My Uncluttered Life

 

One year ago I began going through my entire house on a massive decluttering journey.  Every nook and cranny of my home was gone through and when I was done I literally started over and began again.  And then I did it yet again.  I was amazed at how much stuff I pulled out of this house after I’d already done a huge decluttering several years ago and thought I was doing a good job managing what was coming back in.  However, after working full time and raising my children I’d amassed far more stuff than I’d care to admit.

 

I was ruthless, to say the least.  I even tackled the sentimental stuff which I must say was the hardest part of this process, but also very satisfying once it was completed.  Sentimental items are often boxed up and tucked away somewhere, but we always know they are there.  And they nag.  It is always in the back of our minds that we know we need to deal with that stuff.

 

My mantra throughout the process was that if I didn’t like it, need it or want it, it had to go.  If it wasn’t all that attractive or didn’t make me feel good then I didn’t like it.  If it didn’t fit or I no longer used it, then I didn’t want it.  If it didn’t serve any useful purpose or I had multiples then I didn’t need it.  Having that mantra helped my decision making to become much, much easier.

 

I hauled off four truckloads of stuff to the donation drop at the thrift store.  I gave away tons of stuff for FREE on Facebook which blessed many, many people.  I filled up my trash and recycle wheelie bins countless times and sent them to the curb.  I took old technology to the recycler.  I brought old paint, chemicals and used CFL light bulbs to the hazardous waste drop off site.  Ultimately I hauled a very full truckload of junk to the county landfill.  I even sold some stuff, including a car!

 

Once I had culled all of my belongings I began to go through and organize these things.  Not surprisingly I still got rid of more stuff as I did this.  I put up shelves, painted a closet and my pantry.  I redid an entire room to serve me better.  I reorganized my clothes closet so it now functions better for me in my current stage of life.  I cleared out and reorganized the garage, my backyard and the deck so all of those spaces are much more enjoyable.

 

I cleared out my emails, unsubscribed from a bunch of stuff, stopped paying attention to social media and the news so much and have regular periods of time off from my cellphone.  I deleted tons of stuff off my computer that I no longer needed.  I archived and backed up what I wanted to keep onto a new thumb drive.  I don’t bring junk mail into the house, it goes right into the recycling wheelie bin, and I address other mail right away by filing or shredding it.  I don’t allow paper clutter to accumulate.

 

It is much easier and faster to clean my house and keep it organized and tidy.  I don’t need to spring clean or devote long periods of time to taking care of a mess.  I spend more time doing projects and crafts that I enjoy doing.  I relax more, I breathe better and I feel less stressed and anxious in my home and the outside spaces.  My entire yard is much easier to manage.  When I look out my windows now I smile because things are good out there and it makes me happy.  I have a lot of pride and confidence in my entire home and property.  Anyone can show up anytime and I wouldn’t feel apprehensive or embarrassed.

 

I feel a lot of peace and contentment with where I’m at and what I have.  Having less stuff makes me want less stuff too.  I don’t feel like I want or need to shop for items to bring into the house.  In fact, whenever I do think I might want something I take the time to really think about it first and decide whether it is truly something I wish to have or just a fleeting thought.  In most cases I realize it is the latter.  What I already have is good enough.

 

I have no regrets whatsoever that I devoted the better part of a year getting rid of stuff and reorganizing my house and yard because I know my efforts will continue to bless me for many years to come.  In the process I’ve truly made a home for myself.

 

 

 

This Month's Grocery Spending 2023 - December & YE Totals

 

With the holidays, Christmas and New Years, as well as a change to our weather, I did the bulk of my shopping at the first of the month.  I carefully crafted a list over a period of a few weeks, checked the sales ads at my grocery stores and prices online (although I’ve discovered online prices are often incorrect) and then made my decisions as to exactly what I truly needed and where I was going to purchase those items.

 

My large shop at the beginning of the month

Most of what I picked up this month was to fill in gaps in the pantry and refrigerator as well as to replace some of the items I had removed from my long term food storage (LTFS) to rotate out and use.  If I run out of something in my regular pantry I will then shop for it from the LTFS and then plan add them to my list to replace those items on my next shopping trip. I purchased dairy and produce plus a few pantry items.  On my wish list last month and again this month was a ham but there were no good sales so I added it to this month’s wish list and managed to get one.  I have A LOT of plans for that nearly nine pound ham.  It was originally priced $22.34 but I with a digital coupon offer I was able to get it for 97¢ a pound so the final price was only $8.79!  My patience won out.

