Top of my list to keep me in check is entertainment.
Cable. Can’t miss something I’ve never owned. So, no glorified TV for us, if the giant antenna can’t bring it into the house, then it’s not meant to be seen.
Eating out. Clay and I challenged ourselves one summer not to eat out for three months. We did it. It was a lot of work keeping food ready and resisting the urge to go somewhere real quick, but now that we live out in the middle of nowhere it’s not hard to go a week or month without going through a drive-thru. However, Clay you need to start packing your lunch again dear…really.
The Most Holy Place. In this family I own all rights to the kitchen. It is mine, no touch! I learned mega amounts of wisdom from two women in Kansas that have helped me turn a jar of mayonnaise and a few rocks into a delicious gourmet meal. Let me share this simple wisdom: In nearly every baked good there are five simple ingredients that cost far less than buying the ready made mix. So put that brownie mix, pancake mix, bisquick, cake mix, bread mix (see the trend?) back on the shelf and buy yourself some flour, eggs, oil, sugar and baking powder. Yes, you might have to spend five extra minutes getting out the cook book to make the pancakes, but eventually you will know the recipe like your favorite song and you won’t want to touch those mixes with the burnt end of your wooden spoon. You also stand the chance of hearing, “Mom, I like your pancakes better than Denny’s!”
Use it up. I don’t go to the store until all supplies are exhausted. All those cans of tomatoes have a purpose and that is to fill the bellies of the people I love. If I’m going to spend a hundred dollars on groceries then we’re going to eat a hundred dollars of groceries before I drag everyone back to the store. Have a plan. Use simple books like the once a month freezer meals to get you a core of meals that you can whip out of those last few boxes of pasta.
Vinegar. This is God’s gift to housewives. It has at times replaced all these items in my house; fabric softener, glass cleaner, multipurpose cleaner, floor cleaner, starch, odor killer. And I think a gallon of it cost a buck or less. If you mix it with water and a bit of dish soap you’ve got just about any cleaner you need. The trick is in the dilution. Play with it, have fun, make it your own! Also, save your Windex bottle and mix your vinegar/water/soap and tad bit of lemon juice in that bottle and you won’t forget that it’s your window cleaner.
Aldi’s. If you don’t shop there, you should. I used to feel like I needed to rush home and take a shower after I shopped there, but it has improved a lot. They have whole grain bread for $1.60. Next to God, Aldi’s is the reason I get to stay home with my children. End of story.
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I like these April. I need to do better about using everything up before I go to the grocery…I do have some odds and ends in the pantry. So, I guess I have to get more creative in using those. I agree about vinegar, recently I told Brian, “white vinegar is the best way to clean anything!”
I just found your blog. Nice to meet you.
I noticed you are planning to give up TV. We (5 kids, husband and me) gave up TV for lent. No complaints so far.
I’m also going to try to use up everything in my pantry before I go out shopping again. When we moved into the new house in August we moved food from FIVE years ago that I had in my pantry from our first year of marriage when we lived in a small condo. Tonight we are going to have canned Chinese food that I bought almost a year ago. I don’t like Chinese food, but when I was at Walmart it looked delicious (I was pregnant). By time I got home, it sounded gross again so it has stayed in the pantry ever since. The date on the Chow Mein Noodles says “June 2005″, but in the name of April we are going to purge it from the pantry regardless.
Which Aldi’s do you go to? Are the prices a lot better than Walmart?
I just started using vinegar to clean with. A couple of weeks ago I read somewhere that you could pour some into the humidifier and run it to clean out the inside. I did that and went to bed. Three hours later when I woke up to feed Jacob, I stepped outside our bedroom into the hallway (where the humidifier is) and what a shock! It literally hurt to breathe. I am still using vinegar to clean, but only when it can dry quickly. I love it for all other cleaning purposes.
Yeah, Melanie…I’ve seen your pantry
I use the Aldi’s closest to where I need to be. Watson, Fenton, Manchester. Yes, it’s cheaper than Wal-mart and I don’t get distracted by other non-essential purchases. I come out with a bulging cart of food, I’m talking 6 loves of bread, 2-3 bags of frozen chicken, cases of canned fruits etc and I have never, ever, ever spent more than $150.00!!!! It is rare that I spend much more over 100.00.
