Hi everyone!
I'm not going to lie... I didn't have many thrifty moments this week. Of course I made meals, did laundry, and all of that other housewifery jazz. But in terms of projects, I just didn't make much progress. But here are a few things, anyway: 1. Garden: I made a plan for my 2020 garden. I chose to utilize four of my old, dilapidated 4x4' raised beds for onions, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes and dry beans for a more self-sufficient food storage plan. There is a long stretch in between those beds that I will use for planting flour corn, winter squash, sweet potatoes and beans. This "back garden" will be the overflow part of the garden, mostly for long-season vegetables and food storage items, not necessarily high-dollar or nutrient dense crops. I also made a complete, multi-season garden plan for the six squares, three quarter beds and three arches up closer to the house. This garden will produce: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, leeks, swiss chard, spinach, beets, garlic, kale, parsnips, cabbage, turnips, radishes and green beans. These are food items that are (mostly) easy to grow and provide a lot of food for the space. Why make a plan? Well, because I want to do 90% of the prep this fall, and the weather is fast becoming cold. This week I was able to clean out most of the beds and refill them with compost/organic matter. Then I put cardboard on top of them so next year they will be composted, mulched and ready for seedlings. I also planted potatoes in one of the beds. Now I have a list of things that I need to do for November. 2. Reading: I finished Candace Owens' Blackout. It's a great book that I highly recommend. I started reading Dan Bongino's Follow the Money. 3. We attended one of the many Trump rallies that have been taking place across the country. It was a long wait, but well worth it to see the sitting President. That is all I have for you this week. I did a lot of home administration tasks; calling people, driving people, mailing letters. Not really fun or exciting, but still necessary. I also worked on a new book that I'm hoping to put out in the coming months. Lastly, I'm not going to lie—election and political drama has got me drained emotionally. I need to just get off Facebook because some of the political posts from acquaintances (some of whom are influential in our community) make my blood boil. And the masks... I am so over wearing masks. Til next time, ~Prudence~
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Hi everyone! It is beginning to get pretty cold around here. I've made a few changes around the house to accommodate colder weather.
1. Winter wear: I picked up a pair of winter chore/play boots for our toddler. I couldn't find any thrifted boots in as big a size as I wanted. I ended up just buying the size she is now. If she does outgrow the boots over the winter, I'll just put the wool inserts into her current rubber "chore" boots, possibly with some alterations if required. Obviously, I'll still be on the lookout for boots in a bigger size, but I wanted something we could use right away. I also stocked up on some extra socks for all of us. Wouldn't it be terrible if there were a sock shortage in the middle of winter?? 2. Winter wardrobe: I've been making some upgrades to my own wardrobe for the late fall/winter season. I bought a pair of black dress boots at the thrift store for $8.00. Then I found a nicer pair of boots at a second thrift store for more money (I believe it was like $12.00). Both boots will need separate arch supports, but otherwise they are in pretty good condition. My ambition is to take the $8.00 pair back and exchange it for other merchandise. Secondly, I've been wearing a lot of leggings lately, as they are SO incredibly warm and comfortable. That being said, leggings are neither flattering nor modest for the average woman, so I've been digging through my skirt collection to see what might pair well with the long sleeve shirts I already have. The most flattering skirts on me seem to be knee-length A-line skirts. These are also blessedly simple to make. I found several yards of plaid flannel in my sewing stash that will pair nicely with my collection of long sleeve shirts. I am now working on making three new skirts for my winter wardrobe. 3. Repairs/alterations: I shortened the sleeves on one of my shirts to make it a 3/4 length sleeve rather than a slightly-too-short-and-tight long sleeve. I also repaired my "B-grade" tennis shoes. Per Tightwad Gazette guidelines, I try to keep three pairs of tennis shoes around: A-grade: purchased new, worn only to town or during travel. B-grade: after about 3 years, my A-grade shoes get a few holes, a paint splatter, or they just start to look worn out. B-grade sneakers are okay to be worn in public, but I usually save them for walks, bike rides or non-messy everyday wear. C-grade: they say a cat has nine lives... I say a shoe has nine years. In the final three-year stretch, my tennis shoes are relegated to only the dirtiest of jobs: painting, garden work, slimy April mud. My current C-grade shoes have completely lost the bottom layer of rubber. I'm hoping to keep the bottom layer of rubber on my B-grade shoes, so I used some "shoe goo" to fix the flapping parts. My husband's shoes also tend to flap after a while, so I am going to get my money's worth out of that glue. And hopefully out of our shoes. 4. I re-examined my exercise program, since it is getting very cold out. Rather than walking on the road, I brought our tiny trampoline (in current terms I guess this would be considered a "rebounder") into the living room and use that to get my 10,000 "steps" every day. An indoor trampoline is also great for kids who have to be cooped up indoors. In addition to rebounding, I'll also be looking into strength-building exercises like yoga, dance or kettlebells, all of which I already have equipment for. In addition to just staying fit, I have goals to fix some muscle imbalances and posture problems via special exercises and resistance bands. 