 

A wish list item!  Score!

This year, for the most part, I’ve been able to restock groceries solely on items that were either on sale, special offer or had been reduced and marked down for quick sale as their end dates approached.  I personally have no problem purchasing marked down produce, dairy or items from the meat department.  I’ve been doing so for ages with little issue with the quality of those products.  Only a few times have I come home with something that was off and the stores have always been very good to refund me when that had happened.  They don’t want to sell me bad products anymore than I wish to buy them.

 

My chickens are currently not laying
Ground pork at $1.99 a pound

I start my grocery lists well in advance of my actual “big” shopping trip(s) so that in the meantime I can watch the sales flyers at my grocery stores each week.  Should something go on sale that is on my list I go ahead and buy it then rather than waiting and since the sales are rather cyclical I can plan ahead for most items to go on sale and wait to purchase them at the reduced prices.

 

Loss leaders plus I had a coupon for
the mandarins and the cheese

Loss leaders (items that are drastically reduced in price to tempt you to shop at their store) are the best way for me to stock up on certain items I use on a regular basis so I do take advantage of those offers, even if it means I am only stopping in to buy one or two items.  As long as I stick to that and don’t purchase anything else that is not on sale it saves me a huge amount of money overall allowing me to stick to a rather low monthly grocery budget.

 

Replacement items for my LTFS

Before leaving the store I will take a moment to thoroughly read my receipt and check it over to make sure I was charged correctly and was given the correct sales prices.  All too often I’ve found mistakes in the pricing, but once I brought it to the customer service counter they have refunded the difference or in some instances one of my stores will refund the entire overcharge and you get the item for free.

 

As much as possible I try to match up my digital and paper coupons with items on sale for even more savings.  I am also signed up with two of my grocery store’s rewards programs so I am frequently offered FREE products, cash back offers on certain products, as well as additional coupons throughout the year.  My Fred Meyer rewards program also offers me a discount on gas determined by how much I spend in their store each month.  If I do a survey of my shopping experience they give me an additional fifty fuel points.  Since I don’t buy a lot of groceries at one time I do the surveys to make up for that and boost my total points.  I can typically earn a 10¢ per gallon discount at each fill up and that adds up quick over the course of a year.

 

I cut the packages of ground pork in half
and wrapped them for the freezer

By watching the sales and stocking up ahead I was able to keep my nonfood purchases to a minimum as well.  I replaced a few laundry supplies, some toothpaste and that sort of thing.  I kept my nonfood purchases pretty minimal, especially as I was on a big decluttering journey this year and didn’t want to bring in anything I truly did not need.  My total nonfood purchases this year rang in at a grand total of $28.00!  Since my monthly budget for nonfood items is $25.00 a month I’m pretty darn happy with that total.

 

My goal in 2023 was to do a big year long pantry challenge to use up some items that had been hanging around for a while, pare down some items I was overstocked on and save money on my overall grocery bill without completely depleting my stock and still eating healthy meals.  I’m quite pleased with how that turned out.  While I made a pretty good dent in my freezers and pantry I was also able to replace what I used up and maintain my supplies without spending a whole lot of money.  In fact, I was able to keep myself in groceries all year long for less than what the average family of four spends in a month.

 

You would think I’d be pretty satisfied with that final total this year and I am, believe me, but I still want to challenge myself to do even better which is why I decided to do the $50 a month grocery challenge in 2024.  I know that in order to be successful I am going to have to get even more creative, especially as the price gouging at the grocery stores seems to show no end in sight.  I am eager to see how it works out.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 90

 

Hello my lovely friends!  I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.  Mine was nice, quiet and very relaxed.

