This Month's 2025 Grocery Spending – February

 

This month I embarked on a no rules pantry challenge to use up a lot of items I had on hand in order to limit any potential food waste and save a bit of money in the process.  Although the heat bill was less than expected this winter I still wanted to save some extra cash, but I also wanted to focus some dollars toward stocking up a bit so my LTFS doesn’t run too low.  I had a few gaps to fill and a nice list of items I wanted to bulk up on.

 

My biggest shop this month was done at Winco

This year I am also trying to really amp up the amount of fruits and vegetables I consume, mostly vegetables, while keeping the ultra processed foods and even processed food to less than ten percent of what I buy.  I’ve been doing this for a while now and it makes a huge difference in what I spend at the stores.  Buying REAL Food saves me a ton of money.

 

Armed with a $10 OFF $50 Purchase coupon for Winco and a Trader Joes gift card my BFF gave me for Christmas I headed off with my list to purchase some fresh foods as well as items I wanted to stock up my LTFS shelves with.  I was thrilled to be able to restock some canned vegetables, canned tuna and canned clams, baking products, a couple dairy items as well as to refill my crisper drawer in the refrigerator with loads of fresh vegetables.

 

At Trader Joes I rounded out the vegetables I wanted, added a couple dozen eggs (they had the best price on eggs at $3.49 a dozen) and a few other items I hadn’t had for a while like some of their turkey burger patties.

 

At Cash & Carry I was able to pick up more romaine lettuce (on sale for $3.99) for my salads and resupply my cream as well as add a new can of whipped cream making that the final shop I needed to do this month.

 

My nonfood spending was to buy some new replacement scrub sponges, snack bags and fold top sandwich bags which I picked up at Winco when I did my big shop.  At Costco I picked up a huge refill bottle of dish soap that was on sale to add to my supply shelf in the linen closet.  The total I spent on nonfood items came to $12.56 leaving me with a rollover amount (from January & February) of $18.41 which I will add to next month’s $20 budget for a total of $38.41 to start off with.

 

The total spent on food after using coupons and a gift card came in at $69.81 this month.  I added the rollover amount from this month along with the rollover amount in January to my monthly $100 budget for next month.  I now have a total of $141.27 to begin my March shopping with.  That’s not bad at all!

 

Not too shabby!

How are grocery prices where you are?  Did you find any really good sales or markdowns?

 

Pantry Challenge Update

 

Looking back I can see that I have pretty much done a pantry challenge not just for the month of February, but also in January as well.  A two month long pantry challenge to begin the year has been well worth it.  I was able to use up so much stuff and avoid having any of that food go to waste.  It also freed up my grocery budget to allow me to purchase lots of fresh produce, some dairy items and stock up my LTFS by replacing the things I had used and adding some additional items to the shelves.  In doing so I focused on upping the nutrition and quality of pretty much everything I have purchased this year.  No garbage.  No chemicals.  Just good, healthy ingredients to make my meals with.

 

I had made some really good progress using up a lot of odds and ends I had in the kitchen freezer and the pantry as well as some of the condiments in the refrigerator I’ve been trying to thin down.  So in February I wanted to make a lot more progress and finish up using the rest of the stuff that had been hanging around for a while.

 

Things I’ve been able to use up so far this year so nothing went to waste include a container of lemon pepper seasoning as well as some ground ginger, the end of a bottle of avocado oil and the end of a bottle of olive oil, a jar of sweet pickle relish, a bottle of ketchup, a jar of mayonnaise, a jar of pesto, a container of sour cream, two bags of grated cheese, the end of a 5# bag of red potatoes and the end of a 5# bag of russets, dinner rolls and bread from the freezer, all of the leftovers, soups and broths I had stashed in the kitchen freezer, a frozen bone in chicken breast as well as the rest of the Thanksgiving rotisserie chicken I had frozen, two pounds of ground beef from 2023, a lone burger patty, some of the Easter ham from last year, a jar of pear butter, a jar of salsa, the end of a bottle of pancake syrup, a variety of open packages of frozen veggies plus some nuts, seeds and dried fruits.

