Friday's Frugal Roundup

Long time no see . . .

Happy New Year! I've got some plans that I'll reveal along the way. How about you? I do want to get back to doing a regular post about all my frugal activities. Particularly as I'll be working harder on that this year. I have a goal to reach and I need to be more serious and creative about not spending.

So here's the roundup:

• My husband and I had a little get away for my birthday and stayed two nights at a AirBnB which was much cheaper and way nicer than any hotel we've ever stayed in.
• I used cold water for most of my laundry this week (whites do better for me in warm)
• Cleaned out and organized 2 refrigerators with freezers and 1 chest freezer; inventoried the food for menu planning
• Made bread crumbs from all the collected ends and crusts from the freezer
• Bought navy blue shoe polish so I can maintain my expensive dress pumps
• Made lunches for my husband and son to take to work
• Got out my cloth handkerchiefs to use instead of paper tissues
• Made next week's menu plan using up items from the fridges and freezer
• Returned library books on time to avoid any fines

One of my goals this year is to have a No Spend year--meaning I won't spend on any of my vices such as books, patterns, fabric, movies, music, dishes, pretties, etc. I don't need any clothes either, except the ones I'm going to sew from patterns and fabric I already have. I have a goal to save a specific amount for a specific project (to be revealed later) so I'm motivated to stay disciplined and deliberate in my spending this year.

I also did all my usual things of keeping the thermostat low and wearing a sweater or hoodie; opening the curtains to let the sun in, closing them when the sun isn't shining to hold the heat in; planning errands to minimize gas usage; turning off lights, and water, etc.

What did you do to save money or not spend this week?

Wednesday's Wisdom

Determine never to be idle . . . It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.     - Thomas Jefferson

January's Frugal Plans

When our two youngest sons were about 5 and 7 they went on an errand to a corner store a few blocks from home. After they'd been gone longer than necessary for the errand I sent an older brother to find them. Lt. Lehi brought them home safely. I questioned the two boys about why they had been gone so long. Their explanation has become one of those anecdotes of family lore.

"Well, we were walking home and saw a giant pile of sand and accidentally played in it."

I accidentally spent more than I planned to on Christmas this year. Oops!

January is going to be a month of frugality to make up for it.

#1 I asked TopDad for just half of my usual household allowance, with the other half going to pay down the debt I accidentally incurred in December.

#2 I will be creating meals out of what we have in the freezer and pantry. The ONLY food I'll buy is fresh milk, cheese, eggs, vegetables, and fruits. Plus some cat food when theirs runs out, and my vitamins as I run out.  I will be making all of our baked goods: bread, cookies, muffins, etc.

#3 I made a list of expected expenses related to birthdays this month and next, including shipping costs.

#4 I typed up a list of ideas for date nights to avoid spending money.

#5 I made a list of things I will not be buying in January: clothing, shoes, books, movies, music, haircut, perm, toiletries, etc. I will use up what I have, do without, make do, etc.

#6 I won't go shopping - no thrift stores, no Etsy, no Amazon Prime, no malls (not that I go there, but wanted to be inclusive), no shopping! No trolling for treasures!

#7 I'll purchase stamps (I'm old-fashioned and like to send cards and letters), and minutes for my phone only if I run out. (Which I'm not anticipating.)

This is what I'm planning for January. Some call it a Spending Fast; others call it a No Spend Month.

What I'm hoping is that I can permanently lower my budget and finish paying off the last of the total credit card debt before the school year is over at the end of May.

I welcome your support and/or suggestions.

Friday's Frugal Roundup

I’ve been keeping track of my frugal accomplishments, or the things I’ve done this week (actually the past two weeks) to spend less, not spend at all, or otherwise save money. In no particular order here goes.

Gave TopDad a haircut

Fixed a pair of reading glasses (the arm had fallen off and the hinge was tricky!)

Turned down the heat

Found three future birthday presents at the thrift store (can’t show or tell because the recipients read the blog)

Ground wheat, baked five loaves of bread and made a quadruple batch of cookies.

