The little birds...

If you watch little birds you will see they are busy and happy! Using whatever they can find they create the most gorgeous little nest.
I would be the little bird with some glittery thread in her nest!
We can be like this. Happily working away with the things that are available to us to create a beautiful and happy home.
All the while with a little song in our heart.

Banner by Free Pretty Things for You.

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Pantries and Preparedness with Laine. Part 2.

Last week I shared Laine's Letter about her pantry. This was a good foundation for me and still motivates me!


The photos in this post are Teri's Pantry. Teri sent me these pictures earlier in the year and I am still in awe of them! I have had so much help and friendship from so many ladies this year. Thank you Teri.xxx


Today I am going to share Fearless Food Shopping. Now, do remember in regard to prices these letters are getting pretty old now! But the content is as wonderful as ever!



There are some gems in this that are very important...

Fearless Food Shopping.


My food budget for the month is $260. This is for a family of six with three eating as men. (My teenagers eat the same amount as my husband.) And also my dad, who lives next door, stopping in at dinner time for a chat and a bite to eat. ~Smile~ I will be sharing with you many ways that I save money on food. I think it was meant to be quite a bit of work to save money as revealed in this verse:
"She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar." Proverbs 31:14
Notice, it is ships in plural. Not just one merchant ship, but many merchant ships. There is a lot of work going on here. A lot of learning and growing as well. I think these next verses that follow also show the wisdom of a frugal cook in the family:
"Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, in the innermost parts of your house." Psalm 128:3a
"House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD." Proverbs 19:14
You can't find a wife like this without the LORD, and you can't be one like this without Him either.
"There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up. Proverbs 21:20
This verse comes right under the verse where it is better to live in a desert than with a contentious and vexing woman! I think a man can have precious treasure and oil in his house with a wise and frugal wife by his side. I have learned so much from such women of God.
It is a privilege for me to stretch my husband's paycheck as much as is possible. One of the ways I can do that is by my strength in the kitchen. The stronger that I get in that room, the more that I can save us. Not only that, but the better we eat and the tastier it is as well. It is blessing upon blessing upon blessing. With this in mind, I share with you how I save money on food up to this day:
1~ I do not spend a certain amount of money each week. Some weeks I might only need a couple of items at the market like milk or fresh vegetables. I do a major food shopping once a month. I pray when I go, while I shop, and at the check out. Everything in the store is set up to get me to spend more than I need to; so I never want to go shopping without the LORD Who has "eyes to see". At this time I buy most of what I will need all month. So far this month I have spent $190 on our food shopping. If I could not go shopping for over a month or more, I would still have enough food to feed my family. I have learned the value of keeping a well stocked pantry (as I shared before) and continue to learn how to do this better and better each year. I don't like to spend all my budget at once because there are usually some store specials that will come up during the month that I like to buy. So each week I check the ads that come in my mail to see what is on special. Sometimes there is nothing, and sometimes, like this week, there are pears for 20 cents a pound.
2~ I buy many things in bulk. It saves us money and time. I don't buy everything in bulk in one month, but rather stretch it out over the year. In that way my food budget is not overly stretched any particular month. I like to have dried as well as fresh on hand. So if I need it, I have dried milk available.
3~ I cost items out. This helps me to avoid buying items that I can make much more inexpensively. Take french bread, for example. I can make two loaves for 50 cents. ( This recipe was shared in a past letter.) So I am not tempted to buy it at the store no matter how good that hot loaf smells in the bakery. I can make a large pizza for under $3. So, again, I am not tempted to buy it. (This recipe was also shared in a past letter.)
