The pillowcase I made from scrap fabric last week. (Someone asked for a photo last week.)
This past week I have spent a lot of time just being thankful for all of our wonderful blessings. I would even include frugality as one of the things that I am incredibly thankful for. Without penny-pinching there is NO WAY that I would be able to have the privilege of being a domestic engineer and spending my day in the home. 😉 (By the way I don’t stay home JUST because of my son Elijah-there are so many more reasons. Here is an excellent short clip on mother’s working outside the home that I appreciate.) That aside I am thankful for frugality because it pushes me. I believe in the past 2 years I have become SO MUCH more creative in nearly every aspect. Just as an example my cooking has improved greatly as I have cooked things I never dreamed of cooking. I have probably sewn more items in the past two years than I have in the last ten years combined! You know what-even frugality can be a blessing if you let it be. So do that. Let frugality be a blessing to you and your family!
Just a few of the Frugal Things I Did Last Week:
I went thrift store shopping with my sister-in-law while I was in Arkansas. So much fun! I bought two much-needed sweaters for myself, a cute purse, clothes for Elijah, a book, and even a life jacket for Eli.
I received a free sippy in the mail from USA Kids. We love it!
I received a free $25 FedEx gift card from a giveaway I entered on Facebook. 😉 One of my favorite freebies so far! I also received free samples of: herb tea, Vitamins, Biore face wash, Biore pore strip, lotion, and Airborne. Quite the week for samples! 😉
We ate leftovers and sandwiches when we REALLY didn’t want to. We tried to eat up everything in our fridge before Thanksgiving. I think this not only helps us be frugal but it is great self-discipline in not satisfying every one of our wants!
I purchased Elijah two t-shirts off the clearance rack at Target for 3.00 each. We went to Arkansas to visit family and it was in the 70s all week! The sweaters I packed just would not cut it!
I downloaded free books for my Kindle on amazon.
We skipped going to the movies on Thanksgiving and stayed in playing Monopoly. 🙂
I ordered my Christmas cards on Black Friday and saved 75%. So nice to check that off my list!
I bought a Christmas gift on-line for a great price.
My mother-in-law gave me 2 turkeys that she got for free from the grocery. We love turkey and these 2 birds will provide meat for many meals.
I went shopping at Hancock’s on Black Friday. I purchased a handful of patterns for my slight addiction. 😉 I also bought enough flannel to last until at least the summer. I bought only the doorbusters. Now I just need to get busy sewing Christmas presents!
We traveled to Arkansas to visit family. I packed a nice cooler for drinks and snacks so we didn’t need to purchase snacks along the way. (The hubby prefers to eat out when we are traveling so we did.) We stayed the night with friends on the way down (it was a blast!!!) and drove straight back on the way home even though it is a lot easier to travel driving 1/2 way and spending the night. It costs us a lot of money to travel to visit family (a minimum of $200 just for gas!) so I was really glad we made it without the cost of a hotel. We are really feeling the Holiday pinch as I’m sure most of you are. 😉
I worked on a homemade Christmas present. (I do hate not being able to share what I am working on for fear that the people receiving the gift will see them!) 😉
I made a Deco-Mesh wreath that I absolutely love with my mother-in-law. I think I have had it hanging in 4 different locations so far!
I received 2 books to review in the mail. Most of the time I get to pick from a list of books. This time I purposefully picked a book that I thought Brandon would enjoy reading. I was right he’s already read the first chapter! Thankfully Brandon and I enjoy reading many of the same types of books. Though he doesn’t care too much for my Amish fiction books. 😉
What frugal activities have you been up to?
Emerson Family 
Thank you so much for posting that John Piper video. I often ask myself why I don’t just seek a job outside of the home and this clip was very encouraging to me. It was also challenging because our Lord OFFERS a huge responsibility – and I usually squander it, trying to “kill time before naptime,” “kill time before bedtime,” etc. and I do NOT view it as a ministry because “it’s just my family.” Ministry happens with people outside of my home, right? Wow – Pastor John so encouraged me that I can be a minister who truly encourages and aids the people in my home, who need my ministry efforts just as much as those outside it, if not more so. This is not an opportunity to be wasted (and I often do waste it). I must continually preach to myself so that I can be a blessing to my family and not a burden.
You are so welcome. I found it SUPER encouraging especially during my current season of life with Elijah. He is so much more independent now that I find myself needing to be intentional about not wasting time but really investing in my family and other ministries. Sometimes Elijah doesn’t even want to do things with me now. 😦 I find myself having to strike a balance daily about how I spend my day. I think that’s something everyone struggles with whether they spend every day at home or not.
By the way, we had a blast as well! 🙂 Love you guys!
You too thank you so much! We would love to have you all anytime. 🙂
i had so much fun thriftshopping too! we’ve been eating turkey leftovers all week so far–we’ll be glad to be done with turkey i think lol.
i’ve seen that video before–i think it can be encouraging to some, but not everyone (no matter how frugal) can afford to be a stay at home mom, especially in an economy where their husband might, oh say, work part time at a library 😉 i don’t think its fair to always see it as every woman has the choice to stay home or to not–because it is a privileged thing to have a choice–in fact, most working moms that i know do Not have a choice! i don’t think that makes them (or me!) any less a mom or homemaker or any less in God’s perfect will than a stay at home mom. anyway, just thought i’d offer my two cents from the “other side” =)
I agree with Pastor John – working outside the home can absolutely be part of God’s will for a woman’s life. I think, for me, it’s just encouraging to hear that my life has purpose even if I don’t have a formal career or accomplishments to highlight. For example, I started writing a Christmas letter this year to send out and realized I have accomplished nothing noteworthy this year in terms of what I could actually write down in a Christmas letter. This is probably the first year of my life when I haven’t had something to “report” – a new job, a new publication, etc. – and I think I was feeling depressed because of it. But the video just encouraged me that I don’t have to waste my days at home, that I can actually try to make use of my extra time to be as much of a blessing as possible instead of viewing myself as just a dependent, someone that Tyson and Milo could do without if need be. I think you are a fantastic mom, Renee. You will succeed no matter where the Lord leads you in life, whether that’s continuing in your career or one day staying at home or perhaps some combination of the two. As Diana tells Anne in “Anne of Green Gables”: “You’ve never failed at anything, Anne Shirley.” The same can be said of you, Renee Emerson! I love you!
I love that pattern on the pillowcase. 🙂
Thank you it was SO easy. I also made a flannel sheet last year that matches it.