This Month's Grocery Spending 2023 - August

 

I didn’t do a lot of shopping for the month of August.  At the beginning of the month I did happen across a wonderful deal on bacon, frozen salmon fillets, frozen shrimp and frozen vegetables, all digital coupon deals that were offered to me by my grocery store.  I stocked up my freezer quite a bit with those things.

 

The rest of the things I bought were more sporadic.  While at Wal-Mart to pick up items I needed for projects I’ve been working on I also picked up a quart of cream and a head of lettuce to supplement what I already had on hand.  Later in the month I picked up another head of lettuce while I was there, but for some reason they were out of cream.

 

I stopped into Fred Meyer to pick up the cream I needed and decided to get two quarts so I wouldn’t need to go back to the store again for a good long while.  I also found marked down bell peppers to chop up and put in the freezer for future recipes as well as a package of low carb dinner rolls to try out.

 

I used one of these zucchinis sliced thin to make a great lasagna

Not much for any big shopping hauls this month, that’s for sure, but enough to keep me in what I needed and wanted.  I prepared a lot of tasty and healthy meals and enjoyed my favorite Keto coffee every day so I as a happy camper.  It also helps that my garden has been producing fresh tomatoes and plenty of zucchini for me to enjoy so I don’t have to buy any of those at the store right now.

 

My grand total for food came in at just $63.42 for the month and I did not have any nonfood purchases.  As I move into fall I plan to simply supplement what I already have on hand.  If I come across a super great deal I may stock up on that item if it happens to be something I use a lot of or is on my “wish list”, but other than that prepare yourself for some boring grocery shopping trips ahead.  You never know though, I may just surprise you.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 73

 

Hello, hello my friends!  We were super blessed with some rain and much cooler temperatures last week for which I’m extremely grateful for.  I especially enjoyed the reprieve from watering everything and worrying about my plants and flowers dying by inches as they baked in the hot sun.  We haven’t had a good rain in a couple of months.

 

The donation pile does not include the kitty 😉
Although, there are days......  😂 

I took a brief break from my BIG project to take care of a few things on my “to-do” list.  Now that school is back in session, it began the week prior to last, I wanted to get the donations I’d gathered throughout the summer over to the high school for their student pantry.

 

Instruments and an overstuffed bag of goodies for the student pantry

I also contacted my oldest daughter’s junior high band teacher as well as the new orchestra teacher to see if they could use an extra clarinet and a viola.  They were thrilled!  I headed over and got those dropped off and it really made my heart happy.

 

I did some more decluttering and reorganized my bedroom closet adding a couple more items to my donation bag.  On the way to the two schools last week I dropped off my glass recycling at the grocery store collection bin and dropped off my latest pile of donations at the thrift store.  It was really nice to get these things out of my house and on to someone else and be able to check these tasks off the list.

 

Amen!

As much as I love the idea of a neighborhood giving page on Facebook I had to pull out of mine.  It has become much more of an asking page than a giving page and the things people were asking for just blew my mind.  One gal was asking to borrow a car so she wouldn’t be inconvenienced while she loaned out hers.  Huh???  And my other big irritation is when people throw out their “single parent” status as the reason they are asking.  There was quite a bit of that.  As a single parent for 37 years I never used that as an excuse for anything, ever.  Well, except for maybe, why I was tired.  LOL.

 

Last week I was the victim of a random act of kindness.  I got cucumber bombed by one of my neighbors who anonymously hung a bag full on my front doorknob.  There was also a summer squash in there.  I was thrilled with my little bounty of fresh homegrown produce.  I most likely will ferment or pickle the cucumbers since I doubt I can eat that many before they go bad.

 

I'm doing alright! 😁

Thursday was my annual trip to the cardiologist and then over to the lab for the usual blood work.  I’m still waiting on the results from my lab work, but the cardiologist appointment went well.  Once again, I was told that I’m as good as I’ll ever get (okay, if you say so), stick with that Mediterranean diet (nope), but reduce my sodium for blood pressure reasons (even though my blood pressure is perfect) and stay active (definitely!).  I refuse to be frustrated with these things as I often feel that I am diagnosed and treated for the general population rather than as an individual.  By the way I am rushed through an appointment (in and out in only ten minutes) confirms to me that I’m not really an individual just part of the herd.  Regardless, I’m good to go until next year and my prescriptions have been renewed.