4~ We have some meatless meals. I love to make a meatless meal that everyone likes. My husband was raised on meat almost every night. So it has been a slow process to change our dietary habits. I had to do it primarily for financial reasons, but I now realize that it is healthier for us. I also make meals from many different countries. Many other countries, such as China, use far less meat with lots of fresh vegetables for an abundance of flavor and good health.
5~ Our markets mark down their meat early in the morning, so once or twice a month I will go to the market at that time to see what I can find. It is a challenge for me to see if I can make a piece of meat work for two or three meals. Oftentimes I can do this by using a recipe from another country. As I shared before, I love to check out cookbooks from my local library, especially cookbooks from other parts of the world.
6~ I shop many different fruit stands and stores. I keep my eyes open for good specials. The wise woman in Proverbs 31 was likened to merchant ships, so there is no question that she was a keen shopper looking for the best in quality at the best possible price for her family. It is not uncommon for me to stop at seven or more stores when I do my first big shopping of the month. I run in to get what is on special or what is found at that store at a good price, and then I'm back out again. I find this easier to do in the early morning when there isn't too much foot traffic. It did take some getting used to, and I am pretty tired when I come home, but I only do this once a month, so it is a good workout for me. ~Smile~ Plus I save us hundreds of dollars in a year's time by this method. Yes, I have taken my children shopping with me since they were infants. Sometimes my husband and my children both are with me. Sometimes I shop alone or with my mother. It always varies.
7~ I keep my coupons with me at all times. I am not a big coupon shopper, and if coupons were stopped in this country, I would still be able to save money for my family by other methods. But since they are offered in our country, I take advantage of them when it is profitable. Take this month. I noticed that six dented boxes of Wheaties were marked down in one of the supermarkets. (I love to check the marked down section of each store when I shop.) I was able to buy all the boxes they had for 29 cents a box. I don't buy cereal often unless I can get it under a dollar a box, so this was right in my price range. (I don't buy the sugary stuff even if I can get it for free.) Where I save predominantly in this area is by making my own granola and such. So if I could never buy cereal with coupons, it would be okay, as I would make granola and other kinds of cereal for my family. I also found Ivory soap (packaging ripped) marked down in the same aisle, so I was able to get all twelve bars for pennies with my coupons.
8~ I try to buy "real" whenever possible. So I use butter, not margarine. I use bread flour or freshly ground wheat flour, not all purpose flour. I use olive oil, not all purpose oil. I am moving more and more into whole grains and such as we get more for our money and our health.
9~ My food budget does include paper products, cleansers, and such. The only thing that it does not include is our dog food. I have that budgeted separately. When toilet paper goes on sale, I buy a lot. I store it under my son's bed. Sometimes I do not buy toilet paper for months at a time. I do not use paper towels much anymore, rather a rag. Instead of paper napkins, I have switched to cloth napkins. As I shared with you before, I make many of my own cleansers which is much cheaper and healthier. I also use half the required amount of detergent when washing my clothes and just let it agitate longer.
10~ If it is profitable for me to send in a refund, I will do so. This past shopping trip I will get a free pair of rubber gloves for buying a rust stain remover. So I mailed that off the next day.
11~ I love to do things with leftovers. So often little pieces of meat and potatoes will be chopped up the next day and find their way into a burrito for lunch. Or some squash or leftover oatmeal will find its way into a batch of muffins. Or some mashed potatoes will find their way into a loaf of bread. I love to learn and I find that when you love to learn, you do! So I am learning monthly how to do more with what I've got in my kitchen. Many times I will buy a piece of meat that has been marked down and not know what I will do with it. This month a turkey leg was one such piece of meat. I bought it for a little over a dollar. I cooked it on low all day in the crock pot with vegetable and seasonings, then took the meat off the bone and chopped it up. I made some Chinese noodles. I took some of the noodles, put them in a bowl for each person with some of the turkey and broth on top, added a few dashes of soy sauce, and served it with a piece of homemade bread. It was a hit!
