This Week's Shopping 4/3/09

This week I did three different stores:

Our local in town market, Ringo’s. The usually have some great sales. Their regular prices are considerably higher than the stores in Trinidad, but with their sales, and the convenience of them being local, they are great for when you run out of bread. They also have amazing customer service.

Safeway. Our store in Trinidad is coupon friendly. I do, however, often have to get rainchecks on sale items.

Walmart. Blech, but necessary. It is my goal to reduce my Walmart trips to one a month or less once the littles are out of diapers.

Prices noted are shelf prices. Items in Italics were on sale (shelf price, not sale price, reflected). Items on which I used coupons have * next to them.

Ringos
48 cans (four flats) veggies (3x carrots, 1x peas)$51.36

Safeway
*Chex Snack Mix $3.19
*2x Pop Secret Popcorn $6.78
2x Safeway Chocolate Chips $5.98
*4x Reynolds Wrap 75 ft. $19.96
*4x Milk $9.96
*Dannon Activia with Fiber $2.99
*10x Yoplait Yogurt $8.90
*2x Lysol Disinfecting Wipes $7.98
*3x Suave Shampoo $6.87
*5x Suave Conditioner $11.45 (with many of us having long hair, we use far more conditioner than shampoo)
*4x Tyson chicken $31.96

Walmart
*2x Triscuit Crackers $4.00
*2x Artisan Crackers $4.00
*Gogurt $$2.62
*Gogurt $2.62
Frozen Berries $2.94
2x Grated Sharp Cheddar, 16 oz (I think) $3.56
*String Cheese 10 pack $3.38
Taquitos $5.88
*Rold Gold Pretzels $2.50
*Celestial Seasonings Tea $2.36
2x Great Value Pie Crust $4.24
Great Value Sour Cream $1.53
*3x Reese’s Easter Candy $8.88
*3x Pillsbury Grands Biscuits $5.04
Country Kitchen Syrup $1.98
*Celestial Seasonings Tea $2.36
*2x Hormel Chili $3.00
Canned Tomatoes $1.18
Brisket $18.42
3 pack Wipes $4.96
Organizer for Saren $5.44
2x Canned Tomatoes $2.36
2x Great Value Ranch Style Beans $1.34
10 Pr. Socks for Aria $5.00
Boxers $6.50
Birthday Present $6.88
*Q-Tips $2.38
Some Misc Item I can’t determine from the receipt $1.00
*Face Scrub $3.54
*Neosporin $4.76
*Disposable Razors for Aimee to take to work at Scout Camp $4.74
*Bengay $4.27
*Visine Allergy Care $3.98
Equate Children’s Tylenol $1.94
Equate Pepto Bismol $2.96
*20 ct Excedrin Migraine $3.12
Canned Tomatoes $1.18
White Cloud Pull Ups $12.84
Great Value Dishwasher Detergent $2.27
*Spray N Wash $2.64
*2x Sparkle Paper Towels $6.24
*24 Roll Angel Soft TP $6.68
2x Whole Wheat Bread $4.36

Before Tax, Shelf Total $349.25

Sale Savings $75.83

Coupon Savings $34.50

Total Savings $110.33

Total Out of Pocket $238.92

Lesson Learned: Even with coupons, some store brands are still cheaper. It is, however, a good idea to still hold on to coupons you can get in your paper or for free for items you need often, but buy the store brand of (diapers and pull ups, for us). Our store is often out of the store brand for diapers, so we end up having to buy the higher priced brands. Coupons help us save there, even if we wouldn’t normally buy that brand without a coupon, or even with a coupon.

I do find myself buying more items that I normally would have made from scratch (biscuits, chicken nuggets, etc), but with working, time is more valuable-I'd rather be spending it tickling giggly girls or kissing baby belly or reading Aimee's writing or having a philosophical discussion with Saren than cooking in my tiny kitchen that makes spending family time together in there difficult. Yet another one of those choices we have to make.

The power of 15 minutes

Well, I must say, after the first full day of cleaning under the Flylady method, that I am truly amazed by the power of FLYlady’s fifteen minute segments. From my previous post, you can see that I have about 3 hours of time scheduled. Of course, it took me much longer to get all of that done. Interruptions from littles, fixing lunch, quiet time during nap time, etc, all took away from that schedule. Of course, starting earlier would have alleviated a lot of that. Having Larry home would also have alleviated a lot of that, as he would have helped in whatever capacity I asked him to, whether it was taking a fifteen minute segment or helping with the littles. It’s a special blessing having a husband who is generally as eager to help me as I am to help him. It makes it a joy that he realizes the hard work involved in keeping a home, and that he makes an effort to help with it. Not that I expect him to. And not that he does as much when he’s working, but he still helps as he’s able.

