Almanac for Homemakers

Use "Beautiful Junk" for Play Equipment "Many free very inexpensive materials may be converted into indoor or outdoor play equipment for a preschool child." In 2018 we call this practice "repurposing". Our Almanac suggests that you mail $1 to the Superintendent of Documents and request the pamphlet on "Beautiful Junk." We first talked about this in my January post. Today, we can just search on Pinterest for inspiration for using trash as toys. And you know what? It's a good idea. I mean in this economy?! I remember buying my kids an outside playhouse. It was just under $70. The EXACT same playhouse is still on the market and six years later the price is between $140 and $190. It has basically doubled in price. That wasn't the only toy I noticed went up in price in a short time. A play mat that I had for my kids six years ago is still on the market. We paid $30 for that thing. Today is r...

Reminder: It's Time to Dig the Vegetable Garden "As a housewife, you already know the cost of food. One way you can save, and usually have better quality too, is by raising some of your own in a vegetable garden." Let me stop you right there Almanac. There is nothing about having your own garden that "saves" you anything. It takes time, prep, work, and constant attention. AND The money that you need to fund this entire operation. Especially if you want to protect your garden from animals and bugs. I had one garden one year and that was almost enough. I was gone from my home for a weekend and the entire thing died! You guys want a vegetable garden JUST GO RIGHT AHEAD! I will stop at the store and pick up my produce that is made by professional farmers. Support my local farmer at the Co-Op. Now I really do have to admit that my garden produced some amazing produce. I had basil, tomatoes, and gre...

How to Save Money and Energy in Oven Use "Efficient use of the kitchen oven can save a lot of electricity or gas, and thereby reduce your utility bills." Our Almanac post today is all about saving energy while you cook. After reading our 1970's version, I decided to get on that Google and see how we can save money in 2018. Really what I saw is a lot of common sense. There isn't a magical way to save money and energy when you cook. So here are some tips you might already be doing. Defrost You can defrost what you need before cooking. What a great idea. I had never considered this.... Cooking Use the correct size cooking pan or pot. Also use the correct kind of cooking surfaces. Not all are made the same. Be Clean Clean cooking surfaces. Remove grease and other soil from your pots and pans to help them cook evenly. Prep Have your meal prepping done and a plan made to more efficiently prepare a meal. ... Savi...

Buy Food, Not Packaging "When you set out to shop for food or home supplies, resolve to bring home as little packaging as possible." Even in the 1970's people knew that reducing packaging saves money and waste. I found an article from Zero Waste Nerd on ways to reduce your food packaging. Really it makes sense to reduce our packaging especially if you have the option to. If you can't then take advantage of recycling programs. Recently, BBC came out with article about micro-plastics in bottled water. Plastic trash is found all over the world. The bad part is that plastic takes a long long time to decompose. So all the plastic that we put in the environment is now coming back to us. Plastic found its way into our bottled water because it is in our natural water sources. It has been for a long time! Ocean, river, and lake clean up efforts have been underway since the 60's when we started seeing how plastics were effecting the envi...

Serve Breakfast for Less "Breakfast can be inexpensive and still provide its share of the day's food requirements." Here is the scoop on breakfast. According this article from Today , Breakfast is really the most important meal of the day. Our Almanac has this to say about saving your breakfast food budget. 1. Evaporated Milk, Skim Milk, and Buttermilk may be less expensive than fluid whole milk. Evaporated Milk is creamier and thicker with more than half of the water removed. Use it in your smoothies or sweeten your coffee. 2. Buy Less Expensive Eggs Choose lower grade eggs. Grade A eggs are best for boiling, frying, and poaching. Use lower grade eggs for scrambling, omelets, and baking. 3. Fresh Fruits Buy in season fruits that cost less to stock. Otherwise getting frozen is just as good! ... NOW Let's get real. How can you apply these to the real world? For some ideas, you can read here in my previous po...

How to Be a Smart Meat Shopper "Meat costs put a big dent in our budgets nowadays. So you ought to buy all meats and poultry carefully and take care of them properly until you are ready to cook them." A couple of years ago (or maybe more), some friends and I went all in and bought a cow. We found a farm, picked out a cow, and paid for the meat and processing. It is still the best beef cuts I have ever had and our deep freezer stayed full for about a year. When all that beautiful beef was gone, we had to go back to buying cuts from the store. I don't know why chain grocery store beef cuts are so gross. BUT Then I found out about PINK SLIME ! If you read the WIKI link, you will see that in 2012, a study found that 70% of ground beef as the additive. It is disgusting. BUT It's not just ground beef or processed food. It can be used in steaks and no one knows the difference. I'm talking about transglutaminase or "M...

How to Squeeze More Cents Out of a Dollar "All of us know certain homemakers who always seem to make them money do more and buy more than some of the rest of us. What's their secret?" Are you spending savy? Would you wear your clothes for years, patching holes, rather than go out an buy new clothes? You might be a thrifty shopper! Today's Almanac post is more about a person who is aware of their spending choices rather than actual actions that they make. Here are some tips for you on spending money wisely to stretch your dollars: 1. Take advantage of Annual Sales 2. Buy in bulk to save on warehouse costs 3. Rent tools for home improvement instead of purchase 4. Buy with cash! Credit and Debit cards give you a false sense of security 5. Keep a list of "Wanted Items" and wait for them to go on sale 6. Make a list of food items that you need and resist impulse buying Here are a few 70's specific tips:...