Frugal Friday - Stockpiling

I'm still doing well on limiting my grocery shopping to once every two weeks and also am loving menu planning! In yesterday's post I talked about how I feel led to stockpile for my family and the needy. Stockpiling would also help me to limit my grocery shopping trips and save money. With a well stocked stockpile, I could stretch the time between major grocery shopping trips even further. Wouldn't it be nice to go to the grocery store only once a month..... or less!!!!

Last Fall I did a couple of posts on stocking up for winter here and here. Many of the items I stocked up on are just now beginning to be depleted. It has been really nice to know that I had many of my regularly used staples on hand.

I've decided that I must love to make lists! I'm always coming up with some kind of list every day. The following are my steps to stockpiling for the future.

1. Decide what kinds of things we need and that we actually would use. There's no point in purchasing things that we don't really need just because they are on sale. I've also learned from experience, there's no point in buying things my family doesn't already like or use.

These items also need to be things that store well, either in the freezer or pantry.

2. Inventory my existing pantry, freezer and other storage areas to see what we need. We need to throw away any old and outdated items.

3. I have cabinet space in my laundry room that is being wasted because it is filled with clutter or other unneeded items. I'd like to organize this space to be used for staples, paper products and hygiene items.

4. I'd like to keep a pantry/freezer inventory sheet in my homemaking notebook so that I can always know what I have, how old it is, and if I need to be on the lookout for more of a certain item.

5. I'd like to allocate a certain amount of money each week to increasing our stockpile. Yesterday I decided I would go to Dollar General on my lunch hour and spend $10.00 on canned goods. You would be amazed at how much I was able to purchase for $10.00. This gave me a nice little start on the stockpile!

6. I'm going to diligently watch the sales papers for unbeatable sales and loss leader items to buy in bulk. I also need to be aware of what the best price actually is for each item. For instance, even though Walmart is not my favorite place to shop, I know which items sold there are the best product at the best price, so I'll make an occasional trip there to buy these in bulk.

This is also true for Dollar General. I know which brands they sell that are good, and offered there at the best price I know of. When I made my $10.00 trip there yesterday, I passed up many things that I knew weren't the best price or I wasn't sure. For example, there was apple juice that was a product of China.... no thanks!

7. This summer I would like to be on the lookout for produce that I can freeze or store. I might even try to do some home canning. My mother has always done this for all her children. She doesn't need to do this, she just likes to do it. But, she really isn't able to any more and I would like to learn this skill. My favorites would be canned tomatoes and green beans. I have a book around here somewhere on this subject. It tells what to do with your surplus garden produce.

One item that stores very well with no work involved is sweet potatoes. Recently I came across some I forgot I had that were stored since last winter. They were still in perfect condition.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a root cellar?!!! You could fill it with all kinds of potatoes, carrots, cabbages, onions, and have a place to store your canned products. I bet some of you have one of these!

8. We are not growing a big garden, although we have plenty of land we could use for this purpose. I'm very interested in a square foot type garden, which I think produces as well as using the row system. Also container gardening appeals to me. My husband has several tomatoes in pots that are really growing fast! This weekend I am off work for 3 days, so I plan to work on this gardening situation.

For more Frugal Friday tips, go to the Biblical Womanhood Blog!

Planning For the Future

Lately I feel this urgency to make plans and get organized for the remainder of the year. Its already May 22nd and the year will be half over before you know it! Do you have New Year's resolutions you need to think about..... again.....? I do.

I think I am being led to prepare for the year(s) to come. Not in a panic or in a stressful way, but slowly and methodically. We need to trust God to take care of us, but as part of that care, we need to do the things he leads us to do.

I don't want to be a lazybones! LOL (Proverbs 6:6 - Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise, Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest.)

My husband and I discussed the situation of the economy this morning. His job brings him face to face with the high price of gas daily and how it affects farmers and truck drivers. My friend, not only is gas going up, but there is no way around food prices going up dramatically or perhaps food shortages.

But as I stated, there is no need to panic, we just need to be wise.

I started cleaning out our freezer this morning and making a list of those foods that would be good for stocking up on. Also the need for rotating the food to use the oldest first. In the past I tended to just stock up on things, put them in a certain place and leave them there for the future.

