Anyway, I thought I'd blog a bit about some of the stuff we've been doing around the house. I've written in the past about my couponing schemes and bored you all with pictures of my loot. Honestly, it started because (a) I'm kinda a cheapskate anyway and (b) we had a lot less cash that we had before (we also had an extra house, aka, 1, and an extra person). So, out of necessity, I began trying to save a bit here and there. I decided I had more time than money, so it was worth it to make an effort.
Turns out, not only is it helpful to our budget, but I really, truly enjoy doing it. I've always loved a bargain, but it's gone past that at this point. John and I are beyond just trying to save money because we have to, we are to the point where we want to make the most of all of our resources because we want to be good stewards of what the Lord has given us AND because we derive satisfaction (and dare I say...FUN?) from doing it. Related? I think yes.
A few things we do.
(1) As you all know, I coupon. John bought me (not frugally!!!, egads!) a super fancy coupon binder for Christmas. I adore it. I also adore that my husband knows I'd rather have something related to coupons than jewelry. That's true love, people. Anyhoo, I take it with me everywhere and use it in grocery stores, drugstores, super stores, and restaurants.
Recent deal. Got all this for about $7. Disclaimer: If anything seems superfluous, it was probably free or pennies.
(2) We have a garden. We have already planted the lettuce and it's beginning to sprout. We have romaine and spinach because that was what was most successful last year. We will be adding tomatoes and cucumbers soon. I am so excited about the salads that will be created out of this stuff. There is truly nothing quite like a homegrown tomato. YUM!
John working on prepping the rows a few weeks ago. Isn't he cute?
(3) We are (both) cooking more from scratch. Do I love canned soup, frozen french fries, and boxed mac n' cheese? Do we often end up eating convenience-type foods like scrambled eggs and toast for dinner? OH YES. However, there are many things I am learning to make from scratch and we are really enjoying it. We have discovered how to make our own Spanish rice and enchilada sauce, which (in my humble opinion) are just as good, if not better, than you'd be served in a restaurant. AllRecipes.com is our friend. I make a mean rosemary bread a la Macaroni Grill and John is perfecting a southern biscuit recipe. I have soaked and cooked dried beans (I had never heard of such a thing until a few months ago). I can create about anything under the sun in the crock pot and John is certainly the grill master. I am thankful to have a husband who is willing to help cook and who is willing to taste new things I am experimenting with, regardless of how weird it seems!
John's most recent biscuits. Delicious! Matchbook added to show fluffiness :)
(4) Very recently, we have started hanging up clothes on a clothesline. And when I say we, I mean me :-p Fortunately, I really enjoy it and think it's a nice excuse to go outside a few times a day. Also, baby clothes are really cute swaying in the breeze. This is a way to get a nice scent, save a few bucks on electricity, and feel highly domestic with very little effort. Hanging clothes outside also dramatically reduces wear and tear on them. Getting really into the whole clothesline thing, I even hand sewed (aka not prettily) a cloth bag to hang all the clothespins in...we found a whole bag of them at a yard sale for a quarter!
I'm definitely not a fanatic about it. I do not worry about it if there is bad weather; we do still have a dryer, for goodness sakes. I do not hang up John's work pants and shirts, big towels (crunchy = not fun after a shower), or socks (not worth the hassle).
Our clothesline. Yes, we used the corner of the shed to anchor one side. Works well!
(5) Practicing general thriftiness. Do we need to buy it? Can we make it out of something we already have (aka clothesline out of cable wire we aren't using)? Can we find it used (clothespins at yard sale)? No, clothespins are not expensive, but they are even LESS expensive when we buy a huge bag from someone who just wants them out of their house. Don't worry, we didn't drive around for an hour looking for clothespins at a yard sale; that would defeat the purpose of thriftiness! We just happened upon them one day. Lots of little things like that add up amazingly fast.
John had a big time a few weeks ago in my parents' neighborhood during 'bulk trash' week. Everyone was supposed to put out stuff they didn't want and then others had a few days to check it out before the trash truck came for it. He found a pesticide sprayer (we'd wanted one for a while, but hated to buy one), a lawn sprinkler (works perfectly), a pair of one-handled incorrectly-sharpened yard loppers (he re-sharpened and added a handle out of spare wood in his workshop) and a perfectly good ladder, taken from some folks who had apparently simply accumulated too many ladders! And all included in a 20 minute bike ride that he would have taken anyway for fun. Success!
Thanks for reading :) We thought it was about time to include something other than Hannah's cuteness, at least for one post, so we could talk about some other parts of our life. Don't worry, I have a feeling she'll be back in the writer's seat soon.
2 comments:
I just realized I never emailed you that pork recipe! I am so sorry! You should have called me and berated me for being a horrible friend. It is, however, 2:30am so I am not going to go hunt for it right now. I BELIEVE it is: 2lbs of pork roast, 1 cup salsa, 4 oz canned green chilies, 1/2 tsp each of garlic salt and black pepper (I'm not positive about the spices) - all lumped together in the crock-pot on er... low for 8 hours. (I'll check the setting as well, pretty sure it's low). Use two forks to pull the pork, serve with whatever toppings sound good.
I also wanted to wish Hannah a happy: one year, one month, one week and one day birthday... because that's just cool.
Great post Kristen! I love reading stuff like this. We too are learning to adjust our lifestyle, though it is now beyond "necessity" and seems more genuine on our part, in my opinion. I mean, people see me with coupons in the grocery store and probably think oh that poor woman who can't afford to feed her kids. At least, that's how I interpret the looks! But sometimes I want to say to them Ok people that is not the case here, and seriously, what would be the point of paying full-price anyway, even if you can afford it?
I'm so excited for your garden! I agree wholeheartedly, that backyard tomatoes are simply the best!
Post a Comment