I was hoping that we would avoid spending any money this weekend. Not happening.

We headed out to our local farmers market this morning to enjoy the outdoors and the atmosphere. I did intend on buying sugar snap peas. They are so yummy right now! I bought two large containers for $6.

However, we also bought a large loaf of ciabatta bread for $5. I also bought the girls a juice drink to share for $4.75 along with a large cookie for $1.50. DH also bought a coffee...not sure on his total. I bet we spent over $20.00. Parking was free!

We then moved our van to another location a couple miles away to enjoy our local art fair that is going on this weekend. The art is pretty expensive to buy, but it is free to look at. One daughter got a free balloon. We stopped to listen to free music while the girls ate the cookie from the farmers market.

My husband is now mowing the lawn while the girls play with the neighbor girls. So, maybe now we can keep to no more spending this weekend.

We do have one errand to run. I need to return a patio screen door that did not fit. Hopefully, we can find the right size for the same amount that I spent on the original. I want a screen door so I can have my patio door open to let in all the nice breezes we are getting today!

Oh, on a decluttering note, I tossed out our old gazebo cover today. We replaced it with a new one this year as the old one was getting pretty torn up.

Now...to find something free to do!

cash, stock options and or real estate !

Really, this would be a job I would love to help people with. I have only received pay once...and that was from my sister!!

The satisfying feeling of order is what drives me to dig through piles of junk. When I was still a teenager, I even sent away for information from the National Association of Professional Organizers. Well, college got in the way and I earned a degree in finance.

Now, I'm a stay at home mom with a finance degree with time on my hands to help others declutter and organize. Has anyone ever hired one? How much did they charge?

I really think this would be a flexible and fun way to earn some cash. Any ideas on how to promote such a thing? What would you pay someone to help you clean up and organize a room?

thinning out my filing cabinet. Wow, I don't think that I've been through these papers in over 2 years...maybe even three. I had utility bills from my last house in there.

The picture is of two bags of shredded papers for recycling. One bag is not shredded but also ready for the recycle bin. Did you notice the trash can is still full of shredded paper? Also, there is a small pile of paper that my DH is going to shred at work for me. My shredder can't keep up with the amount of paper I'm finding!!



I feel so much lighter. I noticed that some folders didn't have anything current in them. You know why? I receive those items electronically now and actually save them on my computer. Reminds me that I want to get a flash drive to back up some of those things.

Keep decluttering and erasing the evidence! I hope some of you are working on erasing your evidence of debt, too!!

Yesterday, I was getting the house cleaned up. My DH was coming home after 3 weeks out of state. I was able to erase the evidence (ETE) all day long. My girls even joined in and erased their own evidence. That was a huge breakthrough. I hope it continues!! I save so much time, if I don't have to pick up after them.

Another beautiful day here. Nice enough to open the windows and turn off the air. I've had at least four days this month with no air!! I'm guessing weather wise there could have been more, but youngest daughter's allergies also play a factor.

Yesterday, I bought groceries and spent less than $100 for our family of four. This should be enough to get us through the end of the month. I also used my new canvas shopping bags. I brought only one plastic bag coming home. I think I usually come home with at least ten. Huge difference!

I did go to Aldi for my first time yesterday. I took my girls. They loved that you had to put a quarter in to get a cart. We didn't actually get a cart, but the liked the idea. My daughter even brought her own quarter to use!

We picked up 3 things. Baby carrots, bag of red onions and ice cream bars for the girls. My total was $4.29. The woman ahead of me had a cart full of groceries. Her total was $79! I was very impressed with many of the prices. I'm sure I will be back.

This morning we traveled to our downtown farmers market. We bought 1 quart of strawberries for $5, a quart of sugar snap peas for $4 (later saw these for $2 at another stand), a dutch letter for the girls to share for $1.50, and romaine lettuce for $2. Parking was free as was the poetry reading, the music, the view of the river that is finally beginning to recede but is still higher than normal. We saw a three month old puppy, cool art, and many pretty flowers.

I really would love to make this a regular Saturday event for my family. It is just a good time. I think I need to go just a bit earlier next time, so that it is cooler and the crowd is not as thick.

We received $25 rewards from my debit card the other day. This is the extra money that I sent off to the home equity loan payoff. I expect to get a little interest on our money market account and some funds from ebay sales...all will go the home equity payoff.

Today was the sign up for dance and tumbling classes. I paid for the year in full in cash...$730. One daughter decided not to take dance because we expect she might be a bit busier in middle school with homework. This saved me from spending another $300. Love that!! I will hold on to it, in case we did to make a payment towards braces.

I reworked out escrow account today, too. I decided to start saving for dance classes for next year. Turns out instead of my previous monthly amount of $124, the new amount will be $200. I will split this evenly between the two checks we receive each month.

It was a good money day. Tomorrow I must grocery shop because my dearest soldier husband is coming home from three weeks of training. Can't wait to see him.!!

If you don't know what ETE is...read my post from yesterday. I did great with it today!

Those letters stand for something and I'll let you know what it is in a moment.

By knowing what ETE is I am able to:

save time
save money
feel calm
have a party at the drop of the hat

Wow! What could possibly do all that?

