This past week was a relatively good week frugality-wise. Not perfect, but pretty decent.
In terms of the three things I'm trying to work on and be better with:
So first I'll start with the best- zero food thrown out!
Ok, that doesn't mean no food was wasted... it just means that I didn't clean out the refrigerator this past week... I'm sure this coming week when I clean it out I'll find rotten food that needs to be tossed... but even so, I'm still happy that no food ended up in the trash this week.
As for cloth diapers- I ended up using only 3 disposable diapers- 2 because Rose had a diaper rash and I was wondering if maybe the cloth diapers were making them worse... I always doubt myself when a kid has a diaper rash. But either way, the rash went away even after I put her back in cloth- so it must not have had anything to do with the diaper, and probably with something she ate that didn't agree with her. I also ended up using 1 diaper when I was in a big rush and didn't have time to do diapers in a few parts- folding the diaper, snappying it in place, placing on the cover, adjusting it so the cover covers the prefold... or to fold and stuff the pocket diaper. So I'm realizing that I should probably keep a few pocket diapers already stuffed for times when I'm in a big rush, so I don't use sposies as a crutch.
And as for laundry... I ended up having to rewash a load of laundry that was left in the machine too long. Oh well... First time in the few weeks since I started keeping track. Hopefully there won't be a repeat any time in the near future.
And now on to what I actually did right this week, what we did in our house to save money:
Foraging
Foraged weeping bolete mushrooms and dandelion greens.
Foraged sow thistle, mallow, and mustard greens.
Foraged morels! First time I ever found them! This was super exciting for me!
Frugal Transportation:
Had to deliver something to someone in the city, so hit up two shopping places using the same bus transfer to save costs- hitting three birds with one stone.
Went on an errand- while there I did the shopping for supplies that I'd need to do anyhow in the next week, to save a trip, and managed to keep the trip short enough to use my transfer and only need to pay for one bus ticket.
Frugal Shopping
Stocked up on cheap dry goods, olive oil, gluten free stuff, etc... Bought a bunch of "reduced rack" produce at the farmer's market for 25 cents a pound.
Stocked up on mackerel on a super sale (71 cents each, when they're typically at least twice that.)
Placed a bulk order for coconut sugar- even cheaper than I got before- to split with friends.
Bought a portable hanging scale from ebay, to use to weigh my groceries in the store that are sold by weight and don't have a scale nearby, so I can track the cost of my groceries and know how much my shop will cost me even before I reach the register.
Frugal in the Kitchen
Made From Scratch
Made homemade carob vegan gluten free waffles three times for breakfast instead of cereal and milk.
Made pickled lemons.
Cooked up dried and soaked chickpeas in the crock pot.
Butchered two whole chickens.
Made homemade gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies.
Made homemade hummus.
Made homemade gluten free onion rolls.
Made homemade gluten free vegan carob ginger snaps.
Cooked up dried and soaked lima beans in the pressure cooker.
Made milk kefir.
Low Cost Meals
Made quickie lentil and rice soup with tomato paste.
Made lentil risotto with soft veggies.
Made buckwheat porridge- twice- once in the crock pot- and topped with carob powder, instead of cereal for breakfast.
Cooked up cheapo chicken hearts.
Made overnight buckwheat porridge in the crock pot
Made "dirty rice" using veggies that needed to be used up, chickpeas, and chicken hearts
Revamped Leftovers
Made milkshakes with homemade kefir and leftovers from my date buckwheat carob balls.
Made Indian style rice with leftover rice, stretched chicken breast, old peanuts which I sauted up to get them with a better texture, and onion greens from sprouted onion.
Reheated leftover buckwheat porridge for breakfast.
Took some leftover quinoa, cooked it up with some sauted wild greens, foraged morels, and onion greens from sprouted onions.
.
DIY
Mike fixed a homemade shelf that was starting to break a little.
So, how was this past week for you? Would you say it was a frugal week? A not so frugal week? What frugal things did you do? Any frugal related thing you had a harder time with this week?
In terms of the three things I'm trying to work on and be better with:
So first I'll start with the best- zero food thrown out!
Ok, that doesn't mean no food was wasted... it just means that I didn't clean out the refrigerator this past week... I'm sure this coming week when I clean it out I'll find rotten food that needs to be tossed... but even so, I'm still happy that no food ended up in the trash this week.
As for cloth diapers- I ended up using only 3 disposable diapers- 2 because Rose had a diaper rash and I was wondering if maybe the cloth diapers were making them worse... I always doubt myself when a kid has a diaper rash. But either way, the rash went away even after I put her back in cloth- so it must not have had anything to do with the diaper, and probably with something she ate that didn't agree with her. I also ended up using 1 diaper when I was in a big rush and didn't have time to do diapers in a few parts- folding the diaper, snappying it in place, placing on the cover, adjusting it so the cover covers the prefold... or to fold and stuff the pocket diaper. So I'm realizing that I should probably keep a few pocket diapers already stuffed for times when I'm in a big rush, so I don't use sposies as a crutch.