 

I’m not really complaining.  I’ve been in the medical field pretty much my entire adult life so I do have a pretty solid understanding of these things.  Our current medical profession is grossly understaffed and overworked.  Plus, I do believe we our best advocates and it is important do our own research.  I make my health related decisions based on what I know, and what I know works best for me, to the very best of my ability.  That is all any of us can really do.

 

I'm still on a mission!

I’m getting down off my soapbox now.  I hope you all enjoyed your week.  Any of you still decluttering?  I’d love to know how things are going for you.  Take care!  And stay healthy!

 

Photos = A MAMMOTH SIZE Project Completed

 

Dealing with family photos is a daunting process.  It evokes so many emotions, not just in going through everything, but also very much in the purging and downsizing process.  This past December I shared with you how I had tackled photos and sentimental items “like a pro”, but I knew there was still work to be done.  My preliminary declutter got rid of A LOT and I was really happy with my progress.  Instead of having sentimental items scattered throughout my home in various places and boxes of loose photos and bins full of albums I had managed to get it pared down to a bankers box and a single plastic bin.

 

My sentimental box was so full I could barely snap the lid on
Sentimental stuff & photos are really hard

I had definitely mad a HUGE dent in this stuff, but as it sat, a box full of overstuffed albums and a bin with loose photos in it along with a bunch of other stuff that caused the lid to barely fit wasn’t ideal.  I knew, even back in December, I wasn’t quite done with this project.

 

I bought four new binders a few years ago for this project
One for me and one for each of my children

I really wanted albums that had a designated home, were easy to access and nice to thumb through whenever someone wants to take a trip down memory lane.  I also wanted those albums to act as a history reference, with dates and names of people and places as well as additional information about these people so that my loved ones, present and future, will know more about their ancestors.

 

The old albums are gone - I donated the black and green one
and tossed out the broken white one.

These albums needed to be relevant to me and my family so I had no need to keep a bunch of old photos of people I didn’t know or care about (like old coworkers where I didn’t remember their name and others I had no clue as to who they were) and how many photos of Old Faithful does any one person need?  So those were first to go along with any junk (blurry, bad shot or duplicates) photos.  Even though I’d already eliminated a ton of junk photos I was surprised at just how many more I’d hung onto.  Out they went.

 

I added coordinating scrapbook paper to each colored binder

Initially, I found myself making a stack of photos to “share” with family members, but then I realized they already had most of these photos and more than likely didn’t need any more.  The last thing I should do is burden someone else with my unwanted junk and make their own photo project worse.  So I spared them, got brave and tossed them into the trash, on trash night so I wouldn’t be tempted to pull anything out.  Gone is gone.

 

I now have plenty of room for my sentimental items in the designated bin

and an empty box!

In my box of journal supplies I had four of the two inch D ring binders that I had ordered years ago for this particular project.  Once I was done I pulled them out and divided all of the pages of photos into categories.  My ancestors and my childhood went into one binder and then I have one for each of my children as I was scrapbooking back then.  I wasn’t particularly good at it and I didn’t have the money to spend on all the fancy stuff, but I managed to do it anyway.

 

The albums and my high school yearbooks now have
a new home on a shelf in the guest room closet

All loose photos now have a home, either inside an album or in the trash.  They are in chronological order to the best of my ability.  I’ve gone back once the big purge and organizing part was completed and journaled information into them – the photos have names, dates and information about their lives at the time the picture was taken.  I’ve added my memories and thoughts about how I felt about the person in the photo or the event taking place.

 

Stella checked to make sure the box was really empty
I made it!!!

Now that I am done it is a huge relief.  I no longer have this monumental task hanging over my head and waiting for me.  My grandmother wanted to do this with her photos before she died, but sadly it didn’t happen.  I inherited the pile of loose photos and old albums falling apart.  Fortunately, I was the one who helped her to start getting organized so I had a fair bit of information to get started with and I spent the year after she died compiling all of her photos into albums for my family and adding in the information I knew.  I wanted to make sure I completed that work and took care of my own photos too.  Now it is done and I no longer have to worry about it.

 

 

Spending LESS $$ - Home Repairs, Maintenance, Upgrades & Improvements

 

I’ve lived in my house since 1995 and I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears (literally and figuratively) into creating and maintaining the home that I currently have.  It hasn’t always been easy, in fact it has been a lot of hard work, and it always seems to take much longer to accomplish what you have in mind.  As they say,” it takes twice as long and costs twice as much”, however, I challenged that last part quite a bit.

