Corked Check In - Week 4

This week was so-so.  I was doing REALLY good and then we went to Tractor Supply.  I love that store!  It just so happens their Christmas stock was 50% to 75% off, including toys.  I have been very careful choosing toys for Elle and her friends, making sure they will actually play with them, that I will want to use them to teach and also that they won't be more of something we already have.  I KNOW my goal was to purchase only used and consumables, but I am weak when it comes to bright, colorful toys.

Look at these prices!  And look at the learning / teaching potential.  I am also in the process of potty training Elle and it does not hurt to have a prize or two stuck up my sleeve.  The total for these two toys was $15.00. 

I also bought 1 more UN-consumable thing, an LED night light bug zapper.
I have no idea at all if these work, but JR and I like to sit on the front porch in the evenings with Elle swinging and talking.  I figured I would give them a whirl and see if they help our flying insect population dwindle, at least while we are out there.  Originally these were $9.99, marked down to $3.99. 

The rest of my purchases were consumable, mostly seeds and sets for the garden and I got two rolls of 100 sq. ft of Christmas wrapping paper for $1.00.  Yes, please. 

This Saturday we headed to Bastrop to get Elle and I was once again dropped at Goodwill to play.  To show you what you can find when you look: 

Total purchase price was $28.00.  All used.

This weeks non-consumable, unused purchases total $19.00. 

I donated nothing, BUT I did clean out 1 desk drawer and threw out a bunch of old papers, I sorted through a ton of plastic bags in the pantry and cleaned out my never-ending corner cupboard where anything and everything that doesn't have a place ends up. 

This was a decent week.  Believe it or not, even though I am spending money, my spending has been curtailed immensely and I am not feeling put out by it at all.  I am really thinking about each item I purchase and even though I have put things in my shopping carts online and in stores, more often than not, I have been removing the items.  I am happy with how things are going. 

Corked Check In - Week 3

Um, very spendy week, but I stuck to my rules of everything being consumable or used, so, yay, me!

I started off mid-week sending my 97 year old Grandma flowers.  It's always a little let down after the holidays and all the busyness of company and the WI winters can be kind of gloomy, so I sent a bouquet to her.  I wrestled with myself about this, wondering if flowers were consumable or not, so did a quick check online.

"Consumables are products that consumers use recurrently, i.e., items which "get used up" or discarded."

Grandma got her flowers.  Cost:  $63.28

This week my Aunt Leslie sent me some books my Aunt Joyce had sent their Mother years ago.  I had grown to love Aunt Joyce before she passed away and seeing her notes to my Grandmother was touching.  I had read 1 of the 4 books in the past, but I will most likely read it again.  I will enjoy reading the books knowing both women had read them as well.  This was such a nice gesture by my Aunt Leslie who could have just as easily tossed them or donated them somewhere.  Cost: $0.00

I had ordered some new undies before Christmas and if a positive review was written, they sent you 6 more pair for free.  I actually did like them, although my rear end has gotten larger since the last time I ordered any, so I needed a larger size.  So if anyone needs some undies, I have six new pair that need a home if your butt is smaller than mine.  Cost:  $0.00

Saturday came and I took 2 outfits from Elle that had never been worn, 2 dress shirts of JR's that no longer fit and 2 cane chairs to the thrift store for donation.  Of course, I had to peek inside and I happened to hit the jackpot. 

I got:  Craft beads to play with with the kids.  I loved that they were red with Valentine's Day coming up and the bracelets were made of glass beads that I can take apart and make new jewelry out of.

Link N Learn with vibrant colors to learn, to help build fine motor skills as they make necklaces, belts, snakes, designs, whatever; to count; sort; practice patterns; etc.  The possibilities are endless.  Elle has played with them almost non-stop since I brought them home and I am going to start counting the times I have picked them up off the floor as exercise.  

3 white tiny bowls.  I have to admit, I have a bowl fetish.  I love bowls in all different sizes and need to stop myself from getting too many all the time.  These small white bowls are perfect for snacks for the kids and at 25 cents, I am not concerned if they break or not.  Bonus:  Not plastic.

A pastry wheel for a quarter. I didn't know what this was or what the shellfish knife was, but they felt good in my hand and I do love gadgets.  I thought the shellfish knife was for cutting grapefruit, actually, and am going to try it for that, if not, I will bring it back to the thrift store because we don't eat shellfish.  I love google, by the way.

I also picked up a glass baking loaf pan with lid, which I LOVE!  The less I have to use plastic wrap to cover leftovers, the better!

I can't go to the thrift store without looking at the books.  For 50 cents and no pressure to return at a given date, I snagged this story set in the 60's.  That was such a tumultuous time in history and since it was a New York Times Bestseller, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

 Who doesn't need a wand???

 I got another little bucket, this time for a quarter, but it IS plastic.  We only had one bucket in the sandbox and with 3 little ones out there some days, it was worth the price.

