Monday Message

"Start now to create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan. Watch for best buys that will fit into your year’s supply. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away. The instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of the counsel and prepare for the future." (L. Tom Perry)

I think we all see that things are a bit more difficult. We need to be steadily moving forward in stocking up a little here and there as we go and as we can. I think with prices of everything going up we will have to be more frugal in our purchases. Every little thing we can do will add up and bless our families.

Don't forget to try and learn those skills. Oh how I wish I had the skills that I have now back when we got married forty-eight years ago on June 15th. I knew how to make cookies and banana bread and French toast. That is all. I did not even know how to wash clothes. I was on the folding clothes end of laundry. I had a little sewing in school. I was a nurses aid...that was all I had in my collection of skills.  I had a desire to learn and still desire to learn. As I am older I am thankful to have learned skills that help me now in these days of my life. Of course, all my experiences in life have added to all these skills.

So add to your life experiences by learning skills that will bless your family the most.

I think for me the best skill and at the top of my list was learning to bake bread. While I am pretty good at it by now, there is more I want to learn on it. Once I knew how to make bread, I wanted to store all it takes flours, seeds and nuts, dried fruit. I wanted to make French bread and bread sticks. So I store things to make any kind of bread l would want. I want to perfect making seed bread, hamburger buns, sandwich loaf, sourdough...so much bread, so little time. So it is something I want to build on. Over the years I have been collecting bread books off of freereadfeed where you can find free books.

After breadmaking, I feel like sewing is the next important skill to learn. While this was made off a ready-made shirt I want to be able to perfect working from patterns as well. I remember a gal in twelfth grade making a shirt for her boyfriend, I was always watching what she was doing thinking I someday want to be able to do that. So I will keep trying to build my sewing skills. 

Another reason I would put sewing after breadmaking next is because mending is needing to be done all the time. I remember one time I was in the area of an Amish grocery store. The guy ahead of me in line had his coveralls on, he was buying the hugest bag of potatoes I ever saw. As we were waiting in line I noticed those coveralls were mended like he had tore them on a fence. His wife had mended with the tiniest stitches - what a skill she had developed!

Now is the time to learn this skill. A time is coming that we need to be more frugal then ever before. So be working on these areas and more.

Knitting and crocheting to make mittens and hats and scarves. Where I live it gets so very cold in the winter so these are a must.

Making sweaters as well. Here is the progress of the test knit sweater I am working on. I had to move to a bigger bag to house it. The bag was made by my sister. Look closely she wove the fabric too.

https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/ - we need to learn cooking from scratch to be able to stretch our money. So many have no idea that you don't have to purchase ready-made and that you can do the same thing from basic ingredients for a lot less and as an extra bonus there's no chemicals.

https://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-hamburger-helper/ - I put this site in a lot but it is worth repeating. Take a popular box mix - what is inside is a small package of seasonings. Do you have spices in your kitchen?? Sure you do. The other package is pasta, usually one I would not use for the dish. Is it a one pound package of pasta? No it is not it isn't even two cups. What else is in this box?  Look again. NOTHING at all, you still have to purchase the meat. You still have to cook that meat. While the meat is cooking you can measure the spices and pasta. Food for thought...you are paying for someone else to measure the spices and pasta to make a meal that probably is not enough for your family, plus you still have to fix the sides.

I also see those boxes on TV that you get that have a meal to make in them and you see the gal eating it, yum she says. Well while they show you the fresh looking veggies and meat cooking...you are purchasing a box with a high price and you still have to wash and chop the veggies, cut and cook the meat and veggies. So while they look happy and say yum, I would love a cost breakdown. When I see those commercials I always say but you still have to cook it.

https://extension.usu.edu/sanpete/files/Soup_or_Sauce_SOS_Mix.pdf - this one I run often too. Make your own cream of soup. Canned soup has gone way up in price too. I once timed making a can of soup then wrote it down then I made this same soup from here, I think it was broccoli cheese, so was the can. It took the same amount of time and it was better then its canned relative.

I like these for using but also for showing how much cheaper it is to do yourself.

https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/frugal-food-and-grocery-shopping-101/ - helpful info.

https://frozenpennies.com/65-tips-frugal-people-use-to-save-on-groceries/ - more tips here.

https://childhood101.com/frugal-shopping-tips/ - more tips.

The more we can do ourselves the more we save.

I have the dish towels going on the loom, another skill I am trying to build.

https://thepeacefulmom.com/how-to-make-a-menu/ - here is a site that is so very useful. I like the idea of putting the sheet in the page protector and using a dry erase to put the meals on.

I then think you could make a list of your recipes  like...

chili

foil dinners

tacos

sloppy joe's

Not the ingredients, just titles. This will serve as your meals at a glance and give you inspiration as you write in dry erase on that page protector.

You can put in a pencil pouch with pen and a dry erase pen.

You should have plain paper in there for building a grocery list.

Start a small binder with these things.

Sometimes you just need to find a spot of sun and take a nap. 

Missy says just do what you can...work on your skill building as it is better to learn before harder times come.

Hopefully this Memorial Day you can take a moment today to remember those who gave their all.