I want to be a good steward of the food that is available by freezing it, BUT, knowing full well that the freezer depends solely on electricity to work... I'm going to put equal energy and money into non perishables, such as rice, pasta, and canned foods. I've heard many sad stories of freezers that stopped working and it was a week before the owner realized it and all the food was lost. Or in my own experience, a hurricane which knocked out the electricity for a week!

Speaking of hurricanes, hurricane season starts in a couple of weeks and we should all check to see if we have necessary supplies on hand to be prepared for that or other emergency, such as batteries, flashlights, canned food, bottled water, etc.

Luckily, I have not just started trying to be frugal and have acquired many frugal skills which will come in handy no matter what the future brings. I also have to say that this past two weeks, when I limited my grocery shopping dramatically and planned our menus, we cut our food bill dramatically! The new plan is a keeper.

I don't want to forget the needy either! If we are prepared for the future for our own families, we can much more easily help those less fortunate, or those who didn't plan for the future! :o)

I'm also thinking about Christmas. I haven't done the things I planned to prepare for Christmas 08 yet! Now's the time to be purchasing some gifts as we go along, or making them. I tend to wait to start making gifts when its too late or I'm too busy to get them done.

I'm starting two lists today: 1. Stocking up on Food; and 2. Christmas preparations.

Works For Me Wednesday

Gift Closet Ideas

Now is a good time to be restocking your gift closet!

I was invited to a party this weekend, a pig pickin to be exact, for my good friend who was turning 50 that day and for her two children who both were graduating from college. I wanted to take a little gift for each of them.

My plan was to make a tote bag for each of the two graduates and buy some chocolate for my friend who loves chocolate. I made the bags Saturday, but wasn't quite satisfied with the gifts.

So, after church on Sunday I stopped in one of my local Dollar General stores just to see what they had and found some great Christian books that would make wonderful graduation, birthday or other gifts! That's the thing about Dollar General and Dollar Tree. You never know what you'll find. Sometimes I am amazed at the things they have.

I purchased three hardback books by Max Lucado entitled, "Every Day Deserves A Chance" for $4.00 each. With this addition, my gifts turned out very nice. I folded the tote bags up to be the same size as the books, wrapped them in tissue paper and placed them in a gift bag (recycled, of course!).

I also purchased for myself two paper back Books for $3.00 each. One is called, "When God Winks At You" and the other one is a daily devotional book called "Amazing Freedom, a Women of Faith Book". I have been devouring both of these and love them.

I'm having camera problems this morning, so I can't show you a picture of the books, but I'm going to try to add them to my favorites on the Amazon Widget on the sidebar.

I am going back to Dollar General to purchase more of these books for my neighbor who just lost her brother and for another friend of mine who loves Max Lucado books. I don't want to be greedy, but I would also love to purchase some of these books for my gift closet.

They would make great gifts for someone who is sick or for someone with a death in the family or for many other occasions. Its so nice to be able to take a little gift to someone who is in the hospital or has suffered a loss of some kind, without having to go out and find it at the last minute. Just go into your gift closet and get something.

So check at your Dollar General to see if they have these books in stock. Most of the Dollar General Stores carry the same items, you just have to look around or ask the clerk if they have them.

If you don't have a Dollar General Store or if yours doesn't have these books, you could also find great gift quality books at yard sales and thrift stores to stock your gift closet with. Just keep your eyes open!

For more Works For Me Wednesday ideas, go to Rocks in My Dryer!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday - Freezer Tips

I am in the menu planning, stocking up, limiting grocery store trips MODE lately!!!

One area of my home that really needs help is my freezer. Our chest freezer is located in the garage and right now has only a few outdated and freezer burned items in the very bottom. (Old deer meat and frozen corn, YUCK!)

We are paying for the electricity to run the freezer and to be frugal and a good steward of God's provisions, I really need to start taking advantage of our freezer.

My plan is to clean it out, defrost it and start over completely. The summer months are coming which is the perfect time for stocking up the freezer with vegetables. Also any good meat deals.

