DAY SIX & SEVEN: Learning to Live With Less

It's the last two days for our living with less. Thank goodness it's over! I understand the concepts of these rules, but as normal human beings, not everyone can live this way every single week. I'll take the principles with me as I live each day, but you gotta let your hair down every now and then! Here's how we did:

NO MORE EATING OUT / EATING LEFTOVERS: We ate at home all weekend and then decided to splurge a bit and headed to Longhorn for dinner. AND I did throw some leftovers out from food from last week. It was looking kinda gross.

BOTTLED WATER HABIT: Again, not really a big dealio.

NO MORE DISPOSABLE PLATES, CUPS, NAPKINS, ETC: No paper plates, paper towels, or cups!

ENTERTAINMENT: We actually attended a birthday party last night so that was fun, and free! And today we just relaxed, played inside and outside in the baby pool, and then had dinner with Chris' family. I had every intention to cook dinner for us all, but we decided in the long run to head to Longhorn. Oh well - I broke that rule!

THERMOSTAT: Set at 74 - no prob Bob!

GIVING THE OL' WASHING MACHINE A BREAK: Washed Saturday and Sunday. My weekly wash. Gotta do it.

TURNING OFF LIGHTS/FANS WHEN NOT IN THE ROOM: Doing well!

TURNING OFF APPLIANCES, COMPUTER, ETC WHEN NOT IN USE: Did well!

SHORT SHOWERS: Doing well!

NO SHOPPING, EXCEPT FOR FOOD: I resisted the urge to buy a bathing suit Friday in Target, although I really do need one, not just want one. I guess the tantrum that Ethan gave made that decision really easy.

DAY FIVE: Learning to Live With Less

It's DAY CINCO for our living with less. I know you guys are getting bored with these because I am getting tired of the rules and writing about them. I'm sure it would be much more entertaining if we were really struggling and had funny stories to tell, but we don't. Blah - we're boring! Well, here's how we did:

NO MORE EATING OUT / EATING LEFTOVERS: Chris is working late tonight so I just made this stuff that Chris' mom makes called Spanish Noodles. Ethan wouldn't have anything to do with it so I made him mac and cheese, which he was quite happy about. There are definitely left overs in the refrigerator but to be quite honest, I just don't feel like eating them. I haven't officially thrown them out yet, but I'm sure it will be done. I guess my lesson in this is to make just enough for the two and a half of us.

BOTTLED WATER HABIT: Again, not really a big dealio.

NO MORE DISPOSABLE PLATES, CUPS, NAPKINS, ETC: No paper plates, paper towels, or cups!

ENTERTAINMENT: Since E is down for the count, I'm going to take a much deserved bubble bath and just relax.

THERMOSTAT: Set at 74 - no prob Bob!

GIVING THE OL' WASHING MACHINE A BREAK: Clothes are piling up so they are going in the wash. They're dirty anyways and we HAVE to wash! This rule is kinda dumb .

TURNING OFF LIGHTS/FANS WHEN NOT IN THE ROOM: Doing well!

TURNING OFF APPLIANCES, COMPUTER, ETC WHEN NOT IN USE: I have to say, I shut the computer down, and for some reason it was on this morning. I think Chris used it and didn't shut it down. Tisk Tisk. :)

SHORT SHOWERS: Doing well!

NO SHOPPING, EXCEPT FOR FOOD: Doing well!

DAY FOUR: Learning to Live with Less

It's DAY QUATRO for our living with less. Here's how we did:

NO MORE EATING OUT / EATING LEFTOVERS: Tuesday I pulled some pork tenderloin out of the freezer from when I bought it on sale a couple of weeks ago. After it had been thawed out, we slow cooked it in the crock pot and then chopped it up and made BBQ pulled pork! It was delish! We also had some fries and corn on the cob! Yum! Plus, we have some left over for Chris to eat at lunch tomorrow.

BOTTLED WATER HABIT: Again, not really a big dealio.

NO MORE DISPOSABLE PLATES, CUPS, NAPKINS, ETC: Did good! No paper plates, paper towels, or cups!

