Thrifty Storage Containers

I buy, and we eat, a lot of spaghetti sauce. Many brands now come in glass jars that resemble canning jars. I don't do a lot of canning but I have discovered that the jars make excellent storage containers for dry goods - pasta, grits, brown sugar, corn meal.

If the jar lids smell like spaghetti sauce after washing, you might soak in a baking soda solution. You can also use a small piece of plastic wrap under the lid. (The only thing that has not done well is powdered sugar. The smell/flavor transfer of the lid was very noticeable.)

To dress up the collection of jars, you can paint the outside of the lids with a spray paint.

Oranganizing Tip

I had this huge pile of papers that were in desperate need of organization and filing. I bet you have the same thing: bank statements, old bills, medical receipts, warranty papers, etc. I think that the papers reproduce overnight sometime. From time to time, I've tackled this task only to never get finished or have my progress diminished in short order.

I think I've finally found a process that will work. First, it takes too long to sort every item into its individual folder or make a decision on the spot if it should be tossed, so I'm taking a two phase approach to this.

Phase One: divide all items into one of the following categories:
a. Trash - unnecessary receipts, envelopes, unneeded paper of any kind
b. Shred - anything in the above category that has personal information
c. Money - bank statements, bills, investment information
d. Medical - receipts, cards, statements, policies, etc.
e. Miscellaneous - anything that should be kept but does not fall in above categories

Throw the trash away and shred items nightly.

Phase Two: When all items have been sorted, start with money. Divide between old and discardable and keepers. (Trash or shred as appropriate.) Then sort and file remaining money items.

Repeat this process with medical - sort by year, if necessary.
Finally, address miscellaneous items.

I've been working on this process for three nights now, about 30-60 minutes a night. I have almost everything sorted and will begin on the filing phase next week. That will be the fastest I have E.V.E.R. gotten caught up on my paperwork.

Remember when TV was free?

As an adult, I can't remember when we didn't "pay" for tv. Over the years, we've had cable service and satellite and back again to cable and now back to satellite. What amazes me is the fact that we pay so much for so little. After all, we can only watch so much tv in a 24 hour period.

Just a few months ago we swapped our cable service for satellite service. With the initial discounts, the monthly fee is about half what we were paying cable. Cable was about $80 a month and now satellite service is about $45. Of course, after the first year, that will bump back up to almost $80 again. (Note to self, need to find some friends who can sign up for satellite so I can get the referral credits.)

Now, with the satellite (unlike the cable) we limited ourself to four tvs. I know, four sounds extravagant but it's all what you get used to. Our office has no satellite service but we did have an old tv in there. We decided that we'd try the new antennas to get the free digital airwaves.

What we needed:
television - already have an extra one
digital cable converter - already have thanks to that federal government give away
antenna - found one at walmart

First we tried a $30 antenna that could be mounted inside. After several hours of moving the antenna around, we only got a few channels. That one went back. We picked up a Phillips exterior antenna. It's pretty small and very light weight. It was about $38 plus tax. We installed it just outside the room we wanted the tv in and after a couple of hours of tinkering with the direction, etc. we can now get at least three local channels. No continuing costs. It will also give us access to some local channels in the event the satellite service goes out.

Super quick post and menus

Things were super busy at our house last week and I just didn't get the opportunity to post. I think things have begun to calm down but we'll see. I have many projects that I'm trying to get done before the weather turns off cold. (More on those items later this week.)

This is our second freezer week. For the first week, grocery expenditures were just a little less than normal but this most recent Saturday, I was able to spend less than $50 for some fresh produce, dairy and bread items and two meats - ground beef and sausage.

This week's menu: (four dinners driven by freezer items)

Saturday - Chicken Fingers and Mashed Potatoes
Sunday - Vegetable Beef Soup*
Monday - BBQ Sandwiches* and beans
Tuesday - Soup* and Grilled Cheese
Wednesday - Grilled Chicken* (weather permitting)
Thursday - Tacos (by request)
Friday - TBD

On an interesting note, I asked the two four year olds what their favorite dinner at Nana's house was. Tacos! That's why we're having tacos on Thursday night. I bet if I could get an answer out of the 18 month old, he'd say smoked sausage.

I may go for a third freezer week next week. My freezer is so full and I need to cycle through some of the items. I also need to get some of my pantry items moving.

Menu Mishaps Continued

The menu missteps from last week just kept coming. Apparently, it's an epidemic because they are continuing this week already.

Saturday - Chicken Fingers and Mashed Potatoes
Sunday - Pot Roast Planned, Spaghetti and Meatballs actual
Monday - Pot Roast Planned
Tuesday - BBQ Pork Chops and Mac Cheese
Wednesday - Left over pot roast
Thursday - Pepper Steak
Friday - Waffles and Sausage

I didn't find that the deals at Publix were that great this week. I still spent $60 (and saved only $19) AND I spent $30 at BJs on meat, croissants, and bananas. For the $30, I got a mega pack of ground beef which I made into 54 meatballs (Italian and Plain), Pork Chops that I separated into two meals for the freezer, and a packet of beef which I sliced for pepper steak.

Lessons learned this week, a frozen pot roast will not thaw overnight or even in 16-17 hours. I put it in the fridge Saturday afternoon and it still was not thawed by early Sunday morning. I will try it again Monday before work and hope it fared well.

Next week will be an eat from the freezer week. I will only purchase fresh produce, dairy (if needed) and any specials that are really good deals.

When plans go awry....

I had planned Steakhouse Noodle soup for tonight but when I pulled the package of steak from the freezer, I quickly realized that it was not enough for our dinner. What to do? I briefly considered chicken strips and mashed potatoes, but we're having chili over baked potatoes tomorrow night. Then, I considered a frozen chinese dinner but we had such a lovely chinese dinner Friday night that I didn't think that was suitable either.

I finally settled on spaghetti with meat sauce. I was quick, easy and allowed me to use the bread we had left over from last night as garlic bread. I pulled a small green salad together and we were good to go. I'll be moving the Steakhouse noodle to (probably) Saturday night. I'll pick up a single serving steak to supplement what I already have.

Next week may be an eat from the pantry/freezer week as I cycle through some of the stockpile that is older. It will also allow me to reduce my grocery expenditure (or stock up on deals) since I will have tag expenses and a new window coming in the next week or so. I need to check the deals for next week before I make a final decision.

Super Quick Update and Menu Post

I didn't find many good deals at Publix this weekend. Total OOP was abou $80 and I saved $30. I splurged on a couple of items - mini vanilla wafers, guacamole, triscuits, pizza crust, etc. (How can a box of vanilla wafers actually cost $4?) I was going to stop by Kroger to get some chicken breasts but nixed that plan in favor of using some already in the freezer.

I rode with DH on an errand Friday night and he treated me to a lovely Chinese dinner - real cloth napkins and all.

Saturday - Homemade Pizza
Sunday - Hearty bowl of Chili
Monday - Steakhouse Noodle Soup and Salad
Tuesday - Chili over Baked Potatoes
Wednesday - Pancakes and Sausage
Thursday - Italian Chicken and Potatoes with Onions
Friday - TBD

Hopefully, more later if time permits.