I made my own granola, yogurt, steak sauce, bread crumbs, saltines, and wheat crackers. I stored the bread crumbs in canning jars (using old lids) instead of putting them in a ziploc bag. Three of these items will be on the website soon with recipes.

I cut the buttons off of several items of worn clothing and added them to my button jar.

I used two buttons from the jar to replace missing buttons on two different items of clothing. I mended one and my oldest daughter mended the other. I also told her how to mend another item of clothing, which she did, so three things were mended this week.

I picked all of the rest of the lemons and the handful of grapefruit from the garden before a strong freeze. We normally only go to 28ºF here, but this weekend we are supposed to get down to 20º for several days. This does not bode well for my citrus trees. We have covered them with blankets and fabric and pinned it on with clothespins (I did not purchase burlap for this but just used what I have). I am hoping that they make it through.

I read a book that I purchased at a garage sale last fall for $1.

I made homemade hair detangler.

Ivory’s favorite finger food is peas. She also picked up lentils and broccoli this week.

What did you do last week to save money?

Similar Posts

25 Comments

  1. Hi do not give up on making bread. I used to kill the bread every time I tried and then I bought a bread machine at a yard sale for5 dollars and then I was able to have the bread machine mix it and I bake it in the oven after the bread machine makes the bread.I scrape the sides down with a spatula in the bread machine to getall ingrediants incorporated. Then I close the lid and let the bread machine finish mixing . There is a dough setting that beepswhen it is ready to go into the oven. Another trick is to use baking powder or baking soda for making bread. I use both yeastand baking powder. I got this idea from my mom that puts yeastand baking powder in her cinnamon rolls just in case the roomis chilly when rolling out cinnamon rolls. I am so proud of you for not giving up.Hope this helps your bread making.Patti B

  2. Holly, I no longer share the recipe, since 10 years ago the USDA decided that pressure canning zucchini & summer squash was unsafe. However, I put up for our family for 40 years before that, so I still do it. You can use frozen chunks of mixed squash, & tomato sauce instead.

  3. I found this on Livestrong.com, which I consider a pretty reliable site:BeetsBeets have the second highest level of nitrates, about 0.1 to 0.8 percent dry weight. This is 454 to 3,629mg of nitrates per pound of beets. The University of California at Berkeley warns against feeding homemade baby food derived from beets to children until they are at least 8 months old. Store-bought beet baby food is acceptable because manufacturers screen their beets for high levels of nitrates.Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/367209-a-list-of-vegetables-high-in-nitrates/#ixzz2IBydtP1W

  4. Brandy knows how to get glasses for a great price online she might have done a post on it you should ask her how to do that.Patti B

  5. Thank you for your reply. I have used Dryel in the past but have been unable to find the sheets in my area. Could you write or call the manufacturer and ask them what to clean the sweaters with?

  6. Where we live the cheapest eye exam is $85 at Walmart and $90 at Sam’s. We have also ordered glasses from Zenni Optical and have been very happy with the results. My husband was a little confused when he saw me playing what he calls “pin the glasses on the hubby”. Ha ha!

  7. With some research, it appears that the advice has been modified, to waiting until the baby is 6 months old, which your child is. Most people do not feed solids to infants under 6 months old anyway, but the true culprit in the nitrates of the past appears to have been contaminated well water, not the beets themselves. (Carrots also have a known nitrate load, but we were never cautioned about them.) My apologies for worrying people unnecessarily!