 

It took more time for me to get to this point because I was adamant that I would not incur debt so it was definitely a “pay as you go” situation.  I always took care of the needed items first like a new roof, plumbing and electrical repairs, painting the exterior and adding some much needed gutters, replacing windows and adding caulk and insulation when and where it was needed.  The fun and pretty stuff often had to wait until funds were available and the necessities were taken care of, but at least I wasn’t wasting money on high interest rates which would have heavily cut into my available funds.

 

What has helped me the most was that I did nearly all of the work to my home myself.  Sometimes it was scary to take on some of these projects, but I put on my Big Girl tool belt and took the leap.  If I wasn’t sure of something I researched it, sought advice or help from more experienced people, checked out books at the library and in more recent years watched a lot of YouTube videos.  Hurray for YouTube University!  Also, I’ve often traded services and made thank you meals for my talented friends.

 

I did whatever I could to make my hard earned dollars stretch as far as possible without sacrificing quality or safety.  I always ask for gift cards as gifts for Mother’s Day, Christmas and my birthday as well as redeemed my credit card rewards points for them too.  I used gift cards at Home Depot or Lowes to pick up my supplies as often as possible.

 

I’ve scrounged up wood and trim from the FREE WOOD bin at a business near where I used to work.  I check closeout and clearance areas to see if there is anything usable.  I shop around online for best prices or wait for sales before I make a purchase.  Often I’ve been able to pick up what I need for a project off of Facebook Marketplace for a fraction of the cost of buying it new and more often than not I get it for FREE because someone has it and they just want it gone.  I’ve even found things at thrift stores.

 

The most important way I’ve saved money and taken care of the things around my house is with a lot of patience.  Patience to wait for the funds to be available to pay cash.  Patience to wait for sales or find what I need at the best price or free.  Patience to wait for someone to have a moment of time to give me advice or a helping hand.  And another important way is having an emergency fund in place to take care of anything that needs urgent attention because sometimes things happen unexpectedly.  How are some ways you save money and get things done around your house?

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 72

 

Happy Monday my friends!  With a quick look at the forecast I determined that last Sunday was going to be our coolest day and then we were in for a three day mini heatwave with temperatures heading toward the triple digits again.  After the cooler days we’d been having I wasn’t overly excited about getting so hot again but, as with everything, it was only temporary.  At least it cooled down quite a bit at nighttime.

 

After looking at the weather forecast I decided to get my errands run Sunday morning before the churches let out and the stores got busy.  I made a quick trip into Wal-Mart to pick up a few items before stopping in at JoAnn’s to pick up some yarn that was on sale and then over to Fred Meyer for some cream for my coffee and a few markdown items while I was at it.  Wal-Mart was completely out of cream of all kinds and brands (they only had half & half and not much of that) hence the need to go to Fred Meyer.

 

It was time for a midsummer yard clean up so I grabbed my leaf blower Monday morning and was able to get all the leaves and debris that fell during our last hot spell cleaned up.  We’ve had a few windstorms too.  I also blew out the garage real quick while I was at it.  Again, I worked early in the morning while the temperatures were cooler but, by the time I was done and it took me less than an hour, I was plenty hot and sweaty.

 

The rest of my week was spent working on the BIG HUGE project and a couple smaller ones I have going on around here.  I made great progress.  In between projects I settled in with my yarn and crochet hook from time to time.  I do find crocheting helps me relax and sit still for a while.

 

I am still very much in love with my outdoor spaces

I hope you all had a fabulous week.  Take care!

 

Investment Cooking - Canning Salsa

 

Whether you have an abundance of produce coming on from your garden, found a great produce deal at the store or just want to make a double batch of my super easy recipe you can easily put up some salsa to have on your pantry shelf.

 

I will often make a double or triple batch of salsa and can it in pint jars.  Not only do we eat it here, but I like to share it with my friends as well.  To begin I wash about a dozen pint jars and rings in hot soapy water, rinse them well and then, while they are still hot, give the jars a plunge in boiling water for about ten minutes.  You can also clean and sterilize canning jars by running them through the dishwasher.  I find doing the boiling water is faster.  I bring the water up to the boil remove the canner from the burner, add my jars and cover the canner with its lid and let it sit pretty much while I’m preparing the salsa.  I am able to reuse this water to process the salsa too.

