Save Like Nana did. Save.
I had to do some driving today. Driving is good thinking time. Once I got started I remembered a lot of little snippets that illustrate how Nana saved.
Food.
Nan had a purse for grocery shopping. As I got old enough I was allowed to go with her basket, purse and a list, to the corner store. Later I went shopping with Nan and Pa together and they were armed with store catalogues and would go to three supermarkets that were all close together in their town and get the deals. Nans list was made up from the specials and what she needed. They were things like flour, sugar, tea, butter.... There was no wandering into a store, buying whatever you "feel like" and using credit for it. It just didn't work like that. Nan would have planned her items and meals and know exactly what she needed to make them. Also she knew what she had that needed to be used up... and that was all planned around. The goal was to feed everyone nutritious food, with in the budget and add food to the supplies pantry. She also worked to get ahead for future events ie a family get together or the next occasion ie Christmas, Easter... I have adopted this as from October I watch for deals on dried fruits, pineapple, butter, coconut and all the things I generally know I will be using in December. Some of my friends keep a special big tub designated as a place to save foods ahead for these times. This saves money as its better to buy these things when they are on sale... and also spreads the cost of December (or whenever) out so you are not so hit hard all at one time. If you know of people who spend January and February paying off Christmas... well there are ways to save during the year so there is no debt hangover at all!
Left overs.
Pretty much everything was saved. Today I am just doing the same things. A little bit of this and that leftover from tonights dinner I will save for tomorrow's lunch.
Veggie "scraps" are saved for stock. The stems from the bunch of herbs, the leaves from the celery, so many things are good to go into stock. You can save them in the freezer until you need them too. A container especially to save things for soup or stock in another way of saving.
Bones.
The ham bone the turkey carcass.... Nan would have a blue fit that these things are thrown in the bin by a lot of people. The most rick, nutritious, flavoursome soups and stocks come from these. My favourite are beef bones. If the butcher will cut through them you have the best bone broth and this is what I used as a base in most of the baby food as did Mum as did Nan.
Cores, peels...
These are saved for vinegar, beautiful jellies... and if they are lucky the animals get some.
Roast meat or casseroles...
Having left over from a casserole is the best as then you have pie filling and a whole extra meal.
Left over cake...
Is there such a thing? A cake that has broken... lost freshness.... save it to make a trifle or some other desert. Too much birthday cake? Carefully slice and freeze for the school lunch boxes.
Left over pancake mixture.... make a stack of pancakes with every drop of what is left. Make nice little ones (pikelets) for lunch boxes or tomorrows breakfast.
Left over bread... save for stuffing mix, meatloaf, meat balls, bread crumbs, toasted sandwiches, croutons, mini pizzas, bread and butter pudding...
Left over left overs.... save for the chickens!
Pantry.
Your pantry is saving food for the future. It is a great way of saving. As you build up your food and other pantries it is like money in the bank. Maybe better! From the Christmas ingredients hamper (above) to just having everything you would need to get through for a period of time... which could be the result of a storm, being cut off from town, a job loss, illness.... whatever... you are ahead and you have saved for it with your supplies. As with all savings this might enable you to help someone else as well.
Saving up.
If Nan and Pa wanted something they saved up for it. I know they used lay by. Pa had on lay by items of jewellery for my Mum or for Nana at times and paid something towards the gift every pay day. If you wanted something you saved up for it! Seems like a novel idea these days! The thing about this is there are no impulse buys. You have to really want something in order to be bothered starting saving for it. Then you are on a mission to save and get it which is very motivating. To me it is much more motivating than already having an item and a long time later still carrying the burden of the debt from it.
Saving useful things.
Nan saved string, rubber bands, paper, foil, seeds, gift wrap and ribbons, containers, bottles and jars, buttons, fabric, things that could be used as kindling or firewood or fire starters...
