My Two-Cents: Homemaking Tips

{This post was so huge when I finished typing it up that I ended up splitting it into two posts. Stay tuned for a sequel!}

A few months ago, the hubs and I realized that we were spending a TON of money on month-to-month stuff. A little disheartening considering we are just two people and a wee little babe.

At first, I thought something like, "Well, it's not MY fault! We have to eat food and I do my best at buying groceries. I have to keep the house clean and I only buy cleaner every once in a while. I don't know how to do any better!"

Well, come to find out I was right! I didn't know how to do any better. I was doing the best I could with what I knew how to do, but thanks to wonderful women who share their knowledge through their blogs and Pinterest, I've begun to glean information and form a stockpile of tips that works great for our family. I feel confident that I'm doing oodles better at cutting our family's spending while also cutting chemicals from my housecleaning bucket.

While this path is still just starting, it wasn't always as smooth as it is now :)

The first month I attempted to cut back our grocery bill, I read up on how one family only goes to the grocery store once a month.

"That'll be easy," I said.

I unfortunately can't find the link to the blog, but she talked about how she takes inventory of ALL her food on a sheet of paper. Then she makes as many meal plans as she can based on what food she already has. Next, she plugs in other meals until she has a month's worth of food. Then she goes to the store and buys everything she needs for the month. EVERYTHING.

Done. Sold. The end.

I did what she suggested and as time went by, I thought that it had been at least three weeks since I stepped foot in a store. I was understandably discouraged and horrified when I started counting days and realized that it had only been a week and a half.

We had taken a surprisingly ginormous chunk out of our bill by making the switch, but I didn't know if I could survive! I didn't think I was good enough or smart enough to handle the lifestyle change, but thankfully, month #2 {and #3} have been off to a much better start.

{If tempted to try grocery shopping once a month, I would suggest starting with once every 2 weeks and working up to once a month}

. . . .

One thing I find very handy where meal planning is concerned is THIS printable.

{source}

I print out four or five and make my meal plans for the month. We usually try to make do with left-overs for some nights of the week, so I only plan four meals for the seven days of the week. I create a bookmark on my Internet's bookmark bar labeled "Monthly Meal Plan" where I put links to all online recipes for the month.

One word to the wise: come up with a system when you write down your meal plans so that you know if the meal "Chicken Taco Soup" is online, in a family cookbook, or written on the back of a random piece of paper in your coat pocket in the back of your cloest. If the meal is online, I put it in quotation marks. If it's not, I make sure to record where it is right underneath or make a key {for example: parenthesis are used for cookbook recipes; a star marks those that are filed away as freezer meals}. You think you'll remember where it is when compiling them all, but trust me, you won't. TRUST ME.

. . . . Unless, of course, you're a ninja.

Each month, I get a blank envelope out and label it "Groceries". On the back I write the date I went shopping, the amount I spent, where I went, and a brief summary of what I purchased. Then I slip the receipt in the envelope and stick it where I can see it. I do that every single time I buy something from the grocery store. It helps to keep me accountable and organized. I put my envelope in a darling little mail organizer made out of a Cheerio box like this one found HERE:

{source}

I'm a firm believer that one will keep something organized a lot better if it looks cute :)


After we have a meal, I cross it off of the paper list and rate it {if it's a new recipe}. At the end of the month, I record all new recipes that we really liked so I don't have to continually think, "Now, were was that one recipe that we liked with that one stuff? Taste of Home? Pinterest? A magazine? A cookbook?" I also clean out my "Monthly Meal Plan" bookmark and replace it with the new meal plans.

I got motivated to type up and print out all of my recipes by THIS sweet lady. It occurred to me that if we lost power/internet, I would be up a creek when it came time to cook dinner. I really enjoy finding food on Pinterest, but if the meal is worth making again, I try really hard to write it down and pop it in the book.

{source}

. . . .

A few tips for food preservation I like to use are:

Take each head of lettuce and wrap them in dry paper towels {usually two sheets surround a head of green leaf} and put a few smaller pieces of paper towel in between a few of the leaves. This helps to absorb the moisture. Put them in a large ziplock bag and squish all air out of them {I put each in their own bag}. They will stay fresh and crisp all month long! {idea adapted from THIS}

Depending on how fast your family goes through bread, put some in the fridge and the freezer. Just be careful that you keep your bread from drying out. . . I'm still working on perfecting that :)

I find that organic milk lasts a while longer than regular milk and tastes SO much better. {For more information, check out my friend Keira's post HERE} I'm also a fan of organic eggs, although they don't seem to last quite as long. However, the taste and quality make it so you're tempted to use them much sooner anyway!

Another tip is to organize items in your pantry according to meal. Then you're not searching for your goods for five minutes every single night!

. . . . .

That's all I'm going to spill on you today, but like I mentioned earlier, I've divided this bad boy into another post, so stay tuned for some cleaning tips!