This Month's Grocery Spending 2023 - June & YTD

 

I knew, going into this month I was going to spend more than what I have been.  My focus this time was to find some good buys on beef and restock my freezer.  While I still had plenty of chicken and pork in the freezer to work on, I only had one package of beef and no ground beef at all.  Knowing I had company coming and camping trips ahead where a juicy burger or a grilled steak might be on the menu I was hopeful.  Fortunately, my hopes came true.

 

Some digital coupon offers, a markdown item & steaks on sale

Stocking up with super sales adds meat to the freezer

I was able to purchase two large packages of lean ground beef as well as a nice package of ribeye steaks on sale.  A couple good sales on cheese allowed me to stock up on assorted packages of various cheeses between two different sale cycles and stores.  A gallon of milk, two boxes of cereal on sale, a small package of street taco tortillas on sale for a ridiculous amount (20¢ off regular price) and some fresh produce rounded out my first big shopping trip of the month involving Albertson’s and Fred Meyer.  At Albertson’s I used the remainder of my gift card to offset most of the cost of that trip.

 

Shopping the loss leaders items at Albertson's helps me keep my spending low

I stock up on cheeses whenever they go on sale

My next trip to Albertson’s was for two of those packages of cheese, a container of sour cream, two more packages of tortillas on sale for 99¢ each (hadn’t seen that price in a good long while), six packages of frozen vegetables on a digital offer and some strawberries and asparagus on sale.  I was excited about the tortillas because I was thinking about tacos or beef & bean burritos as well as breakfast burritos for when my company is here.

 

Sales items with digital store coupons make for low totals overall

A lot for a little

All in all, I was able to plug some holes in my basic pantry supplies, stock up on a few items and enjoy some delicious meals while entertaining guests and going on a couple camping trips.  Not too shabby and for a cost that I am more than comfortable with.  My final total for food came in at $118.07.  I did not buy any nonfood items so that total was $0.

 

Mostly produce with a few goodies to keep me from feeling the need to dine out

In the midst of inflated grocery prices this is what I've spent so far this year

Digital coupon offer on the cream, sausage on markdown 50% OFF sales price
I buy my bananas two at a time when I shop so I don't end up with a lot of overripe fruit

How did you do this month?  Did you land any great buys this month?

 

Pantry & Freezer Challenge - 6 Month Update

 

One of the things I did prior to retiring early was to stockpile some groceries in preparation of my retirement and I did a really good job.  I had a full pantry, a full refrigerator and freezer and a small chest freezer out in my garage that was filled to the top.  Along with that I also keep a long term food storage (LTFS) pantry which is designed to help me out in case of an emergency or change to my circumstances.

 

During the winter I went through and emptied the chest freezer canning much of what was in there and adding it to my LTFS.  At the same time I pulled some older items from LTFS and placed them in my kitchen pantry so that I can use them.  I try to rotate and replace so nothing gets too old and goes to waste.  In March I made the decision and sold the chest freezer so now I only use the refrigerator freezer which seemed to be enough for me at this time.  More on that subject later.

 

I love to meal prep for the week ahead

I plan and prepare my meals based on what I already have on hand.  A lot of those meals are a combination of home canned foods and items I purchased from the store which allows me to eat a variety of wholesome and healthy meals.  I eat my leftovers and any food waste is very minimal, in fact practically none.  My kitchen scraps go to the chickens and I have a compost bin in my backyard.

 

Once a month I take inventory of what I have before I go to the grocery store and fill in the gaps.  So far this year most of my shopping as been fairly minimal and included mostly fresh produce and dairy purchases.  This month I actually did some stocking up of fresh meat as well as a few pantry items to replace what I was getting low on.

 

At the present time I have a very full pantry, refrigerator and freezer.  My LTFS is still intact and doing its job.  I have no doubt that if I needed to I could go without grocery shopping for an entire year, possibly longer, and be able to eat very well.  I am extremely grateful that I do not have to worry about that.  I am doing well and feeling quite blessed to be in this position.

 

Now that my freezer has been replenished with some meat and the pantry has been topped up I can now move forward and continue with my pantry challenge.  I intend to use more of my home canned goods to prepare meals with and hopefully, if I’m lucky, I’ll even have some fresh produce from my garden to can and put up in my pantry.  I will keep you posted on that.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 64

Another week has zipped right on by already.  Although it is officially summer you wouldn’t know it by the cooler temperatures we had last week.  A couple nights saw us down in the mid 40s which made for some chilly nights.  I had wanted to go camping last week, but with the overnight lows below freezing up in the mountains I decided to wait for a little while.  Instead, I grabbed a jacket and spent some time running errands.

 

I picked up a new set of floral dies and had a bucket of fun!

While it rained and the wind blew I spent a great deal of time paper crafting ephemera for various journals I am in the process of making.  With doing all of this crafting lately I’ve narrowed down what I wanted to get to organize my paper craft supplies, once and for all, so I placed an order and am very hopeful this will be the item that will do the trick.  It arrived last Tuesday and I’ve been using it ever since and so far I am quite pleased with it.  I’ll be sharing more about that with you in an upcoming post.

 

I was able to reuse the box and build a bunny tunnel
She loves it! 💖

We got some rain off and on so afterwards I went outside and pulled weeds along the side of my driveway as well as the ones that popped up in the cracks.  I am not a huge fan of weeding but I am very good at growing them.  If I spend a few minutes here and there pulling them up as I see them it is much more manageable and less of a chore for me so I keep at it.

 

Edith & her crew dusting themselves in the soft dirt

More tomatoes!

I puttered in the garden and flowerbeds and noticed I have some blossoms starting to show on my zucchini plants.  I now have a zucchini growing as well as more tomatoes too.  I harvested cilantro for the bunny, the chickens and myself.  My hens have been busy laying eggs, more than I can eat, so I’ve been sharing with friends.  My little homestead is coming right along.  I am becoming more and more hopeful of a good outcome with the garden.

 

I picked up some items on sale at Fred Meyer to donate

And these items at Dollar Tree also

Once this bag is full I plan to drop it off at the high school for their student pantry

I’ve been making plans for this year’s winter preparations.  Yes, unbelievably it is already time to start working on that.  I find that if I gradually work on this process over the summer it is much less overwhelming and also much less expensive than if I wait until the last minute. I’m also able to get a lot more accomplished.  As part of my winter preparations I ended up making a big decision about something I wasn’t really planning to do, but now I’m very glad I did.  Be sure to check back on Saturday when I tell you all about that little project.

 

I reorganized my china cabinet

A pot roast supper prepared from my home canned meat & veggies
I think this is my favorite item to have on hand

I hope you all had a wonderful and productive week.  Take care as you enjoy your summer.  Stay safe and stay healthy.  XXX

  

Life After Decluttering - Garage & Outside

 

I had been chomping at the bit to get out into the garage and the backyard to do some major decluttering.  I’d braved the cold temperatures a few times to start in the garage but as soon as spring finally sprung I was full throttle to get this part of my decluttering journey completed.  I was so ready to get rid of crap!

 

Through the winter months I was busy canning a lot of the meat I had in the garage freezer until I had whittled it down to the point I was able to fill my refrigerator freezer and empty out the chest freezer.  Once that was completed, and it was a job to be sure, I listed it on Facebook Marketplace and sold it right away.

 

My next HUGE project was to get rid of A LOT of scrap wood I had accumulated from all the home improvement projects I’d been working on the previous four years as well as stuff I’d collected for projects I changed my mind on and decided no longer needed to be done like a larger chicken coop and a greenhouse.  Nice, but definitely not necessary at this stage of my life.  I gathered up my first big pile in the backyard and offered it up on Facebook for free and then a few weeks later I emptied out the garage onto the driveway and hauled all the rest of the freebie pile from the backyard and offered it up again on Facebook.  Each time it all went in a matter of a couple of days.

 

I gave away camping equipment I no longer wanted, needed or used.  I offered up the big barbecue and an old window on Facebook, gave some yard stuff to my next door neighbor and bagged up a ton of donation items.  A couple of friends came over and collected a few things too.  I hauled a ton of stuff out of the garage and set it at the curb for recycling pick up over a period of six weeks.  I filled my trash bin to the top twice.  Then I began the final stage of the backyard landscaping project and that required a massive load to be hauled off to the dump.

 

What I am left with is a fully functional garage space with adequate storage for the items that matter to me most and a place to work on projects out of the weather.  I have a gorgeous yard and garden that makes me extremely happy and where I love to spend time.  No more clutter, no more unfinished projects waiting for my attention and no more piles of stuff taking up precious real estate.  From the curb at the street all the way to the backyard fence line, inside and out, I have the home I’ve always dreamed I could someday have.  My heart sings with joy every time I look out a window at what I’ve created and I feel so free and light as I pass through each space inside my home.  After twenty eight and a half years of living in this house it feels like a brand new home and I couldn’t be happier.

 

Garden Update At 6 Weeks

 

It took me exactly one year of steady hard work to completely re-landscape my entire yard from the curb at the street all the way to my backyard fence line.  I literally started with a blank slate after I tore out the lawn and removed my previous attempts over the years.  I removed yards of plastic lawn edging and rotten wood, enlarged and connected my old flowerbeds, added tons of homemade compost replanted, added bark mulch and new rock borders and filled in a large gravel walkway.  I even added a patch of faux grass.

 

New garden beds ready for planting at the beginning of May

The bulk of this project took place from spring to fall in 2022 and was completed this spring when I removed years of accumulated junk as well as the old raised garden beds.  I replaced my raised beds with corrugated steel panels I purchased on Amazon and filled them up with amended soil and some less than stellar purchased soil from Home Depot.  Then I got busy and planted my garden.

 

My tomato patch

Cherry tomatoes

My whole yard has become one big garden and I absolutely love it.  I love to go outside and putter in my lovely garden, pulling weeds, trimming bushes, admiring all of the pretty flowers and giving them water.  My little raised bed vegetable garden is my latest creation and it is doing amazingly well in spite of me and my black thumb.

 

Peppers & herbs

Cucumbers & dill planted from seed

I have tomatoes on my plants now, buds on my pepper plants, I’ve harvested quite a bit of cilantro and my zucchini are starting to get big.  I’ve got dill coming up amongst the cucumbers for what I hope will be a few quarts of homemade dill pickles.  If my zucchini plants pan out I’m hoping for a batch of sweet relish to add to my pantry.

 

Zucchini planted from seed

Blueberry bushes planted around the pear tree

 

Have any of you planted a garden this year?  How is it going?  What are your plans for the things you are growing?

 

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 63

 

Hello, hello my friends.  I cannot believe another week has flown by already!  This week we will say goodbye to spring and it will officially be summer on Wednesday.  The daylight hours will slowly start to get shorter too as we head toward fall.  I often feel like time is getting away from me.  I spent a lifetime working my way toward Friday and now it feels like Friday comes so quickly each week.

 

Christmas die cuts - I have since used them all up and now I need to make more

Perhaps my week slipped by so quickly because I was having way too much fun.  I spent the majority of my week working on a HUGE project I’m hoping to complete by the end of summer.  I’ve already shared snippets of it with you all as I’ve been making fabric journal covers in my new sewing room/guestroom upstairs.  This week I’ve been working on things that go inside of those journal covers spending several hours each day working on certain pieces.  Progress is being made but it is slow going as is often the case with handcrafted items.

 

A nice sized pile of ephemera

I often took breaks to go outside and breathe fresh air and soak up some sunshine.  I visited with my chickens as I pulled weeds in the backyard.  The kitties joined me as I pulled weeds along the driveway.  I’m always amazed at how many weeds I can pull in just a fifteen minute session a couple times a week.  Typically though, I just pull a handful as I go out to the mailbox, feed the chickens or water the garden and flowerbeds.  That is usually enough for me to keep up on this task however, we’ve had a lot of rain this year so the weeds were flourishing.

 

Chef salads scream summertime to me

I had planned to go a few places, maybe take in a movie or go for a bike ride, but I was so focused on my crafting project that I pretty much just stayed home.  After so much busyness and activity over the last couple of months it did feel nice to just relax and stay home for a change.

 

I made these masterboards to use up my scraps

I had a couple friends pop by for a short visit which was nice.  They kindly ignored my mess in the dining room and we were able to get caught up on life in general and complain about our aches and pains.

 

My garden is doing so well this year I cannot believe it.  I am really glad I decided to plant one this year and I really appreciate the encouragement from some of you to keep trying.  Check back with me on Wednesday as I share my one month progress report.  I’m so proud of myself, I haven’t killed anything yet!

 

Potstickers made the menu last week

I hope you all enjoyed a fabulous and blessed week.  What has been keeping you busy?

 

Investment Cooking - Freezing Bulk Ground Beef

 

I was able to pick up two of the three pound packages of 93% lean ground beef and a large package of steaks on sale at Fred Meyer at the end of May as part of my June groceries.  It was perfect timing because after a lot of winter canning and my pantry challenge I only had one package of beef left in my freezer.

 

I had a lot of ideas of what I wanted to do with that ground beef.  I began first by finely dicing a large onion.  I cut one package of ground beef in half combining it with some of the onions, steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to make six hamburger patties.  I stacked them with waxed paper I cut into squares and placed them in sandwich bags I had labeled with a Sharpie marker.

 

Next I took the other half of the package of ground beef and made up a batch of meatloaf mix.  I divided that in half to make two mini meatloaves.  I placed each one in a quart sized freezer bag I had labeled.

 

The other package of ground beef was cut in half and used to make meatballs seasoned with garlic powder, dried basil, salt & pepper, dried minced onions.  I added a couple eggs and rolled them into balls.  I packaged them in small batches into labeled sandwich bags.  I’ll be able to use these with marinara sauce to go with pasta or to make meatball sandwiches.  They will also be nice for Swedish meatballs.

 

Not only is my freezer now well stocked with beef, but I also have many components ready to make easy and quick meals for one or two people.  Combined with the chicken and pork I also have in the freezer it looks like we’re in for some delicious meals.