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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.


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Getting Rid of 1,000 Things – Cleaning Out The Closet

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One of my goals this year is to simplify and one of the ways I plan to do that is to sell or donate at least 1,000 ordinary items that are crowding our closets and drawers by the end of July. My goal date is set for the end of July because my neighborhood has a big community yard sale every summer and while I don’t mind dropping stuff at the thrift store, I’d like to see if I could make a few bucks at the yard sale first.

clothing closet minimalist wardrobe

I thought I’d tackle the closet this week. Or at least my side of the closet. Which you know, took all of 30 seconds to clean out. I’m telling ya, being on the cutting end of fashion…. it’s a tough gig. But someone has to do it. {By the way, when have you ever seen me wear white? Why am I even hanging on to those tops?}

clothing closet

Lucy, who only owns 1 article of clothing {her collar} was not impressed by the “thinning of my wardrobe” this week. Clearly she thought I could do better. Her mother is living a life of excess and what must the other dogs think? How embarrassing.

On a side note…. See that small blue tee and tiny red dress? Those are from Monkey Boy and The Girl when they were little. I just can’t let those go. Monkey Boy wore his blue Thomas the Tank Engine shirt at least 5 days a week when he was around 4 years old and The Girl LOVED that dress.

clothing

Yada yada yada, all I could find were 5 articles of clothing and 1 leopard scarf to get rid of. I plan on donating the race tee shirt and long sleeved tie-dye to the thrift store. I’ll gift the grey shirt to a friend, add the wool coat {and scarf} to my garage sale pile and I think I’ll try and sell my Oktoberfest/German girl dress on eBay this fall when costumes bring a little more money.

shoes

The shoes were a little harder to weed through. I own 19 pairs!

shoes

And now I’m down to 16. The heel bothers me on the green boots, I’ve only worn the black heels once in 4 years and I’m not a fan of sandals to begin with so why am I hanging on to those flip flops I bought 5+ years ago anyway?

Even though I only got rid of 9 items this week…. it still feels good to do a little purging.

How about YOU? When was the last time you cleaned out your closet?

~Mavis

So far this year I’ve purged 560 items. Only 440 more items to go.

Year to Date Totals
Donated: 20 items
Gave Back: 42
Recycled: 24 items
Tossed in the Garbage: 59 items
Yard Sale Pile: 415 items

See what else I’m getting rid of this year:

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Superhero Capes, Rainbow Waffles, Free Pizza, A Man Called Ove and More

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quotes - go confidently in the direction of your dreams

Quote of the Day “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.”

lucy the puggle dog sleeping

I think Lucy has the right idea today…. stay in bed and pull up the covers.

Have a great Wednesday everyone,

♥ Mavis

*This deal post will be updated throughout the morning so be sure and check back for deals. * Amazon prices can change without notice. Please verify price before ordering. Amazon offers Free Shipping with a $49 purchase or Amazon Prime. {Sign up for a free Amazon Prime 30 day trial!}

apples to apples freestyle

Amazon Deal of the Day for 3/16/16 – Up to 40% off Easter Toys and Baby Gear

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a man called oveAvailable Kindle Books I think look interesting…

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can. Don’t have a Kindle? Download the kindle app on your other devices. It’s easy! 🙂

zukes mini naturals
Subscribe and Save Deals

Subscribe and Save prices reflect a 15% discount for ordering 5 or more items in 1 month.

how-to-save-money-at-the-dollar-store1

There are some stellar bargains at the dollar store, while some things are best bought at your regular box store, for under a dollar.  Know what to throw in the cart and what to pass on by checking out How to Save Money at the Dollar Store.  Find more money saving ideas on my Pinterest Board

kiplingers

Discount Mags is offering a 1 year subscription to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine for only $6.99 a year when you use code MAVIS at checkout. This deal will expire 3/17/16at midnight EST.

mini cheesecakeHome and Kitchen Deals

rainbow-waffles

Want to surprise the kids tomorrow morning?  Why not have them wake up to Rainbow Waffles?  {Pin it for Later.}

neon bike jacket

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – Women’s Canari Flurry Bike Jersey $27.73 {was $70.00}

chaco sandalsThe  REI OUTLET has my daughter’s favorite Chaco Sandals on sale this week with savings up to 51% off and there are 6 styles to choose from. Only 2 days left to get this deal!

brilloAdd on Items

*These are all Amazon Add-on Items and they will ship with qualifying orders over $25 and are eligible for free shipping on $25 orders with Amazon Prime {or will ship FREE on $35 orders without Prime}. 

prime pantry

If you are an Amazon Prime Member, you can get FREE Prime Pantry shipping {a $5.99 value} when you buy five qualifying items and use promo code PANTRYMAR at checkout.Shop Prime Pantry.

aqua beadsKid’s Stuff

free papa johns pizza

My favorite Groupon deal is back… Buy a $25 Papa John’s Gift card and get 2 Free Large Pizzas! Free pizzas must be redeemed by September 30th, 2016.

free audible

Don’t forget, Amazon Prime Members can get a 3-month FREE trial for Audible! Listen to audiobooks while you work around the house or in the car.

march ebook

If you aren’t really the winter gardening type, take heart, March kicks off gardening season for everyone!  If you’ve been waiting to try out my gardening eBooks, March is the perfect place to start.  It will walk you through everything you need to do to start your gardening season with a bang–both inside and outside the house.