Pa saved all kinds of hardware, nails, screws, wood, metal... he was very orderly too with jars for different sizes and little draws of all kinds of stuff. He was good at maintaining and fixing things.
Saving for the future.
I know Nan and Pa saved for family holidays and for retirement. Part of this was being very careful with looking after everything they had. Pa kept his car in mint condition. I remember how Nan loved her twin tub washing machine and after she finished washing she would wipe the whole machine over and polish it up. Filters were cleaned ready to go next week.
Gift cupboard.
Mum and Nan ran present cupboards. This is a sure way to save for the future. Come Christmas and Birthdays you are ahead with gifts. Mum and I still keep our present cupboards plus gift wrap, cards, tape, gift bags and so on. Boxes, packing material... anything that might make a nice base for a hamper or container for baking.... it is all saved! Any "good" box that would be good to post a parcel is also saved! I think my present cupboard saves me a lot as most of the things in it have been made, found in thrift stores, bought on a great deal... and I never had to run around in a panic because I need a gift. Every time I go to the cupboard to put together a present I thank myself for having saved ahead!
Emergency fund.
Nana had a stash of cash hidden on her kitchen dresser in a biscuit jar. It must not have been much of a secret. But I understood this to be emergency money. She also had a collection of coins. She saved all 50c coins. This was through the 70's, 80's that I remember this. We got to count it sometimes. I know she did this year after year and it amounted to hundreds pretty quickly. One year I made it that I saved every $5 note that came my way and used it at Christmas. It was a surprising amount!
Slush Fund.
I adopted this term from Cath at The Cheapskates Club. It is spare money hidden in my purse that I normally ignore. It is for emergencies or (preferably) really good deals that I might come across and want to take advantage of. So, it is money over and beyond the grocery money. If I have made a savings in another area very often I will add it to my slush fund. Now with good deals being really hard to find if you do find them you want to stock up. Having a slush fun means you can.
Special occasions and parties.
These were at home but some saving must have gone into them. They always involved Nana's amazing sponge cakes and baking on a grand scale. I do remember they threw a 21st birthday party for my Aunty and even had a dance floor. My Uncle ran the drinks and Nan the food. This is a childhood memory for me as my elderly aunt got completely hammered and later fell out of bed and was taken to the hospital. There is such a thing as having TOO much of a good time.
Yarn and fabric.
These were valuable and saved. Jumpers no loner in use were unpicked so the wool could be used again. Fabric was cut up to be used as rags or to sew something else. I have been saving a lot of fabrics as I check thrift stores. Over time I have saved all colours in reels of cotton and buttons. I save bobbins and needles... hand sewing needles in all shapes and sizes, iron on patches... things to mend and fix.
It is really fun to save and collect. Because I am always watching for useful things thrift shopping or garage sales are fantastic! Once I found a box of Italian knitting yarns. Thanks to garage sales we have all kinds of tools, garden tools, lanterns, jerry cans, dutch ovens, camping cookware, fishing rods, stuff like that. These are all good useful things to save.
It doesn't matter how small you start. Patara says to try adding five cans (on special) a week to your grocery list... to squirrel away. There are all sorts of games you can make up to help. My first year of building my pantry I gave up coffee and cake at a cafe. At the time that was $8 a week. But I watched for half price items and turned it into $16 this way.... and that is how I filled the cellar back at our old house. That was really how I first built a stockpile. Over a year I had an amazing amount. And it was fun! We found some heavy duty shelving on the side of the road!
Another year I made a plan where each month I picked an area of my pantry to work on. January was medical. Each week I added something to the medical cabinet. Feb. was laundry, each week I build up those supplies ie with ingredients with which I could make things... Borax, Lectric soda, Lux Flakes (like Ivory) Velvet soap... You get the idea.
Little savings really add up. Just figure out one small savings and times it by 52 and be amazed what it amounts to in a year. Sometimes wonderful savings are right in front of us. These days a weekly lottery ticket could instead be spend to completely fill a pantry in a year.
I also saved things towards different areas of the pantry with gifts. If I was asked what I wanted for my birthday or Christmas I said... sewing scissors, garden pots, jars, mylar bags... Be ready and be helpful if you are asked!
What are you saving? Do you have any areas that you would like to build up ? Could you set yourself a challenge? We have a post coming up from Chloe. She will be demonstrating how she saved a ton of fruit that might have been wasted. There are so many opportunities to save that are free as she did... you will see! xxx
Annabel there is lots of great advice in this post. Love it all. Bluey and I save gold coins. We have an old milo tin that we add the coins to. This is what we use for Christmas food spending. We have a seafood Christmas feast. Our coins help us in the purchase of delicious and usually quite expensive seafood.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with the notion of letting people know what you want for a gift when they ask. My poor old handbag really has seen better days. When asked what I would like for Mothers Day, I asked for a new handbag. I have been quizzed on size and colour and I have given my preferences. You get what you want this way.
Learning how to make pastry is the next homemakers skill that I want to add to my list. This is the challenge that I will be working on.
Looking forward to Chloe's post.
Dear Jane, Thank you! I love saving gold coins. They really add up fast. Pasty is also something I would like to master. I am making pasties today and bought puff pastry as I am so daunted by making a large amount of pastry. But I need to know how. And now I have a food processor. We had rain last night and today is beautiful and sunny... so I have been planting planting! With much love Annabel.xxx
DeleteAnnabel, what a wonderful post. I love all that you learned from your Nana and Pa.
ReplyDeleteWhen I married my husband I told him we didn't buy a new car till we saved up and paid cash, as that was how I was brought up. Let me say the wait was a bit hard for him but not having a car payment was a blessing.
Also my husband when we met went to toss a turkey carcass out after Thanksgiving, I think the neighbors heard me scream NO! He didn't understand, well till he had the pot of soup I made, well since then he has taken over the soup making and it has become a tradition of Saturday after Thanksgiving is soup day, all look forward to it.
My parent and grandparents taught me to save everything. jars were always reused, clothing was taken apart when it was way past wearing, everything was saved from zippers, to buttons to scrapes of the material. I am so happy I followed suit as there is no rushing out to find a button that matches or a piece of cloth to mend an item.
My parents didn't go to thrift stores, I don't even recall any when I was younger, though I started going when I first got married back in 73'. My homes have been furnished at times from them, my closet has more clothes from a thrift store than a retail store. I am always looking for craft supplies at them and oh how I could go on about my kitchen being thrift store finds. My linens, the paintings on my walls, the needlework on the walls. Everything at a fraction of the cost.
Grocery shopping my Mom taught me to shop sales, use coupons and rebates when available. You can make your grocery budget go so much further doing a little work ahead of time. When I go into a grocery store I check for mark downs, clearances. My husband is even trained to stop in if he is near one to just check for deals. We mainly buy loss leaders and keep a pantry so that we aren't spending retail price.
There is so much we can do to keep our pantries stocked, truly every little bit counts and does add up.
Dear Rubies,
DeleteI always wondered how people had such expensive cars. I used to live in a seaside town and a lot of people were wealthy and drove amazing cars. But one day I was in on a conversation and I found out most people leased them! Others of course had car loans and paid masses for their cars this way. It made no sense to me. I know you make great soups! We can feed an army with beautiful soup by not wasting anything!
You are right... we can avoid retail prices altogether once our pantry is built up! That is what I do, wait until a good price comes again and stock up. Thank you for your comment! With love Annabel.xxx
Oh Annabelle what a wonderful article this is.
ReplyDeleteI save vases! When I was working we often received flowers for secretary's day, birthday, Christmas etc. I always treasured them. When the flowers were dead, i chopped them up into my compost tumbler, and the vases were carefully washed and stored until i needed one for a gift, or a get-well bouquet. Many of the other ladies didn't want their vases, and i brought those home too. They thought nothing of throwing them in their office waste basket. Once i asked, they would retrieve them, and after that they would drop them off at my desk.