For $1.50 I picked up a matted picture frame.  I have had this idea that I am going to scan old pictures, convert them to black and white and hang them up all over the cabin.  Someday...

Thrift store total:  $11.25

Minus donating: 2 chairs, 2 shirts and 2 children's outfits

But wait!  We aren't done yet! Saturday afternoon JR and I drove to Bastrop and he dropped me at Goodwill.  I get so much pleasure from going there and although their prices seem high compared to our local thrift store, their selection can't be beat.  

I always start off by looking at clothes for Elle because although her Mom dresses her to the nines, I like her having play clothes here to get dirty and destroy, if the need be.  There is no sense paying top dollar for clothes the children grow out of in 6 months, in my opinion, especially when I let her jump in mud puddles and splash in the pond in her clothes.  

I found the CUTEST knit leggings and a sweet pink dress which I plan to use my cutting machine on and add a design to, maybe.  I also found 2 shirts for Elle to goof around in, but the long sleeve shirt had an ugly bow on the collar and I removed it.  $2.99 each for the leggings and 1 shirt, $3.99 for the dress and long sleeve shirt.  

I know, I know.  We have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc., etc., but DVDs call to me.  My sister, Alison, was telling me about The Gruffalo this past week and there it was.  I actually got excited!  If you have never seen it, look it up, it is so very, very cute.  Elle is also a huge fan of Dora.  We have quite a few from my sister, Andrea, and from DVDs I have purchased. All the kids choose them over and over again.  I love when they shout out the answers when Dora asks questions.  She makes them think and try to figure things out.  $3.99 each for the DVDs.  Last, but definitely not least, the book Snarlyhissopus.  It is darling!  99 cents.

Grand total:  $24.83

Goodwill has a lot less bang for your buck than our local thrift store, but truthfully, where can you buy 4 articles of clothing, 2 DVDs and a book for under $25?

We are all running out of vitamins over here, so I hopped on the internet and started researching.  We were using Dr. Fuhrman's brand of vitamins for years, but they are SO expensive.  Even though they are whole food vitamins, they are not organic and the more things I can get organic, the better I feel.  Our bodies can only handle so much junk before things start breaking down, so I do try to be good.  I fail quite often, but I try.  I came across the Garden of Life brand of vitamins, especially the RAW version which uses less heat to process the capsules, is organic and has a ton of great reviews, so I ordered all 3 of us some for a bit of assurance.  

Total:  79.24

And that is it.  I can honestly say I am tired of shopping.

Grand Total:  $178.60 ALL used or consumable
Minus: 2 wooden chairs, 2 men's shirts and 2 children's outfits

Feeling Okay.

Presence not presents

Corked Check in - Week 2

This was the wedding week for our youngest daughter, so I didn't have much time to think about purchasing anything beyond the wedding items already allotted for.  I did manage to purchase an additional gate clicker, tho.  There's always something!

I had started caring for another child part-time and we have a solar automatic gate at our entrance.  To make things easier and less of a pain in the cold and rain, I generally give everyone a clicker.  Sadly, their hours changed and the boy won't be coming here after all. It isn't like an extra clicker is a bad thing, but I didn't really need it.  Ugh.

Week 2:  Grand Total:  $21.51 NOT used / NOT consumable   FAIL

Getting back on track for week 3. 

BOOK REVIEW: Accidental Farmers by Tim Young

City man and wife turn country farmers, is the premise of the book, Accidental Farmers.  Tim Young bought 72 land-locked acres in Georgia after a weekend horse back riding in the country for his wife's birthday.  Gone were the days of expensive clothing, fancy dinners out, theater and travel. They jumped in with both feet buying pigs, cows, chickens, etc. with absolutely no knowledge except for what they had read in books.  They were firm believers in natural raising and living of their animals, basically weeding out the sick and breeding the strong.  A business grew, selling free range meats, eggs, cheeses, etc. to consumers looking for a healthy alternative to factory farmed animals. BUT, from what I gathered reading their book, his wife wasn't necessarily on board.  She wanted to homestead, grow food and animals for their own use and not worry so much about becoming a business.  This is exactly what they are doing now, many years after he wrote this book, but they also teach others how to farm and start a business in the country.  I was up and down with liking this book.  It started out as an entertaining, interesting read, then became kind of factual, then he switched to third person, then he reverted back to first person, all in all, I am glad I read it.  It gave me plenty to think about on the way they did things.  4 out of 5

Corked Check In - Week 1

Truth: This was an easy week to not spend on non-consumables.  I had residual Christmas presents coming in and am busy with my daughter's upcoming wedding.

Decluttering is still crawling along which resulted in 2 boxes dropped off of DVDs, books, clothes and a few toys to the thrift store this week.  While there, I took a look around and thankfully the store was pretty picked over, less to tempt me that way.  I did manage to find a little red bucket.