 

Last week I was super excited to score a nice big nearly nine pound ham for only $8.79!  I plan to cut it up for the freezer to use in many future meals in the upcoming year.  I’ve already used some of it to make a nice breakfast on Christmas morning.  The ham was not a necessity item, but more of a want that I had placed on my grocery “wish list”.  I picked it up for 97¢ a pound at Albertson’s.  Fred Meyer had them for 87¢ a pound, but you also had to buy an additional $25 in groceries to get that price.  Since I didn’t need anything else it just didn’t make much sense to spend an extra $25 to save 80¢.

 

Ideas for journaling

I spent quite a bit of time working to get my 2024 daily journal ready for the year ahead.  It was a super fun project for me to work on, especially the “vision board” I created on the inside cover.  I also created a list of journaling ideas that I hope to put into practice this time around.

 

My vision board for 2024

A vision board is a really nice way to help you to set your intentions on how you want something to turn out, whether is it a project you have in mind, an idea that is rattling around in your head, a vacation you are planning, or in my case the way I hope the next year will be for me.  At anytime this next year I’ll be able to look at the inside cover of my journal and have that to encourage me as I navigate each day ahead.

 

From this

to this!

A year after decluttering I decided to go through my art supplies as well as the box I had been keeping my journal making supplies in.  I realized that I still had too many art supplies, many of which I had not been using so I decluttered half of them and we shall see if I end up using any of the remaining ones in the coming year.  By decluttering I had enough room in the bin to add my sketch book and some canvases so everything is now contained together in one bin.

 

I rehomed the rest of my journaling supplies with my office supplies which allowed me to get rid of that box entirely.  My goal is to use up a lot of these items as I journal this year and make my 2025 journal at the end of next year.  Truth be told, I have more than enough stuff to make journals for the next four or five years.  Maybe even longer.

 

All the games contained in one space

Lastly, I went through all of the games and decluttered two decks of cards I no longer need.  I chose a slightly larger bin from the garage and was able to contain all but three board games into that bin.  Now all of my games fit neatly onto the shelf in one spot, just underneath the photo albums, in the upstairs guest bedroom.  Even after a year of decluttering I still find things I am willing to get rid of.

 

Horsedoover Nite was a roaring success!

I still have a lot of sewing, craft, card making and scrapbooking supplies.  In 2024 I will be making a concerted effort to use up a lot of those things.  I still have a bit of a way to go on my photo album project that I am working on so I will have a good opportunity there.  Once that is complete I will decide on the next project to take on.

 

So was the rum cake!

This year was such a GREAT year for me (NO BAD DAYS!!!) and I’m having a hard time believing that 2023 is almost over.  However, I am very excited for 2024!  Are you excited as well?  I just am.  It is going to be a great year as well, I can feel it!

 

Merry Christmas To You!

 

It’s Going To Be A Low Spend/No Spend Year In 2024!

  

Previously I shared with you my plans for an extreme grocery budget in 2024.  I’ve come up with some more ideas of ways I want to challenge myself to keep my spending low.  Hold onto your seats my friends, this post is a lengthy one.

 

Since retiring I have had a $25 per month fuel budget for my vehicles.  Last spring I sold the car leaving me with my sweet little pickup truck.  I bought my truck brand new in 1997, it is a manual transmission with only 83,000 miles on it.  It has a king cab with a pair of jump seats in the back and is more than adequate to meet my needs at this time whether I am going to the grocery store, feed store or Home Depot.  It costs me very little to drive, insure, license and maintain.  I've decided to continue with my same $25 per month gasoline budget next year.  I do not include the motorhome in this budget as that fuel is typically part of my travel budget.

 

Now that I have invested in an E-bike I do feel that a more minimal fuel budget is realistic.  Plus, it will force me to use the E-bike more often or my regular bicycle for that matter.  I can also walk.  I have a cute little cargo trailer I built for myself and my regular bicycle several years ago so if I do have a lot of stuff to go and get I can do that with no problem.  It works really well.

 

At this time I have a $25 pocket money budget and a $25 entertainment budget too and this year I will be combining those two into one budget and reducing it by half.  I found last year that I struggled to use either one, but I do think it is important to have funds set aside for fun and leisure.  So, a single $25 per month budget will be set for fun & leisure.  Again, whatever I do not use I will rollover to the following month to be used as I see fit, no guilt or explanation necessary.