I grow zinnias and roses, sunflowers, snapdragons, and tulips, and can often make my own fresh bouquets to give as gifts, (depending on the time of year)small twigs, pinecones, or other little add-on goodies I have saved, and tie with curly ribbon i have saved or made, or just jute twine. In winter, i can use bits of artificial flowers and greenery that i keep on hand adding fresh pine trimmings and pinecones, and an unbreakable ornament. (Simple but lovely ornaments are also something fabulous to keep on hand to spiffy up a gift, or to use as a stand alone gift).
I also look for vases at thrift shops and yard sales.
If the vase is beautiful by itself, either because of the shape, or thickness, or etched glass, and less than five dollars, i will buy it. I run it through the next load in the dishwasher, and set it aside for a stand alone gift, meaning without the flowers. These make very nice gifts for a bride, a new home owner, a new neighbor, birthdays, or showers, sometimes addinga fun helium balloon from the dollar store. . And these vases often cost just a few dollars. As you often remind us, Annabelle, it's not about the price tag, but the love and care that goes into a gift. And it gives me joy to make something personally.
Having beautiful vases on hand also allows me to bring flowers and greenery to a funeral...which is something that is otherwise very expensive and overpriced and not in the budget. . I will usually pick up a bouquet of white flowers and arrange it myself, adding white ribbon.
You can also look for beautiful picture frames at yard sales and thrift shops much the same way. They are a perfect gift for the home or office, adding a photo of their family or children.
You can also give a lovely picture frame as a bereavement gift, in lieu of flowers. I add a note encouraging them to find the perfect picture of their loved one when they are ready. I wrap this in white paper, with white ribbon or twine, and a bit of artificial greenery. They are well received.
In 20 years, i have probably saved many hundreds of dollars with just these 2 items alone, and spread beauty and thoughtfulness, at the same time.
Miss Susan
Dear Miss Susan, I absolutely love your ideas thank you! I very often have the opportunity to pick wildflowers and Proteas. They make beautiful gifts. I love your ideas with the frame and vases. I love vases! You have saved a fortune and also given beautiful and thoughtful things that are appropriate and lovely! Many thanks! Love Annabel.xxx
DeleteAs you are, I am so grateful to have been raised with these saving examples, too. We do almost all of these things and it is such a blessing to be able to have plenty because we live this way.
ReplyDeleteAnnabel, there are so many things in this post which are striking a chord with me. A small inner voice has been telling me to increase the amount of cash we keep in the house ' just in case'.Now we are told that a Russian spy ship has been offshore of the UK and there is evidence it is mapping the location of our offshore wind farms and undersea energy and communication cables. Sabotage to these would impact us hugely. No one knows who sabotaged the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline but it wasn't Father Christmas.
ReplyDeleteOur youngest daughter has nothing but electricity in her flat so we are going to discuss with her what backup she can safely have. We have a big stock of candles, nightlights and matches so I will share some with her. I am going to increase tinned food in the larder, medical supplies, batteries etc. We will buy a solar charger for our phones and radio although if the networks go down these won't work anyway. We have a large wood supply so could cook and heat water on our open fires, use the big outside BBQ.
If anyone outside the UK thinks we are overreacting I urge them to read up about the Novichok poisoning in the UK. These rogue states will stop at nothing. I'm going to reread Nana's saving post again, thank you Annabel.
Dear Penny, I understand your worries! I was so scared when the war began and everybody was running - half a year I had the bug out bags at the door and stuff hidden away in the cellar. I, too, add to my pantry whatever I can, just in case. In my opinion, Russia starts threatening more and more, now the Ucrainean contra ofensse may start. They have terrible fights there....Stay safe! Love. Laura_s_world from Romania
DeleteDear Penny, Dont ignore that voice... do all you can. Your daughter certainly needs a way to cook and a way to keep warm should electricity fail. With the radio... if you have a good one you should be able to get signal from another country so even if stations in the UK were down... you could still get information. Try and have one that is solar and batteries so you have that choice. Also if you have never cooked on a fire have some fun and try it out so that should you need it you are pretty good at it. I dont think you are over reacting at all. Each week these situations seem to have escalated. Also direct threats have been made to the UK which is pretty alarming. I think all the things you pan to do are extremely wise! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteIf your daughter learns the safety precautions, she could cook on a two-burner propane camp stove. Placing it next to a window and opening the window when she is cooking provides adequate ventilation. If she has an outdoor space attached to her flat, she can cook outdoors on a gas barbecue. She may wish to stock up on foods that don't require refrigeration.
DeleteAlso, ski underwear and extra blankets will help keep her warm.
If she is very concerned about this, she may wish to move...always focusing on places that offer alternatives and allow her to shelter in place.
So, so many great ideas in this post, Annabel! I'm happy to say we already do most of them. We've always lived below our means, so I was able to leave my librarian job in 1996 to be a stay at home mom. We waited 14 years to have our son Sam ( I was 37 when he was born), and I wasn't putting him in daycare. Prior to his birth, we took turns going to graduate school, worked, scrimped, and rented for 10 years until we bought a "starter" fixer upper divorce special that needed a LOT of work. Fortunately, hubby has a multitude of skills, and we worked hard to make this old brick farmhouse a cozy home. (We're still living in our starter home, LOL - it's cheap living without a mortgage!) We got it for a song and paid it off in 2.5 years so I could stay home with Sam. My parents were excellent examples of frugal living and taught me well. Fortunately hubby is the same way. (Unfortunately he has an older sister who spends every cent she has - it sure wasn't a genetic trait, lol!) I went back to work part-time for 4 years until 2011, when degenerative arthritis ruined both my knees, one hip, and both hands. I was able to retire early. Hubby retired early when he turned 62, 2 years ago. Our son and his wife are both very frugal, and we're able to help them with home projects in the place they bought in Sept. 2020. Sam and his dad are both computer professionals, but Sam's learning heaps of repair and maintenance skills from his dad, and we all feel very blessed. My dad died at the age of 52 (when I was 20 and in college), so my mom worked hard by herself yet made saving and living frugally a game that she played until she passed at 93. She challenged herself to have money leftover each month from her small pension and social security check. She always had a cheerful, can-do attitude from growing up on a farm and learning all kinds of homemaking and practical living skills. I'm so glad I learned to cook, sew, can food, etc., from her, and Hubby loves to garden and can fix just about anything (both computer and non-computer). I also taught my son these kinds of homemaking/living skills so he could live successfully on his own. We are so blessed! And I so enjoy learning so many other skills in my old age thanks to you and the other Bluebirds, Annabel! (Sorry for the rambling.....)
ReplyDeleteDear Jill, Your Mum was wonderful. I think it is fantastic that your husband and son are working together on their home projects. It is good time together... your son is learning so many skills and they will be saving such a lot. Just a win all round! Yes living without a mortgage is so good. You are set up now. All the skills we can learn are valuable. Also it is fun to learn new things! I loved your comment thank you! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteThanks for the trip down Memory Lane! You described how my parents ran their household...although I don't EVER remember any leftover cake! My mother wasn't particularly well organized, but when she died, all of her leftovers were labeled with Post-it notes so she wouldn't forget what it was and how long it had been in the fridge. Nothing was ever wasted.
ReplyDeleteMy father was born in 1909 and my mother in 1914. He was a young adult and she was a teenager during the Great Depression. They were married in 1940 and having children during and just after WW2, when there was extensive rationing in the US. Even if you had the money, you couldn't buy it. They HAD to “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” And that's the way I was raised.