These are some ideas I have:

1. Defrost and clean the freezer regularly.

2. Label and date all foods.

3. With the date on there it will be easy to keep rotating the foods in order to use the oldest ones first.

4. Double recipes for foods that freeze well.

5. Buy in bulk those meats, cheeses, etc. that are on sale at an unbeatable price.

6. Educate myself on what freezes well, how long it can be kept frozen, etc.

7. Experiment with freezer cooking until I come up with some recipes that we like from the freezer.

8. Purchase containers for freezing items at yard sales and thrift stores.

9. Organize the freezer with like items together, using plastic containers, etc.

10. I did a google search of freezer tips and came across these two sites which I plan to go back to later when time allows. Thought you'd like to visit them too:

Love Food, Hate Waste

Stella's Kitchen

Please visit Tammy's Recipes for more kitchen tips!

A Monday Minute

Its Monday again....

We had a nice weekend which included our first fresh potatoes of the year from my mother's garden.....



My brother planted the garden for her and plows it. She tends it as much as she can with a walking cane, one of those with the 4 little feet that keep it from falling over. She positions plastic yard chairs throughout the garden to sit in when she needs to.

She has been working especially hard in the potatoes and informed me yesterday morning when I picked her up for church that she had "grappled" us a "mess" of potatoes. This means that she dug gently around the potatoes to dig some out while letting the plant continue to grow and produce more potatoes.

Fresh potatoes are really good no matter how you cook them. They are great just boiled, but I followed up the boiling of these by frying them a little. I like to put a little butter and salt and pepper on mine.

For our lunch Sunday we had "planned over" chicken thief stew (I think my mother thought I was saying Chicken Feet or Beak Stew LOL) from Saturday, broccoli and cheese and these fresh potatoes. It couldn't have been any better if it had been prime rib! I'm ready for more fresh veggies. I love fresh squash, tomatoes, stringbeans and cabbage.

This is my menu for the week:

Saturday: Chicken Thief Stew, chicken salad, spaghetti

Sunday: Fresh potatoes, chicken thief stew, broccoli and cheese

Monday: Hamburger Steak, rice and gravy, green bean dish. (We never ate this last week, because we had so much food left over)

Tuesday: Mexican chicken, corn bread, left over green bean dish

Wednesday: Chili, Pizza

Thursday: Chicken Cacciatore

Friday: undecided :o) Fridays are always up in the air. Its usually just me and my hubby and we may be in the mood for just a banana sandwich.

I will use leftovers from all the above menus for my son and I to take for lunch at work.

Saturday Cooking, Sewing, Cleaning.........

Hi everyone! Hope your weekend is going well.

I made my one allowed trip for the week to the grocery store to get milk and bread and any unbeatable deals at Food Lion. I also picked up a couple of ingredients that I needed to make lasagna to take to my neighbor who had a death in the family. I only spent $18.00 this week.

One of the good deals was whole chickens at 59 cents per pound. I bought two large ones and decided to try Little PenPen's advice to cook a whole chicken in a crockpot on Saturday to use later in the week. I placed the two whole chickens in two crockpots early this morning. I simply salted and peppered them lightly, put them in the pot with one cup of water. I turned them on high for one hour and then on low for about 4 hours. The chickens were so tender the meat just fell off the bone.

The first chicken was used to make my Chicken Thief Stew recipe and some homemade chicken salad. I used the dark meat in the stew and the white meat in the chicken salad. Both were delicious. This is my bowl of Chicken Thief Stew right before I ate it! Its very similar to Brunswick stew, but has a little bite to it because it has 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. It was very good!



I deboned the other chicken and placed the meat in the refrigerator until I can decide how I will use it. I would like to find a new recipe to use it in this week. I also have a quart of the richest broth you ever saw by pouring the liquid from the two crockpots into a quart canning jar and placing it in the refrigerator. This would make some delicious chicken flavored rice or Chicken pastry. I would have to dilute it with water because it is so rich. (And very fattening I'm sure!)

While the chickens and lasagna were cooking I mopped the kitchen floor and of course, laundry was going in the back ground. The first two loads were hung on the clothesline and the remaining ones dried in the dryer.

I love sunflowers and made this clothespin bag for my Etsy Shop. I really like the way it turned out.



I also made two grocery/tote bags for graduation gifts. I think they would be handy for a person going off to college to store things in or to carry stuff around in. I also listed two identical bags in my Etsy Shop.