 

In 2024 I will not have a travel budget.  I’m foregoing all travel plans in 2024 as I feel the costs of traveling are just too high at this time.  There is currently no place I want to go that I am willing to shell out that kind of money.  As a single traveler I have to pay almost as much as a couple would and I really don’t wish to do that.  I’m willing to wait until prices go down or I have a friend that has the time to go with me and share the cost.

 

I will not have a clothing budget in 2024.  After a year spent purging and reassessing my closet I find that at the present time there is no piece of clothing I need to add to my wardrobe, nor do I need to replace anything.  I am blessed to have plenty.  If I want to add something new or I do end up needing to replace an item I will just have to figure out a creative way to do so with the resources I have available.

 

This next year I will have a small $100 budget for my yard and garden.  I have a lot of plans swirling around in my head for things I’d like to do beginning this spring so I’m going to have to get really creative to make it happen.  I have quite a bit of stuff in my garage at the moment so I’m hopeful I will be able to get what I have planned completed with this budget.

 

In the upcoming year I won’t need to purchase much in the way of miscellaneous items.  I am currently working my way through a boatload of craft supplies and sewing supplies that have accumulated over the years.  Last year I purged and reorganized my gift wrap organizer and restocked some bows I bought on clearance after Christmas in 2022 so I don’t really need anything.  I stocked up on office supplies prior to retiring and was blessed with a large stack of scrap copy paper from our compliance department in the equivalent of about three reams so I still have a lot to work with.  If I decide to give someone a gift I’ll have to make them one or get creative to purchase something because I will not have a budget next year for gift giving.

 

My current cell phone plan is with Tracfone which I have had for well over 20 years.  It is more than enough to meet my needs, in fact every year I end up rolling over a ton of unused minutes, texts and data.  I purchased my new Motorola smart phone last spring from Amazon ($49) and I purchase service, minutes, texts and data a year at a time, with promo codes if available.  My service renews each year in September and last year I paid $125 with a promo code for $15 OFF so my service cost me $110 for the entire year ($9.16/month).  This year I was able to purchase a year of service for only $99 with no available promo code and was offered an additional year of service for $49 at checkout.  I decided to go ahead and purchase two years of service for $148 ($6.16/month).  In 2024 I will not need to spend any money on cell phone service so my budget will be $0.

 

My internet service is a flat $25 per month after I applied and qualified for a federal internet access grant.  Currently I do not have any subscriptions services for watching television and I do not have any intention of adding those types of services in 2024.  After thinning down my technology I have only one TV and I have a Roku on it.  I am able to stream so many free programs and movies available to me that having anything in addition to that seems like overkill, not to mention a complete waste of money.  If there is a particular movie I want to see I will check with the public library and borrow it.

 

In addition, I do not have a Prime membership.  I do not have a membership to Costco, Sam’s Club or any other store for that matter.  I do not pay an annual fee on my credit card and I do not pay a monthly service fee on my checking or savings accounts.  I pay my car insurance all at one every year in November so I do not pay service fees to break it up into installment payments and I receive an additional discount on my premiums for paying it all at once.

 

I think that pretty much covers it for now.  If I think of something else I want to do I will let you know.  I’m actually excited and looking forward to all of this because I just love a really good challenge, or in this case, challenges.  Many, many possibilities lie ahead and I’m ready!

 

My 2023 Pantry Challenge Update

 

It has been a year now that I’ve been doing my pantry challenge in order to use up a lot of excess items I had accumulated so they did not go to waste.  After a year of cooking from my pantry I’ve been able to scale back the amount of food I have in my house to a much more manageable amount for a single person plus one.  I like to keep enough food on hand to provide two people for a year so that I am adequately prepared in the event of a change in circumstances.

 

My goal this year was to use up everything in my freezer that had a date on it prior to 2023 and I managed to make that happen with only one item, a whole chicken, going to waste due to freezer burn (bummer).  Everything that is now in my freezer is new and dated as of 2023.

 

Another area for me to work on was to reduce my home canned goods using up the older dates first.  I still have a little bit of work to do here.  I have a couple dozen jars left I’d like to finish up, but other than that everything else is newer and current.  I have lots of new jars of home canned foods that I added to my LTFS this year, mostly canned meats.

