12/26 Expressions

Frugal deeds for the week:  Today, I ordered a belated holiday gift for my daughter's guitar teacher.  She thinks he will appreciate an itunes gift card - so that is what he got - I used my $5 Wal-mart gift card from Swagbucks and part of the Wal-mart gift card I purchased using ebay $.  So, we took a quick trip out to the west coast.  It was our Christmas gift to ourselves and a chance to check out the location in which I had a job offer.  We loved the area - the job sounded great - just a tad bit more $ - sounds perfect right?  I ended up declining the offer.  Why, we aren't as agile as I thought we'd be.  First of all, we really couldn't swing a move in time for my daughter to switch schools.  The bigger problem - getting the house ready to sell by the summer.  So, my goal is get this house ready to sell in the next 15-20 months.  I plan to take a deferred retirement - as in, I won't be old enough to collect my retirement pay for several years - but I can take money out of my 401K equivalent using rule 72T to tide me over until I hit hit my retirement age.  So, I have lots to declutter, get rid of, etc.  Good thing I got a call from a charity organization that picks stuff up - I plan to call them back and have several boxes ready for them.  I also plan to sign up with a consignment store near work that takes everyday household stuff.  I plan to upcycle what we have - meaning buying only the minimum in clothing - that stuff multiplies.  I plan to use up what we have.  I want to eat healthily (is that a word) - but not waste and not stockpile.  So, that's the goal.  Today, we had my dad over to give him his gift and we made lunch.  For the side dishes - we mainly used up stuff from the pantry.  I also have lots of bar soap - some of it nice smelling hand made soap.  So, I am back to making my own laundry detergent - we don't have skin conditions - and I don't use an exact science.  I just flake the soap with a knife into a canning jar - microwave about three minutes - dump it into the laundry soap container - the jar is hot and I am careful - then I dump in several more jars of water - shake - and I get "laundry detergent" of differing consistency - depending on how much soap I flake - and usually nice smelling.  I also plan to start saving as much as I can.  When you want to move quickly, cash is king!  So, tomorrow, I plan to take my Home Depot gift cards - earned from the AMEX deal - and get supplies to do as much as DIY as I can on this house.  I plan to start ripping up the carpet in the bonus room and hallway so that my husband can install laminate flooring.  Tomorrow, the dog is getting her hair done with the gift card I got practically from from the AMEX $25 small business credit deal.