I have to admit, Elle hasn't put this bucket down since I have brought it home.  I had it on the back porch and the first time she walked by, she snagged it.  Inside it went and became the receptacle to her plastic animals.  She counted the animals as she plunked them into the bucket, poured them out and repeated.  A little later we went outside to play in the sandbox and out the bucket went.  I spent 50 cents.  Worth it.  The fact that it is metal and not plastic is a plus.

We went into a nearby town on Saturday to pick up Elle and to get groceries and ended up eating at a taco place, which happens to be located right next to a Goodwill I frequent.  I peeked in the store while JR waited in the car with Elle and came away with a Singing/Dancing DVD and a book for me.

My sister had turned me on to Laurie Berkner years ago.  It is great entertainment for the kids with lots of movement and participation.  I thought it would be great for rainy day fun.  $3.99.  I have watched it and it isn't as good as "We are The Laurie Berkner Band", but it is still good. 


The book, "in a dark, dark wood" by the same author as "The Woman in Cabin 10," which is supposed to be pretty good, was stuck out in front of the books on the shelf.  I picked it up, liking the looks of it and the thing that grabbed me was Reese Witherspoon's blip saying, "Prepare to be Scared" on the front. I love scary books and I haven't read one in quite some time that was actually scary.  So we shall see.  Hours upon hours of entertainment for me for $1.99.

And that's it.  I spent $6.50 plus tax, but as I stated in my "Year of Corked Consumerism" post, all items were bought pre-owned.  I won't be keeping track of going out to eat or groceries, just the items I bring into the house that are not consumable.

Grand Total:  $6.50 for 1 bucket, 1 DVD and 1 book
Minus 2 big boxes of Media, Toys and Clothes

I'm okay with this.

Bread, She Said

One of the easiest ways to cut back on spending is by making your own food.  There is nothing more versatile as a grocery bill.  Buying all organic, grass fed, humane, non-gmo, etc., is still cheaper than eating every meal outside the home.  Here we concentrate on whole foods, as clean as we can find, but to say we don't buy junk would be a big lie.  I do try very hard to make most of our meals from scratch though.  I don't use mixes, except brownies because I truly haven't found a brownie recipe that rivals Ghirardelli, but for almost all other food, I make my own.

Growing up in a frugal home and by that I mean FRUGAL HOME, my Mother used to set unwanted crusts of bread on the counter until they dried out, then she stored them in an old plastic bread bag until she needed crumbs for meat loaf, mini beef loaves, crusts or toppings. I don't exactly recall how Mom made the crumbs out of the crusts, but I faintly remember her taking the discarded inserts of  cereal bags and a rolling pin and crushing the bread.  I use a slightly different method.  I freeze the crusts until I have a sizable amount, then I process them with an S blade in my little food processor, then refreeze.

Why would I go to the trouble to make my own bread crumbs when you can buy them pre-made at the store?  There are a few reasons:
1. I know exactly what kind of bread crumbs they are.  Are they from organic, sprouted bread, whole wheat, multigrain, etc.?  I will know.
2.  Less waste.  Granted, I could easily chuck our crusts at any of our animals and all but the cats would devour them, but there is no extra packaging when I make them at home vs. buying at the store.
3. It makes me feel self sufficient.  I love that feeling.
4.  Cost.  I am not taking any money out of my pocket to make bread crumbs. 

So much of what we buy can be made at home more nutritiously with no preservatives or crazy ingredients..  Back in the late 90's, I was on a mission to make all our food from scratch, no boxed or pre-made anything.  Granola, bread, pizza, frostings, salads, you name it, I made it.  We were trying to save money to pay off property we had recently acquired, but also, I had recently learned about rBGH ,(recombinant bovine growth hormone), in dairy products.  It scared me, that companies had a right to put weird junk in their products that I was unaware of.  I watch (ed) little news and I started questioning if what I was feeding my children was safe or even healthy for them.

Since my "all food from scratch binge", I have not been as good at making "all" things from scratch, but I still do my share.  The children are raised now, but the past two years we have been caring for our granddaughter four to five days a week plus I care for a few children her age and my level of interest in great tasting, healthy foods has increased. 

I definitely could jump on a soap box and spew how extremely I feel the food we eat makes up the health of our bodies;  how I feel growing babies and children should have the absolute healthiest form of nutrition possible to build the strongest cells and immune systems to fight off all the pollution and chemicals we can't control.  I could go on and on about all the junk people pour into their bodies on a regular basis and how our bodies can only fight so much before something breaks, but I won't.  It's not a secret which foods are healthy out there and which ones aren't. It's not a secret if the majority of your intake is junky food, it's not good for you.

Making your own food at home is smart.  It saves money, reduces waste, is healthier and is a great life skill to have. Now, if I could just get my husband to stop buying all those packages of candy!