My plan for tonight is to sit down with my cookbooks to come up with my menus for this week. I'm excited to continue on with only grocery shopping every two weeks. Next weekend when I buy groceries I intend to make sure I get everything I need to last two weeks. I will freeze a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread.

Heart Strings Update

I posted yesterday about the story of my neighbor, Edison, here.

I'm sad to report that Edison passed away early this morning. I got the call before leaving for work and was able to wake Jacob, tell him about it and spend a few minutes with him. He's really sad, but knows that Edison couldn't live like he was and that he wouldn't want to live like that.

I went over to my neighbor's house to give some hugs and share some Edison stories before going to work. Why do we wait until a person has died to share these things? We never knew he had so many friends or had done so many good deeds! I miss him already! It'll be sad to not ever see his truck going by again...

Thanks for your prayers!

Frugal Friday - No Grocery Shopping Update

Well I made it a whole week without going to the grocery store, not even to pick up something I forgot!!!! This is a major accomplishment for me because we are always running in the store to pick up something we forgot or to get something to cook for supper because of poor planning. AND you know that if you go in for one item, you're going to spend more money than you intended!

I was so tempted to just make a couple of little runs to the grocery store, but I managed to resist and MAKE DO!

There were a few things I ran out of or would have liked to buy, but managed to get by without going shopping as follows:

1. One of my recipes for the week called for self-rising flour. I only had plain flour on hand. I knew the only difference was baking powder and salt, but how much?! I located a cookbook that gave the amounts and I was able to complete the recipe without going to the grocery store. It turned out just as good as if I had the self rising flour.

2. I ran out of coffee filters! The first morning I folded up a paper towel and that works ok, but I don't really like to do that. I remembered that at work in the storage closet we had a stack of coffee filters someone bought a long time ago that don't fit our office coffee maker and were destined to be thrown away. I obtained the appropriate permission and took these home. Not only do they work for my coffee maker at home, they were saved from the trash can.

3. I used all the shredded Cheddar and mozzarella cheese that I had on hand in recipes this week. That's ok. I simply won't make any recipes this week that call for cheese. No lasagna, pizza or Mexican chicken! There are lots of other recipes that I can make without cheese.

4. Our milk and bread lasted all week, but I will be going today or tomorrow to restock that. Next time I will buy double and freeze one week's worth. That would have kept me out of the grocery store all together.

I'm already working on my menu for next week. I was scoping out my pantry this morning and noticed we have lots of beans and tomatoes in there so naturally we're going to be having chili at for at least one meal. Vegetable soup might be another one that I already have all the ingredients for as well!

For more Frugal Friday tips to to the BIBLICAL WOMANHOOD BLOG!

Sew Crafty Friday

For more Sew Crafty Friday posts visit the Waiting For Him Blog.

This week I have been making more clothespin bags, using a different kind of embellishment for the opening. I have been finishing the opening the same as if I were making a quilt binding. The opening ends up looking like this:



The way I did this was to cut two strips of the lining fabric three inches wide and 14 inches wide (or the width of the bag you are making)and folded them in half. With raw edges together I sewed across the edges of the fabric that form the opening of the bag. Then fold the strip over to the back, press and machine stitch straight across from the back. From the front it is about 1/4 inch from the seam. I did this for both edges of the opening before sewing the bag together. Then I zigzagged about 2 inches on each side. After that I continued on with the normal construction of the bag.

This is another clothespin bag I made with this style of opening:



I've got many plans in mind for my weekend sewing, knowing full well I won't get most of them done! This is one combination of fabric for a child's purse I would like to make soon. The Strawberry Shortcake fabric was in a box of fabric given to me by a friend and I purchased 1/2 yard of the lavender swirly fabric just because I liked it and thought it would be cute as the lining.



I have had a request for a pocketbook made with watermelon fabric with a zipper in the top. I'm not very experienced at putting in zippers but, time allowing, would like to work on that!

I also want to make a smaller bag for myself and gifts for a function I am attending this weekend for a friend. Its her 50th birthday celebration and the celebration of her two children's graduations. One is graduating from college and one is graduating from the local Community College with an associates degree and is going on to a four year college in the fall.

I don't think I'll get all this done, plus make some more clothespin bags for my shop!!!!! But it'll be fun trying....

