Confessions Of An UnOrGaNiZeD Mom

I have to admit I LOVE my select a size paper towels!!!  I use them for just about everything, but I also spend a lot of money on them.  This week at the store I found a pack of microfiber cloths in the auto section for only $2.99 and in the pack were 5 cloths.  I've found they work better for cleaning the counters, mirrors, spills, and messes around my house, and the best part?  You can wash em and reuse em!

In the few days we were literally living off of change, I became aware of how wasteful my family really is.

The other day when i ran out of my Purex Laundry Sheets I turned to the multiple bottles I had in the basement which i deemed "empty" that was a few days ago and I'm still doing laundry off what was still in some of those bottles.....so much money was spent on new products, when I still had all this extra detergent!

Lo is very wasteful when it comes to food.  I always portion how much I think he should eat vs what he really does, so I've lessened his amount saving more for leftovers.  I think he feels better about it too because he can actually clear his plate :)

Electricity.  This is a huge one.....the dvd player is left on, bedroom and closet lights, kitchen lights, etc.  It takes two seconds if that to turn a light off, yet we all seem to lazy to do it!  I'm horrible with my laptop.  I usually just leave it plugged in all the time, but why? It has a battery for goodness sakes!  Then I would leave it in sleep mode overnight still plugged in pulling more electricity to keep it running when I should just shut it down.

Paper towels.  I love my select a size, I have to admit, but for the amount of them I use it's ridiculous!  I still have a roll but am beginning to use Lo's old burp cloths as cleaning cloths.  They can clean a bathroom mirror, wipe up a spill, or wipe up messy hands just as well if not better than the paper towel!

I have no idea why I never noticed all these things before.  Honestly I did but didn't care.  Look around your own homes and tell me what you're waseful on! (Ok, this one might be just to help me feel better about myself LOL)

I have no bread in the house.....while I still have a low amount of cash on hand until the unemployment check comes this week, why go buy a whole load of bread when I only need two slices for Ry's sandwich tomorrow?

On the other hand I do have tortillas leftover from tacos this past week.....so what is he getting for lunch? A peanut butter and jelly wrap :)

This morning I was low on snacks, so for Ry's morning school snack I toasted up a toaster streudel and threw it in a baggie....since it was in his insulated lunchbox he claims it was still warm, and he was the envy of all his friends in the class!

I love shopping, I might even say I'm addicted to it!  I'm not talking expensive trips to the mall, I'm talking the little nonsense I buy that adds up to a lot.

When I'm on my lunch break at work I try to stay there, but something makes me walk down to Rite Aid and buy things I do not need, just because I think it's a good deal, and because I'm bored.  How many different color pens do I really need?  Do I really need more make up? No I don't need any of it!

It was really never a big deal until my husband was laid off two months ago reducing our monthly income by $2000.00.....but my habbits didn't change.  It doesn't help that my bank has overdraft protection on my bank account for up to $500.00!  This little service has gotten me in trouble before and is in the process of being removed from my account.  That's right guys, you have the right to call your bank and tell them you don't want it, and trust me you don't!

So now that we're in financial crisis, I need to stop my spending.  I need to stop buying all the name brand foods because I can't get over the look of a generic box.  I need to do this to help my family, save our home, and keep our electric turned on!

I've read all about the "No Spend Challenges" some others are doing, which basically sums up that you spend on nothing but basic necessities, nothing lavish, and nothing fun LOL.....I can't commit myself to that at all, but I can TRY not to spend :)

I hate cooking.....I mean really really dislike it.....not for any reason, I just never enjoyed it.....but this weekend I had to.  We needed lunch and we WERE NOT going to go to McDonald's again.  So I pulled out some chicken breasts sliced them up breaded them, and 20 minutes later we had chicken tenders! I was pretty impressed if I do say so myself.....so my weekend total for spending was under $5.00!

I'm keeping track of my spending in a notebook so this will hopefully be updated weekly :)

Do you have any frugal tips that can get me in the right direction?