5. Food and meals: since I've had more time to spend indoors, I've been able to make more good, nourishing and CHEAP meals. During the summer I don't ever spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and during the fall there is such an influx of free food (garden produce, eggs, etc.) that it almost becomes a full time job and a burden to process it all. It's true that every year I become more organized and focused in the effort, but I do waste more food in the summer and fall because I just get tired of spending ALL my spare time growing or preserving food. Not so anymore! I'm not canning or drying or freezing, because that has all been done. I'm not gardening, because THAT has all been done. What am I doing? Well, I get to really hone in on reducing food waste and making the most of foods I have to use. For example, today I cooked one of my $0.60 butternut squashes. As I scooped out the seeds, I thought about saving them to make pepitas. Then I got to wondering if I could sprout the seeds, and thereby add more greens to our diet with a food that I already have. This is the kind of food project that I just don't have time for in the warmer seasons, but now is a great time to experiment with. In addition to seed usage, I've also been trying to make the most of meats that I've frozen or canned. The other day I cooked a 10-lb bag of chicken thighs ($4.75 on clearance). Out of that I got at least 4 meals' worth of meat, 2 quarts of broth, and a few ounces of fat to cook vegetables in. There are just so many ways to utilize ingredients, if you have the time to do it. That's about all I have time to write about today. I have some other writing I want to get done before the debate tonight, which—yes—I had time to make cookies for. Blessings, ~Prudence~ Hi everyone! Here are some thrifty things that I did last week.
1. I repaired two pairs of pants and a shoe. I also worked on repairing a child-sized armchair. 2. I did more cooking this week. With the weather turning colder, I find myself spending more time inside cooking and cleaning. I made more elaborate (and also more tasty) meals with ingredients from the pantry and garden. 3. I harvested swiss chard and bell peppers from the garden. 4. For date night, we used two Olive Garden gift cards that had been sitting in my pocketbook for a long time. Our cost out of pocket was $9.00... not quite a fair assessment for the date itself, since we brought home $10.00 worth of extra entrees not including our leftovers. 5. I began listening to Candace Owens' new book, Blackout. It is fabulous. The book highlights how racist the left's policies have turned out to be. I'm listening to the audiobook on Scribd. That is it for the week. I'm excited about having more time now that the garden is basically done, but at the same time I feel like I don't know what to do with myself if I have more than 2-3 free hours in a day. I hope you all are staying warm! ~Prudence~ Hi everyone! Well, my Thrifty Thursday turned into a Frugal Friday. Oh well.
1. I cleaned out the chicken coop and used the litter for my new raised beds. 2. We turned on the wood furnace, so I'm saving paper and cardboard to burn rather than throw in the dumpster. We figured out that each bag of trash thrown in the dumpster costs about $2.50, so I'm usually careful to save anything that can be burned; butter boxes, newspaper, cereal boxes, junk mail. During the summer we burned them on a campfire about once a week, but now we can use them to heat our house. 3. I started reading How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavon. The book cost $18.00 delivered, so I plan to get a lot of value from it. I am hoping it will help me grow some staple vegetables in a cost efficient way: things like carrots, onions, potatoes, dry beans, and corn and wheat for grinding. In the past, I've not bothered much with these vegetables because they aren't cost effective to grow. But with how unstable things seem to be in our country right now, I'm trying to create a more long-term plan for self-sufficiency. 4. Here it is, mid-October almost, and we're still eating from the garden: Tomatoes, peppers, swiss chard, beets, watermelon, potatoes, (a very few) onions, butternut squash, garlic and we just ate the last of the cucumbers and green beans. Even though I technically put the garden to bed last week (pulled most of the plants, added chicken manure, etc.) we are still eating out of it, thanks to my cold storage area in the garage. The only plants left out there are peppers (that I've been covering on frosty nights), green beans, swiss chard, beets and turnips. The green beans are truly done, and I don't plan on touching the turnips until February or March. I plan on the swiss chard lasting until November. 5. I spent some time this week cleaning out our kids' toys. I found a whole garbage bag to send to Goodwill. Fewer toys will allow me to spend less time picking up toys and more time doing things I enjoy. 6. One of my Fascinating Womanhood assignments this week was to watch the 20-year-old TV series "David Copperfield". Lucky for me, I found it on Amazon Prime! That is about all I have for this week! I hope you all are staying cozy and enjoying the delights of autumn weather. ~Prudence~ |
About PrudenceI am a Christian homemaker who lives in the Midwest. I enjoy sewing, gardening, reading and thrifting. Archives
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