Spring Cleaning: Closet Update

01/31/2015

At the first of the month I said I was turning all my hangers around and taking out clothes based on the hangers that stayed turned around. To be honest, so far I have taken out more of my hubby's clothes than mine. My plan is to get rid of anything March 1st that is still on a turned around hanger. I know, your mouth is agape with shock and awe!

Why am I waiting until I don't wear clothes for a whole THREE months before getting rid of them?
1. I am trying to lose weight, honestly I might wait a little longer than three months if I'm close to fitting into them by march, if I haven't dropped considerable weight by then most of them go though!
2. There are things I'm keeping that are occasion only clothes, like business dress or dressy clothes that you would wear on a nice date or to somewhere FANCY!
3. I don't want to get rid of it, just to rebuy something similar after my purge... I still want choices, just not so many, I want to focus on quality over quantity which being frugal to me quality is just clothes I really like over things I feel just meh about!
4. It's HARD. I'm far from a hoarder, which is why I'm doing this... but it isn't easy, I went through my closet a month before I turned hangers around so I've already gotten rid of some, then more a week ago and more today!

My closet will never look like this^. A. We don't share the same style, and I'm not knocking the blogger at all by making that statement! B. It will NEVER be this sparse, I pack this much for a short vacation!

My goal at the beginning of march is simply to have less in my closet. I'll be happy if I cut the number of items in my closet by 1/3, I think it is a realistic goal (especially since I got rid of things before I started blogging about this)... I have MUCH higher goals for my mother though, who has filled a walk in closet with her clothes and has overflow in other rooms SMH!

What about you, how many clothes do you have?

Snap Challenge Grocery Haul #1

01/31/2014

At long last I've started my snap challenge, for those of you who don't know what that is you can read about it here! To sum up the snap challenge for those of you who would rather not read another page, the challenge is simply living on the same amount a participate of snap receives. Different people make up different rules for the snap challenge mine are simple:
1. $25/wk per adult (which is what is given in my area)
2. Use Myfitness pals to calculate the health factor!
3. No fast foods or hot foods, you can't buy those with an EBT card!
4. Coupons may be used (people on snap have access to these)
5. Tax does NOT count (EBT purchases are tax free)
6. Food in the cupboard MAY be eaten (just don't do a shopping trip right before!!)

Now that I have done a recap of the rules and what I'm doing I will show you my first shopping trip.

I was aiming to just spend $50 which would keep me on target week by week rather than doing a large haul one week than just essentials the next, and lets just say I did not reach my goal! I was over the $50 mark, I paid $75.22 and once I subtract for non grocery items and tax my total challenge related purchases come to $63.09, which is actually MUCH better than I thought.

The non grocery items are a bottle deposit, two collector items my mom smuggled into MY checkout (despite checking out right after me with her own stuff LOL), a dog toy, and tax! Assuming we decide the glass milk jar deposit does count than it comes to $65.36!


This weeks haul is GREAT! I went to one of my favorite stores that I rarely go to because its 30 minutes away, sticking with the rules I only went because I was in that area anyway... it will more than likely be my only Knights haul for my Snap Challenge!

Here is a small sample of the great deals I got! These were clearance markdowns I grabbed. The salads were just .50 CENTS EACH! Can you believe it? Their best buy date isn't for 5 more days either! I also paid just .50 cents for the portabella mushrooms and the Turkey was $1.50! These deals make this girl happy!

I got more than just the items pictured though, here is a rundown of my items I purchased and the deals I got on them just by shopping sales and looking out for clearance items!

Item                                                                                                                                         Cost
Pita Bread                                                                                                                               $1.49
Pepper Turkey                                                                                                                         $5.03
Flatbread                                                                                                                                $2.99
Hashbrowns (2)      Mr. Dells (natural, no preservatives or GMO's)                                    $2.00
Ranch Salad Dressing (2)                                                                                                       $3.34
Blue Bonnet butter                                                                                                                  $0.89
Pork&Beans (8)                                                                                                                      $2.67
Crutons                                                                                                                                   $1.00
Tortillas                                                                                                                                  $2.99
2% Milk (from a FARM in MO ya'll!)                                                                                    $2.67
Post Pebbles Cereal (5)                                                                                                          $5.00
Stew Meat (2 packages over 1 lb each)                                                                                  $9.00
Hot dogs                                                                                                                                  $0.75
Turkey Meat                                                                                                                            $1.50
Salads (4)                                                                                                                                $2.00
Oranges (2)                                                                                                                             $0.79
Avocados  (3)                                                                                                                          $1.50
Apple, Jonagolds (1.86 lbs)                                                                                                    $1.84
Apple Red Delicious (5 lb bag)                                                                                               $2.49
Onion, white  (bag of 4)                                                                                                          $1.00
Tomatoes, sweet grape (2)                                                                                                      $1.96
Strawberries                                                                                                                            $1.88
Catfish Nuggets   (1 lb)                                                                                                           $2.59
Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal                                                                                               $2.50
Cantaloupe                                                                                                                              $2.50

Looking over my list I know it isn't all just healthy foods, but its not junk foods either! Almost 1/2 of my list is fresh foods! With what I bought this week my meal plan is
breakfast: cereal with milk, fruit, or oatmeal for breakfast
lunch: sandwich, snack on fresh fruit/veggies, wrap, or salad
Dinner: Quesadilla, Flat Bread Melt, Wrap, Catfish, Salad, Fajitas, Steak Bites (rather than fajitas I'll cook up the stew meat and bell peppers and eat it with A1), beanie weanies (beans and hot dogs)

I'm just spit-balling looking over my list and thinking about what is in our cupboard! I know we won't go hungry this week though!

