The Homestead Mindset Anywhere: by Donna Miller : thrifty

You "Cheap Date", you!

Millers Grain House — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:53:00 GMT

At one time, that label was considered an insult. For a gentleman to take out a young lady and stress over the expense and count pennies to barely go anywhere or do anything was often a mark of shame meaning he thought her less worthy of any money spent...(read more)

Revisiting the top 10 garage sale obsessions...how it fits for thrift!

Millers Grain House — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:35:00 GMT

Although by the look of the dates on my blog, one would *think* the Miller Family had dropped off the planet! Sorry I've been otherwise engaged with two college graduations and a pending move! Phew.... To finish up my last post and tie things in a...(read more)

A "leg up" vs. a "hand-out".

Millers Grain House — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:21:00 GMT

Please let me preface that I know many people who are legitimately in a 'program' of some form, so don't take this the wrong way. There are real people in real need. I also believe their character would prefer a 'leg up' over a 'hand...(read more)

Weekly Preparation Practice Checklist

Millers Grain House — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:00:00 GMT

I have come up with a list of items that warrant practicing each week to prepare for an uncertain economical or governmental future. It isn’t being pessimistic to actually WANT to and look forward to being able to be more self-sustaining and out of debt...(read more)

Overwhelmed by learning about long term food storage? Relax, here's a plan.

Millers Grain House — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:02:00 GMT

I know how you feel. Just take a deep breathe and compartmentalize.....it can be very overwhelming at first. That's one reason I found the easy open buckets for my home were because people were telling me that for a year's supply I had to vacuum...(read more)

Keys to bulk buying, storage and learning to stretch grocery dollars.

Millers Grain House — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:24:00 GMT

If, like us, you are preparing your long term pantry for whatever reason (weather, gas savings, economic future) you may be a tried and true veteran of this longstanding homestead traditon or you may be new at it and ready to take the plunge. Either way, it doesn't matter if you live in the country or the city, buying in bulk can be a money (and time) saver if you do it right. There truly are some key points to keep in mind when learning to buy in bulk.

First, just exactly what IS bulk buying? Well, it's not just buying a lot (as in multiple items all at once). It IS buying larger than typical amounts of the same item. One can of organic green beans is always going to cost more per can than if we can find them in the case. Then, each can is substantially lower in price, because we have 12 or 24 of them.

Secondly, buying in bulk often, but not always, is less expensive in the long run. Time saved, gas saved and quantity discounts (as above mentioned) add up to being dollar stretches.

Third, bulk buying doesn't have to be done in the big warehouse stores. When a local market had tomato sauce on sale of $.30 a large can, I got about 8 of them. There are still 7 of them in my pantry and that sale was 3 months ago. The price has risen again, but there I have 28oz of tomato sauce for thirty cents sitting ready for us to use. Most of the time I can tomatoes, but the sauce takes too long for me and heats up our kitchen in the summer. This bulk buy was/is a big time/money saver for us.

Fourth, remember not to buy it - even if it seems like a great deal - if no one in the family will use it, or eat it before it goes bad! Fresh veggies are aften a good buy in wholesale clubs, but if you have 4 heads of romaine lettuce to throw out, then you have still wasted your hard earned money.

Fifth, learn how to store bulk items. Dry items need to be kept in a moisture proof container. Even large bags of rice and oats are easily stored for months on end in the right container...see here.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEblkB1mvFk

.... For meats, repackage into meal sized amounts and freeze. For cheeses, if you don't mind crumbled cheese, just freeze. If you do mind it, slice and freeze or shred and freeze.

Lastly, bulk buying can also work for items that are more household related than just food. Find out how long that $9 giant pail of laundry soap lasts by writing the date you started using it on the top in a magic marker. At the end when it's empty, you can see if it was a savings or not. I'll bet it was.

Buying bulk can be a bit of a learning curve, but by keeping a few things in mind we can see how bulk buying stretches our dollars each month!

Best Blessings and enJOY the journey!

Donna Miller

http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store

More ramble on that "Thrifty Commercial" topic...Buyer be Aware

Millers Grain House — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:26:00 GMT

It is pretty funny how I had the same reaction as Anne (one of our other bloggers here) to the KFC and Frozen Chicken commercial. Toss in Stouffers and a few others and we have yet another media twisting epidemic. As unsuspecting busy American's just sit back and 'buy it' because it 'makes sense'. Well, digging deeper does result in clarity of thought. Let's look at the things the KFC commercial especially leaves out:

Nutritional Content (especially fat)
Buying the spices may be expensive but you wouldn't use more than 1/25 of each jar of spice to make one meal - so figure that as less than $1 and you would have more for other meals left....
Hormone Free Chicken on sale. I got 24 drumsticks the other day for $3 and 24 thighs for $4 (that's less than $8, but for almost 2 -3 meals) so let's say = approx $3 per meal now stashed in my freezer.
Mashed potatoes and green beans - free - from our garden.

I mean, do the math....dig deeper....no KFC meal can touch that! Plus, forgive the crudeness, but that KFC stuff can really tear up your insides for a few days after! Oh you know what I'm talking about.....

Sadly - the ad 'sounds' right but it is only because it is so far from the mark by what it omits. We have to be more thoughtful in this economic time. Of course the companies in the food industry (mostly convenience and take-out/restaurants) are sweating. Back in 'The Day' - people didn't RELY on them as much as our society does now...and...Heaven forbid, we learn not to rely on them anymore!!

To attest to this ad being a false hood both on time and $$. My youngest child (daughter) is in charge of dinners on Thurs nights. She came home from classes at 5:30 and by 6:30 had a meal of: Oven baked chicken strips that cost less than $5 this week, Mashed potatoes (real ones with skins) and green beans both from the garden. Then she made a healthy whole grain dessert for less than $1 (No bake choc oatmeal cookies). This meal cost us only $6.50 (if you count the tea and spices)!!! She fed a family of 5 (big eaters) a healthy, lower fat, not from a greasy bucket, or with processed potatoes, or who-knows-what kitchen cleanliness ranking - all within the hour. Top THAT KFC! You can't!! And now she has the skills and feels accomplished that she can one day make that same meal for her own family! THAT is priceless!!

Buyer be Aware.

Best Blessings and enJOY the journey!

Donna Miller

http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store