If you really want to map out your next few months of garden chores, go ahead and grab April’s eBook now too.  That way, you can read about gardening, even when the weather is not nice enough to be outside gardening.  All the cool kids eat, sleep and breathe gardening.

nestle chocolate chips

Check out these New Printable Coupons:

Find More Printable Coupons

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Roasted Butternut Squash w/ Feta and Cranberries

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Roasted Butternut Squash with Feta and CranberriesI love roasting winter squash. I normally keep it simple, but I saw this roasted butternut squash recipe that had cranberries and feta {one of my favorite combos} and I thought, what the heck. I’ll give it a try. I had never had that combination before but I loved it. It might seem odd, but trust the flavors. They mesh really well {especially in my mouth!}. The cranberries give it a nice touch of sweet and the feta rounds it out with a savory salty side. I think it’s the perfect addition to any holiday or special occasion dinner menu.

butternut squashIngredients

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Pepper to taste
2 cups cranberries {I used frozen}
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup finely crumbled feta
Sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Roasted Butternut Squash Feta and CranberriesDirections

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel squash with a vegetable peeler and then cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard seeds.

Cut into 1 inch cubes. In a large bowl, toss squash with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper. Transfer to a large, rimmed baking sheet and spread out in a single layer. Roast for about 25 minutes, tossing occasionally; remove from oven and add cranberries to pan. Return to oven and cook an additional 10 minutes or until squash is tender and golden brown and cranberries have softened, tossing occasionally. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cinnamon and feta and drizzle honey over the top. Enjoy!Roasted Butternut Squash with Feta and Cranberries

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Our Visit to Black Dinah Chocolatiers in Westbrook, Maine

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black dinah chocolate

While The Girl and I were galavanting around the east coast last week one of the places that ranked pretty high on our “must see” list was Black Dinah Chocolatiers in Westbrook, Maine.

Last summer I read the book Lifesaving Lessons: Notes from an Accidental Mother by Linda Greenlaw. It was the third book of hers I had read. I LOVE reading about her take on island life and have been a big fan since I read her book The Lobster Chronicles over 10 years ago. Now not to sound like a total stalker, but Linda lives in Isle au Haut, Maine.

Isle au Haut is a tiny island off the coast of Maine with about 40 year round residents {although the population does explode during the summer months thanks to Acadia National Park}.  My favorite part… the only way to get to Isle au Haut is via a mail boat. 🙂spraying chocolate molds

Maine + Snow + Island + 40 Neighbors + Internet + Seclusion + No HOA + PRIVACY + Amazon can deliver = Mavis wants to move there full time and never look back. 

Do you see why I’m so fascinated obsessed in love with Linda’s stories about life in Maine now? And why the HH thinks I need to be on meds because “Who moves to an island with only 40 residents? What if you get hurt? What if you run out of food? What if there is a Tsunami and the whole island goes under? What is wrong with you?”  

Silly husband. You’d think after all these years he’d get me. Although, to his credit, he did say I could go ahead and move there and he’d come visit me. 😉 But that’s another story for another day.

kate black dinah chocolatiers

Yada yada yada, in the book Lifesaving Lessons Linda wrote about her neighbors Kate and Steve who had originally moved to Isle au Haut to work at an inn on the island. It was a dream job for Kate and it was also where she begun to experiment with making chocolate.

Eventually the inn shut down and Kate and Steve needed to figure out a way to earn a living while staying on the island. Kate decided to take an online chocolate making course through Ecole chocolat and to open a small cafe in their home {which happened to be near one of the island’s major hiking trails}. 

Black Dinah Cafe opened in 2007 with a light offering of pastries and lunch items but the main goal was to develop a chocolate business.

chocolate gross

Remember, there are only about 40 year round residents on the island… but they had hoped some of the daily summer visitors would stop by. And they did. And when those visitors went home, they ordered Kate and Steve’s chocolates online. {High five!}

chocolate yum

One thing led to another and soon Kate and Steve were selling their chocolate goodness in local shops. The peeps at Martha Stewart Living took notice and things really took off after Black Dinah Chocolatiers was featured in the magazine. 

In 2011 Kate wrote the book – Desserted: Recipes and Tales from an Island Chocolatier and this year Kate and Steve’s Maine Mint Truffle won at the Good Food Awards in San Francisco {it’s a really BIG award!}.

Their company has grown so much in the past few years that they are now in a 4,200 square foot production facility in Westbrook, Maine.

chocolate river

Is this just an amazing story or WHAT?!

black dinah chocolatiers

I love how when you follow your crazy ideas and dreams… things just seem to work out. Life evolves, and you find where you are suppose to be.

~Mavis

P.S. The chocolate? It’s freakin’ delicious. And the Sea Salt Caramels are hide in a shoebox in the back of your closet so nobody else finds them…AMAZING.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy