"Processing" My Unprocessed Groceries

 

I utilize a lot of little tricks and tactics to extend my groceries and make them last longer, go further and stave off spoilage or waste.  I find by doing these simple things it will allow me to really get my money’s worth.

 

Diluting whole milk has saved my quite a bit over the years

as well as making my own yogurt

When I open a carton of organic ultra pasteurized whole milk the first thing I like to do is pour a pint of the milk into a clean quart jar and fill it up with filtered water.  The texture and flavor doesn’t seem diluted at all.  I use this quart of diluted whole milk on homemade granola, a bowl of oatmeal and in any of my recipes that calls for milk.  Next I take three cups of the whole milk and use it to make my own homemade Greek yogurt.

 

Berries last much longer after a vinegar & water bath

I wash my produce in a bath of cool water with a splash of white vinegar to remove any dirt and potential bacteria that will cause spoilage and mold to form on my fruits and vegetables.  I’ve found over the years that doing this really helps me keep my produce longer. I’m always amazed at how dirty this water gets and how much debris settles in the bottom of my sink.

 

I buy block cheeses to avoid the anti caking agents added to the pre grated bags

I buy block cheeses, grate them myself and place two cups of cheese into sandwich size Ziploc bags.  I squeeze as much air out as I zip it closed.  Once all of my cheese is packaged I’ll place all of the bags inside a larger Ziploc bag which adds another layer of protection to prevent freezer burn before I use it all up.  I do not add any type of starch to my cheese to prevent it from sticking as I personally do not find it is needed.

 

When I open a package of baby spinach or any other greens I tuck a paper towel or napkin along the inside of the bag to soak up condensation.  I will also add a paper towel to my container of spring greens salad mix.  When I buy a whole head of lettuce I remove the outer leaves, rinse it in the vinegar water bath and allow it to dry.  Then I place it in a Ziploc bag, but I leave it open in the crisper drawer to prevent condensation from forming.

 

Apples, oranges, strawberries and grapes do well once they are rinsed in the vinegar water bath and allowed to dry.  Apples and oranges are then placed into a bowl for fresh eating.  I do find apples will keep even longer in a closed Ziploc bag when placed in the refrigerator.  Once rinsed and dried I will place grapes (removed from the stems), strawberries or any berries into an airtight container for the refrigerator or a Ziploc bag and placed into the freezer.

 

I use my old camping cooler in the garage to store potatoes

I store loose onions and potatoes in the refrigerator however I do not wash them until I am ready to use them.  If I find I have more onions than I can use before it spoils I’ll chop it up, place it in a Ziploc bag and freeze.  I also do this with celery and mushrooms.  When I find a really good deal on potatoes I find I can store them in a cooler in my garage during the cooler months.  Because they like cool dark places I find storing them this way helps them last much longer.  Potatoes that are starting to get soft can be peeled and canned or made into mashed potatoes or fries for the freezer.

 

Vegetable scraps don’t go to waste either.  The ends and peelings from carrots are given to the bunny, the chickens or added to a Ziploc bag I keep in the freezer for making stock.  I also add the trimmings from onions and other vegetables to this bag.  Potato peels go to the chickens, as they will make my stock cloudy, along with extra lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and other greens.  Nothing is wasted if someone is eating it, even the chickens.

 

A pound of ground meat is cut in half or thirds and placed into a vacuum bag and sealed.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are cut in half and vacuum sealed in meal size portions, sometimes I use seasoning or a marinade.  Chops and steaks are handled in much the same way.

 

I keep all bones from chicken and beef to add to my frozen veggie scraps and make stock or broth in my slow cooker which I allow to cook all day and often overnight to completely render it down.  I use the broth to make soups and gravy or to add to any recipe that calls for broth.  I will also use broth in place of water when I make rice or cook dry beans.  These broths are either canned or frozen and I do not add any salt to them until I am ready to cook with them.

 

My own home canned beans

I love having home canned soups on the shelf

I no longer buy canned beans.  Instead I will cook up a big batch of dry beans in my slow cooker and then freeze them in two cup containers or I will can dry beans in pint jars.  I use my own home canned beans to make refried beans, soups, chili and to extend taco meat or make burrito filling.

 

It does take a little extra time and effort once I get home from the store to do a lot of these things, but in the end it is well worth it.  I rarely ever have any food going into the trash and because of that my groceries last longer and that keeps me out of the grocery store.  The less I need to grocery shop the more money I save.  Besides, I’ve always found I’ve had far more time than money anyway.

My Tireless Retirement – Week 197

 

Hello friends!  I hope everyone is doing well on this fine day.

 

I got some awesome gifts this year!

A pop up shower tent, a windscreen for my camp stove & a super cute pillow!

The holidays were so much different this past year and in a very good way.  I was much more relaxed and present this time around, so much more so than in years past.  I didn’t listen to much Christmas music and I didn’t watch any holiday movies, neither of which was intentional.  I didn’t do any marathon cookie baking or candy making either.  I completely abandoned past traditions.  What I did do however, was spend an appropriate amount of time with my people as well as by myself.  Everything felt balanced.  On New Year’s Eve we enjoyed a nice dinner, some wine and watched the latest Mission Impossible movie.  We were in bed well before midnight.  No rush, no stress, no pressure.  I enjoyed the holidays in a way I never have before.

 

Fun journaling supplies! 😍

One of the things I like to do at the beginning of the year is to refill everything.  I refill my cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, spices and condiments, etc.  This year I am making a point to write the date on everything I open to see exactly how long items truly last so I can make better decisions regarding how much to buy and stock in my house.  I am finding that things tend to last much longer than I originally thought they would so I need to keep less on hand.

 

I cleaned the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink

I refilled all of the foaming hand soap dispensers and the pump dispenser that I use for my dish soap.  With these dispensers I use a lot less product than what I have in the past and things just last much longer.  I have far less waste too.  In my shower I keep a pump dispenser for my shampoo and one for my hair conditioner so I only use what I need to get the job done.  Again, I use far less product than what I used to with far less waste.  Because I now need less I purchase items far less often and save a lot of money in the process.  Yay!

Everything is clean, restocked and ready

With everything restocked I took a new inventory and found I still have plenty stocked in the linen closet and the LTFS with only a few items on my list to restock, not that I am out, but rather starting to get low on.  I have plenty of time to purchase these few items at the best possible price so no need to rush and run out to buy anything right away.

 

The first full week of 2026 was a very good one for me too.  I worked all day at the senior center last Friday, hosting the senior social at the library midway through my shift, and it was a rather nice day.  My chosen charity the end of last year was to collect and provide useful Bingo prizes for the social.  I am planning to continue this into 2026 as well.  I am also considering doing this for the regular weekly Bingo at the senior center.  I like to do it and I have fun finding various prizes I think people will like and find helpful.

 

Over the weekend I did a lot of paper crafting creating items for both personal use, for gifting and to add more inventory to my Etsy store.  I’m not sure how fruitful my little online shop will be this year, but I’m happy to give it a whirl and see what happens.  My plan is to take the proceeds and use them to invest and grow my wealth the best I can.  I recently opened a new retirement account solely devoted for this purpose.  I am rather excited about this new venture.

 

I took all of the Christmas cards I received this year and last year and was able to use those to create new ones.  I like to call them my “Trash to Treasure” cards and I absolutely love remaking old cards into new ones.  By the time I had finished I had made thirty six Christmas cards.  I may be putting some of them in my Etsy store later in the year.  I went through my drawer of paper scraps and used a lot of those to make some backgrounds to be used in future card making.  I also spent a fair amount of time making die cuts, mostly florals to be used to make ephemera.

 

On Monday I worked in the afternoon and again Thursday afternoon for a few hours each.  I was off Tuesday and Wednesday and was able to do some meal prepping for the week, catch up on some household chores, run a load of laundry and squeeze in some more crafting.

 

I made a keto cheesecake for dessert for New Years

Sunday brunch

With all of the craziness being reported in the news, especially with regard to our government and the steady stream of confusing antics by our president it would be so easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer unrelenting volume of it all.  It feels like we just can’t seem to get any kind of break from it.  Even Christmas day was not immune from the onslaught of political rhetoric.  It made me weary.  Instead I chose to focus the majority of my attention on making my own life and my home as tranquil and enjoyable as I could because I recognize I alone have limited ability to change or affect much of what is happening, at least as far as what has currently been going on.  While some of it is truly frightening, other aspects are simply heartbreaking.  And with that my first full week of 2026 came to an end.

 

A meatloaf supper

I love a warm mug of soup and a grilled cheese on a rainy day

This past week I was grateful for delicious and healthy food to eat, a warm home to reside in and the ability to pay my bills as well as my reliable vehicles to get me where I needed to go.  I had plenty to keep me busy and entertained including a night out for dinner and drinks with friends.  I am so blessed.  How was your first full week of 2026?

 

Keeping It Simple - Streamlined Budgets & Spending

 

For many people, money goes out in so many directions that it makes it really difficult to keep track of their expenses.  The task becomes so daunting that they just don’t do it and that is where they get into trouble.  With all of the offers to make our lives ”easier” and “nicer” there are so many apps and subscription services, with fees, that it doesn’t take long to get in over one’s head.  Automating monthly payments allows people the “luxury” of not even looking at their bills prior to paying them so eventually they have no clue what their spending really looks like.  Add to that eating out and grabbing coffees, delivery services like Door Dash & Instacart, expensive cell phone bills, internet costs, insurance, mortgages, registration costs for pretty much everything from education to automobiles and so forth, it becomes really difficult.

 

When money is going out in every direction it is nearly impossible to turn off the tap.  I call these situations financial leaks.  For some people they are absolute gushers.  By streamlining my budgets and weeding out the extras that, quite simply, I do not need (and most people don’t) I am able to easily stay on top of and track my expenses.  My list is quite short:

 

Housing – this includes property taxes, homeowners insurance, upgrades and maintenance.

 

Electricity – includes my heating.

 

Sewer & Trash – the city of Boise bills me for both of these services at the same time and they are sent out every other month.

