You know, J is turning out to be a good helper in the kitchen. He puts the liner in the trash can for me, turns on the lights when it's time, and this afternoon he helped bag and put away ham for different recipes. Okay, so mostly he just watched and happily ate bits of ham that I gave him, but he did help put the meat into the freezer bags and then put them in the freezer for me. He's now waiting on the mac n cheese with ham that is baking off in the oven. So, what does J helping put things away have to do with saving money in the kitchen? It doesn't. I just wanted to brag on my young man a little. Mama's prerogative. ;)
If you're like me, and so many others judging by Pinterest pins showing up all over the place, you're looking for ways to save money. Now, if you're looking for budget tips, this is the wrong place because I am continually looking for ways to not have so much month left over at the end of the money! I have, however, figured out a few ways to save money in the kitchen. In no particular order, here are some ideas:
Write out a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly menu plan. I've seen other bloggers such as Heavenly Homemakers discuss this. And bonus, Laura and other bloggers have menu plans on their sites to give you some ideas. A menu plan is something I'm trying to get the hang of still, but it can be done. As long as I have ideas of what to make written down, I'm less likely to want to blow good money we don't have on grabbing a burger or sending The Hubby to the store for a frozen pizza.
Make a grocery list and stick to it. Most of the time. In most cases, it is wise to put in your cart only the things on your list. This helps keep those last minute items from jumping into the cart and thinning your wallet. But, there are sometimes good deals that you will find. Say, your favorite cereal is marked down and it wasn't in the flyer, and you happen to have a coupon, upping the savings. In cases like that, by all means take advantage!
Use coupons wisely. After watching several episodes of Extreme Couponers or whatever it's called on Netflix, I got the couponing bug. The problem with me grabbing coupons for use is there isn't a whole lot out there in most cases for my family. I make most of our food from scratch and I make my own household cleaners. I do use things like tooth paste, spaghetti sauce, and a few other things, so the coupons do help some.
Don't be afraid to buy an extra ham or turkey or roast when they are at a good price. I know most of us are ham and turkey'd out and don't want to see either for awhile, but when we can afford to do so, we grab them. These meats can make several different meals, thereby stretching your food dollars. For example, a ham gives you a nice ham dinner one night, with leftovers for ham and potato soup, maybe some ham sandwiches, and you can dice a few cups for salads, omelets, mac n cheese, etc. The bone and some fatty parts I use to flavor soups and beans so nothing gets wasted.
Make your own broth or stock. It's fairly easy. Use the turkey carcass or other bones, add some carrots, celery, and onions, maybe a few spices, and let it boil for several hours. Food network has a few recipes for you to try.
Beans and rice. They are inexpensive and very filling and delicious. Sometimes a good meal for me is pinto beans, corn bread and some turnip greens. Southern simplicity. Lentils and rice also makes a good meal. The family not big on beans? Sneak some into the hamburger meat to stretch it. Chances are they will never know the difference.
Cook from scratch. It tastes better (in my opinion), is less expensive in most cases, and you know what's in it. It doesn't have to be fully made from scratch. As I've stated before, I use jarred spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce. I'd like to get to the point where I make my own, but one step at a time.
Set up a garden. We haven't done this yet although we talk about it all the time. This year I'm hoping to get the ball rolling for one. Home grown tomatoes taste so much better than those things you buy at the store.
These are just a few ways I can think of right now. How do you save money on your grocery budget? I'd love to hear your ideas.
Yup, this is my view of my kitchen table most days. Chubs fights me for a chance to lie on the keyboard, my cell phone is nearby, the pink thing in the background is my camera case. On the day this was taken, The Hubby had just come back from a grocery run for me. Most days my kitchen table is my desk. It keeps J in my sight and I have no excuse to know get work done in here. It seems to work, for now. Slowly I'm getting my kitchen to the point that I like it.
My pantry is accessible, not a jumbled mess.
I can pull out my flatware, kitchen towel, and measuring cup/accessory drawers and immediately find what I need in mere seconds, if that long.
The bottom cabinets now hold my mixing bowls, waffle maker, and other baking essentials, plus some out of the way stuff in the back.
My baking center counter... has been cleared off but is finding the clutter creep once again.
The fridge and freezer are clean, and while not as well organized as I'd like, we are able to see what we have and what is needed.
There are 4 bags in the corner waiting to find new homes at the thrift store.
The dishes are done each day, minus the three glasses that managed to escape my notice last night as I went to bed, and the floor is swept daily.