12~ Cooking from scratch is so important in my method of food savings. When I first began to learn to cook, I started in the "soup corner." Once I learned how to make soups, I progressed on to bread. And so on and so on. I am still learning. It is such fun! So I do not "menu plan" or cook ahead for my freezer too much (only a small one above the fridge) or count on the garden (still learning there, but hope to add more savings in the future). Rather I take out one of my pieces of meat or vegetables in the morning, then sit down with my cookbooks to see what I can make with it. I always ask the LORD to show me the way. It is never boring because I am always trying something new.
13~ This year I did a bit of canning because it was profitable to do so. Each can of peaches cost us under 40 cents. I have also been dehydrating. I am so excited to learn how to do this. I have started bags of mushrooms, chilies, bell peppers, peaches, pears, apples, carrots, celery, spinach, and tomatoes. Some are fuller than others. It is so nice to know that if I need a certain item and I do not have it fresh, I just might have it dried. It is like having a mini fruit/vegetable stand in my pantry.
14~ I love to collect recipes. I love to collect unusual recipes. Recipes that do not have eggs or oil or butter. The reason for this is there might come a time when I will be so glad that I have these kinds of recipes. Some of these ingredients might be hard to come by if we fell upon hard times, so I see the value in recipes like these. That is why I will make a cookie recipe with oil. I like to make different kinds of recipes so that I'll know a good one when I need it. Many times I will see something marked down at the store and a certain recipe will pop into my head as soon as I see it.
15~ I enjoy learning how to make things and stretching myself in the kitchen. Such as cheese. I have made ricotta, cream cheese, and cottage cheese. But I want to learn how to make cheese using rennet. I hope to do this soon. I remember how much fun it was to learn how to make sour cream and buttermilk (recipes shared in past letters as well). I make those without thinking now. So I hope to do the same with cheese soon. It is so helpful to know how to make things from simple ingredients. Then I do not need to go to the store, rather to my pantry. Take noodles, for example. If I don't have noodles on hand, it is very good to know how to make them. I might be out of noodles, but not out of the ingredients to make them. Within 40 minutes, I can have noodles ready for the boiling water and my recipe.
16~ There are a couple of stores that I go to every three or four months. They are an hour away, but worth the trip when I do make it. I always look forward to these trips. This is the time that I will buy some items in bulk.
17~Bakery cakes have never been in my budget. I remember when I was asked to be in my friend's wedding. One of the girls, who was also in the wedding, threw her a bridal shower. She asked me to buy the cake. I knew that I couldn't afford a big cake. So I told her that I'd make it. She looked worried and asked me if I had ever made a large cake before. I had to admit that I hadn't. But I told her that if it didn't work, I'd buy one. Well, I practiced and practiced. My family loved eating my efforts. ~Smile~ The day of the shower I brought a cake that looked like two wedding rings entwined with a cream cheese/whipped cream frosting and fresh strawberries. Everyone loved it. I saved us some money, plus learned a lot in the process about cake decorating which I have used time and time again.
18~ I am about a year ahead on my toiletries. What I mean by this is if I did not buy tooth paste, deodorant, shampoos, and such for a year, I would have ample supply. I have been buying them with coupons when they were on sale and free or near free, so I have stocked up quite a bit. They don't go bad as with food. And if I need to use something for a gift or a food basket, I have it there and ready.
19~ I buy most of my spices in bulk. Much more inexpensive this way.
20~ I have been training myself to do my cooking early in the morning. I find that I do a better job and feel so much more accomplished when my meal is well on its way early in the day. (As taught in Proverbs 31.) It is pure pleasure to pull out a meal that was made earlier in the day to share with my family in the evening. I am usually pretty tired by then, and so very, very glad that my meal is ready.
I hope these tips have been a help to you. I am still learning how to save money on my food shopping, and I am sure many of you could share so much more than I've shared here. May the LORD bless you as you serve Him in your kitchen.
Love,
Laine




