Tips To Reduce Your Use of Paper Towels

     If you happened to miss our tips for reducing your use of paper towels in your household on Facebook over the last five days, I've decided to share them on the blog as well. Our journey started in December 2015, when we decided to reduce paper towel consumption in our kitchen.

     Our key to reducing their use in the kitchen is to have a basket of washcloths at easy reach on the counter instead of a roll of paper towels. Spilled something? Grab a washcloth. Need to clean off the stovetop? A washcloth will do! Really greasy fried foods? Wet a washcloth to wipe your hands on instead of a paper towel. The possibilities are endless.

     Our second tip to limit the use of paper towels is when cleaning, whether it be the house or a spill, use rags. I've cut up a few old t-shirts and have a small crate with t-shirt rags in underneath the bathroom sink. They're quick to grab when cleaning up. Once they're dirty, toss them into another container or bucket, and after the bucket fills up wash a bleach load of rags in your washer.

    (Bonus Tip: Don't toss wet rags into the bucket, or you'll know it in a few days! I leave mine to dry out on an aluminum pie pan first.)

     Can you smell the bacon? The third tip I'd like to share with you on limiting paper towels has to do with all those fried foods you love. We used to toss piles of bacon, egg rolls, donuts, and fried chicken onto paper towels to sop up all that grease, but now, we found that using a splatter guard over a kitchen plate allows the grease to drip through.

     (Bonus Tip: If you have a spray nozzle at your kitchen sink, it really helps to clean your splatter guard afterwards.)

     Cloth napkins can be used for more than keeping the crumbs at bay in our fourth tip. We certainly used paper towels in place of napkins when it comes to greasy foods, or when you just run out of napkins and forgot to add it to your grocery list. There's added bonuses to using cloth napkins:

• If you weren't too messy, cloth napkins can be used for more than one meal before they need to be washed. 
• Cloth napkins can easily be dampened to clean sticky fingers. 
• Fancier napkins also work great in place of paper towels for lining baskets for chips and rolls during picnics. 
• They're reusable! 

     We currently have about 20 cloth napkins (all thrift store buys, which cost 50 cents or less each), which last the two of us about a week. That's $10 or less for multiple years' supply of napkins!  I haven't purchased paper napkins since last year as cloth napkins also reduce our use of napkins, and not just paper towels!

     Ewwww! I pondered long and hard about sharing a picture of my toilet to the world before I posted this last tip, but alas, I just had to.  Believe it or not cleaning the bathroom is not my least favorite chore, but it does lead us to our fifth and final tip on reducing paper towels.

     Once you get really dirty rags that the wash can't clean, use them to clean the bathroom, and toss them when they're done. For me, the toilet is one of those places that I just can't clean with a rag that is going to be washed, and maybe touch my kitchen floor. Although the rag is washed, the thought alone makes me cringe a little.

     I hope you have a few new ideas now to try around your house. Is there another way you reduced the use of paper towels in your own home? We'd love to hear it!

Who Buys That Much!?

     For those of you who read my last post, you may recall me not wanting to show you what stocking up for the winter looks like at our house because I wasn't sure what's above "nuts," "crazy," and "scary" in your vocabulary.  Well, I folded, and so I guess I'm about to find out.  

     You see, it all started when I watched our chicken dwindling down in the deep freeze, and even though we're going to slaughter two of our roosters for the freezer, two birds does not a whole winter's worth of meals make.  I found my solution in this week's grocery ad.  

     Catch the fine print?  That's right, buy 40lbs of chicken leg quarters and get them for 39c/lb.  That's only $15.60.  Not bad right?  

     I know, I know.  What in the world are we going to do with 40lbs of chicken other than my smart answer of "eat it," that you're probably not looking for?  But that's exactly what we are going to do - eat it, all winter long - once I go off to the grocery store to get it and prep it for the deep freeze.  

     So off to the grocery store I went, grabbing a shopping cart and heading straight for the meat counter.  Behind it was a kid, who couldn't have been much out of high school, to wait on me.  I promptly asked for a 40lb box of chicken leg quarters that were on sale that week.  He looked me up and down in my boots, skinny jeans, and blouse, and I could already see he was questioning my sincerity.  I was surrounded  by moms in conservative dress pushing mounded high shopping carts with armies of kids following behind them that probably would never have gotten a second glance, and here I was asking for a 40lb box of chicken leg quarters for two people.  

    After first asking if I had ever gotten a 40lb box before (not that, that really mattered) and hedging for a bit, he finally gave me the tag for the box, then proceeded to ask me if I wanted to pull my car around the side of the building for them to just put it in my car for me.  It was a nice gesture, but I had already gotten the cart, so I figured that pulling the car around would just be more hassle on my part.  "No," I reassured him, I'd like it in my cart.  He questioned me again and again for a good five minutes, each time I reassured him that I'd take the box in my cart, it was only 40lbs.  He wasn't convinced until I finally said, "If I can lift a 50lb bag of feed, I'm pretty sure I can handle a 40lb box."  He went to get it for me...

The menacing box, and I know it's not organic, but we
believe it or not, we actually don't eat completely organic
unlike a lot of other people who live a lifestyle similar to
ours.  Our theory with food can be found here.

     As I watched him struggle to drop it into my cart, the only thought that ran through my mind was "What have I gotten myself in to?"  I seemed to quickly answer that once I got the rest of the groceries, paid for them and stood at the trunk of the car.  I had unloaded everything else first, leaving that now menacing box for last.  Bracing myself for the struggle I now figured it would be to get it into the trunk, I lifted... wow, that was lighter than I thought.  Apparently all those feed sacks since May paid off.  

    Getting it home I was now faced with the daunting task of fitting it all into the fridge because I was also faced with at least four hours of driving to a Scouting event that evening before it could be processed the next day.  Luckily, my husband was home to help with this one and we jammed it all in.  (Only to realize that I had also bought a gallon of milk and a quart of heavy cream that was still on the outside of the fridge when we stood back to admire our handiwork.)  

Thanks for the weird but awesome wedding present!

     This morning, I was now faced with 40lbs of chicken, on what could otherwise be a relaxing day except for the housework, chickens, farm cats, harvesting, dishes, and everything else I've been putting off for who knows how long.  Luckily we asked for weird things for wedding presents, and our relatives and friends had happily obliged.  So, all I had to do was figure out where in the world the Mr. hid the butcher kit, then snip, snip, snip... Yeeeeouch! (blood blister from the bone sheers), and I was done.  

     So now I can officially say, I think we're pretty set for winter (at least when it comes to chicken).  Not only are there five jam-packed gallon freezer bags of chicken in the deep freeze downstairs, but also chicken roasting in the oven.  Who could resist?  I think it'll be an awesome lunch, and also make some pretty good cream of chicken soup (that I also managed to run out of in the deep freeze).  So there you have it, our latest "nutty" adventure with 40lbs of chicken.

     Have you been prepping food for the winter as well?  

Lowering Your Grocery Bill (Part 2): Before You Go To The Store

“It is wise to keep an exact account of all you expend —even of a paper of pins.  This answers two purposes; it makes you more careful in spending money, and it enables your husband to judge precisely whether his family live within his income.”

– Lydia M. Child, The American Frugal Housewife (1832)

      You will probably hear this Mrs. Child advice used so many times in this blog that you will start repeating it in your sleep (along with my absolutely favorite piece of her advice you’ll be introduced to in another post).  Some of the first lines of Mrs. Child’s introduction to her manual on being a good housewife are certainly among my favorites, and it’s not hard to find a place these can easily adapt to your own lifestyle.  One of the biggest places her advice fits neatly into our lifestyle is the dreaded chore of grocery shopping (on a budget)! 

      From the time I was a small child, I can vividly remember my trips to the grocery store with my mother.  She had spent the evening before or the early morning at home pouring over sales ads and clipping coupons from her in-law’s Sunday paper, carefully outlining what we would eat on that week’s menu.  Next came the compiling of the grocery list, and at last, a trip to the grocery store!  I do not remember my mother purchasing anything that was not on that grocery list when I was younger even though the ice cream on a hot summer’s day probably tempted her as much then as it does me now.  As a single-income family, I can understand now why the grocery list was strictly followed, and just why she added the price of each item off to the side of the paper, carefully keeping track of the money they had to spend.  Apparently her ideas rubbed off on me as I created our monthly grocery budget a few months after we married and set to work stocking our own kitchen.

      In our household two adults are provided for in “groceries” for $225.00 a month (and our ten friendly farm cats will add another $50 to our bill each month if no one has a doctor’s appointment, but honestly it’s fairly cheap entertainment, comradery and pest control), which even with the farm cats is less than a family of two could receive from the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or SNAP benefits each month.  (The maximum potential allotment for a family of two per month is $357 for 2015.  In case anyone was wondering, a family of four can receive up to $649 a month.  These allotments amounts will definitely help put your grocery bill in perspective!)  Our grocery category is likewise far-reaching encompassing all groceries, toiletries, medications, eating out, gardening seeds and basic necessities, canning and food preservation, and fishing and hunting licenses and supplies.  Before you presume we’re nuts and starving, living on Raman noodles and PB&J, rest assured that we eat pretty well! 

      Before I continue, I’m going to answer the already burning question in everyone’s mind.  Does this mean we always stick to our budget?  Unfortunately, no.  Some months we slide a little, as there’s around $20 of wiggle-room, especially if you need to do a massive stock-up.  We are human, and therefore imperfect, so quite obviously we will end up spending more some months, and perhaps less others.  In the end though, each month balances out the other, and therefore we spend approximately $225.00 a month on groceries.  

      So how does one live so frugally and not feel poor?  Although the latter part might not always be easy when you see your friends and family eating out weekly or daily in some cases, there are a few simple solutions we employ to lower our grocery bill on a regular basis.  This week, we’re focusing on three big things you can do before you even get to the grocery store.  

Plan your meals in advance.  Not everyone has the luxury of planning a month’s worth of meals like we do, but by planning your meals in advance, you’re less likely to just run down to the pizza joint or make a dozen trips to the grocery store each week.  When you plan your meals, take into account what you are likely going to be doing each day of the week to determine how many quick meals you will need.  Each week we have a few meals that take less than 30 minutes to prep and cook (our yard work day meals), a crock pot meal (if I plan to be busy all day), and at least one “big meal” (often on a Sunday or Saturday night) that takes longer than an hour to prep and cook.  The meals themselves are based off of four things: what is already in the pantry and freezer, what is available fresh from the garden, what’s on sale, and what there are coupons for.  Simply put, if I have more rice than potatoes, there will be more rice dishes then potato dishes, although those specific ingredients might not be used the same way each night and therefore would not become tiring as quickly.  (Tip: We've been adding some of our favorite recipes to our Healthy Homestyle page on Pinterest.  Remember to check back periodically, as we continue adding more!) 

Click image to enlarge.

Make a list and check it twice.  Once you’ve figured out your meals, start making your grocery list.  I like to categorize my grocery list into six sections – produce, meat and dairy, frozen foods, bulk goods, dry goods, and non-food items – as I will be shopping at more than one store, and not every store is laid out the same way.  For the above two week sample menus, our grocery list would look something like this:  

Please keep in mind that we already have some staples at home such as baking supplies, canned goods, onions and potatoes from the garden, and frozen meat and vegetables.  To help keep our budget in check, if I know I am going to run out of bulk items like bread flour, all-purpose flour or rolled oats in the next two months, I will decide which is the most important to get sooner rather than later instead of buying all three in the same month (and breaking the bank). 

Check the circulars!  I cannot stress this enough.  Some people like to do this step first, as this could amend your first two steps when you do it last, but personally this is last on my list.  I find that if I do this earlier, I’ll end up adding more to my grocery list because “that would taste good” rather than using up what is in my pantry and freezer first.  By comparing the prices in multiple circulars, you can easily figure out just where you plan to buy your groceries when your shopping trip comes.  

Checking the circulars online, saves the cost of a Sunday paper, and you can easily see multiple circulars at the same time.  (You can also print your coupons offline too.)  I find it actually takes less time then clipping coupons each week to check the circulars, and soon you'll notice that certain stores almost always have better prices then other ones.  The best way to figure out where exactly you want to shop, and therefore what circulars to check, is what stores are closest to you.  Our weekly grocery shopping is done in a 20 minute radius from our home, but for larger purchases that may only need to be made once or twice a year, we might travel an hour away. 

For example, the produce I need is on sale at quite a few stores in the area this week: 

Store 1: apples are $1.28 per lb., romaine lettuce hearts are $3.98 for a 3-pack

Store 2: apples are $1.99 per lb., celery is 2 for $4, strawberries are BOGO

Store 3: romaine lettuce hearts are $1.99 for a 3-pack

Store 4: apples are $4.99 for a 3-lb. bag, broccoli crowns are $0.99 per lb.