Heartstrings

"OUR NEIGHBORS'HOMEPLACE"

I haven't done a heartstrings post lately, but my heart strings are being pulled this week and I wanted to share this with you.

This picture shows the farm house down a lane that's located across the road from my home. Sometimes you can't even see it because the farmers plant corn between us. I've lived in this same spot for 30 years and its always been there, out my window. The residents of the farm house are a brother and sister who never married, the youngest of a family with 5 children. They have lived there all their lives. Around here we call houses like this the "home place".

The brother's name is Edison and I'll call his sister Ms. "B". They are getting on in years and their health is failing. All they have is each other and one other sister who is still living. Edison takes Ms. B to church and to get her hair "fixed". He has always bought the groceries, good old southern staples.... Ms. B. never married, held a public job or learned to drive. They both sit on the front porch and watch the goings on in the neighborhood. Ms. B has become more and more housebound of late, not even sitting on the porch much.

My son, Jacob, and Edison have a long running friendship. Edison never had any children, and Jacob seems to have a special feeling for older folks. One of my earliest memories of my son is him seeing Edison driving by in his pickup and hollering, "There goes "Medicine". He thought we were calling Edison, "Medicine". LOL

Two years ago, while sitting on their porch, Edison and Ms. B witnessed Jacob being involved in a wreck right in front of their drive way. He was turning in to visit them and was hit from behind. This impact sent his truck airborne right in front of their eyes. Everyone was terrified until they saw Jacob crawl out the window of his truck. Of course the truck was totaled and it was a while before insurance matters could be settled and a new truck bought. Edison offered Jacob the money to get a new truck. We didn't take the money, but were so touched by the thought.

Jacob and Edison have a lot in common. Both love the land they live on, love farming and country life, love to ride around in their pickup trucks. Edison understands Jacob. They both understand each other.


Last week Edison got to where he couldn't breathe and the rescue squad was called. Unless there is a miracle, Edison won't be coming back. You can see in the picture that his pickup truck is sitting where he left it after his last ride. He also had a stroke and his kidneys are failing now. He has been moved from the regular hospital to another hospital, that seems to be the holding spot for those who can't be helped.

Jacob has visited him in the hospital two times, but we're not sure if Edison knew he was there. Maybe.

I know Jacob's heart is full. It makes me so sad. Life is hard. Things change. Life goes on without those who make a difference in our lives.

I'm so proud of Jacob because he has taken on the task of checking on Ms. B. He goes over there several times a day, goes and gets her some food, checks her mail and is going to get a grocery list from her today and go pick up groceries for her. Last night Chicken Pot Pie was on my menu. It never occurred to me to take her a plate, but it did to Jacob. He fixed her a plate, wrapped it up in foil and took it over riding on his four wheeler.

I am praying for Edison. I will let you know if he comes home...or goes home....

Works For Me Wednesday - Store Brands

Good Morning! I will be away from my computer all day today while attending a job related seminar. I have to attend a certain number of hours of education and ethics a year to keep my certification. It will be in a nearby town about 25 miles away and I have to get a move on more urgently than usual, so my post today will be brief! :o)

My works for me Wednesday tip this week is to give store brands a try. I have added the following new ones to my list of "good" store brands:

1. Dollar General brand packaging tape. I purchased a roll this weekend for $1.50. The size was 2 " X 800 " and it states on the package "Easy & Quiet Crystal Clear". This is the BEST packaging tape I have found. It does not make any noise when you are dispensing it and if it gets stuck back on itself, it is extremely easy to get it started again! This is a great product at a good price. I know this is not a very exciting item to be so excited about, but the other tapes, even brand name, that I have used nearly drive me crazy at times.

2. Dollar Tree trash bags. I bought a box of the handle tie trash bags just to try them. Usually the cheap trash bags are thin and short. These have handle ties which do well in our size kitchen trash can, they are sturdy and only $1.00 for a box. I'm not sure how many are in the box. I will definitely buy these again.

Sometimes store brands are even better than their name brand rivals. I am willing to give them a chance. If they aren't any good, I just won't buy them again!

Have a great Wednesday and I will check back tonight!

For lots of great "Works For Me Tips", visit the Rocks in my Dryer Blog!