Froze six bananas that were overripe to use in smoothies

Ate out only once! (TopDad likes to eat out more than I do)

Used up all the leftovers, didn’t waste any food

On sunny days opened all the blinds and curtains to let the sun warm the house

Turned the laundry detergent bottle upside down to drain the last of it, then rinsed it out to get the very last of it for another load; did the same with the dishwashing soap (or detergent)

Some frugal things are so habitual for me that I don’t even think about them, such as measuring dish detergent instead of simply squirting it in the sink; or squeezing the toothpaste tube for a week past when I think it is all gone, then cutting it open and using the very last dregs; drinking tap water instead of bottled; using a silicone spatula to get all the food out of a pan, bowl or container; turning off lights when I leave a room.

I like to read what other people do because there is always some new trick to learn. 

What did you do to save money this week?

Frugal Friday

Recycling an ordinary item

I got excited when I found this bundle at the thrift store recently:

I carefully broke off the clip ends of each one:

And they became these:

Just wanted to share in case you hadn't thought of this one yourself.

Kitchen Frugality

The picture below is the left side of my sink; hiding in plain sight are four of my frugal practices, Can you spot them?

PFCMom's Kitchen 

 So here are the four frugal things:

#1 - I wash out and reuse glass jars - this one held salsa.

#2 - I buy milk in the thicker, white jugs, which I then wash out and fill with water for "flush" water storage. It takes two of these to flush a toilet in an emergency. 

#3 - We have a little swinging towel holder that I use for drying plastic bags. Works great!

#4 - TopDad installed a shelf above the sink where we keep plastic drinking glasses labeled with our names (in Cranberry nail polish) so we can get a drink of water without using tons of glasses each day. I wash the glasses about once a week. (No one has ever gotten sick from those glasses.)

Four simple tricks (or in contemporary parlance hacks) to save money by reusing something. I've been doing these for so long that I forget that not everyone does the same. 

A Livable Living Room

After taking down Christmas I rearranged the living room. Here are the results:

View from the entry - door at right goes to kitchen

Next view over - splotches on the walls are paint color samples

Seating (Nothing matches!) - Dandylion made the coffee table and TopDad made the round table!

Television and curio cabinets

So nice to have someplace to display things!

Mrs. Use it Up Strikes Again

I did so well in February with groceries that I'm going to keep going for March. I started the month buying only dairy, (milk and eggs), lots of fruit, some veggies (still have some to use up), and a little bit of meat. My stock up item this month is cleaning supplies because that's what I was running low on. It feels so good to have a cupboard full of supplies again!

So, the use it up deal; I foraged around in the freezer for all the odd pieces of bread I had stuck in there and found an assortment of pieces which I laid out on a baking sheet and popped in the oven to toast. When they were nicely dried out I broke the pieces into the blender (I don't have a food processor) and whizzed them up into bread crumbs, which I then put into an old plastic container with a piece of masking tape for a label and back it goes into the freezer so that the next time a recipe calls for bread crumbs mine are all ready. Whew!

Lunch today was a salad of grated carrot, some leftover green peas (frozen kind), a spoonful of leftover white rice, a spoonful of feta cheese, the last of some Romaine lettuce, a pinch of basil, and some homemade Italian dressing (well, sort of homemade, the kind with water, vinegar, oil and a packet of mix). For an experiment in combining flavors it was really good. But then I like oddball salads.

I had plans to make some baby bibs and burp cloths for a friend but got called out to do some church work so my plans got bumped a day. These items will also be made from leftovers in a use-it-up effort.

Supposedly the weather is warmer, but without sunshine it still feels cold to me.

Lessons from Pain

Have you ever grown your hair out? You know, from short layers to long all one length. It's a painful process of ugly, bad hair days and VERY bad hair days. I'm attempting it right now and the process tries my patience. I'm tempted to trim it or cut it to make it easier, but cutting hair doesn't help it grow faster or longer. I just have to go through the ugly stages, using bobby pins, gel and hairspray (otherwise known as glue) to get to the desired length. It's an emotionally painful process. Just ask my husband.