Not bad progress for a week. I've been picking up hit or miss in other rooms, and my bed is made daily. I truly enjoy that sight each day. I feel like I can come up with a plan for the day and give myself time to write (non blog related) or make cards or art journal without feeling the guilt of the house overwhelm me. My house is far from being guest worthy yet, but it's getting there. One thing I've been doing this week is reading the blogs of women who know how to organize and keep house seemingly without blinking. I am amazed at the information they are willing to share, and I want to put some of it into practice. One other blog I've been reading, as you know if you've read this blog any during the last week, is A Slob Comes Clean. Nony has been where I am today. She understands the struggle. Because I am a slob. I'm reading her blog from the time she began writing, forward so I can see. One thing she did was start with the dishes. It grew from there. Each week she added what she called a non negotiable to her list of what she did each day. A non negotiable is something that gets done every day, regardless of what else gets done or not. My list of must do's at this point is very short: Make the bed, do the dishes, sweep the kitchen floor. I've decided that Saturdays are when I will add a new "must do" to my list. This week, I'm adding my son's room to the list. Specifically, each day I will check his room for clutter. Then he and I will remove the clutter and straighten it together. Eventually I want that must do to go to his own daily task list, with little or no prompting from me. Why did I add that room as mine? Because tacitly over the years I've taught him it's okay to let his room spiral into chaos. I've turned a blind eye to it until when I finally do notice, it discourages me. His room is right off of the kitchen so there are no excuses anymore. The state of J's room affects the way I feel about the house and it affects my mood. I bought a set of dishes yesterday, that were on clearance. They have pink and blue flowers on them and they make me smile. I told a friend that I bought them because they are pretty. I want pretty things in my house to bring joy. That in turn makes me want to keep the house clean and usable. It's a good incentive for me. Have a great day
With apologies to Weird Al, I had to borrow that title. It was the main job I wanted to get done this week, yet I put it off until yesterday. Yup, good ol' procrastination. In my family are two and a half adults. J has autism and he'd rather eat what's in the fridge rather than clean it out. The Hubby and I... have plenty of excuses but no real reason why this particular chore hasn't been done in awhile. So... the before pictures of the fridge and freezer:
Sorry, I took the picture sideways and i still don't know how to turn things around on a blog. But yup, there is my freezer and fridge in all it's horrible, disorganized mess. After I took the pictures and redid the freezer, a friend called and said "Hey, we've been fishing and are just down the road. Want some fish?" Sure! Why not, right? So after he drops off the fish I have them in a bowl of water waiting for a spot in the fridge. It's in the 80's so I'm playing beat the clock to get the fridge cleaned up so that the fish can stay cool and comfy till The Hubby comes home to clean them. Sorry, I'm a country girl but I don't touch fish. That's his department. What's not pictured here? The icky, dried on, sticky mess at the bottom of the fridge. Trust me, that was not for the faint of heart. It took 20 minutes of scrubbing with baking soda water to clean it. So not happy with that. The Fridge now gets to be cleaned out once a week whether it needs it or not. Friday is usually our grocery shopping day so Thursday is cleaning day. The cleaned out fridge":
The fridge I'll admit needed to be organized a bit better, but at least the junk had been thrown out, everything was clean, and yes, there are the fish in my Thatsa Bowl. The cup beside it is apple cider vinegar. It worked. My fridge does not smell like fish.
So what did I do the rest of the week? The Pantry, which is basically three upper cabinets, counter space, and three drawers above three lower cabinets. Before:
Scary huh? The angle only lets me show two of the upper cabinets but you get the picture. Sorry for the pun.
After:
Apparently I forgot to take a picture of the bottom cabinets but they were done as well, and for us, this is fairly well organized. I didn't mean to get it in the shot, but yes that bottle is there. It's an older house. Not proud of it, but it happens sometimes. The ice cream bucket holds flour and the medicine bottle was a cleaned one that is temporary housing for flax seed. Well, there ya go. I missed a few pictures, but this is peek at what I did this week for week two of Simplemom.net's Project Simplify 2012. It's not a lot of progress but I'll take it. One step at a time.
This begins week two of Simple Mom's Project Simplify. I didn't get all of what I wanted accomplished last week, but that's okay. We made some headway in the abyss that is my son's room. This week we're in the kitchen. Simple Mom is focusing on the fridge and the pantry. Both of those are in serious need of help here, and if I get a chance I'm going to tackle my cabinets and storage areas as well. I have a tiny kitchen and this place needs to run more efficiently. To do that, I need to purge more of the clutter and figure out zones. I've lived in this house for two years and have yet to make it into an actual home. While we are still looking for a place closer in to The Hubby's work, or a job closer to here, we I need to learn to be content where I am. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:11-13 Even Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu had this to say about it: " Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. This Friday there will be pictures, I promise. The whole scary deal. If you're joining me and Simplemom.net, do what you can. Take it one task at a time. What part of the kitchen will you be decluttering this week? Get ready... set... Declutter and Organize! Have a great day, all.