I’m digressing again. I know you’re shocked.

Anyway, this week’s zone was the living room. I actually ran out of things to do in there. Not that it’s perfectly clean, but that the remaining tasks that are more than just routine maintenance need to have time where the littles are outside or otherwise distracted. Maybe save those for evenings after bedtime. Well, checking on flylady.net I see that I got my zones messed up, but that’s OK. I can live with that. I have a shiny living room!

Next week will be the kitchen, which I am really looking forward to. I have been working on decluttering a lot in there lately, and on organizing, with using my shopping money better, I need to utilize my space better. So hopefully, with this week’s zone work, I will be able to finish that up.

I actually took several grocery bags of donations and clothes sharing stuff out to the van, instead of letting it sit, waiting to go in the van. We DO have some stuff sitting, but only because we needed space in the van.

Now, I did NOT get everything done. But it was the first day. I did get about 75% of the day’s goal done. It will take practice, and better use of my time and resources. But that’s OK. FLYlady is, after all, about Finally Loving Yourself. Not about loving yourself above all, but about loving yourself enough to say “It’s OK that my home isn’t perfect, because it’s better than it was. I got something done!” And I actually got a LOT of somethings done!

Wake up, wake up, everybody everywhere

Well I did not post my giveaway yesterday. I will do so today after we get done FLYing.

I finally got a daily routine put together, and then the cleaning day routine. FLYlady talks about changing your routine when you work. So the basic idea of what I have put together is this:

AM Routine
Get up, shower, get dressed to shoes (OK, I still don't do the shoes, but, I reiterate, big clunky boots, bitty baby toes and fingers, don't go well together)
15 minutes 1 room (Kitchen, living room or my bedroom)
15 minutes zone room
5 minutes putting out a hot zone

PM routine
15 minutes 1 room (Kitchen, living room or my bedroom)
15 minutes 1 room (Kitchen, living room, or my bedroom)
15 minutes folding laundry
5 minutes putting out a hot zone
Shiny Sink

Cleaning Day Routine
27 Fling Boogie in Zone Area
15 minutes in Kitchen
15 minutes in Dining Room
15 minute break
15 minutes zone room
15 minutes living room
15 minutes folding laundry
15 minutes break
15 minutes zone room
15 minutes pantry or closets or bathroom
15 minutes bedroom

I will use the daily emails where FLYlady gives zone tasks to help guide me in those areas, but I'm also still in the decluttering stage, which FLYlady says can take months, depending on how cluttered your home is.

I put together a similar list for the kids, and today is the first day we will work on that. I did give Nikki the bathroom as her morning zone, so she does swish and swipe. I will also be implementing the monthly habits that FLYlady discusses, so this month's habit is making your bed, so once I get the morning routine down, I will be adding that one in.

So tired...

I hate my hormones. Let's just get that out of the way right now.

OK /rant. I think.

We've had two calls in the last two days, so the evenings have been rather hectic. Tonight Larry has class and tomorrow night we have to go to the town council meeting. Some of our town council people don't understand why we won't issue burn permits. They don't understand that we won't issue burn permits right now because fire conditions right now mirror fire conditions in 2002, the year of the Hayman fire, the largest wildfire in Colorado history. So we have to make them understand that. We will be presenting some facts regarding current fire weather and fuel conditions, historical observations from both Hayman and Ordway. Ordway is important because that fire was started by an intentional burn of trash-something that is common out here in rural Colorado, and something that is seen as harmless. We have to change that perception.

Of course, we are forecast to get between 12 and 24 inches of snow on Thursday and Friday, so everyone will expect that, that will end the fire weather danger. And while the moisture will mitigate the danger in the short term, meaning we may begin issuing permits for a few days following the snow, only a rain of biblical proportions will truly reduce the fire danger. The plant life in our area has less than 10% of the moisture content that it should have right now. While topical moisture will help that in the short term, it won't take many warm days to suck that moisture right back out, turning those plants into tinder. Forecasters are saying that there may not even be a "green up" on the plains.

So the bulk of what I will be working on today will be preparing for that. I also have to do some research on a minor workman's comp claim, but that probably won't take too long. Although now that I've typed it, it will take all day, LOL.

Then when I come home I will probably cook tonight's dinner and tomorrow's. If we are going to be getting a lot of snow, we will probably be getting a lot of calls.

OK, off to go get dressed and read for work!

Monday Morning

My kitchen looks so nice with the shiny sink. That's not to say it's not still a disaster area, but, it's much better. The one thing I did that I really like-I found some of those plastic shoeboxes on clearance at WM, so I got six of them. Now, we have quite a bit of those, but most of them don't have lids. I had this giant empty space on the fridge. I'm too short to really use it efficiently, and forget about using the cabinets up behind/above the fridge. So I put some stuff in those shoe boxes and stacked them, two boxes tall in three rows, on top. One box has flavor packets-gravy mix and such, another has kool-aid, then powdered sugar, brown sugar, unopened spices and umm, can't remember the last one.