Well…
Dinner was followed up with grilled cheese sandwiches as dessert. No, you did not have to eat all your supper in order to have dessert.
Okay. I must know how you use vinegar as fabric softener. Also, when you clean with it does the dish soap dilute or ride the vinegar smell from the object your cleaning? These are important question that will cause me lay awake at night. Please tell me.
Julianna,
I just poured the stuff in the washer where you pour the softner. I used maybe t/4 cup vinigar and 1 tablespoon dishsoap for an all purpose cleaner. You really can’t mess it up.
Sorry for all those typos. I really did graduate 2nd grade.
I just found your blog, and am enjoying reading it.
Just this afternoon I walked out of Aldi’s with a bulging cart of groceries for $130. My trunk was loaded to the top, and I actually thought about taking a picture of it for my personal blog. Ha! Really, though, it is the best place in town!
I just found your blog too! I am so glad I did. I am graduating from graduate school this week – with school debt now and a newborn that I hope to stay home with. Now with my husband starting seminary, we are trying to figure out how to keep our expenses LOW to I can try to stay home or work with her! Thanks for sharing your story.
Hey, I enjoyed the 2nd “Living Without,” too!
Friday night I was playing with Rummikub with my 90-year-old mother-in-law. The sun, low in the sky, was showing up the streaks and winter grime on her large front windows. I knew it must be bugging her, but she wouldn’t trust herself anymore not to fall in the landscaping stones out there. The dirty windows were bugging me, too, so even though I didn’t feel like it, I offered to clean them. No Windex or ammonia in the house. I said I’d just use water. Guess what she suggested I should add to the water….that’s right, VINEGAR! Her windows are sparkling!
April, I just discovered you website thanks to Pioneer Woman. I really enjoyed reading your blog and am an Aldi fan too. I never saw a gross Aldi but have heard some stories. Keep up the good work!
charlotte
Love the Living Without series. Aldi’s is my store for pretty much everything and I am happy that they are getting more specialized items. Mine now has alcohol and fresh meat and cheeses. I’m currently going through a divorce and will have to cut WAAAAAY back. I have always been frugal so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem but I still need some of this kind of encouragement to keep me on track. Thanks!!
Yep, vinegar is great. I love baking soda too. Very multi-purpose stuff as well.
I couldn’t survive without Aldi’s. I shopped there about 12 years ago when they first came to our area of Pa, but I didn’t care for their products too much. But you’re right, they have really improved everything. The only thing that aggravates me is how they just throw the food that you so carefully shop for into the cart. I know they have that “get the customer through the check-out as fast as you can” policy, but come on give me a break here…I’m the one paying for this food…even if it is cheap!
I’ve been reading your website for a couple weeks now and I really enjoy your blog…came to know you via Pioneer Woman also.
I just wanted to let you know that your blog from March is still bringing encouragement. We are trying to find ways to have my wife stay at home with our two girls. We have just recently started shopping at Aldi’s and now I am encouraged to empty our pantry before our next shopping trip. We haven’t had cable for a year now, and I don’t really miss it. Anything we miss we watch on hulu.com. Now I am off to research the many uses of vinegar
I can’t remember how I stumbled onto your blog, but I enjoy reading it. Keep up the good work.
Hoorah!! I agree, I have always felt that staying home to raise my children is a luxury and worth the hard work. My husband and I went without a lot of things our friends or families had but me staying home and raising our children was/is worth it! You can’t get those years back, ever. I love this: “Next to God, Aldi’s is the reason I get to stay home with my children. End of story.” -so true
It’s perfect to find out websites with information and thx for the discuss that you have given. Usually, I’m pretty pleased, but etc…
We moved to the country from a city about 2 yrs ago. Since then: raised chickens for meat and eggs, goats for milk, bunnies for sale and trade, dogs, kids, cats, and a pig for fun! Only 2 network: channels, ABC/NBC, ‘Create’ & PBS. What do I miss about city life? Not a cotton-pickin’ thing! Ask me more about our lives up here!