Consider if the sale prices are really sales.  Obviously, I’d rather pay $1.99 for romaine hearts than $3.98, but what if the sale prices aren’t really the cheapest you can get your produce?   As the early days of spring are upon us in Pennsylvania, I won’t be heading to the garden to get any fresh produce we may need, nor will the farm markets be open (or have amazing deals on fresh in-season local produce).  So I have to get a little creative, which is where the discount outlet comes in.  At discount stores like ALDI’s, Amelia’s Grocery Outlet or Sharp Shopper, you just might be able to find even cheaper produce.  We happen to go to a store similar to these in the area, so I know there is no way I am paying $1.28 per lb. for apples!  The discount store has them the whole “season” for $0.49 per lb.  Celery is rather expensive at 2 for $4.  I’d much rather pay the discount store’s $1.49 for the exact same item.   (And in most cases, they really are the exact same item you would find in the regular grocery store, just always make sure to check dates on canned goods and boxed items before you put them in the cart.)  Therefore our Store 5 (the discount store) is going to have some better deals:

Store 5: apples are $0.49 per lb., bananas are $0.39 per lb., broccoli is $2.15 per head, cauliflower is $3.25 per head, celery is $1.49, romaine lettuce is $1.19 per head, and strawberries are $1.98 per quart

      So the next time you start to make your grocery list try some of these early budgeting tips before you even leave your house, and see just how low you can go with the grocery bill!  Check in with us again to see our next installment, and if you missed the first part, you can find it here.  

Lowering Your Grocery Bill (Part 1)

      Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I tend to always pause when I see mention of lowering my grocery bill.  The one that caught my eye this morning was living on $30 a week for groceries.  How can this be done?!  I had to read on.  Then I found my answer… oatmeal for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly for lunch, and I’ll stop there as I can already tell you, I’m not eating their suggested dinner options.  Though it’s a good idea, their $30 a week meals are not to my palette, so next! 

      Hmmm… maybe I should head over to Pinterest.  Pinterest always has helpful suggestions (and not ones that make you pull out your hair because really, just who can do that project!?  Yup, you know the one I’m talking about.  Your personal Pinterest fail you bought all this stuff for, tried… and tried… and tried again, yet it all ended up in the trash, and your vowing to never mention it again.)  So let’s just click on a few more ideas to get us depressed about how we aren’t saving money on groceries, shall we? 

      Oh, look there!  The average family spends over $500 on groceries a month according to the USDA estimates.  (Yikes!  Glad I don’t spend that much.)  And, various blogs suggest:

• Lower your bill with extreme couponing and a massive pantry stockpile.  (Yeah, because we need 96 rolls of toilet paper, and baby diapers for children you plan to have another ten years down the road, and so many jars of mayonnaise there is no way any human can eat it all before it expires.) 
• Become vegetarian because beans are cheaper then meat.  (That won’t fly in this house!  Even Meatless Mondays might be pushing it around here.)
• Avoid buying processed foods.  (Sorry, but can you pass the Velveeta because that just made some awesome queso the other night?  I know, your wagging your finger at me, but sometimes you just have to splurge because a knockoff won’t do it.  It’s like my husband’s grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies.  Don’t try to make them any other way because they just won’t be as good.)
• Shop for bulk at health food stores. (Uh, wherever they live, apparently they have really cheap health food stores nearby because I sure don’t!) 
• Don’t go out to eat at restaurants or eat fast food on the go.  (Sigh.  We were looking forward to not having to do the dishes at least once in the next month.)
• Starve (or at least that’s what it feels like in the end). 

      These are certainly some of the more drastic ideas that are out there.  I know not everyone’s blog post about saving money on the grocery bill reads like this, but they’re the stereotypical common themes I keep seeing post, after post, after post.  I’m not ready to go vegetarian, or give up all processed foods (or that breakfast sandwich from the drive-thru every now and then), but I do want to lower our grocery bill. 

      How this was going to happen was the dilemma that I went through last year, and I am still constantly looking for new ways to lower that bill!  Throughout the next few months I’ll be sharing with you some of the ideas that we employ to help us eat well and watch our wallets.