 

Water – this bill comes due every other month as well.

 

Internet – right now I have DSL through Century Link.  It is no secret I don’t love them, at all, because of their lousy customer service but it is my best option where I live.

 

Groceries & Non Food Items – I set a budget for food and another one for household items.

 

Automobile – includes fuel, repairs plus routine maintenance.

 

Fun & Leisure + Miscellaneous – this budget is flexible and allows me to have a little wiggle room for fun, of course, but also if I need something that I wasn’t planning for like a pair of pants or a little more fuel in the car.  It is also a category I can do without if for some reason I really need to tighten my belt one month.

 

This is all I track on a monthly basis and I do so meticulously.  I also look at my bank accounts as well as my credit card account (I only use one credit card account) on a regular basis to make sure all transactions are accurate and nothing fraudulent has occurred.  When all is said and done I know exactly to the penny how much money I have at any given time.  By tracking my expenses I am able to project what that will look like in the future and adjust my budgets accordingly.

 

I still pay my automobile insurance and cell phone bill annually because it saves me a lot of money to do it this way because anytime you pay monthly, quarterly or semi annually they add a service charge.  If you pay it annually they offer an additional discount.  I always double check with my insurance agent prior to renewal to make sure I’m getting the best rates and all of the discounts I’m entitled too without sacrificing my coverage.  I do the same with my cell phone service.  I pay the bill annually and look for discounts or special offers that save me money.  This year I was able to renew my cell phone service for fifteen months for less than $100 – no joke!

Car registration is also a bill that comes due annually and I anticipate it well ahead of when my plates expire so that I am ready for when it comes due.  By setting aside a little bit each month in my checking account I am easily able to meet that expense.  By driving older automobiles it helps me keep both the insurance bill as well as the registration costs relatively low.

 

Keeping to a budget is far less daunting when there are fewer expenses going out each month so streamlining and minimizing the outflow is the key to success.  It also helps me when costs go up as they often do, especially in our current economy.  Last summer I received the dreaded news that my property taxes for the coming year were going up.  A LOT.  At that same time I also found out my sewer and trash bill was also going to go up.  A LOT.  Despite the much higher property tax bill and the higher fees for sewer and trash services I was able to accommodate those changes to my budget because I know I am not leaking money out on unknown or too many other expenses.  I just made adjustments and tweaked other areas to make it all fit.

 

I do not automate anything.  I want to be on top of every bill and know exactly how much I am paying before I allow it to go out.  I also want to see right away if something doesn’t look right so I can follow up on it and find out what is going on.  Mistakes happen, not often thankfully, but they do happen.

 

With our current economic situation we cannot afford to be wasteful, at least I can’t.  I worked way too hard all these years to earn the money I have.  I don’t want to waste it needlessly.  If you find yourself struggling to make ends meet I urge you to find the leaks and plug them up.  We can happily live without apps, expensive delivery services, fee based streaming services and a lot of other nonsense.  By spending mindfully and being completely aware of our expenses none of that hard earned cash is going to be wasted.  I wish you happy budgeting and loads of savings!

 

 

Are You Getting In Your Own Way?

 

For the vast majority of my life I’ve struggled with having the confidence to do things and make decisions because I tend to get stuck in my own head.  In the past I would keep too much stuff stored up in there and incessantly ruminate on things that in the end really didn’t matter or come to fruition.  There have been plenty of restless, sleepless nights too.  It was enough to drive a poor girl absolutely nuts!

 

Daily journaling has helped me so much to quell the noise that used to take up residence inside my head and I’ve been doing that religiously since I retired.  It has made a bigger difference than I ever thought possible.  I also pray and talk to God a lot, especially if I am worried or upset about something and magically things just seem to work out.  Along with prayer I practice gratitude and I make sure to thank God for all He continues to bless me with.  I am a very fortunate person and I don’t take that for granted.

 

I also touch base once every other month with my therapist.  When I first retired I had a lot going on and I’d been through some stuff.  I was doing weekly thirty minute sessions, then after about a year and a half monthly sessions and now I’m at every other month for about fifteen to twenty minutes.  Focusing on therapy like I have has made it so I am far more confident, especially with establishing and maintaining boundaries, having better interpersonal skills for dealing with difficult people and most importantly putting an end to negative thoughts and feelings about myself.  I accept myself for who I am.  I also care a whole lot less about a whole lot more.

 

When presented with options I have struggled to choose one for fear I’d make the wrong decision.  I’ve decided I no longer need to worry about that because time and experience have taught me that I can make decisions just fine and even if I do make the wrong one, eventually I will overcome it and make it right.  Right now I have a lot of options available to me for my not-too-distant future and in short order I have been able to do the research I felt I needed to do and then make the right choice for me without fear.  Now I am happily in the planning stage and executing some of those plans to start making things happen.

 

It is easy to allow fears, doubts or insecurities cloud our minds and our judgment and hold us back, but we can also do things to overcome those issues and move past them.  I am so grateful to have the tools I need, both physically and mentally, to keep me from getting in my own way and allow me to live my life with peace, love, happiness and contentment.