July Frugals

[cdttmm]

Loving the triple bunk beds idea, Stella! I really want to try my hand at building stuff over the next year. I want some new cabinets in my pantry, perhaps I should try building them myself instead of paying someone else to do it.

Made a pound of black beans in the crockpot yesterday. Now I just have to plan some meals around them this week. I think tonight will be nachos with black beans -- probably not the world's healthiest meal, but it's my birthday and I figure it's cheaper to eat nachos at home than to go out!

I picked the last of the cherry tomatoes from the cherry tomato plant that was in a container on our deck. I thought it would keep going all summer long, but it was definitely done producing. I think probably our multiple heat waves and our ongoing drought did it in. Fortunately, we have a dozen or so tomato plants in our raised boxes and they are covered in green tomatoes, so the great tomato bounty of 2012 has not yet ended!

I've been on a decluttering binge and got rid of a bunch of stuff over the past two days. It has definitely made me reconsider buying anything ever again except for food, clothing, and sports equipment! What can I say? I'm coveting a new bike and I think it's going to be hard for me to put off buying one for another year.

I've also been on a housecleaning binge, which has been a very frugal activity. Although I do think I'm going to hire a housecleaner for a few days in August while my partner is away. I have no interest in doing the truly deep cleaning that this house desperately needs. I'm thinking for $200-$300 I can get everything done by someone else and it will be the best money I've spent all year. And in preparation I will be forced to continue my decluttering and general organizing. That's what I call a win-win!!!

Not much else to report at the moment. I'll check back in when I have more!

[mara61]

It has definitely made me reconsider buying anything ever again except for food, clothing, and sports equipment! What can I say? I'm coveting a new bike and I think it's going to be hard for me to put off buying one for another year.

My husband just got a new bike after taking his in for some repairs, it was cheaper to just have it repaired but apparently he was hankering for a new bike. We asked how much his bike was worth at the time (4 years old), and we went and sold it via craigslist. Our local bike shop only buys back used kids bikes otherwise we would have sold it there.

Perhaps you could sell your current one to offset the price of a new one.

[Stella]

Happy birthday cdttmm! I have been decluttering a lot lately and I am finding the same thing. I don't want to buy much.

Todays FFF is grocery shopping for the food shelf for my dad. We genuinely enjoy it and it's a valuable use of our time. We were discussing at the breakfast table what we could buy that is 1) reasonably nutritious 2) calorie dense and 3) very easy to prepare. We try to get the best nutritional value for the money while still realizing that this inner city food shelf does not always cater to people who can, for example, bake from scratch. The friars have told us that they like to have foods that anyone could make a meal out of. Our plan is to get canned chili, pasta, canned tomatoes with Italian herbs, baked beans, tuna, macaroni and cheese, canned corn and canned green beans. The pasta can be combined with either chili or the tomatoes and the macaroni and cheese can be combined with the tuna and canned vegetables. The baked beans can be a meal by themselves, or combined with some hamburger for cowboy beans if they happen to have hamburger. It's not the most nutritious food on earth, but its shelf stable, would fill you up and provide some nutrition.

I've got our own grocery shopping down to milk this week. I bought milk last night and, unfrugally, left it in the car. I think I could still make yogurt out of it though. I'll get another gallon when I go to Costco today.

I'm roasting a chicken on the grill tonight and making baked potatoes in the crockpot today. If I still have energy I am going to continue working on decluttering and cleaning.

[Rosemary]

Stella, Our food shelf has an online list of most-wanted items. When we volunteered there it was obvious why: some of the shelves were jammed with a year's worth of cans, while others were nearly empty. Perhaps your food shelf has a similar list.

We hosted a fundraising brunch for our church this weekend. It was mostly local foods, fresh from the farmers' market. I think the ingredients cost about $30, and it raised about $300 for our church. Since I know many of you are interested in recipes, here's what we made:
- eggs baked in pattypan squash (the squash are roasted partway first, then the eggs put in and baking finished
- roasted potatoes, carrots, and chicken sausages
- cucumber-tomato salad, middle-Eastern style
- mixed greens with roasted beets, walnuts, and dried figs, topped with goat cheese
- fruit - cantaloupe, cherries, plums, blueberries

Otherwise - just the usual stuff. Cooking at home, line-drying laundry, etc. Today's frugal entertainment will be sewing Hogwarts robes with DD for her dolls.