So what's the lesson here? Getting out of debt is sort of like growing out your hair. There will be bad days of making do, and very bad days of doing without, but you can't spend your way out of debt. You just have to go through (not around) the pain to get to the other side. But the other side is wonderful.

The AHA! Moment; OR When the light finally comes on

The Tightwad Gazette was published from about 1990 to 1996 and helped educated a whole lot of people about being frugal. I was an early subscriber and one of those learners. Learning is an fluid process, rising and falling as our needs change and our understanding increases. Here's a funny example.

I don't remember why or how I got started using a square of wax paper to grease baking pans, but that's what I used. In an issue of The Tightwad Gazette someone mentioned using the wrapper from a cube of butter (or margarine) and I thought they meant that there was enough butter left on the wrapper to use in greasing a pan. I tried it and finding it didn't work indignantly shouted, as if they could hear me, "This doesn't work! There isn't enough butter on here to do anything." And I went back to using a square of wax paper. A few years later I was pulling off the wax paper from the roll and the idea hit me like a ton of bricks "Duh, using the wrapper from the butter saves on using up my wax paper!!! Of course you have to put more butter on it, it was saving the paper part you didn't understand." I felt about an inch tall for being so dense.

Ever have those moments? That's why I like to read other's blogs and books even though I do lots of frugal things, I don't know it all and I can learn something new to add to my bag of tricks. You can see some of my favorite sites right over there------------------------------------------------>.

Miss Alaineus

Miss Alaineus is a delightful children's book about a missed vocabulary assignment. (I love children's books.) Anyway, today's post is a bunch of stuff.

A friend gave me a bag of plum tomatoes from her garden. I ate as many as I could in salads (tomato, garbanzo beans, feta cheese) and then made the rest into some delicious soup. I made up the recipe and it turned out fabulous. I chopped up some onion and slowly cooked it in some olive oil (I don't use exact measurements) while I chopped up the tomatoes. Then I added them along with some basil and simmered it for an hour. I mashed it with a potato masher but that wasn't fine enough and I couldn't find my "ricer" so I put it by cupfuls through the blender and that worked great. It was DELICIOUS! Sprinkled a bit of Parmesan cheese on top, dipped in toasted homemade french bread and was in heaven.

The other day I cooked up some chicken quarters, de-boned it all, and put it into containers for the freezer, except one portion for dinner. After some pondering I decided to make a soup. This time Cream of Chicken and Vegetables. I chopped up a carrot, onion, two ribs of celery, and a few potatoes, added some frozen peas, a little bit of thyme and parsley, covered it all with water, brought it to a boil, turned the heat down and simmered it while I made the cream sauce (flour, butter, milk). When the veggies were done along with the sauce I added the chopped chicken, and the white sauce to the veggies, stirred it up and set the table while it was heating through. HEAVENLY! Even Dandylion liked it. Autumn and soup just go together.

We are moved into our new-to-us house. It has many advantages, one of which is the spacious kitchen and working oven. It has fewer rooms but they are larger. Still some work to be done but it's good to be in here before the snow flies. Next projects will be new curtains for my bedroom, the kitchen, and living room.

I began this blog as a way to document my weight loss, but that didn't work and I didn't lose any. In June of this year I joined T.O.P.S. (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) after reading a piece in the local newspaper about a man who had lost close to 100 pounds. TOPS was touted as encouragement and accountability, which is what I needed. I joined and have lost 15 lbs. so far. There is value in having to weigh in and report each week; not to mention the great women I've met there. I notice a difference in my body, but as I wear loose clothes anyway no one else has noticed. My first goal is another 15 lbs. (Doctor wouldn't approve any more than that) and when I reach that goal I'll set another, 20 lbs. lighter. When I was 42, after having had five children I weighed that much (or little) and looked and felt great. I want to get there again.

