Five Frugal Things | are croutons a garnish?

1. I made a single serving of croutons for my soup

I made a pot of this butternut squash soup for myself, to use a squash that came in my Hungry Harvest box.

Zoe doesn’t like butternut squash, so it’s all up to me in this department. 

I noticed there was a small piece of baguette left, so I cut it up and made some quick skillet croutons to put on top of my soup.

I always think pureed soups are better with a little crunchy condiment (garnish? what in the world do you call a crouton on top of soup??)

2. I made more flash cards with abandoned house notecards

I rescued several unopened packs of notecards when my sister in law and I combed through the abandoned house.

Even though they were in shrink wrap, they did still initially smell kind of bad. But by now, two years later, they smell very normal, and I am currently using them to learn types of needles for injections.

(Forrrrr instance: 29 gauge, 1/2 inch for insulin injections, which are given subcutaneously, often in the abdomen. But with hospital patients, we should consider using sites such as the back of upper arms, since patients can’t reach those themselves, and this way we can offer more injection site rotation. IN CASE YOU WANTED TO KNOW.)

3. I fixed a knitted dishcloth

Sonia had knitted these a while back, and the pink and white one sprouted a hole.

Luckily, I had a little bit of white cotton yarn in my drawer, and I found a big needle in the sewing box I had grabbed from the abandoned house.

So, I was able to sew it up, and while my fix is not beautiful, it IS functional, and that is what matters when it comes to dishcloths. 

(Relatedly, here are 8 ways to keep towels and dishcloths sanitary.)

4. I fixed a hole in my jeans

I was sitting in class yesterday and when I reached back to adjust my shirt, I realized that OH NO there was a hole above the back pocket of my jeans. 

So I cut a square of black fabric from my scrap bag, pinned it on the inside of the pants, and sewed it on, mostly over the existing seams (that way my repair seams are kind of hidden.)

I had to use my reading glasses to thread the needle. My mid-40s are showing!

After fixing the first hole, then I realized that there was a hole above another pocket corner. And another.

So, I fixed them all. 

Here’s the inside.

Then I put my jeans back on and wore them the rest of the day!

5. I…`

• scanned my receipts with my Fetch app (that’s my referral link, and it will give you 500 points to start off)
• listed a pair of Zoe’s old eyeglasses on eBay
• packed my lunch
• was organized enough to make a stock-up trip to Aldi (which helps me avoid random Safeway runs)

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately? 

P.S. In last week’s Five Frugal Things post, some of you wondered if Zoe’s skirt was gray or blue. I would say that it’s a blue-ish gray, and the last picture of it hanging by the fireplace is the most accurate color-wise.  🙂