New Dog Parent Pack, must haves for new dog parents!

01/24/2014

I'm a HUGE animal lover, and I have been all my life. I started volunteering about a year ago with a local rescue and I LOVE it! I adopted my FIRST EVER dog Nina around 4 years ago. She had been on a shelters kill list and was saved last minute by a local rescuer, that rescuer would provide a respite of about two weeks, then if she couldn't find a home the dogs were returned to the shelter and put down. Nina was going to be returned and euthanized the next day, she came home with me instead. My husband got his first dog Shadow 2.25 years ago, and we have had a LOT to learn.

Aren't our dogs adorable? I LOVE them. I have learned a lot with both of them, Shadow especially!
Let me just tell ya'll, big dogs are MUCH more work/ harder to control!

I was watching Caesar Milan last night and he would give the adoptive family of a dog a doggy gift pack. Since I started volunteering, last time with my vet I've just been thinking about things I would try to sell to new dog owners. I've seen several articles about the baby must haves so here is a dog version!

My must haves for a new dog owner is:
1. Leather Leash- when a dog pulls than this is awesome, it doesn't chaff your hands etc
2. Collar
3. Prong Collar- make sure you KNOW how to use this properly, you should NOT keep pressure on the leash ever but especially not when using this, and use only when you need it (walks, guests, etc)
4. Dog Tag, in case your dog ever gets out even if it is an inside only and microchipped dog!
5. Ceasar Milan Videos- helpful hints on training your dog
6. Dog toys- get VARIOUS ones, with different types of squekers, some tennis balls, etc
7. Rawhide- this is my FAVORITE type of dog chew, and they are affordable
8. Rabies tags
9. GOOD FOOD- I recommend the green whole earth farms, or Taste of the Wild (the one w/Bison)
10. Grooming Supplies- Shampoo, nail clippers, and a brush (get a cheaper version of the Furminator)
11. Preventative- I get my dogs heartworm from the vet, but you still need flea and tick preventative! I personally use Frontline!
12. Treats- just try to make sure there is nothing TOO high in calories, some treats can be 500 calories!
13. Stainless steel dog bowls (no bpa)
14. Dog food container- a plastic airtight container keeps the food fresher and keeps the nutrients in it longer, just put the food IN the bag IN the container!

Here is my dogs personal stash (not including leashes, collars etc that we keep by the door)

Jel Stained Cabinets

01/24/2015

I redid my cabinets MONTHS ago, and totally spaced blogging about it. I really want to do a blog entry about this because I started out with HORRID cabinets. My cabinets were worn in places, and just BAD. Here is a before shot of the cabinets, and my kitchen:

If you look at the drawers you will notice there is a LIGHT spot, it is REALLY evident in the before and after pictures. That spot is just worn out, which means if I had used regular stain it wouldn't absorb into the wood at that spot the same as it would in the rest of the wood.

I really didn't want to paint the cupboards, but staining with regular stain wasn't an option. When I was reading blogs I found out about jel stain. It is almost a cross between a paint and a stain! I read online from a couple of DIY blogs that the best jel stain is from general finishes, so I bought it online and had a shipped! I used the color java and for my kitchen it only took 1/2 of a quart! I bought two quarts originally, just needed one!

To redo the cabinets I started off by removing the pulls and sanding everything down! I removed the cabinet doors, but opted not to do the back of them, a choice I regret. If you decide to jel stain cabinets do the inside of your doors too, trust me... in fact spray the inside of the cabinets so everything is one color when you open the door, and nice and fresh!

After sanding everything down I started applying the jel stain. I used my husbands old socks to apply the stain. When I first started applying the stain I didn't wear gloves under the socks, BIG MISTAKE! You want to apply the stain evenly and lightly! You can always do more coats once your current coat dries!

After I did enough coats to make it look how I liked I let it dry and sealed it. You want to do a couple of coats of sealer, I only did one so I really need to do more! If you have children than you ESPECIALLY want plenty of sealer! You apply the sealer the same way you apply the jel stain!

Here is my finished product:

As you can see I also got new hardware, which I spent about $1 each on through Ebay

I went with this style and did the top options. On the drawers I did the option on the top right, than for the cabinet doors I did the knob option in the middle at the top, the third from the left! Since I did dark cabinets I chose to go with a silver look!

Here is some Before/After Combo pictures, and some closer up pictures of my hardware, cabinets, and countertops, you can check out my countertop redo here.