40 Days to a Clutter-free Home Update - 07/04/2012

I'm three days into this challenge, and I think that I am doing an excellent job at staying on track with the tasks outlined in the challenge.

Day #1: Utensil Drawers
Items De-Cluttered: 11

Day Two: Food Storage and Dishes/Serving Platters, etc

Items De-Cluttered: 27

Day #3: Cooking/Baking Items and Appliances

Items De-Cluttered: 14

Total Items De-Cluttered for Days #1-3: 52!!!!

(22 items ahead)

2 Challenges for the month of July!

I will be doing two 'challenges' for the month of July!  One is a pantry challenge with Jessica at Good Cheap Eats!  For the Rogers' family this means eating from the pantry, and trying to use up what we already have.  We will be trying to stay out of the stores, and only eating out once per week.  I'm going to try to clean out our pantry and the freezers as well.

And the second is '8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home' with Stephanie at Keeper of the Home.  I am going to follow the plan as Stephanie has laid it out, however, Joe and I do not have children yet, so there are a few days I will be getting off easy, but that's okay, I still want to try and get rid of the recommended 10 items per day, but we'll see, I've been on a getting rid of kick for a while now.  Hopefully I can find 400 more things to get rid of!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

Enjoy the fireworks tonight as you celebrate our independence as a nation!

ALDI Deals, Starting July 5th, 2012

Here are some of the deals this week at ALDI...

• Thursday July 5th ONLY: Roseland Fresh Pork Shoulder Steaks $2.19/lb
• Breakfast Best Buttermilk Waffles 10 ct 12.3 oz $1.29 ea
• Burman's BBQ Sauce Honey, Hickory, or Original 18 oz $0.89 ea
• Carlini Olive Oil Cooking Spray 5 oz $1.79 ea
• Fresh Gourmet Croutons Country Ranch, Butter and Garlic, or Cornbread .5 oz  $0.99 ea
• Happy Farms Cheese Singles American or Swiss 12 oz $1.49 ea
• Happy Harvest 3 Bean Salad 15 oz $0.99 ea
• Kirkwood Chicken Breasts 48 oz $5.49 ea
• Kitchen Living Salad Spinner 6 qt $8.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Mandoline Slicer (white or black) $4.99 ea
• Little Salad Bar Flat Leaf Spinach 9 oz $1.69 ea 
• L'oven Fresh White Hamburger or Hotdog Buns 12 oz $0.79 ea
• Nature's Nectar All Natural Limeade 59 oz $1.99 ea
• Sea Queen Value Pk Wild Caught Salmon Fillets 32 oz $7.99 ea
• Season's Choice Whole Onion Rings 16 oz $1.99 ea
• Southern Grove Pine Nuts 3 oz $2.99 ea 
• Stonemill Essentials Crushed Red Pepper 2.5 oz $0.99 ea
• Stonemill Essentials Salt 26 oz $0.35 ea
• Tuscan Garden Croutons Cheese Garlic, Caesar or Seasoned 6 oz $0.99 ea
• Tuscan Garden Marinades Assorted Varieties 12.25 oz $0.99 ea
• Tuscan Garden Real Bacon Bits 2.5 oz $1.39 ea
• Tuscan Garden Tortilla Strips Santa Fe or Lightly Salted 3.5 oz $0.99 ea
• White Mushrooms 8 oz pkg $0.89 ea
• Yellow Onions 3 lb bag $0.99 ea
• Multicolored Peppers 3 pk $2.89 ea
• Grape Tomatoes $1.19/pint
• Baking Potatoes 5 lb bag $1.79 ea
• Zucchini 24 oz pkg $1.29 ea

For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their homepage!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

Joe and I celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage on June 16th!  This picture is a little late, but it's a pretty good one of the two of us, so I thought I'd share anyway.

Menu Plan Monday: July 2nd 2012!

This week begins July, and two challenges.  Jessica at Good Cheap Eats is having a 'Pantry Challenge.' I thought it would be a good idea for Joe and I to do this as well so we have a nice cleaned out freezer to put our garden produce in for winter time.  Also, Stephanie at Keeper of the Home is working on having a less cluttered house in 8 weeks, and I'm with her.  I'll be posting updates to both 'challenges' pretty much daily.  Hopefully by the time school is starting up again, I will have a clutter free house, and an emptied and then freshly stocked pantry!  That's the goal at least ;-)

Anyway, here's what's cooking this week....

