Almanac for Homemakers

Consider Container Sizes When You Shop  "When you shop for canned or frozen vegetables, you may want to know the container size in order to relate the contents to the number of servings of cooked vegetables you will get." This is pretty self explanatory. BUT In the age of Grocery Delivery or Pick Up, you might want to know these tips so you don't accidentally order something bigger or smaller than what you need.   There are 8oz cans Picnic - 10.5 to 12 oz No. 303 - 16 to 17 oz   No. 2 - 20 oz No. 2.5 - 29oz No. 3 - 46 oz  For you Math Whizzes out there, skip these next couple of lines. 8oz is equal to 1 cup in the U.S. So you can go from there to determine the size you need based on the amount canned. Right? There are way more sizes and terms out there for canned foods. But for Homemaking, it makes sense to only list what you would find in a regular grocery store. Unless you are shopping at Costco. Then I would...

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...

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...

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:...