  8. So much to read…I think it took me an hour at least start to finish reading everyones posts. Very enjoyable.Made bread. Made banana bread from frozen bananas. My recipe uses 1 1/2 cups of banana and 1/2 cup oil…I always just use 2 cups banana and forget the oil. Most of the bananas I buy end up getting ripened and them frozen. Daughters also use them to make smoothies.Went to grocery store for 1st time this month on the 12th. Spent $51.50 on food. Saw Parmesan cheese wedges for 2.99, regularly 4.99. There were 10 wedges. I picked up 7 of them , then checked back before I went to checkout and there were still 3 left so took 2 more. They will store very nicely in the garage fridge. We only use fresh grated cheese and we use Parmesan probably 3-4 times a week to top pizza, pasta, casseroles etc.I was going to see if I could do the $100 month limit for groceries.As usual, we did not eat out and we use leftovers for lunch at work. Husband went to a dinner meeting and the item was steak. As usual he brought his home and I re-cooked it the next night in a pepper and cream (I used 2%) sauce for him. It was enough for him for 2 meals.I made a batch of biscuits for my youngest. School is still off for winter interim. She makes herself a cheese and egg biscuit for breakfast everyday. A biscuit cutter appeared in my Christmas stocking! I normally had just made them dropped.Vitamins were BOGO at the store so bought some more Vitamin D as I take larger doses than normal for the rheumatoid arthritis. The Tylenol brands seem to keep going off the shelf so have been buying the store brand arthritis “tylenol” and have noticed they work the same for much cheaper.Made meat loaf for my mother’s birthday and was able to send slices back with her and with 4 oldest for their lunches.Made yogurt in my 30 year old yogurt maker…worked just fine. Had some tonight with homemade granola and strawberries left from the birthday shortcake. We use mostly plain yogurt in cooking, not the fruity stuff.

  9. Hi!I went to the discount bread store and got loaves of bread for 80 cents a loaf. Generally for a 22 oz. of bread it is $2.99 a loaf.Pat

  10. I don’t think it was unnecessarily at all! I spent a lot of time in doctor’s offices when I was pregnant and my kids were babies with the job I had at the time. Parents’ magazines and the like had articles about nitrates and homemade baby food. I think sweet potatoes was one of them too. I would think it is prudent to skip the nitrate-laden veggies for homemade baby food and either buy those or wait. I just don’t think you can be too cautious.Allison

  11. Vision insurance pays for itself many times over for us. My husband has special glasses with a prism and we both have bifocals so our glasses are expensive. Also because of my husband’s special vision needs we need to use the same eye doc every year and we need someone knowledgeable to take the time to treat his special needs.

  12. I never got a post together this week because hubby and I were out of town with no internet access. We came home early because of snow being predicted for today and not being prepared at our vacation house if we were to have a power outage.Anyway…I would love some feedback on ways to use up sour cream that is out of date but still good. I think the flavor gets ‘off’ for fresh eating and do not like it so I often throw it out. I hate throwing out food! Help!!

  13. Wow, yes I called the pediatrician and they said it was ok, thank you so much for thinking of us! I recall reading about some nitrate laden foods with my first baby but it had completely slipped my mind. I think carrots were supposed to be limited too.

  14. Lentil and Brown Rice Stew1 (28-32 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice5 cups chicken stock3 cups water1 ½ cups lentils1 cup brown rice (do not substitute white rice—it will turn to mush with the cooking)3 carrots, halved lengthwise & cut crosswise into ¼” pieces1 onion, chopped1 celery rib, chopped3 garlic cloves, minced1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (I always use dried according to taste)1 bay leaf1/3-1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley (to taste & again, use dried so adjust to less, per taste)2 tbls cider vinegar, or to taste (this is a key ingredient and makes all the difference in taste)1 1.2 tsp. salt, or to taste1.2 tsp. black pepperCombine all but cilantro/parsley, cider vinegar, salt and pepper in heavy pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils and rice are tender, 45-55 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Discard bay leaf. Stew swill be thick and will continue to thicken as it stands. If desired, thin with additional hot broth or water before serving.(I usually chop a whole polish kielbasa and brown it, adding it in as the stew cooks. But meat is optional.I usually double the recipe as it freezes wonderfully. Use a BIG pot if you double—this makes a lot of soup.)

  15. You can use it in place of buttermilk in pancakes, waffles, biscuits, etc. You might need to thin it out a little with milk but it works just fine. You can make sauce with it for enchiladas.

  16. Store brands of OTC medicines are mandated by law to be bio-equivalent to the name brand item, so it’s a great choice to buy the store brand! I work at a pharmacy, and this is the only kind of pain reliever I buy. They are often even made in the same factory as the name brand, just on a different day!

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *