Frugal Friday

This week was a good one for being frugal! I didn't do anything amazing...but I didn't spend either :0) I made homemade lunchables....for 9 people....so that saved us about $14. I switched from cleaning with paper towels to rags. This was a hard one for me as the kids do a lot of cleaning in chore time, so it was easier for them to use paper towels...but not as frugal...so now we use rags. I keep them in a cute container that the kids can easily get at. I did a few "make-do" things....like; I needed ice cube trays to make colored ice (the preschoolers are doing an ice theme this week, and we are going to paint with colored ice today!)...my freezer makes ice cubes, so we didn't have any, I used an egg carton. I needed crackers or cornflakes for my meatloaf...instead....I took 5 minutes and ran about a billion heel pieces of bread through my food processor and now have enough bread crumbs to use instead of cracker/cereal crumbs for a long time! I have simplified my meals by far...they are healthier and way less variety! What I mean by this is...if I buy 3 different kinds of crackers...and they eat all but a few in the bag...then we have odds and ends of crackers...but say I only buy "x" amount of the same kind of cracker...then there will be less waste and less for me to try to decide. We LOVE Ritz crackers...they work for many different kinds of treats...you can put pb on them...jelly on them...tuna, cheese...lots of different variety in ONE cracker! We also are eating fruit and veggies with every meal. To me...in my mushy mind, this is way more simple! I have been cooking more of the meals...where breakfast used to be cereal...I now cook on most days. this is more simple and frugal...and it keeps them full until lunch...hence cutting out another snack...frugal and simple! I am lovin' this! :0)