 

Having done this challenge I now feel I better know exactly what I like, what I need to keep on hand and how I would like to store certain items.  I find I really enjoy having my own home canned soups on the shelf for quick meals so that is something I will be expanding on in the coming year.  Having canned meats on the shelf as well as a nice variety of dry beans that I’ve canned makes for easy meal preparation, but it also gives me great peace of mind as well.

 

While we’ve been seeing grocery prices soar at an epic rate lately my pantry challenge this year really helped me so much to not only stay on budget, but I actually saved a lot of money.  I was hoping it would work out that way.  Now as I move on into a new year with a new grocery challenge I plan to continue to eat from my pantry replacing items as I go along.

 

Did you do any pantry challenges this year?  Do you have some goals for your pantry next year too?  What are some tricks you’ve developed lately to deal with the rise in grocery prices?

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 89

 

Well my friends, I’m finding as the year is winding down, I feel pulled to complete a few unfinished projects around my house.  The photo album project continues and I know that is going to take me awhile, however I have also had a project in mind ever since I refreshed the downstairs bathroom.

 

In the past I’ve updated underneath my kitchen sink as well as the upstairs bathroom sink.  Cabinetry underneath a sink seems to just get so gross and becomes difficult to clean and keep clean.  Several years ago I cleaned out and thoroughly scrubbed the kitchen cabinet under the sink and even painted the inside of the cabinet to brighten it up so I could see better.  It had been so dark and dingy under there.  I then bought some peel and stick vinyl tiles and covered the bottom of the cabinet to not only better protect the wood, but also make is so much easier to wiped down and clean.  I have never regretted this change, other than to think I wish I’d done it much sooner.

 

The cabinet stays clean and fresh, no more moisture or odors under there so it only made sense to do the upstairs bathroom vanity when I did the refresh and upgrades.  Once again, I’ve had no regrets for that upgrade as well.  So when I refreshed the downstairs bathroom last spring it only made sense that I should do that vanity as well, especially as it was a bit gnarly under there.  Unfortunately i wasn’t a priority at that time as I had many other projects to work on this year.  But I finally got it done last week and I love it!  Now all of the cabinets under the sinks in my house are clean, organized and easy to maintain.  I am absolutely thrilled!

 

I used leftover tiles from the hall closet project (love, love, love how that turned out) which was definitely rated as a higher priority project for me at the time so it didn’t cost me anything out of pocket to complete.  I also used containers I already had for organizing and containing the items I like to keep under there, which includes extra rolls of toilet paper, my cleaning rags, some comet, a pumice stone and a scrub sponge for the toilet and most importantly the first aid kit, which also includes the over the counter medications.  Can you tell I’m excited about having this done?

 

All neat & tidy!

Simple things really can make a difference and that was especially true of the evening out that I enjoyed after scoring free tickets to the Winter Garden A Glow event.  We made it a touch more special by going out for a hamburger and a peppermint frosty at Wendy’s prior to attending since I worked that afternoon until 5:00 and it just made my life a bit easier not to have to run home and fix supper and then go all the way back across town in only an hour.  Plus, I cannot tell you how long it has been since I’ve been to Wendy’s or had a frosty and I’ve never had the peppermint flavor before.  It has to have been at least ten years or better.  It brought back memories of taking my girls there once on Halloween and because they were in costume they had received a free frosty with their meal which made them very happy.  I just recently put a picture of them from that night into an album.  Oh how fast time flies.

 

My supervisor was anything but helpful

I signed up to be a secret Santa for a senior citizen so I made my way to Wal-Mart to purchase a gift for that person.  I discovered it is really difficult to buy a gift for someone you do not know.  I sure hope she likes it.  Also, my poor aunt in Arizona has been having a really rough time this year so I surprised her with a Wal-Mart grocery delivery (my first one ever) filled with snacking goodies to enjoy as well as everything she needs for her Christmas dinner.  It is a lot of fun being Santa!

 

Homemade cream of broccoli soup & a grilled cheese

The remainder of my week was spent working on the photo album project between work shifts and other tasks I needed to do around the house.  It was a really busy week, but very nice and enjoyable overall.  How was your week?