My Thrifty Retirement - Week 5

 

I think I need a job, so I can rest.  I work too hard now that I am home, ha, ha, but I am absolutely loving every bit of it.  This past year I've not had the ability to do all the housekeeping and homemaking tasks I was used to doing.  I kept my home neat and tidy, but not quite as well as I've done in years past.  I've acquired quite the dusty cobweb collection.  Now that I'm retired I've been able to get back to keeping my home just the way I like it.  I am also cooking and baking more this year, which is something I love to do.  Last year I just did my best to get food on the table and relied on my daughter's help quite a bit.  This year I've been able to take care of it pretty much on my own as well as the dishes and clean up.

 

Along with the housekeeping tasks I worked on we finally had a break in the weather on Wednesday and I was able to get outside and work in my yard.  We had a lot of wind and rain.  I also went and picked up a few flowers and got my flower pots planted.  I repotted a huge geranium I got as a retirement gift into my biggest pot.  I then went back to the store on Thursday to pick up another sick pack of petunias and planted those in the hanging basket the geranium came in so I could hang that on our front porch.  The petunias are much lighter weight than the geraniums too so I think that pot will be safer to hang.

 

I went to a thrift store in search of a small Pyrex pie plate that would fit into my toaster oven and they actually had one!  That made me pretty darn happy.  I plan to use it to make small desserts, pies and quiches.  Cooking for just one or two people is pretty fun I think.  I've been experimenting quite a bit with cutting recipes in half and making smaller batches.  I am enjoying the process.

 

I did a produce run and spent a whopping $6.21 for quite a few things, two of which were on markdown.  I was thrilled to find three fresh bell peppers for only a dollar because I've been wanting some for my salads as well as to cook with.  I sliced up most of the peppers and placed them in the freezer.  I got a large container of mixed spring greens for $1.99 and then a 10% discount on that at the register so my final price was only $1.79.  I got some really good deals.

 

Still stuffed full
It's a good problem to have 😊

For six weeks now I've been working on just eating out of our kitchen freezer, fridge and pantry.  We've had some amazing meals and even before I went to the store for produce on Wednesday we still had four carrots, three celery stalks, three onions, an eighth of a head of cabbage, half of the FREE lettuce I got the week before plus fifteen pounds of potatoes out in our garage.  Cabbage and root veggies last a good long time.  I can't tell yet that I've even made a dent in the freezer and only a few small gaps in the pantry with loads left inside.  At this rate it wouldn't surprise me too much if I can make it all last through the summer and well into fall.  With fresh produce and dairy runs every once in awhile I think I should do really well for quite a while yet.

 

I picked up a plant pot at Dollar Tree so I could plant up a philodendron start I had trimmed off of a plant I have and had rooted in a jar of water.  The plant I have is a start off of one we had at work and I've trimmed, rooted and given away several plants from it in recent years.  It is a beautiful healthy plant that sits on top of the bookshelf in my living room.

 

That pretty much sums up my past week.  Did all of you Moms have a lovely Mother's Day yesterday?  I sure hope so and that you have enjoyed a spectacular week as well.  Were you able to keep it nice and thrifty?  What are some thrifty things you have managed to get done lately?