Thrifty Thursday-September Savings?

     This time of year I normally start looking for the odds and ends of Back to School items that stores might have overstocked. There are a few reasons I am not yet n that mode. One, with labor day being the latest it can be, we have another  week before  school officially starts in most school districts, so I doubt the markdowns are happening. If anything, the sales are done and  parents that learn their child needs one more item will end up paying premium process if they can find it at all. Second, I'm not doing drop in's at stores just to look. When in the office, I am a mere parking lot away from a huge Target. I generally do a wander once every month or so, timed with buying a few snacks and forgotten lunch reserves for my desk drawer. No office, no Target. No impromptu runs with the girls. I have only been in a Target  twice since March, and a Walmart perhaps three times. Otherwise, I'm shopping Aldi, my local grocery store, Kwik Trip, or the Dollar Tree, all of which I get in and out without any extra looking. Lastly, I don't know if the stores, even if I looked for them, would have a lot of mark downs. I think most likely they bought about right, at least judging by how target looked three weeks ago when we stopped,or was that just two weeks ago? 

     Some great buys I had in the past included getting dorm bed size sheet for under $7, normally 2-3 times that. Fortunately my kids were never  concerned about a certain bedding look. They selected a comforter, but the sheet underneath didn't really care. on fitted sheet, just a plain tan one, is still being used by DD2 originally bought for her brother in 2007. She uses it to first hold down her  memory foam topper. The top sheet and the pillow case either disappeared over the years, ripped, or were used for something else, but I recall that particular full set was perhaps $4. A couple years ago I got a small, but complete set of pots and pans for $8. I've scored packages of Bic pens for literally  less than a quarter for 10; same with pencils. One year I found a dozen of the memo/composition size notebooks for a dime a piece. Anyway, on to what I did manage in thriftiness in this last week of August, start to September. I track my thriftiness in three area, time, resources, and money. 

Time 

• We spent a nice socially distanced day a the lake with DH's family. Our twin niece and nephew  had birthdays on Friday, and their 17 year old brother on Monday. While we all cook for ourselves separately, and eat outside, they served a DQ cake, and very respectfully with gloves and a mask, and had those of us being very careful take pieces first. I have been appreciative lately that my BIL and SIL, who do not have the same level of concerns with the virus, have at least the last month or so taken other's perspectives to heart. 
• My older daughter and I played tennis last night and it was a lot of fun. I am not even particularly sore this morning. We were going to plan to do this every Wednesday, but then noticed a sign that a tennis club has the courts reserved Monday's and Wednesdays, so we are switching to Tuesdays. We could use one of two other courts, but one is literally in the middle of the town, and  busy. Our play is so mediocre, we would interfere with other players. The other one is by her house, but there is tore up city streets and a bit congested. 
• Pup is feeling much better and I've been trying to make sure to give him extra long walks and coffee time outside with me. . 

Resources

• While we treated ourselves to Dunkin Donut for coffee and a donut on the way to the cabin (not Thrifty), I packed a lunch with things we had at home-two remaining brats, some chicken tenders, buns, and grapes. I still had some individual bags of chips there so we ate them as well. 
• I made a sort of bolognese sauce for spaghetti on Tuesday, which used up  multiple odds and ends of veg I had sitting around. 
• My only grocery stop since last Thursday (though I spent too much getting items for my lunch and snacking for working at my daughters house) in the last week was buns, bananas, and some low cost meat for the freezer at Kwik Trip. I forgot milk though so am drinking black coffee-boo. I'm not worried about food stores, but the small one pound  portions of hamburger, taco meat, and Sloppy  Joe's fit easily in small spaces in the freezer and make easy quick meals. the right amount for the two of us for two meals or a few days of leftover lunches for me. 
• When I last put laundry away, it seemed like both DH and I needed socks. Well after a bit of hunt, and a bit of time matching a few different laundry baskets with unmatched socks lingering on the bottom, I found most of his missing, and cobbled together enough pairs for myself for the time I wear socks-like playing tennis or bike riding. 

Money

• I did another  Poll/survey for a $5 reward, probably Amazon, and a different one for a $2 reward.I'd probably do the surveys anyway, but I'll take the perk. 
• No more mail orders for DD2 which I consider a money win! Her bed risers came so I think she now is getting pretty settled and will learn to do without anything that might pop up as a want for her dorm room. 
• I spent $10 on two Marching Band show tickets. They are doing three separate performances at the outdoor stadium, with a max of 250 people at each. When I went to the school parking lot to buy the tickets, it was fun hearing the drummers practicing, separated by at least 6 feet and masked. It is September 12th and I'm excited to have a real entry for my planner. While the show will be perhaps 20 minutes, I think it is a bargain to support our local schools arts programs, and have a safe night out in the community. 

     I don't expect to spend much other than a big Aldi shop. First though, I need to clean the refrigerator, making sure I know what we have, and have room to store. I'll buy something easy for meals at the lake that gets us in and out of the shared space quickly. I do miss the family  pot lucks and grilling on long weekends, but this is what we are comfortable with now. If you had any wins or activities that fit a thrifty mind set, please share in the comments. .