Hi everyone! Here are some thrifty things I did this week:
1. Made a sourdough starter. I have tried making these in the past, but was never diligent enough to follow it through to completion. Basically, this is what you do: Day 1: Mix 1 cup water with 1 cup flour. Cover with a cheesecloth. Days 2-5: Discard (i.e. save in a jar for other purposes) half of the starter. Add another cup of flour and another cup of water. Mix together, cover with a cheesecloth. Days 6-7: Discard and feed two times per day. After the last feeding on day 7, store your starter in the fridge. 2. Made an arrangement for our kitchen table. I used free flowers and greenery from our home: forsythia, willow branches, daffodils and tulips. 3. Line-dried all of our laundry last week. I have two drying racks that I keep indoors (or outside on our covered porch) to air-dry clothes. I figure it costs about $0.50 per load to dry, so I can save a couple of dollars every week by using the drying racks. 4. Made crackers, crepes and pizza crust with discarded sourdough starter. In the past I've only tried (and failed at) making bread loaves with sourdough. This time I'm starting our with easier recipes, and after some practice most have turned out excellent. I'm using recipes from this website. In the midst of a yeast shortage, I've still been able to make plenty of bread products this way. 5. Harvested spinach and parsnips from the garden. Those were both overwintered from last year. The only new produce we have ready is rhubarb, but I haven't picked any yet. 6. Lastly, we were able to acquire about 6 months' worth of venison for our freezer. This will be so helpful if there is a meat shortage in the near future. I canned some of the stew meat to put in our basement food storage, and the rest (3 large roasts and 50+ lbs. of ground meat) we put in the freezer. After counting all costs, we figure that the price was about $0.17 per pound. I also canned some chicken breasts that I bought for $1.60 per pound. In addition to what I already had in our food storage, I estimate that we have enough canned meat to last one month. I would be more comfortable with a 3-month supply, but we do still have a lot of meat in the freezer. Blessings, ~Prudence~
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With our small family, it's hard to go through a whole bag of oranges without some of them drying out or getting mushy spots. This tip is also helpful if you're trying to minimize trips to the grocery store and reduce waste.
Your oranges will last for two weeks or more if you do this: 1. Put a paper towel in a freezer bag. 2. Set oranges on top of the towel, inside the bag. 3. Close the bag and store in the refrigerator. I hope this was helpful for you! ~Prudence~ |
About PrudenceI am a Christian homemaker who lives in the Midwest. I enjoy sewing, gardening, reading and thrifting. Archives
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