And as for laundry... I ended up having to rewash a load of laundry that was left in the machine too long. Oh well... First time in the few weeks since I started keeping track. Hopefully there won't be a repeat any time in the near future.
And now on to what I actually did right this week, what we did in our house to save money:
Foraging
Foraged weeping bolete mushrooms and dandelion greens.
Foraged sow thistle, mallow, and mustard greens.
Foraged morels! First time I ever found them! This was super exciting for me!
 |
| My morels that I got! And super close to my house, which is even more exciting! |
Frugal Transportation:
Had to deliver something to someone in the city, so hit up two shopping places using the same bus transfer to save costs- hitting three birds with one stone.
Went on an errand- while there I did the shopping for supplies that I'd need to do anyhow in the next week, to save a trip, and managed to keep the trip short enough to use my transfer and only need to pay for one bus ticket.
 |
| My weeping bolete mushrooms and dandelion greens |
Frugal Shopping
Stocked up on cheap dry goods, olive oil, gluten free stuff, etc... Bought a bunch of "reduced rack" produce at the farmer's market for 25 cents a pound.
Stocked up on mackerel on a super sale (71 cents each, when they're typically at least twice that.)
Placed a bulk order for coconut sugar- even cheaper than I got before- to split with friends.
Bought a portable hanging scale from ebay, to use to weigh my groceries in the store that are sold by weight and don't have a scale nearby, so I can track the cost of my groceries and know how much my shop will cost me even before I reach the register.
 |
| My shop |
Frugal in the Kitchen
Made From Scratch
Made homemade carob vegan gluten free waffles three times for breakfast instead of cereal and milk.
Made pickled lemons.
Cooked up dried and soaked chickpeas in the crock pot.
Butchered two whole chickens.
Made homemade gluten free vegan chocolate chip cookies.
Made homemade hummus.
Made homemade gluten free onion rolls.
Made homemade gluten free vegan carob ginger snaps.
Cooked up dried and soaked lima beans in the pressure cooker.
Made milk kefir.
Low Cost Meals
Made quickie lentil and rice soup with tomato paste.
Made lentil risotto with soft veggies.
Made buckwheat porridge- twice- once in the crock pot- and topped with carob powder, instead of cereal for breakfast.
Cooked up cheapo chicken hearts.
Made overnight buckwheat porridge in the crock pot
Made "dirty rice" using veggies that needed to be used up, chickpeas, and chicken hearts
Made sandwiches of mallow, sow thistle, mustard greens, gluten free bread bought on sale, and mackerel bought on sale- delish!
Revamped Leftovers
Made milkshakes with homemade kefir and leftovers from my date buckwheat carob balls.
Made Indian style rice with leftover rice, stretched chicken breast, old peanuts which I sauted up to get them with a better texture, and onion greens from sprouted onion.
Reheated leftover buckwheat porridge for breakfast.
Took some leftover quinoa, cooked it up with some sauted wild greens, foraged morels, and onion greens from sprouted onions.
 |
| Quinoa with wild greens, morels, and onion greens |
DIY
Mike fixed a homemade shelf that was starting to break a little.
So, how was this past week for you? Would you say it was a frugal week? A not so frugal week? What frugal things did you do? Any frugal related thing you had a harder time with this week?
Tags
cloth diapering
cloth diapering challenge
extreme frugality
foraging
frugal accomplishments
frugal shopping
frugal strategies
laundry
revamped leftovers
zero food waste
We could of been better frugal wise but since we're at the end of month, I'm foreseeing next week as VERY frugal lol!
ReplyDeleteI did finally figure how to make storebought detergent into liquid and it has been GREAT for us. I will save loads of money since I wash a bunch of laundry.
Got a good deal on microwaveable hamburgers, 4 for 40 cents each. We had Euro Week and I stocked up on cottage cheese and froze it.
I looked for a local farmers market...turns out it's the name of a posh restaurant here LOL!
Congrats on the great frugal week, you got tons done and saved! :)
Where do you find morels? I mean, what kind of environment do they grow in? I'm told they grow in my neck of the woods, but I've yet to find them. I'm not sure if it's that we just don't have the right growing places, or if everybody else has picked them before I can get to them...
ReplyDeleteFrugality-wise, I think we did pretty well this past pay cycle (25 of the month). This is my first time tracking expenses, and while I did spend a shade more than I expected on "fun things" (what I call the sandwiches and coffees I get while waiting for kidlet to get sufficiently bored at the playground) it's been pretty much in line with what I expected.
I literally found them 300 feet from my front door, in a patch of rosemary, underneath a passion fruit vine... I'm trying to figure out what the right habitat for them is, because i'd like to find them again.
DeleteCongratulations on the morels! What a great find! So far I have only found oyster mushrooms which was exciting.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest money saver this week was returning to our local restaurant supply store to buy more post holiday smoked ham on sale to find they had dropped the price to .49 per lb. I bought one last week to try at .99 per lb to see if it was worth buying again. It turned out really nice and I used it for three meals. Needless to say since it was so cheap, I stocked the freezer!