[debi]

Fidgiegirl: "Well hello everyone! Back from a week or so in the Upper Peninsula of MI and Door County, WI. Both lovely and different, yet similar places. We camped almost all the nights in MI and saw the beautiful Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore out of Munising, MI and hiked, swam, and took two boat rides in the area. "

Wish I had known that you were in the UP. I reside about 30 min sw of Munising. I could have told you of places to go to for free that you would have enjoyed as well. We have a number of waterfalls that are spectacular that a lot of people don't know about, and they're free. I know in Munising there are a few that do charge -- don't ever pay for that. This past weekend Marquette held their Hiawatha Concerts. In mid-August, Escanaba has the UP State Fair. All of the small town usually have fairs as well. Where I'm employed, they give free demonstrations for woody biomass. The extension offices usually have free gatherings as well. Don't know if you hit any of the lighthouses. Don't know how far you went into the UP. Kewenawee has a lot of places to see -- I've been there for a mini-vacation. Pelkie area has Mennonites and some Amish. There's also a community near Newberry -- just don't know if the fire destroyed this Amish/Mennonite community.

[Stella]

Mmm. Rosemary your brunch sounds wonderful! I did ask about what kinds of foods the food shelf prefers and they mentioned most of the things I bought. This food shelf is so low on stock they are nearly empty. I am thinking of having the kiddos do a food drive of some kind.

I went out to water the plants today and our tomatoes have just exploded. We only have a few tomato plants and I got a big bowl full of them. Nice! Caprese salad tonight, I think.

[Blackdog Lin]

We have about 14 tomato plants this year in the garden which have also exploded (DH is watering - pretty bad drought here). I've been picking a 5-gallon bucket every 2nd or 3rd day; yesterday I picked 2 5-gallon buckets full. Also am picking 3-4 pounds of okra every time I'm out there. We have enough okra in the freezer for the next 6 months; coworkers, friends and family are starting to avoid me and lock their vehicles against me in my quest to not waste all the okra I'm picking (a la' the dreaded zucchini measures people have to take in gardening season).

So we're heavy into trying to plan meals that use all the freshness, along with all the canning DH is doing (love love love the new pressure canner - expensive but turning out to be worth every penny). It's a very good thing neither of us has "acid" issues with eating lots of tomatoes.

Thursday night: bacon and tomato sandwiches, with fried okra on the side.
Saturday night: garden gumbo w/fresh tomatoes and okra and smoked sausage and all kinds of other veggies, over rice.
Sunday night: leftover "loose-beef" and tomato sandwiches with horseradish sauce (me). Coleslaw made with garden cabbage (our first try growing cabbage and.....I don't know.....I don't think it was all that good of cabbage. I think he harvested too late, DH said he didn't notice any difference. Garden cabbage will be a learning experience for us the next couple years.....)
Tonight: spaghetti with homemade fresh-tomato sauce. DH outdid himself, his idea and his creation and it smells wondermous.
Tuesday night (plan): Italian pasta salad with pepperoni - and lots of tomatoes.
Wednesday (plan): tuna-salad-stuffed-tomatoes, with fried okra
and then I'm out of tomato ideas for a few days, but Thursday or Friday should be some simple cooked meat with oven-roasted okra. Haven't ever tried it, but it got great reviews on AllRecipes and I'm anxious to find a new way of fixing okra. sigh.

Frugal tip #1 for this year: have a good garden, then be so busy with taking care of it and picking it and planning meals with it and preserving it.....that you have no time whatsoever for considering any other shopping or recreation.

[Merski]

Seeded peeled and chopped fine garden tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and olive oil. Cook pasta till tender. Just before serving stir goat cheese into raw tomato stuff and stir until cheese "melts" Sauce will be pink. Put on drained hot pasta and eat. Very yummy!

[Amaranth]

Blackdog Lin, Try drying some of the okra and powdering it. Then make some of the african okra sauces to go over polenta or use in winter soups, etc.

[Stella]

Today's frugal entertainment will be sewing Hogwarts robes with DD for her dolls.

How did I miss this? Cool! I am jealous!