ETE refers to erase the evidence. It is a little organization helper, that reminds me to pick up after myself. If I make a turkey sandwich, I must clean off the counters and put everything away so that it appears I was never even there.

ETE saves me time, because I put things back where they go...without misplacing or redirecting them. ETE saves me money for the same reason. I know where all my bills and library books are.

I confessed to my sister just today that I was a little compulsive about order at times. Why? It really seems to make me calmer. Although, I've realized in the last 6 months that there are other ways to relax. I also deserve to relax even before I get everything in order.

ETE means I don't have to pick up for company. I've already done it as I go along. Of course, I'm still trying to teach the rest of the family.

Disneysteve...anyone else want to try? See if it works for you this week. Think ETE...Erase the Evidence. Do it all day long or just once a day. For me it's both! Remember, I told you I'm a bit compulsive.

I'm not decluttering like Disneysteve
...yet! However, I am doing a little bit of spring cleaning. Only a few days left and it will be summer.

I have artificial plants above my kitchen cabinets in baskets. It looks pretty until they become dusty.



Today was such a cool calm weather that I decided to pull them all out onto the deck for a cleaning. I pulled the greenery out of the baskets and literally hosed the dust off them with water. In a short time, they are dry again.

I used a special spray for artificial plants to remove the dust from the greenery. You simply spray until dripping wet and wait to dry. Amazingly, the dust is gone and the leaves are shiny again. In the past I have used a bucket of water and a microfiber cloth to wash each leaf by hand. It is very time consuming.

The spray was $4.97 and I have yet to use half. It is quick and looks nice. Next time, I think I will just try the hose on all of it. How much could water hurt a plastic plant? I'm pretty sure the water would cost less than the spray.

on craigslist. I have quite a few nice things left over from the garage sale last week. I had success with the desk, so I am going to list as much as possible today.

The advantage of craigslist over ebay, is that it takes much less time to list the items. I don't have to calculate shipping or find a box. And, I set the final price instead of waiting for the highest bidder.

I had such good response by listing all my garage sale items that I think there is a large amount of traffic on craigslist.

So, I think I'll make a goal. To sell at least $50 worth of items on craigslist. The listings are 45 days, so I will give them that much time. If they don't sell there, I'll set them up on ebay.

In our town this week, it is spring clean up time. This is when people can put out trash that isn't picked up normally. Ususally, this means larger items you can't fit in your trash.

The fun part about this is that people also come looking for things they can take from your pile. I saw two different neighbors put out old lawn furniture. Someone with a van, came and hauled them way for their own use.I like it that some of the items are saved from the landfill and that someone gets something for free.

I actually found something to take from a neighbor's pile two doors down. They were getting rid of 8 foot landscape timbers. I took 3 from the pile. I'm going to use them with 3 that I already have to box in my new garden.

Happy spring cleaning!

Oh, I'm so excited! My daughter's cleaned out their rooms yesterday. They found so much stuff to get rid of.

I did bribe them, though. Money from the sales of these items will go to give them a new bathroom makeover. They are thrilled. Their bathroom is about the only room in the house we haven't done anything with since we moved in 1 1/2 years ago. It needs new paint, a rug, and a shower curtain.

I will sell some things on ebay this month. Everything else and unsold ebay items will go on the garage sale at the beginning of May. We'll have more than enough to makeover the bathroom and then some!!

Here are some of the things they are getting rid of: large ride on pony, throw pillows, doctor kit, stuffed animal, junk toys, leotards, socks, clothes, books, books and books!!

I'll let you know how we make out when it's all sold off.
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I received a Pinecone survey check yesterday for $5.00

Old Balance $20.20
Add Check $5.00
New Balance 25.20

This will be the second day that I have attempted to arrange for pickup of our old TV. I advertised on Freecycle. The woman responded right away. I named a time on a day she was available. The time came and went...no response.

I offered today at 5pm...another day she was available. Will she show up to claim her free TV?

If she doesn't show, I have three other people that are interested. Who knew it would be so hard to give away a TV?

It would have been easier to take it to Goodwill!!

It's a beautiful day here! I decided to work on my basement. It is unfinished and was pretty organized, in that I knew where everything was. However, it wasn't set up quite the way I wanted.

We bought a metal shelf yesterday that we set up as two shorter shelves. I set these up parallel to the two taller shelves that line a wall. There is now a path between the two on the same side of the basement as my furnace.

I have most of my things in plastic storage bins of varying sizes and colors. I have written the contents on an index card and taped it on the bins.

As I loaded the shelves, I came across numerous items that can be sold at my garage sale this spring. These items are now in a pile. Do you want to know what I'm getting rid of?

The pile has a student desk, gum ball machine, games, two children's sleeping bags, snow boots, paints, McDonald's Happy Meal toys, end table, torch lamp, outgrown children's toys, VCR movies, a microwave, and many of the old style camouflage uniforms of my husbands. Some of these may end up going on ebay.

I have found enough to trash to fill a large garbage bag, too.

So, now my basement has two zones...storage and play area for kids. For now, there is also a temporary garage sale zone.

Spring always inspires me to clean and declutter!! Anyone else working on a room makeover or decluttering?