Breakfasts: Cereal, and Bob Evans with Joe's Grandfather on Tuesday

Lunches: Fruited Chicken Salad, Chick-fil-a on Grocery shopping day (Monday), Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Quesadillas with Chips and Salsa, Leftovers x 3

Dinners:

Sunday - Sliced Steak Sandwiches with Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms and Baked French Fries and Veggies and Dip

Monday - Leftover Fruited Chicken Salad with Chips and Veggies with Dip

Tuesday - Pulled Pork Sandwiches (from Freezer) with Baked Potatoes or French Fries and Veggies with Dip

Wednesday - Homemade Pizza with Veggies and Dip

Thursday - Crock-pot Chuck Roast with Carrots, Potatoes, Onions, and Mushrooms with Homemade Bread

Friday - TBA - Joe's Family is coming up to visit, so we are still planning the menu

Saturday - Chicken Taquitos (new recipe) with Mexican Rice and Chips and Salsa

Extras: Brownies!

For more AWESOME Menu Plans, visit Org Junkie!

ALDI Deals, Starting 06/27/2012

Here are some of this week's ALDI deals...

• Wednesday June 27th ONLY: Tyson Fresh Split Chicken Breasts $0.99/lb and Cattlemen's Ranch Fresh Beef Skewers 11.2 oz $4.99 ea
• Baker's Corner Blueberry Pie Filling 21 oz $2.49 ea
• Belmont Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake 8" 41 oz $9.99 ea 
• Burman's Yellow Mustard 14 oz $0.69 ea
• Clancy's Bagel Chips Sea Salt or Roasted Garlic 6 oz $1.79 ea
• Happy Harvest German Potato Salad 15 oz can $0.99 ea
• Kellogg's Pop-Tart Assortment $1.89 ea
• L'oven Fresh All Butter Loaf Cake 11.5 oz $2.49 ea
• Little Salad Bar Hummus Quartet 20 oz $3.99 ea
• Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen Mega Pizza Rolls Pepperoni or Combination 17 oz $2.49 ea
• Oscar Mayer Classic Wieners 16 oz $1.49 ea 
• Sealtite Beverage Containers 2 gal and 1.25 gal Pink, Blue, or Aqua (BPA Free!) $4.99 ea
• Sweet's Salt Water Taffy 16 oz $1.79 ea
• Tuscan Garden Dressings Bacon Ranch or Raspberry Vinaigrette16 oz $1.29 ea 
• Sweet Corn $1.69/4 pk
• Red Grapes $1.98/2 lb container
• Seedless Watermelons $4.79 ea
• Strawberries $1.89/lb
• Blueberries $1.29/pint
• Cherries $2.19/lb

For more information about ALDI, visit their homepage!

Weekly Spending Report: 06/24-30/2012!

It was nice to get back into some deal shopping this week.  And I found some GREAT deals, gotta love it when that happens!  Here's my weekly spending report...

• Tuesday's Shopper's Trip (no post, just 1 qt heavy cream): $4.38 oop
• Tuesday's Rite-Aid Trip: $2.34 oop, Earned $6 UP+Rewards
• Tuesday's CVS Trip: $11.31 oop, Earned $9 ECB's
• Thursday's Big Lots Trip (no post, just internet cable): $4.24 oop
• Thursday's Walgreen's Trip (no post, 6-24 pk cases of H2O): $12.66 oop 
• Saturday's Hoffman's Trip (no post, just 2 newspapers and 1/2 gal Ice Cream): $11 oop

Total OOP: $45.93 oop - $15 Earned Rewards = Net OOP: $30.93!

Tuesday's CVS Trip!

I also stopped into CVS on Tuesday.  Here's what I ended up with...

2 tubes Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Toothpaste $6.49 ea - $1.63 ea Sale - $1/2 MC (newspaper) - $4 ECB x 2 = 2/$0.72

3 boxes Pop-Tarts (for Joe) $2.57 ea - $0.57 ea Sale - $1/3 MC (newspaper) = 3/$5

+ $0.59 Tax

- $3 ECB's used to Pay

Total OOP: $11.31 - $9 Earned Rewards (includes $1 from Green Bag Tag) = Net OOP: $2.31!

Tuesday's Rite-Aid Trip

Tuesday I stopped into Rite-Aid while I was in town to grab some super-cheap Zantac.

3-24 ct Cool Mint Zantac $10.79 ea - $2.80 ea Sale - $5/1 MC (newspaper) x 3 - $2 UP+Rewards x 3 = 3/$2.97 ($0.99 ea!)

1 bottle Lighter Fluid (for Joe) $2.79 - $0.56 card discount = $2.23

+ $0.14 Tax

- $9 UP+Rewards used to Pay

Total OOP: $2.34, Earned $6 UP+Rewards for next week!