 

Once the jars are in the boiling water I prepare all the fresh vegetables that I’m using in my salsa either by chopping them up by hand or running them through my grandma’s old meat grinder.  Then I prepare the tomatoes by rinsing them in cool water and removing anything from them I don’t want in my salsa.  I chop them and place them in my big mixing bowl.  All of the vegetables are then gently sautéed in my great grandmother’s big pot on the stove before I add my tomatoes and spices.  I allow it to cook down for a while until it is the consistency I want, then I add in some spices and salt before I taste it for flavor.  After making any adjustments I let it cook about ten more minutes to make sure all the flavors have melded and give it a final taste test.  

With the salsa completed I remove it from the hot burner and place me water bath canner still filled with jars and hot water onto the burner.  I remove all of my jars to a folded towel on my counter.  I place flat canning lids for the jars in a bowl with some of the hot water from the canner.  To each canning jar I add a teaspoon of lemon juice.  I allow the canner to come back up to boiling while I ladle the salsa into my hot jars with the lemon juice leaving about a half inch of head space.

 

Once my jars are full I wipe off the rims of each jar with a clean damp cloth dipped into a bit of white distilled vinegar.  Then I add a flat lid and a ring to each jar of salsa without over tightening.  Each jar is then placed in my canner and lowered down in.  I only want the water about an inch over the jars so I will add or remove water at this time.  Once the water is boiling I set the timer for 35 minutes and allow the jars to process.  I use this time to clean up my kitchen.

 

When the timer goes off I turn the burner off and carefully slide the canner off of the hot burner.  I remove my jars to the folded towel on the counter and allow them to sit until they have cooled completely.  Then I can remove the rings, check the seals, wash off the jars if they have any residue on them and label them with the date and what is inside.  They are now ready for my pantry. 

A good tip is to add a couple tablespoons of white vinegar to your water bath canner.  This helps prevent the jars from getting a milky haze on them during the canning process.  Always do your own research before you home can food.

 

Making Custom Storage Containers

I needed some better storage options for a busy little space in my home.  I’ve looked around a lot at what the stores and even Amazon had to offer, but it wasn’t quite what I had in mind and the ones that were closer to what I had in mind were pretty pricey.  Then one afternoon I remembered that way back when in my much younger and poorer days I used to make my own containers.  So I jumped up and rummaged around the house and a new container was born.

 

The scrap of fabric with colorful spools all over it was the perfect piece to cover the bin I made to hold all of my serger spools.  But first I needed to make the container.

 

I began by cutting the top flaps off a small Amazon shipping box as well as the two shorter flap so the inside of the box would be flat on the bottom.  I used packing tape to reinforce the remaining flaps.

 

After reinforcing the box with tape I used Elmer’s Glue-All to cover the outside of the box with a thin layer of batting.  This was a perfect use for that stack of scraps I’d been hanging onto all these years.

 

Then I covered the outside of the box with fabric and secured it with more glue.  Using glue instead of a hot glue gun allowed me to work with the fabric and batting much easier.  I’m not that fast so hot glue doesn’t really work that well for me, but it is definitely an option.

 

The fabric piece was enough for me to do the outside and down into the inside sides.  I had a small deficit on the bottom, but I also had a nice piece of coordinating fabric to go with it.

 

I used a piece of cardstock cut to size and covered that to fit in the bottom of the bin.  I secured it with a thin layer of glue.

 

On the bottom I cut a strip, folded the raw edges over ¼ of an inch and pressed them before gluing in place.  The bottom looks nice even though no one is ever really going to see it.

 

To make the pattern boxes I did basically made them a lot like I did the doll bed with cardboard scraps, the ones from the bed actually, and tape.  Then I covered it with Dollar Tree contact paper and went over the edges with clear packing tape, also from Dollar Tree, to reinforce them.

 

I repurposed this pretty pattern box to hold my elastic
simply by creating a new label for it

The red box in the back is an old photo
storage box that now holds my beads
And now I have a new bin I made to hold my serger spools

Need a bin or storage container for something?  Before you head to the store consider repurposing something you already have or making one.  You get a custom storage bin without much expense at all and a fun project to boot.  Give it a try!