This is becoming Summer Cleaning so I'd better just wrap it up. I think I've made the mistake of organizing as I clean so it's taking much longer than I hoped.
• List 5 things on Ebay or Craig's List. Yep - back to five.
• Use my dryer less than 5 times (again)
• Post about chickens, stringing a clothesline, and start a series on gift giving.

I don't feel like I have any "new" goals this month, but I'll just give myself a break and try to maintain for the two remaining months of my pregnancy.

Katie

Spring Cleaning Plan

Okay - time to stop procrasinating! I told you in a previous post how terrible I am about keeping up with the housework and that I had a plan to Spring Clean. I am finally going to do it. EEK!

Here's the plan, room by room. I tried to assign the room with many task to days we'll be home as opposed to 'lighter' days when we might be out for the morning. I am also listing the tasks in priority order.

For each room I will complete a list of tasks including washing the curtains and/or blinds, washing the window, dusting, using wood polish on wood furniture, vacuum moving all furniture, touch up paint, wipe down trim, outlet covers, and knobs, spot clean the carpet, and keep a trash can and garage sale box handy for whatever comes my way.

Day 1: Outside Windows

Day 2: Playroom (afternoon)

Day 3: Kitchen (home all day) Empty and wipe out upper cabinets, dust above cabinets, move fridge to vacuum behind & under it, Empty and wipe out pantry shelves. Think about what I'm putting back into the cupboards - do I need it and/or have I used it in the last 12 months?

Day 4: Dusting/Living Room (afternoon) Cobwebs in the whole house, including vaulted ceiling in living room, dust china cabinet & clean glass shelves, clean out table drawers, hall closet, and if time, update framed photos.

Day 5: Kitchen (home all day) Empty and wipe out lower cabinets, wipe down all cabinets (myself on upper, kids on lower), wipe down pantry doors, move microwave and scrub underneath it, and clean out track for sliding glass door (gross!). I have already cleaned the oven, defrosted the freezer, and run the dishwasher with vinegar.

Day 6: Eve & Naomi's room (afternoon)

Day 7: Joanna's room (afternoon)

Day 8: Master (most of the day at home) Clean off dresser and both nightstands, if time clean out dresser and nightstands. Vacuum under bed & in closets.

Day 9: Bathrooms (afternoon) Clean ceilings & light fixtures, empty & wipe out cabinets & trash cans, wash shower curtains.

Day 10: Laundry room (afternoon) Move dryer to vacuum around hose, ask DH to check hot air vent in crawl space, empty & wipe out cabinets, go through ironing basket

Day 11: Linen closet (afternoon) Empty & wipe shelves, organize

Day 12: Hall closet & kitchen (home all day) Empty and organize closet shelves, scrub kitchen chairs & barstools on the deck if the weather is nice (supposed to be rainy the first 2 kitchen days).

Day x: With DH whenever he can do it. Tidy garage, clear off dining set, seal deck, fertilize lawn, change furnance filters.

Phew! It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks. I'll do my best to keep you posted with honest photos and hopefully, my progress.

Katie

April Wrap-Up

I am realizing with these end-of-month updates that I am not great at sticking with the goals I set. I am OK with this, and I recognize that's part of my personality. So I guess I want those of you readers who are more focused than I am to know that I am fully aware that I don't usually meet the goals. I use more of that "aim for the moon and you'll land among the stars" approach.

For example, this month I spent $119 on groceries. My goal was $100, but $119 is pretty awesome, and I never would have kept it that low if I hadn't been aiming at $100.

Another goal was to list 5 things on ebay . . . hm.

We did receive our tax refund just this week so we were able to cover some all those expenses we used our credit card for in March. We were also able to pay the property taxes on time - Yahoo!

I had several posts I wanted to get on this blog as well and those are finished or nearly so in most cases. You'll see posts about drugstore deals, cloth wipes, making your own bread and how I grocery shop in May. I did manage to post about putting together your own freezer meal swap, so that's one off the list anyway.

I am proud to report that I did get the freezer defrosted! My inside freezer absorbed those few items that still needed a home, and I was able to organize those shelves, too. I have a meat drawer, a shelf for pre-made dinners, a frozen veggies & fruit shelf, and a misc. shelf. I made a list of what's on each shelf and used a magnet to stick it to the outside door so nothing gets "lost."
Here's what my freezer looked like after we emptied out lots of ice:

Here is what it looked like when all the ice melted. We only found one thing buried in the ice: a very welcome container of 4 cups of diced tomato.

I am hoping to leave this freezer unplugged for several months to save energy. I'll have to use it again when the garden starts producing. I read that the refrigerator and clothes dryer are the biggest users of engery in an average household, so I'm hoping having this old tank unplugged and using the clothesline will make a big difference this summer.

Goals for May:

• $100 on groceries again - we'll be gone for a full week and now that the freezer is low I'll focus on the pantry - I hope.
• List 5 things on ebay - I really ought to be able to do this, I just never make it a priority
• Spring Cleaning
• Blog posts regarding: Cloth wipes, making your own bread, drugstore deals, hopefully one about keeping chickens, and at least start a series on how I grocery shop.
• Use the dryer less than 5 times.

I'll keep you posted!

Katie

RIP Camera

The camera fell off the desk last night and I'm pretty sure it's dead. Dear Husband thinks he might be able to resurrect it, but I am hopeful that it has met its end. I am thankful I got all the Disneyland pictures uploaded before it took a tumble.

Does anyone love their camera and have a suggestion for a new model? I am not picky and anything would be an improvement.

And no, I didn't not push it off the desk, though I may have if I'd thought of it sometime previously (Not really, since replacing it will be a challenge).

Katie

Financial to-do list

We are back from Disneyland and I am happy to report that we had an excellent time even with very careful spending. I'll post about that later.



Today my huge financial to-do list is on my mind. I haven't mentioned it specifically yet on this blog, but my dear husband was laid off in July and has been re-hired in a 30 hour/week position. We are so thankful that he is working and that we have excellent benefits but losing 25% of salary is taking its toll. We have a deficit each month that is eating up savings so we are trying to fill that hole in a variety of ways and these items are filling my to-do list for the week and possibly longer.

1) Close January budget - see how Pantry Challenge went with goal of $60 groceries
2) Open February budget - see how little we can take out of savings
3) File taxes so we get refund ASAP (make blog posts about tax tips) - still do to: Medical expenses, job hunting expenses
4) Send documents to mortgage company so they can process our request for a reduced payment.
5) Close business books for January including all mileage, deductions, & reconciling bank statements
6) Plan meals for next 10 days continuing Pantry Challenge principles
7) Post about frugal Disney vacation
8) OH! I forgot about the most scary of these. I have to make a resume and apply for some jobs - Ack! I'm hoping to get on with Starbucks for weekend or early morning shifts. Wish me luck!

Phew! There is a lot to do in the next few days! I'll be posting about all this stuff, and I'll also post about any great bargains I find.

Katie