Monday, January 29, 2018

Monday Message

Diner-style pancakes from scratch. Recipe HERE.

"More than ever before, we need to learn and apply the principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may affect our own circumstances. We do know that the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared." (President Ezra Taft Benson)

I think there are so many calamities going on all over that maybe we should heed this statement by President Benson. Living within our means is so important especially now. There is more need. Are you in a position to help those in need?

I continue to suggest picking up something for your storage every time you go into a store.  If you cannot afford to do this try to do more budget meals and using what you save to build your storage.

Please do not go into further debt, instead work hard getting out of debt.

Try to learn to be content with what you have. Also, learn to stretch what you have. One always thinks when they retire life will be easy, not so! You will be living on a fixed income in an unfixed world.

Here are a few things that help me - I buy in bulk when I can which means 25 lb bags of flour. If you are not doing this you might consider it. Here is how I do it… I get buckets from the bakery in my local grocery store. I get them free. I wash them well and then dry them very well. Then I let the bucket air dry overnight to be sure they are totally dry. Then I pour the 25 lb bag of flour in and on top I place two bay leaves. Then I label and date the lid. The bay leaves keep from getting bugs in the flour. The label tells me what it is and the date which makes it easy to rotate using the oldest one first.



I make bread and rolls and cookies and cakes, muffins, coffee cakes, pancakes and waffles... I think you see if you make from scratch you use flour a lot. I also store whole wheat berries the same way as the flour. I only grind the wheat when I need, it is the only difference.



I glean apples every year I can.



I also can everything I get my hands on - this saves lots of money.



I dehydrate fruits and veggies. When I have one or two pieces of celery or a handful of carrots I dehydrate them. This drying things has saved us a lot.



This brings me to vacuum sealing. This is huge at saving us money. I vacuum seal things I dehydrate. I vacuum seal chocolate chips to last years. I use it so much I keep it on the counter ready to go all the time. I vacuum seal nuts to make them last. Dry things not wet things.



The key thing is when you do things yourself it saves money. So it may take elbow grease and skill building but they're good skills to have.

We had a used dresser given to us that was not in great shape. We cut it down which meant taking a lot of it apart. Then we made it into this bathroom sink. We used front of drawers to open into a cupboard door but closed it looks like drawers.



Being frugal means spending less it serves us well.  Sometimes we have to be really frugal we use what we put up if we are blessed with a little more we stock things needed ahead like two bags of flour etc this helps to smooth the harder times.

So what skills you learn now will help you all your life. 

https://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/basic-life-skills-you-should-know this might give you some ideas for teaching your kids.

https://acultivatednest.com/homemaking-skills-to-learn-to-make-your-life-easier/ here are a few things you might want to pick from to work on

https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-create-a-frugal-budget-1388523 this has ideas to help you with a budget

http://theparsimoniousprincess.blogspot.com/2013/01/100-more-painless-ways-to-live-frugally_31.html has maybe some thing you never thought of

https://www.frugalwoods.com/2016/01/04/make-a-new-years-resolution-for-just-one-month/ - more ideas here.

Sometimes we think we cannot manage without ___?  But I have found out you can really live without whatever thing you thought you couldn't before. We really can…

Cooking from scratch really is a huge thing. I know I keep saying it but I wouldn’t if it wasn’t.

https://www.thebalance.com/learn-how-to-cook-everything-from-scratch-1388352 - has some good things here.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ - this gal has a terrific site with frugal ideas in the kitchen.

What frugal things are you doing?

10 comments:

  1. Oh my, your bread looks delicious. The book I'm reading , that I told you about last week, has really opened my eyes about things we may have to do without, that we think we can't live without. I truly don't use that much flour, as I don't bake a lot. Lately, I've started using Bisquick mix and my foods turn out so much better when I do bake. I know there are recipes for making your own baking mix and I should try it, because Bisquick is so expensive. Another thing in the book, is there is no way to bake bread, as they are cooking everything on an open fire. I'm thinking of putting myself together a cookbook for all things cooked on top of the stove. Would you be able to bake with no power? Some of my patients from the NC mountains still use wood burning stoves and they would be just fine if the power went out. I was always fascinated by their stoves. Your sink cabinet is amazing; you guys did an awesome job on making it into a vanity. It's beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. my husband has refurbished a mirror to go above it he has carved on it it will set right above so it will even look more wonderful.

      we have a wood burning cook stove but i have seen people make bread in solar ovens.

      you should look at your library for "baker's flower" it is a fantastic book you make a bisquick type recipe and then the whole book is recipes using this one mix i know several have gotten them for less then two dollars on amazon.

      there are lots of bread type items you can do on top stove flour shells, pancakes, fried bread donuts where there is a will there will be a way.

      i once made an angel food cake that my oven went out and i baked it in an electric skillet it is a deep lidded one i got from a yard sale for two dollars so good things to make us think.

      Delete
    2. I will look for the book, thank you! How cool that you have a wood burning cook stove. If we had continued to live in the mountain area, I was talking to hubby about installing one in our garage. But we never got that far before we moved away. I was most fascinated by the wood stoves.

      Delete
    3. https://frugalmeasures.blogspot.com/search?q=woodburning+cook+stove here is the stove you will love the book

      Delete
  2. I do like you and buy in bulk, using the free frosting containers from the bakery to store my flour, rice, sugar, oats and other things in. Having those things on hand has saved me so many trips to the store and since it is a half an hour drive to even get to the store, this saves time and money.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the bathroom vanity.
    Your blog is inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it now looks even better my husband found a mirror and has sculpted on it do it looks fantastic look for it soon on blog

      Delete
  4. I just love your blog. We have the same mixer!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. are you talking about the bosch i also have a kitchenaid but with fibromyalgia i knew i would need the bosch i use kitchenaid for all but bread i use bosch and the bread machine for making bread when doing one loaf the bread machine bosch for many loaves

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...