Frugal Weekend = Being Content

At some point, most of my family and friends ask why I am content to live so humbly.  I live in a small, crowded house that could use some updating desperately.  The truth is, I find so much more joy finding contentment in what I have and having the ability to help other, I don't even think about the house.  It also allows us to save money, keep debt free, and ready ourselves to live in a semi-retired state.  

In keeping with this frugal lifestyle here are some of my accomplishments I worked on.

I needed to restock my pantry with my mason jar mixes.  This weekend I filled up a case of jars with Potato Bread, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Spice Cake and Whatever Cream Soup Mix. 

I love these mixes!  I generally do not love to bake because I hate assembling all the ingredients and doing all the dishes.  This way I make a mess in the kitchen every few months instead of every weekend.  I seal all the jars to keep them fresh.  I was able to utilize my food storage pantry for all the supplies.  Believe me it was so nice to go up there and grab a bag of sugar, powdered milk and flour instead of driving to the store.   It is very easy to find recipes online or adapt your favorite recipes to fit in the jar.  It saves me the temptation to buy the packages at the store and this way I can control all the ingredients.  I'm very picky about organic, non-gmo and unbleached flours.  I also use evaporated cane juice instead of sugar in the cookie and cake mixes.  I keep a few sugar free options ready in jars for when I get a sweet tooth.

Speaking of non-gmo, I found this great bargain  on Amazon Prime.  One of our go to snacks is popcorn.  Stormy loves it and I now I can love giving it to her.  I bought a big bag and processed it for the storage pantry.

In other frugalness, I found an old craft project that I started years ago and I am certain I will never finish.  I decided to tear it apart and make the pedicure socks I sell on the store with it.  I think I can get three pairs made out of it and sell them for a profit of $50.00.

I like to make these socks in my down time, while watching movies or listening to podcasts when Stormy is sleeping.  I can easily make a pair a week and if I'm willing to invest more time a pair every two days.  It is pretty wool and I'm happy that I stumbled upon it.

In other news, my hours at worked were dropped to about 30.  I'm not complaining , my dream is to work part-time and be available to homeschool Stormy as a team with my husband, so it really is an answer to prayers.

It finally has turned cold in Alaska and we are enjoying a bit of fresh snow.  I've been busy keeping the wood fire going, which reminds me I need to go haul in some more wood.

Lovin' life being content with what I have!

The China Challenge - The Knifty Knitter Fail

I am feeling so disappointed in myself, I broke down and bought something Made in China.  Actually, I lacked the willpower to return something I bought recently, which somehow seems worse.

Recently I was cruising through a blog site and saw an easy pattern for some really warm mittens.  Everyone knows, when you live in Alaska, you really need warm mittens.  They were made on a Knifty Knitter loom that I didn't have,  but have been wanting for awhile.  Those mittens pushed me off the fence and I started shopping for the loom.  First, I looked for used ones on eBay, but with shipping it was expensive and they didn't include the loom hook or instructions.  I switched my search over to Amazon and found a pack of 4 different sizes for less of a cost than one used one.  Can you say temptation?

In fairness, I zoomed on to the pictures and tried my best to find the "Made In" area.  I even googled it, but to no avail, I could not positively figure out where the looms were made in.  With trepidation, I ordered them, saying to myself that, just maybe, they were made in the Philippines or Vietnam.  NOPE, I opened the box, and after a minute of hunting, in tiny print, mixed in with the french instructions there it was, Fabrique in China.  Uggghhh!

By now, you have figured out that I kept the looms.  Buying used ones just didn't make financial sense to me.  I'm trying to justify it and I can make some good arguments with myself but it is still a fail.

My first project - not the mitten pattern that caused me to buy the looms, an easier pattern for my first go at it.  I made the pair in about 2 hours and spent $3.99 on the yarn.  If one bought the yarn on sale, or used a coupon, the cost would by half.  In an Alaskan store, you could easily spend over $10 for a pair like this.

Looming isn't new to me.  I've been looming socks for about a year now and find it the easiest of crafts to do.  I think the new looms will be easy for Stormy to one day learn on.

Here is a pair of wool socks I'm making on the KB sock loom.  These are for Stormy to wear under her rubber boots, once spring breakup hits up here.  A pair of socks takes me about a month to make and the cost of the wool is expensive, around $6.99.  I could probably buy her cheaper socks but I love being able to custom make them.

I have already picked out my next project.  A hooded cowl that I think is just brilliant.  I have many jackets that do not have a hood and this is a perfect solution.  I can also see it as another layer while hiking and foraging this spring and fall.  I expect this project to take a couple of days and cost me roughly $7 in yarn.

As far as my challenge goes,  I'm going to keep with it and try to keep my China dollars under $20 for the year.  

Lovin' Life with warm mitts on my hands and disappointment in my heart.

The China Challenge

Total Days China Free - 0

Total spent - $15.84