 

In January I had baked some of my homemade whole wheat dinner rolls to pair with these soups.  I wanted to make sure these rolls got used up before they had a chance to freezer burn.  I also made a lot of fresh green salads to have on the side with those soup meals.  I made my own salad dressings for the salads which allowed me to use up quite a few condiments that had been hanging out in the refrigerator since just before Thanksgiving.

 

I was still on a bit of a soup kick as this month began.  To break up the soup meals I was having and stave off potential boredom I did make a handful of meals too.  Leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving was used to glaze some ham slices I had vacuum sealed and put away after Easter last year and tucked into the deep freezer.  I roasted frozen green beans and some red potatoes to serve as my sides.  It was perfect!  With some of that ham and the last of the red potatoes I made breakfast hash for Sunday brunch serving it with some sliced canned peaches.

 

There was one lone bone-in chicken breast left in the freezer that I wanted to use up so I put it in my medium slow cooker seasoned with the last bit of lemon pepper seasoning I had in a container and let it roast.  It was delicious on top of the large veggie loaded dinner salads I made.

 

I thawed leftover rotisserie chicken from Thanksgiving and used the rest of the cranberry sauce as well as some croissants I had in the deep freezer to make a couple delicious sandwiches.  I paired these a small green salad to complete the meal.  So good!  A lone beef patty became a hamburger one night, the last bit of diced ham and some leftover grated cheese became an omelet for supper on another night, while a container of leftover rice in the freezer along with some of the rotisserie chicken I had thawed became fried rice.  I made some egg rolls to go along with some of my asian soups as well as the fried rice.  Lots of single items got used up this month.

 

Having plenty of fresh vegetables on hand to make loads of salads with as well as for snacking made this pantry challenge a breeze and even though I was eating a ton of leftovers this time it didn’t really feel that way as everything seemed fresh and new.  In no way did I feel like I was deprived or that I was eating the same things over and over.  I think the fresh produce did a lot to make it feel that way.  I am very much ready to get cooking again and fill my kitchen freezer with more odds and ends for the next pantry challenge.  As far as this pantry challenge goes I feel like it was very successful.

 

Homemade Salad Dressings

 

Making my own homemade salad dressings is a high priority in my kitchen these days using the best quality ingredients I can afford to keep on hand.  In my opinion there is not point in preparing a beautiful green salad filled with a variety of nutritious vegetables and then pour an ultra processed chemical laced dressing all over it.  Having a simple dressing mix on hand is a great way to help you whip up a quick batch.

 

Italian Salad Dressing Mix 

1 Tbs. garlic powder                                      1 tsp. dried basil

1 Tbs. onion powder                                      ¼ tsp. celery salt

2 Tbs. oregano                                                1Tbs. salt

1 Tbs. parsley                                                  1 tsp. ground black pepper

 

Place all ingredients in a clean dry half pint jar.  Secure with a lid and shake until well combined.  (I will often double this recipe & I only use half the salt this recipe calls for.)

 

Italian Style Dressing 

¼ cup cider or red wine vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

2 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. Italian salad dressing mix 

Place ingredients into a pint jar.  Secure with a lid and shake to combine.

 

Creamy Italian Style Dressing 

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbs. Italian salad dressing mix 

In a small mixing bowl whisk all ingredients thoroughly together.  Pour into a pint jar and secure with a lid.  If mixture is too thick add 1 Tbs. of milk and mix well until you reach desired thickness.

 

1000 Island Dressing 

1 cup whole milk

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup ketchup

2 to 3 Tbs. sweet relish

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 

In a small mixing bowl whisk all ingredients thoroughly together.  Pour into a pint jar and secure with a lid.  If mixture is too thick add 1 Tbs. of milk and mix well until you reach desired thickness.

 

I keep this on hand and it works very well

Buttermilk Dressing 

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup whole milk

2 Tbs. homemade Italian Salad Dressing mix 

In a small mixing bowl whisk all ingredients together until well blended.  Pour into a pint jar and secure with a lid.

 

Asian Style Vinaigrette 

¼ cup soy sauce                                            1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup rice or white vinegar                        2 Tbs. sesame oil

1/2 cup avocado or olive oil                        ¼ tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. sugar (optional) 

Place ingredients into a pint jar.  Secure with a lid and shake well to combine.

 

Caesar Style Dressing 

¼ cup lemon juice

2/3 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ cup finely grated parmesan  

Place ingredients into a pint jar.  Secure with a lid and shake to combine.