ENTERTAINMENT: We watched a movie last night, so we're just relaxing and doing our own thing tonight. I may scrap and catch the last 10 minutes of SYTYCD (so you think you can dance) to see who is eliminated.

THERMOSTAT: Set at 74 - no prob Bob!

GIVING THE OL' WASHING MACHINE A BREAK: No clothes to be washed today.

TURNING OFF LIGHTS/FANS WHEN NOT IN THE ROOM: Doing well!

TURNING OFF APPLIANCES, COMPUTER, ETC WHEN NOT IN USE: Doing well! I actually shut the computer down before bed!

SHORT SHOWERS: Doing well!

NO SHOPPING, EXCEPT FOR FOOD: I did buy some swim diapers today because the deal was too good to pass up, but other than that, that's it!

DAY THREE: Living With Less

It's DAY TRES (you like my Spanish lessons?) for our living with less. Here's how we did:

NO MORE EATING OUT / EATING LEFTOVERS: Tonight we had spaghetti that I had just pulled out of the freezer. I made a ton of sauce a while back and froze about four bags for those days where I just didn't have the time or energy to cook. Those really come in handy!

BOTTLED WATER HABIT: Again, not really a big dealio.

NO MORE DISPOSABLE PLATES, CUPS, NAPKINS, ETC: Did good! No paper plates, paper towels, or cups!

ENTERTAINMENT: I did get a movie for tonight since it was FREE with my purchase of 3 FREE Kellogg's cereals (HT Super Doubles sale), so I think it's ok to allow ourselves the luxury. I must say this has become challenging. Last night, I did decide to scrap for a while and by 9:30 I was pooped so I headed to bed. Chris was on the computer for a bit and I decided to put a movie on to watch for a bit before I fell asleep. SO - it is challenging to NOT watch TV or NOT get on the computer.

THERMOSTAT: Set at 74 - no prob Bob!

GIVING THE OL' WASHING MACHINE A BREAK: No clothes to be washed today.

TURNING OFF LIGHTS/FANS WHEN NOT IN THE ROOM: Doing well!

TURNING OFF APPLIANCES, COMPUTER, ETC WHEN NOT IN USE: Doing well! I actaully shut the computer down before bed!

SHORT SHOWERS: Doing well! Actually skipped the shower this morning because we were in a big hurry. I took one last night, so I'm not stinky, I promise!

NO SHOPPING, EXCEPT FOR FOOD: I did my shopping at Bloom this morning before heading into work after I dropped E off. I must say, I did my very best to avoid buying anything BUT food, but I couldn't resist the urge. It was a good deal!!! It was BOGO on Finish dish washing tablets and I have a .75 coupon that tripled, so I got it for $1.20! Also, when I ran to HT to get a salad (yea yea, no eating out - I am fudging that a bit because I consider that groceries), I picked up a few items and one of them being Dawn dish detergent for .37 cents each. Can't beat that. So all in all, I did save a bunch on food items, and just a few other non-food items that I will definitely use.

DAY TWO: Learning to Live With Less

It's DAY DOS for our living with less. Here's how we did:

NO MORE EATING OUT / EATING LEFTOVERS: I cooked tonight - baked chicken with carrots and zucchini and wild rice. AND yummy peaches from Fort Mill! YUM!

BOTTLED WATER HABIT: Again, not really a big dealio.

NO MORE DISPOSABLE PLATES, CUPS, NAPKINS, ETC: Did good! No paper plates, paper towels, or cups!

ENTERTAINMENT: I'm a bit worn out today so we'll probably take it easy and watch a little bit of TV - one hour tops, I promise! I'm also going to go through all my coupons for my shopping tomorrow! Yea!

THERMOSTAT: Set at 74 - no prob Bob!

GIVING THE OL' WASHING MACHINE A BREAK: I HAD to wash my underoos (well just my bra) today and I consider those dirty. I am air drying them though!

