September totals blew August out of the water!

Anyone excited to know what our grand total was for September?  Drum roll please......I saved our family $1315.29 and I sold $101.50 worth of stuff!!  I never thought that I would ever get to this point in my life.  I have always been the type of girl who can't wait to have the next big best thing; weather it be the latest clothes, gadget, household item, etc.  It's crazy that the more that I get rid of, the more I want to continue getting rid of.  It's hard to explain but I have a new passion for life and it's so amazing to watch how the Lord is blessing our family!  It truly is going to be the Year of Blessings ;)

Our vanilla is FINALLY done!  I made Home-Made Vanilla and it has been in our cupboard for the last two months curing and it is finally ready to use!  And by making our own vanilla I'm saving approximately $40/year! 

Vanilla Extract

3 vanilla beans

1 cup vodka

Mason jar

 

1) Use kitchen scissors to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, leaving an inch at the end connected.

2) Put vanilla beans and vodka in a mason jar.

3) Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while.  Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.

*Lasts for years.  You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.
*Personal Experience: Briar Patch had the cheapest vanilla beans and they were 100% Organic and I doubled the batch since it takes 2 months to cure!

 

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes!!  This last weekend I went to Sisters Closet, which is a clothing swap put on by Twin Cities Church and was able to find some amazing clothes.  Afterwards, we went to the Harvest Festival at Western Gateway Park and they were doing a rummage sale and all clothes were $0.50!!  I got a total of 5 skirts and 2 tops between our two destinations and only spent $1.00!!  I LOVE shopping this way and I had no buyers remorse afterwards AND EVEN BETTER was I didn't have to come up with a creative way of telling my husband how much I spent!!

Now that the Christmas season is just around the corner (and it's finally starting to feel like fall) I have been busy coming up with the products that I will be crafting up this season!  I've been having so much fun but also trying to remember to keep in mind our new way of living a simpler life.  Coming up with some great new ideas plus coming up with ways to re-use our throw away consumables as gifts.  Super excited and can't wait to share some of my new creations.  I LOVE making home-made gifts for my family and for re-sale!