They didn't shop in thrift stores, which were few and far between, and because they thought it would make them "look poor." They didn't start a pantry until my sister and I were grown, but when my dad died, the basement was full of food. (My mother lived 9 years longer and NEVER bought another bar of soap). They didn't do much for holidays and celebrations, but otherwise they did just about everything you described.
My dad was an alcoholic and we lived paycheck to paycheck. Never did anything fun as a family. My mother started saving dimes about the time I started high school. You are right that it added up quickly. I can't tell you how many times we dipped into her "dime money" for unexpected expenses. My sister and I were the usual beneficiaries. When we had the opportunity for "fun stuff" with friends or new clothes (which she sewed), dime money usually paid for it.
I have done most of those things over 55 years of marriage (not dime money, though). It has always seemed natural to us. I managed to instill some of this in my son. He's a bigger spender, but I can't knock it because they're debt-free except for their mortgage and it's only a 15-year note. He is a better saver than I was at his age.
PS--LOL about your elderly aunt getting hammered at the party! You will NEVER forget that one!
Dear Maxine, I am sorry about your Dad and that part of your childhood. I was very lucky my Dad didnt drink. However he was so convicted not to drink because his Grandfather was an alcoholic. So his Grandmother had to manage on her own. I didnt shop at thrift stores growing up either although Mum and I liked to go to antique/junk shops and I began to collect china. In my later teens I discovered thrift stores! It was love at first sight lol!
DeleteYour parents lived through incredible times. My Nan was morning in 1919. I wish I had her now to ask more questions now. Your son sounds like he is doing well. With much love Annabel.xxx
Thank you for your kind comment. My dad was what he was and I didn't have any choices except to live and learn. I sometimes mention my father's alcoholism in discussions of frugality because it is a big financial issue as well. The thing is, some people are wise and well organized in their finances (like your grandparents) and some of us learn to get by.
DeleteI don't drink primarily because of what it does to a family. There is a saying in Alcoholics Anonymous that alcoholics don't have relationships, they take hostages. I'm just not interested in alcohol, although occasionally I will have a beer or a glass of wine. ONE beer or glass of wine. We all know what fools drunks make of themselves. I don't need booze to make a fool of myself! Comes naturally, LOL.
What a wonderful post Annabel, there is so much wisdom to be gained from our elders.
ReplyDeleteMy paternal grandmother used to save the soap scraps in a big glass jar. I never saw her do anything with them, but I believe she would melt them down and make them into new bars of soap! I remember my mother making fun of nan (behind her back) for doing this, but ironically I’ve just started saving my soap scraps too ha ha! I will have to google what to do when I get enough of them, but I’m hoping it’s as easy as melt and pour into silicone moulds.
It amuses me just a little to think how “everything old is new again”
From Cheryl
Dear Cheryl, Soap scraps is for sure one I forgot! Yes it is funny how all the old things are "in" again. Nan always took her basket to the store... she never used a plastic bag! She composted. Reusued everything. That generation wrote the book on not wasting! Every time I fold a bit of foil to save I think of Nan! With much love, Annabel.xxx
DeleteDear Annabel, what a wonderful post! I have been raised with these habits by my mother and my grandmother - out of necessity and of intelligence. We saved, recycled, reused, mend and eaten all we can. I, still, never throw away anything without thinking creatively of other ways of reuse something. My last addition to my good habits is taken from you - the gift pantry. I put away something found on a good deal or handmade by me and I don*t know how many times I was sending you good thoughts and blessings when special occasions needed a gift!
ReplyDeleteWith all the costs go higher, what remains after food and monthly utilities I save every penny I can and put away in a few special envelopes. It is not much monthly but it adds up - the retirement fund, a medical fund, emergency fund, Christmas and other events, my son, my fur babies and from the beginning of this year I have a Chicken money envelope - it means I put away the equivalent of every egg laid by my golden ladies. It is growing everyday now and I am amazed how much saving it means for us.