One of the biggest things in our whole budget is food. How we manage that is so important to the whole budget and our health. But also to how much we can build up our pantries. If we never have enough or extra we can't really get ahead with the pantry. So getting ahead with food and supplies is a really important thing. The only way to do that is being pretty clever with cooking from scratch and making the most of bargains and what we can find. Saving in one area to build up another can work miracles. I would rather make a pizza than buy one. I would rather spend the difference on the pantry.

The other gem was pointed out to me by a reader.  Laine said she studies old cook books and also thinks of alternatives to ingredients. She says in tough times certain ingredients might not be available and we need to know what we could do then.  This is a very good idea. Do we know how to cook decent meals out of absolute basics? Without any fancy ingredients or pre prepared things?
These are skills worth learning and increasing. Knowing how to cook stock, soups from just about anything, basic bread and simple filling things is very important. Also knowing how to go to plan B when plan A just isn't possible.
The same with your pantry and storage. Can you make meals from what you have?  In a crisis or shortage very basic cooking is fine. Actually very basic cooking is usually very good! But those basics are really important skills to have.



Someone commented to me recently that in a crisis is no time to learn skills! Learn them now and as you can so you have the skills you need when you need them.

This series has been a big learning curve for me. You can take an empty space and turn it into a pantry in a year or less is one thing I learned! Thank you to all the ladies who helped me via comments, emails, letters, photos and guest posts. 

I still have a couple of Pantries and Preparedness posts for the year. Then we will see what the new year brings! xxx

26 comments:

  1. I love reading about and seeing pantries and how everyone manages to build them up.

    Thanks so much Annabel for the pantries and preparedness series this year. I have really built up my pantry and am learning so much along the way from other women who contribute here. xoxo

    Grandma Donna had a good post recently as well. If anyone would like a peek at her pantry. :-)
    http://gdonna.com/living-like-the-past/the-pantry/

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    1. Thanks Kaye. I know you did a huge amount of pantry building this year which is awesome. Thanks for the link. I like that blog and it will give me some lovely reading tonight. xxxx

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  2. I so miss Laine's letters & wisdom. I'm thankful her past letters are still available online. Great post and recommendations!

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    1. Thanks Tracy. Hope you are having a good week. xxx

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  3. Dear Annabel, I love this post. I love Terri's pantry. I love what Laine says about shopping from many 'ships'. And I love what she writes about cooking from scratch and stretching her learning in the kitchen. I've always maintained that the food budget is the easiest one to trim, and that we can all eat well. Always accepting though, that when you save in one area, it means an investment in another. So saving money, means investing time and energy. You can't save time and energy AND money. That's something I say to my little families I'm teaching and it helps them to see that their time really IS an investment, not a 'waste'. They go very quickly from viewing an hour spent making 50 Spring Rolls with $5 worth of ingredients as a 'waste of time when I can buy them', to 'an investment of time to eat well, and have 10 times the end result for the same amount of money'!Wonderful post. Love, Mimi xxx

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    1. Dear Mimi, Yes this is a thing... getting people to see how much they can earn/save in an hour. Its enormous. I am amazed at the small effort that equals big dollars especially in the kitchen it seems. This weekend baby food is something Im helping with. I had worked out my crockpot full equals about $70 of bought baby food. I will cost the ingredients but it will be less than $5 I think and so healthy. Thats $65 to spend ten minutes putting it in the crock pot and freezing portions, well under an hours work. Thats good money.
      I love Teri's pantry too and she does it all from taking every opportunity. Love.
      Many thanks! Love Annabel.xxx

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  4. Annabel,
    I love where she says it's never boring because I am always trying something new. I am not sure if she means cooking, but for me that is how I am and how I built my pantry by trying something new. I know many who get bored with the whole home keeping routine and find themselves in a rut. I probably would too if I wasn't trying new things. I am not store loyal and go where I'm going to get the most for my money and some weeks it can be several stores and I do what I call a one tank trip. Like Laine I am in and out and moving on to the next store, but it maximizes my dollars tremendously. I love a challenge. Thank you for posting these I have not read them in awhile!