TURNING OFF LIGHTS/FANS WHEN NOT IN THE ROOM: We're doing pretty good. A few lights were on last night when we weren't using them, but we soon remembered and I turned them off.

TURNING OFF APPLIANCES, COMPUTER, ETC WHEN NOT IN USE: Chris forgot to shut the computer down last night - shame on him! :)

SHORT SHOWERS: Doing pretty good. Although because I walk in the evenings and go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday, I often take two showers a day. I just have to - no sacrificing that here!

NO SHOPPING, EXCEPT FOR FOOD: The true test is tomorrow with my sales I'm hitting. So far, my list only consists of food items, so I think I'll be ok. Chris and I were talking about this line item and it should be limited to things you REALLY need if you have to buy those. I mean, you can't just pass up buying TP if it's really needed! Ya' know what I mean?

DAY ONE: Learning To Live With Less

Ok - so considering the computer isn't supposed to be turned on except for homework, I'm considering this homework. Especially since I'm not in middle school anymore, and hey, it's summer! Who gets homework in the summer!?! That's just cruel! Today is DAY UNO of "The

Challenge" - da, da, da (scary music inserted here) and I think we did pretty darn well:

NO MORE EATING OUT / EATING LEFTOVERS:
We both brought our lunch to work and for dinner I ate my leftovers from going out for Father's Day and Chris ate leftover pizza from the weekend. Yea! No cooking for me tonight!

BOTTLED WATER HABIT:

I think this isn't really a challenge for me, but Chris does get free bottled water from work. I don't think that should count really, right? I bring a bottle to work and just refill. While we're at home, we use glasses and fill at the refrigerator. This shouldn't be of a challenge for us.

NO MORE DISPOSABLE PLATES, CUPS, NAPKINS, ETC:

We are guilty of using paper towels but not a lot. We do use all of our normal plates, cups, flatware etc, so it's really just the paper towels. I think I caught myself almost using one today on Ethan, but then stopped. That's how much of a habit it has become.

ENTERTAINMENT:

This will be a bit of a challenge, but should help us to spend a little more couple time together. We actually do a lot together and even if we aren't doing the same thing, we are in the same room together. He may watch TV and I'll read. I guess that's the purpose - to actually talk more. Tonight I'm going to scrap a bit while Chris is shooting some pics outside. Then we're going to look at vacation brochures for our upcoming trip to Wilmington in September and plan out some activities. The good thing about losing TV time is that it's summer - all reruns!

THERMOSTAT:

Set at 74 - no prob Bob!

GIVING THE OL' WASHING MACHINE A BREAK:
I wash all of our clothes once a week so I don't see how this is a problem. I can see families that have older kids who play sports - that's a lot of washing! This shouldn't be a problem either.

TURNING OFF LIGHTS/FANS WHEN NOT IN THE ROOM:
This one is a work in progress. The fans in our house run CONSTANTLY! Since I've ready Oprah's challenge last week, I have been keeping all the fans and lights off if we're not in the room. Needless to say, it's a dark house at the end of the day. It looks like no one's home!

TURNING OFF APPLIANCES, COMPUTER, ETC WHEN NOT IN USE:

Again, same thing as above. I have been shutting down the computer at night and unplugging the coffeemaker and toaster when I'm not using it. That is hard to remember though!

SHORT SHOWERS:

I think we're doing rather well, especially Chris. I'm a short shower kinda person, but he needs a long shower in the morning to wake up. I have noticed just in the past week that he has really cut back on those. I've been surprised at how quick his showers are now. Go Chris!

NO SHOPPING, EXCEPT FOR FOOD:
Like I mentioned before, this will be the biggest challenge for me just because of my love for finding deals and steals. It's towards the end of the month and I'm down to the last $60 for groceries/household items and we really don't NEED anything else until we get paid again, so this week I may be ok. UNLESS, some awesome crazy deal comes up later this week while Bloom and HT are having their big double and triple sales! We'll just have to see how I do come middle of the week! :)

Ok - gotta run - I'm approaching my time limit for the computer and my hubby is calling!