 

Homemade ketchup

French Style Dressing 

¼ cup apple cider or red wine vinegar

½ cup catsup

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup olive oil 

Place ingredients into a pint jar.  Secure with a lid and shake to combine. 

For a Creamy French Style Dressing substitute 1 cup mayonnaise for the olive oil.  In a small mixing bowl whisk all ingredients together until well blended.  Pour into a pint jar and secure with a lid.

 

All of these dressings, with the exception of the Italian dressing & Asian vinaigrette, need to be refrigerated and will last about two weeks. The French dressing does not need to be refrigerated, however if you decide to make the creamy version you will want to refrigerate it.  I find that using my coffee frother is perfect for mixing the oil based dressings.  It does a good job and is way less messy than shaking.  If you know, you know. 😉

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 151

 

Baby, it’s been cold outside!  We’ve had snow, sleet, rain, wind and freezing temperatures.  Thankfully by weeks end it has begun to warm back up.  I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for spring although I must admit I do enjoy watching the snow fall.

 

I worked all day last Friday (Valentine’s Day) and then I got home after dropping off two books I had just read at the library.  I also stopped into the liquor store on the way home to pick up a small bottle of peppermint schnapps so the BFF and I could have it in our hot chocolate.  I got home just as a snowstorm rolled in.  I got the bright idea to clean and reorganize the bathroom drawers real quick before we settled in to watch a movie.  I somehow managed to pull the drawer right out and drop it on the floor busting the knob off.  I have no idea how, but I did.  Good Lord!  Thank goodness for E6000 adhesive because I was able to fix it, but geez Louise!

 

It always takes a mess to clean one up

Two empty containers!  I've used up some stuff!

Saturday and Sunday was time for me to work on some craft projects and then I needed to turn my attention to cleaning up my mess.  I’ve done so much crafting in the last few months that it was time to go through and do a little reorganizing as things had become a bit messy.  I was able to get everything put away where it belonged and in the process I emptied two containers.  also had an empty drawer on my craft cart.  That actually surprised me.  I was able to use that drawer to put away my “new” tape runner I got off the FREE table at work a while back and the refills I had ordered for it.  I love when everything has a home.

 

Love this!! 😍

When I got done organizing all of my paper crafting supplies I made more labels so now all the drawers are labeled and I can easily find what I need.  It felt really good to get that project done.

 

Monday was President’s Day so I didn’t need to work that day.  I started out slow, did a load of laundry and then somehow found myself crafting again, making some extra colorful pages for my daily journal.  I worked all day on Tuesday and that afternoon took a group of seniors to tour the Idaho Supreme Court.  We were invited to come into one of the justice’s chambers for a visit and a bit of a Q&A which was pretty special.  It was very interesting and kind of reminded me of a school field trip.  I was impressed by how much the seniors seemed to love it.

 

Before the pantry challenge began

And now!

Wednesday I ran a quick errand.  When I got home I defrosted, cleaned and reorganized the deep freezer and then restocked the kitchen freezer with some older items I pulled from that deep freezer.  Everything I have in the deep freezer right now is currently a year old or newer and the majority of those items have all been vacuum sealed so I’m quite pleased with that.  Once I was done I updated my LTFS freezer inventory spreadsheet so I know exactly what I have on hand as well as the quantity.  Next I updated my March shopping list.  I also came up with a plan for my next canning project – minestrone soup.

 

This was fun!

On Thursday I spent a fair bit of time working in my art journal and in the kitchen to get food ready for a little dinner party I had with a couple of my gal pals I haven’t seen for a while.  It was so good to share some delicious food, a little red wine, a delicious dessert and some wonderful conversation.

 

I am loving this new journal & process

A perfect way to end another productive and tireless week in my retirement!

 

Cleaning The Toaster

 

I happened to be looking at my toaster the other day and was wondering when it started to look so shabby.  The more I looked at it the more I realized it had a lot of built up grime covering it.  I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that other than wiping it off on the outside with a soapy dishcloth and emptying the crumbs on occasion I haven’t really paid that much attention to it other than to grumble about the crumbs it would leave in the cabinet where I keep it.