I haven't hit the thrift stores for a while, keeping my eyes on the goal of spending less. I did make Noble a cute skirt for her birthday this summer, which she really liked. I promised to make another one in wool for winter. (Still have to set up my sewing room.)

I know I've done some other frugal things, but my mind has gone blank and I don't remember what they were. You understand I'm sure!

Lastly, this Saturday I'm teaching a class at a church women's conference. The class is Cooking with Basic Commodities. I teach three sessions, each 25 minutes long. How am I supposed to cram 30 years of cooking knowledge and experience into 25 minutes? Not going to happen. What I will do is go over reasons why we (well not me) don't cook from scratch, good reasons for doing so, overcoming the obstacles, starting to cook from scratch (The Principles), and then give some resources and recipes to help them on their way. I'm looking forward to it.

Warning: Not an upbeat post.

Well, what else can go wrong today. I'm trying to post about my wonderful vacation to California to Noble's graduation and I'm informed, by the little gnomes who live in googleland, that my "PicassaWeb Album" (whatever that is) is full! It won't let me upload pictures. I didn't know I signed up for any kind of an album, I just want to import some pics from iphoto and it won't let me. ARGHHHHHHHH.

Earlier today while I was talking to PW in Utah I rubbed my itchy eye and then noticed I couldn't see; I'd popped out my lens and I had no idea where it went. I frantically searched and when I found it, well I found two pieces! ARGHHHHHHHHH! I bawled! Literally sobbed. I am so sick of being blind and needing lenses to begin with and then to break one and have to wear my 22 year old BC glasses (that's birth-control for those who aren't in the know, as in very ugly!) and not be able to see very well anyway is more than I can deal with right now. And it's right before Christmas and this wasn't anywhere on my list of things to do or buy. I ordered a new lens anyway because I'm feeling fat and frumpy as it is, I'm not wearing those emergency glasses any longer than I have to. I have a new prescription, but was waiting until the new year to get new glasses, you know, after the trip to California and after Christmas. Deep breath, think calm thoughts. . . .

When I went to make breakfast today I found that Somebody (Dandylion, it turns out) had taken the leftover sausage for his lunch so it was not there when I wanted to use it as part of the breakfast today. ARGHHHHHHHH! What is wrong with these guys, can't they read my mind and know what I'm going to need? So I had to improvise, again.

The weather is cold and gloomy and I'm ready to crawl in my cave and hibernate until spring like any respectable Mama Bear. And the forecast for this weekend has me thinking of thermal undies and fur coats. Sunday's high is supposed to be 31 and the low 13. Well doesn't that sound just lovely!

Anyway, when I figure out how to get some pictures up I'll write about my absolutely wonderful 8 day vacation in California; where the weather was sunny and warm, and there were flowers everywhere and about just how much fun I had with Noble.

Until then, I'm headed for my cave.

My Kitchen - The Rest of the Story

I like to think of myself as an honest person which is why my conscience demands that I tell the rest of the story of my kitchen. I've given you tiny glimpses but not the big picture. Today I'm sharing that.

Join me for a tour of my totally inadequate humble kitchen, little changed from when it was built in 1922.

View from the door of the Dining Room into the Kitchen

We'll begin at the sink, and make our way around the room
These were the only cupboards, and counter, in the room when I moved in.
Next to the sink is the door to the Laundry room, and then outside.

Can you count the doorways? Left to right: Laundry room, Pantry, Dining Room

Next to the door into the Dining Room are some shelves and the stove

Another view of the shelves, with a corner of the work table - such spaciousness

Next to the stove is the original chimney, then the freezer/workspace, with cupboards installed this year
and the refrigerator placed in front of the door to the Living Room.

And here's the fifth door which goes down to the basement.

In front of the windows are the other set of shelves for all my pans and appliances.
The work table takes all the floor space.