    Teri your pantry is a sight to behold! Great job!

    XOXO
    Vicky

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    1. Dear Vicky,
      It is totally easy to get into a rut. I love trying new things and each week try a new recipe or way of doing something. Even then I can get in a rut. Thats why I love the end of the year and the new year. I can have a review and make changes! I often make changes for new year as I have a think about what I could do better.
      I love a challenge too! They are fun to me and help me heaps! With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. Annabel, I am also in awe of Teri's pantry and the pantries of some other US bloggers who have the whole preserving issue down pat as it is just a way of life for so many in the cold areas. You are so fortunate to have your cellar which you have really taken advantage of this year.

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    1. Dear Nanna Chel,
      I love Teri's Pantry too and how she does it. She is a little ant!
      It is funny about the cellar. I didnt appreciate it and now I do! Now I love it and its my little shop. Quite a transformation in a year!
      You will be busy getting ready for the family now... and sewing... With love Annabel.xxx

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  6. Dear Annabel,

    Laine's letters are so informative and uplifting. Thank you for sharing them as a reminder.

    I love looking at pantry pictures, especially one's with home canned foods in them. Our pantry is full, but doesn't have as many home canned foods this year; hopefully, time and circumstances will allow me to can more next year.

    The pantry series this year has been inspiring and helped many of us feel connected as we stocked up for the future. Thank you for all of the posts you wrote and all the work you do for The Bluebirds are Nesting. You and the posts are a true blessing.

    Love and hugs,
    Glenda

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    1. Thank you so much Glenda. You have had a big year. Already you are more prepared than most people. You have been a great help to me and taught me so much! Thank you.xxx

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  7. Dear Annabel, Thank you for sharing this letter. What a wealth of information! I know I have also enjoyed learning my way around in the kitchen. My husband and I will have our fifth anniversary next month, and the way I cooked five years ago looks much different than today. Though I always knew how to cook, most of what I prepared involved already prepared ingredients. I didn't even realize this at first! It wasn't until I started being more aware of our health that I realized how little I knew about cooking. As I started cooking more things from scratch, I noticed the cost of our groceries went down as well. Fast forward to today and I prepare most things from scratch, preserve food by canning, freezing, and drying, and shop the grocery store specials. Like Laine, I don't clip many coupons, but save money by making my own things and cooking with basic "real" ingredients. Learning substitutions has helped me as well. Thank you again for sharing this. It will be something I go back to for reference and encouragement. And Terri's pantry is simply amazing! I am in awe, as that is the sort of pantry I aspire to have. With love, Kelsey

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    1. Dear Kelsey,
      You have done so well in your married years! And learning is fun but it puts your family in a better position health wise and financially too.
      I think the way you are going you will also have a Teri style pantry too. Its the extra bits and pieces we do that add up to so much.
      I love your comments Kelsey. With love Annabel.xxx

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  8. LOVED reading this. I can never get enough of looking into Teri's pantry and I am already in love with Laine. So many great ideas and such a beautiful and godly outlook on things. Thank you for sharing this series (in general) this year! :)

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    1. Dear Jes,
      I knew you would love those letters. You and Laine have a lot in common. As it turns out I think your blog is the closest thing I have found to Laines Letters. Different but to me the same in encouragement and learning skills to build up the home.
      With thanks, Love Annabel.xxx

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  9. How true - learning skills in a crisis is foolishness....like trying to buy oil and light your lamp after the bridegroom has already arrived!

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    1. Dear Phil, It makes me think what I should be learning and doing to not leave to the last minute. Under pressure anything is harder! With thanks, Annabel.xxx

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  10. I remember the day that I stumbled across the treasure chest of Laines's Letter. I was going through so much had two little toddlers and a school aged child at that time. It was 2008. I read every day those letters. I tried so many of her things. Then years later I noticed that her letters were stopping and then last year they were gone. Or I couldn't find them. I was so sad. I always went to her letters when I needed a boost of encouragement. I found you by googling for her letters. I am so happy I did. I love your blog and it is like another place of wisdom and refreshment. I love how you still share her letters. I hope you continue to teach and share your pantry and frugal tips. They help me so much.