 

Hmmmm..... 😒

I’ve had this toaster for several years, probably close to eight maybe?  It was only recently, last summer in fact, that I bought a bin to keep it in so I didn’t have to keep grabbing the vacuum cleaner all the time to suck up the crumby mess in the cabinet.  After all these years!  Duh!  You are never too old to learn stuff.

 

Ewwww! 😧

The toaster is nice and fully functional.  It has a brushed nickel finish which is what initially attracted me to it, but that nice finish wasn’t so nice anymore.  Upon further inspection I realized it had developed a “protective” layer of grime that I could probably scrub off if I was of a mind too.  Turns out, I was.

 

Whaaaa....? 😲

With a magic erasure and some of my Mean Green degreaser I scrubbed it up in short order and was absolutely horrified at the sight of all the dirt on that eraser.  Gross!  You don’t realize, until you get started, just how bad it actually is.  But with a little more elbow grease I was getting it clean and boy did I love the result.  It looks like new again!  Yay!  Clean, shiny and crumb free.  I’m ready to make toast!

 

Whoa! 😎

Why have I overlooked this well used and well appreciated little appliance for so long?  I’m ashamed to say I truly do not know.  Moving forward though I will try to do better and keep it nice and clean from here on out.  No more neglect.  I promise.  How does your toaster look?  You probably treat yours a little better than what I have mine.  Poor little toaster.  With that however, I can't help but wonder how many people would've just tossed this toaster out and bought a new one.  Hmmm.

 

Maintaining My Decluttered Home

 

“Are you still decluttering your home?”  Why, yes I am!  To maintain my decluttered home I am trying to be mindful of what I am bringing back into it.  One of the things I am doing is to make regular trips through my home and gather up items I am not using or no longer want and I am always amazed at how much stuff I still come up with.  Last month I packed up a box and a trash bag full of items and dropped them off at the thrift store.

 

I am working on gifts to refill my empty gift cupboard.  So far I’ve made a journal and some note cards using all items I already had on hand in my craft stash.  I am also trying to make the items I need before buying anything new.  Recently I needed some greeting cards and I used some I had already made.  I also needed to wrap a few gifts and used gift bags, bows and tissue I had in my gift organizer.  Slowly, but surely I am making great progress thinning out that organizer.

 

This was such a fun project

My day planner and daily journal for 2025 I made myself rather than purchasing something,  Using notebooks, one spiral and one composition, and other supplies from my paper crafting stash I was able to tailor make them to my preferences and it didn’t cost me a thing.  I do know day planners and journals are really expensive.

 

This past Christmas I decorated my home solely with items I already had stored in my bins and I even found a couple of things that ended up in the donation bag.  I did not buy anything new.  With that being said, however, I did decide I wanted to up my game as far as décor for some of the other holidays that are coming up, but instead of heading to the store I’m challenging myself to make new things from what I already have in the house.  I loved my little Valentines décor this year.  A garland I made last year from baker’s twine and papers I already had.  This year I added the XOXO that I bought last year at the dollar store and spruced it up with acrylic paint and glitter hearts.  Again, these items I already had on hand.  Who knows what I’ll end up adding next year, but I’m pretty sure it will be homemade.

 

Last month the thought occurred to me to add a first aid kit to the car.  Instead of ordering one online or buying one at the store I went through what I already had in the bathroom and made a short list of items I still needed.  A box of bandaids and a roll of tape was really all I was short on so I picked those up at the dollar store.  Instead of buying a special container or pouch I simply used an extra freezer container I had in the pantry that had never even been used.  I sure couldn’t buy a first aid kit for $2.50 (the price of the bandaids and roll of tape) and other items I already had are now going to get used.

I am related to Katharine so I thought I should read her book

I am not buying books or puzzles this year.  Instead I am borrowing them from the library.  As soon as I am done reading the books or working the puzzles I simply gather them up and return them.  I love not having to store shelves of books or stacks of puzzles because I know I'm not going to read those books again or work those puzzles either. 

 

I love my uncluttered home! 💖

With a little bit of thought and creativity I am able to make a lot of what I need or want and spend far less time and money purchasing more stuff.  In the process things are getting used rather than sitting on shelves or in drawers taking up space and not living up their full potential.  I feel like not using the items we’ve already bought is just as wasteful as buying more crap we simply do not need.  What are your thoughts?