Hi there and Happy Monday to you.
We are observing Martin Luther King, Jr Day today with limited school and loving on daddy since he is home too!
If you are here for the first time, I suggest you go back a few posts and check out what came before this post...
How did you do last week with the cut your grocery bill in half challenge?
Were you able to do it with ease or was there a lot of sacrifice?
Our Challenge Update: So last week the boys (hubby and son) needed hair cuts. Something we don't do for the boys at home. Cost $ 40 total with tip (yikes seems like a lot to me...) Also Zachary needed a protractor for school. Would you believe I checked the Dollar Tree and Walmart, neither of them had one. So I ordered from Amazon (at least Prime and free shipping). Of course THEN the day after I get my $ 5 STAPLES reward emailed to me...geezz...timing huh.
That's it so far...we are doing well.
Next week I am planning a trip to a library we have not been to...and a trip to the Harness Racing Museum that we love and is pretty local and FREE. Lots of hands on for the kids and a simulator ride.
This week I wanted to share with you a few tips I learned over the years on reusing and recycling in the home. Stretching the dollar farther. Breaking it down by categories for you.
Cleaning Supplies: I have been that mom who has tried it all. From brand name cleaners that are full of chemicals to vinegar and water. I find the vinegar and water is the best. It might not disinfect but to clean it's great and add a little lemon juice and smells good too. VERY Inexpensive to make and no nasty chemical smell or in the air. Also using a rag or old shirt works great. No paper towels as they leave tiny particles behind on the glass and not reusable.
In the Kitchen: So much you can do with leftovers and other kitchen items.
- Freeze leftover soup, yogurt, wine - in ice cube trays.
- Use your blender to mix up some fruit that might be going bad and make a smoothie or freeze for a smoothie at a later time.
- Use stale bread for breadcrumbs pulsing in your food processor.
- Use the crumbs of the chip bag or pretzel bag to coat your chicken or fish. (again grinding them up and making them crumby)
- I used 1 pound of ground beef and get two meals. First one for tacos (mixing the meat with 1 can of black beans) and the other 1/2 pound mixing with bread crumbs and diced veggies and making mini meatloaf in the muffin tin.
- Save your poultry bones to make broth/stock.
- Mash potatoes left over - make potato pancakes a few days later. Add in some cheese and bacon or scallions.
- Crockpot! need I say more...
Check out this post from My Thirty Spot about reusing your candle wax at the end of your candles - very impressive!
What are you GO TO thrifty ideas in the kitchen or home? Would love for you to share!
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Comments
Blessings, Dawn
Our biggest expense this month was that the microwave died. I actually bought one online with a $40 coupon and free shipping. So, I had no in store products tempting me. The only issue is we are having to learn to not have one while we wait for the new one to arrive.