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    1. Dear Chrissy,
      Laines web site was hacked. So she lost her letters for a while too. Its only that the web archives had saved them that they still exist.
      Thank you so much! You have had a big year with moving etc. But Laines Letters help with every aspect of the home and budget so they can help with anything. But often its encouragement that we need too. Thanks so much, love Annabel.xxx

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  11. Annabel, I love this post and Teri's pictures fit so well with it. This post is coming at a good time for us as we, like so many others are facing some budget changes for 2016. Great choice!

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    1. Dear Patsy,
      I know of so many people with budget cuts coming or recently happened. Some very severe. I heard yesterday of one company alone cutting 85,000 jobs! Many of them will be here in Australia too. Not great.
      This makes cooking, pantries and all the things we talk about more important than ever. Goodness if people dont have a pantry or emergency supplies they are vulnerable.
      I hope together we can come up with ideas and also feel like we can meet the challenges for 2016. With love Annabel.xxx

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  12. Dear Annabel, thank you so much for sharing your journey of filling your pantry this year! From the first pictures of your cellar to the ones with full shelves, you have done a wonderful job! I have loved this series and learned so much!

    Thank you everyone for such nice comments about my pantry. We are having some struggles right now, and have had in the past, and just knowing we have food and supplies, helps so much. I'm so glad you are sharing Laines letters, Annabel. It's taken me years to learn some of these skills, and I love how we are learning and sharing with each other. I'm thankful I know how to cook from scratch, making changes and/or substituting ingredients. I'm very blessed with the encouragement I get from all you wonderful friends! :)

    Annabel, you have had a wonderful year and worked so hard to increase your pantry! Well done!! Love, Teri

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  13. Absolutely wonderful post and so informative. Oh my what a gorgeous pantry - I wish mine were that neat! That is one of my goals for 2016.

    Thank you so much for all you do.

    http://cherylsfrugalcorner.blogspot.com

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  14. Thank you so much for sharing Laine's letter. I still use her bread recipe: Uncle Raymond's Bread. In fact I used it today and made French Bread. We had homemade Meatball Soup with it. I find it has the best texture when I use 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of fresh-ground wheat.
    I appreciate Teri's photos. Her pantry is so tidy! This series has helped me keep mine cleaner. I think it is easy to forget to wipe down the pantry shelves esp. when they are tucked away from the kitchen.
    I'm thankful for Laine's confession about not doing once a month cooking. I meal plan just like her. And yes, it keeps it fun and not drudgery. I do tuck some casseroles into the freezer for those emergencies. But my goal is to have very little food-waste. I know some ladies do "leftover night" where they heat up the remains of several meals and allow their family to choose. With a large family like mine, everyone tends to want the same thing! We enjoyed Fried Rice at lunch to use up leftover rice and small amounts of veggies. And hey, my well of creativity gets dry so I always have some fall back meals when I'm tired (like grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup). But now I'm getting spoiled as my older children are starting to jump in and help!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

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  15. Laine really inspired me during my early days of homeschooling and mothering. I do wish she'd start a blog.
    Please drop by and say hello!
    ஐღLaura ღஐ
    Harvest Lane Cottage
    ...doing what I can with what I've got where I am
    on a short shoestring budget!
    ~~~~~

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I really appreciate your comments thank you! The aim of my blog is the be a place of encouragement and happiness. Very rarely is anyone rude. Actually only twice so far! If you post a rude or aggressive comment I will read it but not publish it, thanks for understanding.xxx

Spam is never published... if you are advertising a product or selling website your comment wont be published. I am inundated with stuff about drugs, horses and weird things! I am not going to publish this stuff! Thank you.