This is probably not the worst kitchen in America, just the worst I've ever lived with. In spite of all the inconveniences I will count my blessings--I have hot and cold running water, lights, a fridge, and a stove (although the oven still is not working properly). I have a vintage dishwasher, I mean, I am the vintage dishwasher, 1957 model. I have an ice cream bucket for collecting scraps for the compost pile instead of a disposal, and I have a ceiling fan and windows for cooling and ventilation.

What more could I ask for? By the way, I read another blog where the engaged young woman talked about the log home her man was building for her and the open shelves she designed and how wonderful they were going to be. HOGWASH! Open shelves are the worst! All the grease, dust, dirt, cat hair and other disgusting floaties land on everything on the open shelves and you have to wash anything you want to use. It makes for a horrible lot of work. Give me cupboards with doors, please!

There you have it Rozy's Kitchen, in all it's cluttered glory. Doesn't this make you grateful for the kitchen you have?

Show and Tell

Frugal Friday

This has been a busy and productive week. For a church Young Women's service project we are making pillow cases for a children's hospital in Omaha. I found wonderful instructions at MaryQuilts.com (sending a big thanks to her for her clarity!). Having found the instructions I cut out fabric for six or seven cases. This is the one I sewed with the girls as a demonstration.

Darling Hippos!

These pillowcases are a great way to use up leftovers, reduce your stash, or save money by using thrift store or yard sale sheets or fabric. The best part of sewing them is that it takes only three seams to make them with NO raw edges inside, so they are sturdy and long lasting.

In another area for frugality, I used up a leftover slice of toast and an English muffin to make bread crumbs for Salmon cakes. My goal is to eliminate waste in my kitchen. I do pretty good, but I want to reduce it even more. Here is one of my methods. After a meal I put the leftover toasted whatever into a (used) bread bag to save for processing. When I'm ready I get out my blender and tear the bread into small pieces and grind them in the blender. Maybe you have a food processor which would work also, I don't have one and have always used my blender. The crumbs can be made at the time you have the leftovers and saved in the freezer, or save the leftovers and make the crumbs as you need them. Works both ways.

(We have such lovely walls in our kitchen!)

Crumbs ready for making Salmon cakes (or patties)

Yummy - ready to be turned over to brown the other side.

Salmon Burgers (or cakes, patties, balls)
1 14.75 oz. can Salmon, drained and flaked
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 - 2 cups bread crumbs (amount depends on how many you're feeding)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Combine ingredients, mix well with your hands, then form into patties. Pan fry in small amount of vegetable oil until browned on both sides. Serve as you would any other burger. For patties or cakes just make them smaller (see picture), for balls just make them round (you get the idea).

We enjoyed these the other night with homemade oven fries.

I like making things from scratch so I can control the ingredients. Recently I decided it was time to finally figure out how to make my own "condensed cream of . . ." soups. A google search came up with lots of ideas and recipes but the one I liked best is found at a wonderful site called Salad-In-A-Jar. I tried the recipe and was totally pleased with how fast, easy and tasty it turned out. I used it in a chicken casserole and thought it tasted better than any store bought. The recipe calls for 8 ounces of evaporated milk which is less than a full can so I looked up how to make my own so I wouldn't waste any from a can. Talk about easy! Instead of the liquid milk, just add 2/3 cup dry milk and 3/4 cup water to the blender with the other ingredients for the cream soup. It was fabulous. Also, I used canned mushrooms instead of fresh (easier to store and have on hand) and black pepper instead of white.

I recognized that this recipe was MSG free, very low sodium and easy to make but as I read all the comments on Paula's blog I realized that I needed to share this with my sister whose daughter eats a gluten-free diet. So this is a great recipe for many different applications. Huge thanks to Paula for developing it and sharing. I think this cream soup recipe would work with other things like chicken, celery, broccoli, asparagus, etc. which will make casserole cooking so much more healthy and frugal. It fits with my desire to store basic ingredients that can be used in many different ways.

