1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 c. flour
1/4 c. softened butter
So far, it has not only been delicious, but it has been frugal, too! Last week, my contribution was fried chicken and macaroni salad. (The families provided their own salads, fruit and dessert). A jumbo pack of thighs and a jumbo pack of legs made more than enough. The macaroni salad was made from a huge box of macaroni I got for free and some leftover veggies.
He has a GREAT series of messages called Contentment: God's GamePlan for Satisfaction available as MP3 downloads. They are just 99 cents each right now. I've downloaded them and listened to them over and over again. If you listen to them, please let me know!
Anyway, my birthday was earlier this month and I had a bit of money to spend, so the other day, I visited one of my favorite antique shops. I found a gorgeous quilt. Made of 1930's feedsacks, it was a very unusual pattern called Arkansas Star. It had a teeny bit of damage to just one small piece of fabric, but I knew that my mother-in-law-the-brilliant-seamstress could fix that easily. It also had some large and significant brown stains on it. The price was low because of the stains.
I brought it home and decided to wash it. I know that some folks suggest that antique quilts shouldn't be washed in a washing machine. They are probably right about that, but I want to actually use these things, so I decided to give it and the quilt pictured above a good wash. I filled up the washing machine with really hot water, added a couple of scoops of OxyClean, agitated the tub a bit to mix up the OxyClean and then added the quilt. The water immediately turned brown and smelly. I let it soak overnight in the machine. The following morning, I added some detergent and washed it on a regular cycle. With trepidation, I pulled it out after the cycle was done, and...
I have a beautiful quilt! The whites are actually white! The colors are still vibrant! I hung it on the back of my couch to dry for a few hours, then stuck it in the dryer after I got tired of waiting for it to dry. It smelled so fresh and clean and it looks just gorgeous on my daughter's shabby iron bed! I'm not going to leave it on there until I get the torn part fixed, but I'm so excited that the OxyClean did such a great job! Isn't it pretty?
I always feel a little overwhelmed by the sorting out of seasonal clothes. Since my first child was born, I've been buying clothes several sizes ahead for my children whenever they go on deep markdown at stores like Target. It's hard to beat brand new fairly good-quality long-sleeved shirts for $1.58. I supplement with clothes from the $1 rack at a consignment store I use.
I had a lot of things stored up, but I'll confess those short-sleeved shirts and shorts at the thrift store started calling my name weeks before we actually needed them.
So, this year before I bought many clothes, armed with some great advice from Leila, one of my favorite bloggers, about how many clothes little children actually do need, and convicted that NONE of us need the amount of clothes we have, I sorted. And sorted. And sorted. Through mounds of clothes, I found items to bag up and keep for the next little one, then I stuffed a big box full for donation to the local charity shop...
...and in the process found that my eldest daughter has plenty of clothes for the next two sizes!
It's amazing how much money one can save just by realizing what we don't need!
My goal is not to provide sage advice or clever ideas or witty remarks. I simply want to catalogue triumphs and lessons-learned-from-tribulations on this journey towards frugality.
This blog will remain fairly anonymous. If you recognize me, my family members, or my photos from another place, please honor this request for anonymity.
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Many blessings to you and yours!