Thank you Annabel for these ideas and I take notes from all the Bluebirds and their comments. Have a nice week - Laura_s_world from Romania
Dear Laura, I am so glad the gift pantry is a help to you! When you are between knitting orders and you have wool left over your own knitting items for babies and hats and other projects would be beautiful gifts. All the money you are saving from the chickens is a great saving! I am thinking of how Spring growth will give you so much extra you can feed them for free. I wondered also if at work there are people who bring their lunch and you could ask for left overs for your chickens? If I am eating out anywhere I generally dont eat the bread. I always have a plastic bag in my handbag to save anything for the chickens! It all adds up. Right now I am making an extra effort as last winter my chickens went off the lay for ages. I will see if we can do better this year.
DeleteThe Bluebirds and their comments give me a lot of ideas too. I am so thankful for this little community we have now! With much love Annabel.xxx
Annabel, you are right. These days my chickens eat almost for free - lots of grass, bugs, slugs, kitchen leftovers, and I take home from work for years now, my colleagues leftover lunches - I split them between my cats, my dogs, and now my chickens. I asked and probably I am the odd one but I hate waste and they know it - also blows my mind how easily they would throw in the garbage bread or food - in my family we knew not to throw in the garbage food because it upsets God ! My grandmother would have been so mad and I would have been ashamed for days when around her.
DeleteI bring home from the office shredded paper and cardboard. Now that I have chickens, I put some in the coop, mixed with hay and the rest goes to compost. The cardboard are used to trap slugs under and then feed the chickens and for fire starter when we cook on fire. Also, the ash is used for the vegetable garden, the roses and now for the dust baths.
It is such a nice feeling to be able to use up everything in the world. And with such a small effort.
Have a nice and productive week ahead, much love Laura_s_world from Romania
Dear Annabel, thankyou for this post. Things are getting tighter financially round here which is very stressful. I needed your inspiration to keep going. This week I was happy to dig up some potatoes I had grown - using just the "eye" of potatoes out of my pantry. They are so yummy roasted, I was able to add these to a tray with carrots, beetroots and capsicum to take to my BIL while my husband helped them concrete in their yard. I felt proud having grown the whole tray including the herbs to flavor them. I will be able to repeat this tray on Friday night for friends. A few years ago I wouldn't have thought I could ever do that. I still don't feel like I can call myself a gardener but I guess I am now. You have inspired me to rearrange my pantries today to see where I am at. Love Clare
ReplyDeleteDear Clare,
DeleteWell done on all your vegetables! They sound beautiful! A pantry re arrange is very good. When I tidy up mine I always find space I didnt know I have. I like to know how far ahead I am with each thing... milk pasta, rice, tomato and so on. I hope your week is going well! With love Annabel.xxx
Dear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely and informative post. All of the things you have written about here my Nanas and mother and father did and, yet, I am the only one of my four siblings who put all of these things into practice.
Having to be on a gluten free and low histamine diet, my pantry is a bit different from most as it is in 2 freezers as I cannot eat anything canned or dehydrated. We installed a whole house generator to accommodate any power outages that may occur. It is powered by propane and if we are very careful it should give us a months worth of electricity should this happen.
I had to smile when I saw the picture frame that opened this posting as I have sconces in our bedroom that exactly match that frame, roses and all. What are the chances of that especially being on the other side of the world from each other?
Today the new stove will be delivered. It's funny, but I think I will miss the old fashioned way of lighting burners with a match. Blessings, Cookie
I know I am late to comment, but thank you! This was so helpful, Annabel. I practice most of these savings techniques. But the one new to me was the monthly challenges at the end of your post. Great idea!! I will try this.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Leslie
I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog and all the wonderful posts from around the world!
ReplyDeleteI read this blog from the US this morning and the recipe sounded like something ya'll might like. I'm going to try it this week and then use Cholee's instructions for using my bread maker. Read it if you would like https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/how-to-make-a-potato-flake-sourdough-starter