Frugal Friday - Odds and Ends

Progress Report on floor: The old carpet must have been carpet and pad integrated and the pad must have been adhesive because it left a horrible residue on the beautiful wood floor. I used a paint scraper to get it up and in some places had to use an orbital sander to remove it. (Perhaps a chemical would have done the job, but I'm trying to be frugal here!) Now we are left with the decision "to refinish, or not". Even where the pad came up easily it left a slightly hazy residue on the floor. My feeling is that as long as the room is empty, let's refinish and then we can enjoy moving in to a room with fresh paint and a fresh floor.

Yucky residue.

Yucky residue scraped off.

Area where I used the orbital sander to remove the yucky residue.

 Now on to more fun things:

Bad photo of Tim with a piece of popcorn clinging to his side.

Calico napping in Dr. Hair's laundry hamper.

JET (purple shirt), Dr. Hair (white shirt), and two of JET's roommates
Occasion: JET's birthday on Sunday

JET, the birthday boy & PFCMom, the birthday dinner planner and provider

What's a young thing like you doing with a face like this? Where did my youth go?

Okay, now for some frugality:
What do you do when you find at the store a bag of bananas for a buck?

They aren't bad, just a little spotted on the outside. First we eat a few on cereal for breakfast, a few more in smoothies and then the rest . . .

These bananas are actually a few days after I bought them and yes they are really ripe.

are smashed up, measured and put in freezer containers with lemon juice for banana bread. 

Containers of 2 cups of mashed bananas and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

When I want to make some bread I take the container out of the freezer and thaw it overnight on the counter (or in the fridge, but it takes longer), then I can make bread in the morning and the house smells good all day.

Here's another little frugal practice of mine.
See that brown thing that looks like a trash can next to the night stand in my bedroom?

PFCMom's Bedroom

That brown thing is actually two paper grocery bags, one slipped inside the other with the top folded down, which I use as my trash receptacle. This one has lasted two years (see the autumn scene?). I didn't have money to buy one, couldn't find one I liked anyway, so I made one.

Repurposed paper grocery bags

A friend of mine repurposes tin cans for all sorts of things, sells them at craft fairs and gives them as gifts. These are two I use as "pencil" holders. She got the idea from a craft magazine that showed painting on terra cotta pots. She didn't want to spend money on pots and looked for an alternative. I think the cans are terrific. (When I get my Christmas stuff out I'll show you the one she made me that I think is absolutely darling.)

Repurposed painted tin can pencil holders

 And last on our tour today, a way to corral those water bottles:

Basket for bottles

I searched thrift stores for a basket deep enough to hold the tall bottles; I had tried short baskets but the bottles would topple and scatter. This one keeps them nicely corralled on top of the fridge. 

Neat and tidy bottles

Just a note on searching for things at thrift stores--Be patient and go often. Those are the keys to scoring treasures at tightwad prices. The other rule is to buy when you see it, she who hesitates is out of luck. The item won't be there next time. I have never regretted buying anything because if it doesn't work out I can always re-donate it. But I have truly regretted NOT buying items, thinking I'd go back for them later. Wrong.

Have a great weekend!

How to Stretch a Can of Tuna Fish

I'm old enough to remember when cans of tuna fish were 7 ounces. Today they are five ounces. Some years ago I devised a way to stretch a can to make it go further.

Here's my method:

Gather whatever vegetables you have on hand; my standards are onion, carrot, celery, bell peppers (whatever color) and broccoli.

Chop each veggie as fine as you can:

Mix them in a bowl:

Add the tuna and some mayonnaise (or your choice of white salad dressing stuff):

Mix it all together and serve on bread for sandwiches or with crackers (when you forgot to get the bread out of the freezer that morning).

This batch made 2 cups (500 ml), so at 1/4 cup per sandwich, this would make 8 sandwiches; six sandwiches if you spread it a little thicker. Way better than one or two sandwiches per can; plus all those tasty, healthful veggies!

Thanks to Dandylion for helping with the Photo Booth effects shots.