Stockpiling Revelation

I decided to clean out my pantry closet today. I have no idea why. I think it was because I had no idea what to cook for supper tonight, and I was secretly hoping there was something lurking in the back of the shelves that I could cook.

Now, keep in mind that my pantry is just a tiny closet with wire shelves in it. Not a walk-in closet. Just an open-the-door-and-the-shelves-are-in-your-face closet.

So I start cleaning out each shelf, throwing away things that had expired. I threw away bottle after bottle of BBQ sauce, salad dressing, marinades, Miracle Whip, microwave popcorn, etc. At the end of my back-breaking work, I had THREE full garbage bags full of expired products!!!!!!

As I later did the dishes, I kept glancing at the 3 full garbage bags sitting in my kitchen. (They were so heavy I couldn't move them anywhere else.) I thought of all of the hours I spent cutting out coupons for those products, time I spent driving to the grocery store to buy the papers for the coupons, time I spent in the grocery store buying the items, and the money I spent on the items. Even if I did get them cheap, it was still a waste to buy all of that just to throw it away.

So I came to the revelation that stockpiling might not be very thrifty for me. I obviously did not think to check expiration dates when I bought this stuff. I mean, if I had checked, I might have had the thought that "Wow, I know we won't eat barbequed chicken 15 times in the next couple of months." Or "You know, maybe 10 bottles of salad dressing is a little overkill since it all expires in two months." But, to be honest, if I had checked the expiration dates, would I have been able to overcome the thrill of getting a good deal and been sensible about how much I was buying?? When you are in the heat of a good deal, your rational sensibility goes out the window.

I wish I had taken before and after pics of my pantry. It looks so nice and clean....and NORMAL right now!

Tips for Bloggers

Here is a blog I found that is great for bloggers like me who don't have a clue about HTML. It gives clear, concise directions on how to change things on your blog. Like, how to make your blog have 3 columns, how to add graphics to your sidebar, how to center your title in the header. Very cool! Here is the link: Tips for New Bloggers

Garage Sale Finds

Last Saturday, I went to a few yard sales and found some great deals! I thought I would share.

At one yard sale, I got all of this for $10:
* 2 pairs of dress shoes for my son. One pair was Bass. Both looked brand new.
* 1 pair of rain boots worn once
* 7 books (2 Max Lucado hardcovers, one oversized hardback Winnie the Pooh, and other paperback readers)
* 5 shirts for my son
* 1 pair of pants for my son
* 2 swimming trunks for my son

At another yard sale I got:
* 2 crystal lamps for $10 (I know crystal lamps aren't in style, but I don't care! LOL!!)
* 1 brand new Discovery Toys Money game for $1
* Life board game for $1
* A huge bag of 27 girls hair bows for $3
* A smaller bag of 8 scrunchies, 2 play bracelets, and some barretts for .75 cents
* 3 computer games (Monopoly, NickToons Racing, and an educational game) for $1 each
* "A Christmas Story" VHS movie for $1

At another sale I got:
* A pair of Laredo boots for $1 (I can't tell if they are boys or girls - gotta find out)
* A Kelly's Kids white cardigan sweater for $1
* A pair of Class Club khaki dress pants for $1
* A brand new bulletin board, still in shrink wrap, for $3 (instead of regular corkboard, it has black, kind of like Nerf, board to pin into)

I think that's all. I felt like I did pretty good! I was really excited about the hair bows! These weren't just little bows - they were they fancy ones! Now if I can only get my DD to wear them, I will be happy!!!

Frugal Finds at the Thrift Store

After locking myself out of my house yesterday, I ended up going with my sister to a thrift store. I got a couple of great finds!

* A pair of Hanna Andersson clogs that look like new, in my DD's size, for $1.69! These retail for $48. Wow!
* A pair of Teva sandals for me for $1.99. They feel pretty comfy!

We went to Big Lots,too. I got (3) 3-pack digital pregnancy tests by Clearblue (??) for $2.00 each! And they don't expire until June 2009. They normally retail for $20 each. They also had a bunch of cool scrappin' stuff. I got some Basic Grey "Mellow" chipboard packs for $2, Basic Grey Wholly Cow rub-ons for $1, and they had but I didn't get some Basic Grey "Oh Baby" ribbon packs for $3. If you have a Big Lots, it's worth going to check it out!

The only other good deal I've gotten lately was a one-day only sale at Kroger for Tyson whole chickens (the ones labeled all natural) for .49 cents a pound. They were originally almost $9.00 each, and I got them for $2.xx each. I got 4! I later heard that Tyson is being sued for the chickens labeled "all natural" were not really all natural, or something like that. But oh, well! It's still a good deal for NOT all natural chickens!! LOL!

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately....We have been super busy with weddings, funerals, and the like. And I haven't felt great. My thyroid is still out of whack! Enough excuses... :)