In these days of a bad economy, tight budgets, more families having to live together or help each other, jobs cutting hours or not giving full time, we all have to stretch what money you have.
If you have a big family and have to feed many on a budget, find yourself with an empty nest and having to support a child or two in college or help them get on their feet, or even just figuring out how to cut from more than one to two or one or find yourself on a fixed income you may be interested in this post.
I find that we waste a lot and my son’s family does too. Not intentionally but we all tend to cook to be sure we have enough or are very hungry so layout and cook lots more than we actually eat. So we are learning to trim the fat. or waste in this case.
I cooked my son’s birthday dinner the other day. He wanted brinner which is breakfast for dinner (I talked about that last week you can see that post here for my gravy recipe and more tips) https://cathybrockman.com/2020/03/02/he-is-how-oldbirthdays-familygathering-announcement/ I made extra gravy to make sure there was plenty and for my son to take some to work the next day. Also, we planned on country fried steaks this week, so I had the gravy ready for that. I also put some in two serving size cups for myself and froze those for breakfast later on as well. I also had little eggs left and a few pieces of sausage so I had this for breakfast later in the week. No waste of that food. Sure it was only about two eggs, a cup and a half of gravy and three sausages but that adds up to a couple of dollars and I had part of one dinner ready plus two breakfasts ( not counting the two in the freezer so I saved more than I would have wasted plus the time I saved. )
Here is another frugal tip. If you have house plants, a flower garden, or planning a garden… use an icecream tub, or a cool whip or cottage cheese bowl and save these. save coffee grounds too. Just be sure when you add the shells of coffee scratch it into the soil so it doesn’t mold.
Another tip. Don’t waste your money on cleaner. Get a jar, you can use a pretty apothecary jar from the dollar tree, any you have around or even a canning jar or pickle jar. Put your orange, lemon or lime peels in it cover with vinegar and let sit for two weeks shaking when you think of it. when you need to use pour into a spray bottle ( you can get at the dollar tree or just about any store for a dollar you can use full strength or add water ( I keep mine full strength. It looks pretty sitting on the counter and smells great. Works good too. It is ammonia and bleach-free so good for those of us with asthma and almost free. You can mix the citrus or do them separately. This week I am in a lemon and orange mood so I have two jars going.
Also, green onions are another one you can save on. leave about an inch of the root part when you cut your onions up to use. Get a flower pot with soil. Plant the bulbs put in your window sill and enjoy the greenery and food. You can cut the tops a couple of times before they die out. Just snip off what you need. (Carrots, romaine lettuce and celery work too. Pineapple tops make gorgeous houseplants and eventual pineapples too.
So you get food and houseplants for free and cleaner for free. Do you reuse any refuse? Do you use any leftovers? How do you make use of refuse?
4 responses to “Waste Not Want Not #scraps #frugal #reusablerefuse #awriterslife”
I love the vinegar and fruit peel tip for a cleaning agent, Cathy. I’ll give this a try. I like to make enough food for leftovers the next day or two, but it depends on what it is. Especially a big pot of soup that can last for more than a couple days. Thanks for sharing.
Most soups and chili freezes well too
Love your tips! We have gotten out of the habit of spending enough time saving money even in this land of plenty.
We all have. I was throwing away enough leftovers to feed two or three hungry families. With rising costs and being on fixed income, my budget has become very small for food household and pet supplies so I figure why waste when it’s all right here to stretch. S I am sharing my tried and true tips with ya’ll ( and the citrus on the counter looks so pretty and farmhouse too LOL)