I've come to a decision

I'm going to concentrate on reviving my blog: Giving Without Spending which concentrates on helping others in free or frugal ways. The motto is, "Let the giving season be all year long." Please think about suscribing to GWS or at least posting a link on your blog. The more people it reaches, the more blessings to be had! Thanks all!

The Cheaper Alternative: Tomato Soup

What you need: spaghetti sauce and 1 cup of water

What you do: Add spaghetti sauce to your desired consistency and mix in water. Stir and heat.



Voila! You have some tomato soup. Experiment with the different flavors of spaghetti sauce out there. One jar will yield way more bowls of soup than one can therefore saving you $$$. :)

$5 Centerpiece

I love our house we moved into a few months ago. I decided to keep the same kitchen theme which is Mary Engelbreit. If you've never seen any of her stuff, you have to google her name and peruse. I would describe her art as a mixture of cute with a dash of whimsy.

Anywho, I wanted a centerpiece for our table, but as usual money is tight. LOL I made one for $5 by shopping a sale and using what I already had. The vase was one of those that came with a flower delivery I received sometime ago. The "runner" was actually the valance I used at our previous home. As you can see, the window is huge in our kitchen so it was way to short. I got the berry stems at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. Total cost was $5 Here is the result:

If you don't have much money to spend, go digging around and see what you already have. And remember, you can always do a spray paint job if you need to. Just open up that creativity part of your mind and let the ideas come freely!

Creative Recycling: Leftover Prescription Medication

I know y'all have to be like me and clean out the medicine cabinet every once in a while. Usually I wind up chunking medications that have just sit there and expired because I hated to throw that half full bottle away. Well, I have just found out there is hope for some of it!

If you have any medication that you feel might be useful such as antibiotics, etc., call your local church and physician offices and see if they collect leftover medicines for mission trips to other countries. If they don't collect them, ask if they know another church or doctor's office that does. This is a great way to not waste good medicine and help those less fortunate in the process! Also, some offices may even take leftover medications for some of their own patients who are bound financially.

So next time you discover you will not use all of your prescription, call around and see if you can find it a new home. Who knows, you could save someone's life!

Monday Night Dive Report

So I've recruited another PIC and 3 of us went out scavaging last night. Here is what we found:

-K(Mart): Lots of Halloween costumes and items. Just grabbed a bunch of stuff and left leaving some behind. I guess we'll sell or donate them. I'm not sure yet.

-B(ig) L(ots): Expired baby cereal, and a couple of bags of the suckiest tasting generic cheetos I've ever had. Also, a plastic storage container with a small crack in it but still very usable. Lastly, a very nice ceramic plant holder with the broken piece inside making it a super easy fix.

We found nothing else at the other locations. :( Overall, it was an ok night.