So this morning, I will do a load of laundry, since my sink is shiny, and then I will put some dishes in to soak. Not sure if I will get them in before we leave, but hopefully.

I won't be home today cause I have to go to IQS training. This training refers to the software used to request Forest Service resources on wildland fires.

OK, off to go fix breakfast.

My sink is shiny...

And my pantry is organized...

And my kitchen is somewhat organized...

Still working, but very pleased with what I got done!

FLYing

Well I started doing flylady this week.

I had heard about flylady a long time ago, and tried it, but didn't "get" it. First of all, I don't think I ever found the babysteps last time. So I'm jumping right in with the emails. Maybe I found her on yahoo instead of through the site, I don't know. But it didn't work.

So I'm doing the baby steps. I'm on day three. Last night didn't go so well, no shiny sink. But, one of the things that FLYlady teaches is to get rid of your guilt over having a messy house. So I didn't feel guilty that I didn't have a shiny sink last night. Tonight, my sink, it could be shinier, but it's empty and decently clean and some dishes are in the washer as I type.

I also can't do the "get dressed to lace up shoes" thing before I start my routine in the mornings. For one, I wear big fat clunky boots for work. Baby toes and big fat clunky boots don't work. For two, I only own the one pair of aforementioned big fat clunky boots, unless they are dress shoes. And I'm not swishing and swiping in suede heels. Well, fake suede, but still. For three, almost all of my work jeans are too big. I have lost weight since I started working (yeah walking to work!) and haven't had the opportunity to buy more jeans. I will wear them to work where I'm sitting a lot, and alone most of the time, so if they slip down and show my not so delicate undies, well, there's no one there to see it. But I'm not going to do the morning get the kids ready for school, throw a load of laundry in to wash, get some dishes in to soak, battle the littles and answer two work phone calls before I walk out the door routine in jeans I have to pull up every two minutes. So, I'm in sweats or leggins that I slept in, barefooted. I'm also not getting dressed twice, so, there ya go.

So my concession to that, is to get up and take a shower, and then do my hair. Even that is a change, because often Aria wakes up to my alarm, even though she's behind a closed door and shouldn't be able to hear it. Often I can just leave her and she'll go back to sleep, but occasionally she's up for good. So I had been taking showers after Larry got back from taking the middles to school. So I told Larry that he needs to get up with her if I'm in the shower. Normally he sleeps until 6:30. I get up at 5. If I'm not taking a shower for whatever reason, I do get up and brush my hair. Brushing my hair was normally one of the last things I did before walking out the door.

So you may be reading this and wondering what in the world I'm talking about. Flylady? Babysteps? Swishing and Swiping? OK, let me explain. Flylady is all about you-the busy, sometimes overwhelmed, chronically tired, not having enough hours in the day between littles and middles and bigs and school and activities and God and husband and dinner and lunch and breakfast and laundry, ohhhhhhhh the laundry! Now, you may be reading this and thinking "all about me? Oh, no, things aren't all about me, I have a servant attitude." And you're right. Most things that are "all about me" run completely counter to the servant attitude that traditional wives strive (struggle?) to maintain. But, and I want you to think about this. God never intended you to servant yourselves into the grave because you neglected your own basic needs-your health, your sanity, your emotional well being. And that, dear sisters, is what flylady is about. It's about letting go of the need for perfectionism. Bottom line, baseline issue. Almost every woman in the world has struggled with this issue, in some aspect of their lives. Refer back to my "You'll never be a perfect Mother" post for some examples. I'm also not advocating the "I deserve it" attitude, as in "I deserve a night out away from my children because I (insert whatever excuse)", and neither is flylady. It's not that type of "all about me" thing. It's the realization, which comes quicker to some people than others, that "good enough is OK." Because it is. Because perfection only came in one form, right? Only Christ was perfect. And no matter how well we emulate Him, we will only ever be "good enough." We will slip and we may fall, and even occasionally waver, and, in God's eyes, that is "good enough". In our walk to imitate Christ, we are always trying for perfection and falling short. You can accept that in your walk because the bible tells us we can't be perfect. You must continue to try, and move forward in your faith and relationships, but another part of our relationship with God is forgiving ourselves and letting go of guilt, because we should HAVE NO GUILT ONCE WE'VE ASKED FORGIVENESS FOR FALLING SHORT. Now, I'm not going to say that's always how it works, because, let me tell you, I can't count the times I've had to ask forgiveness for guilt. A key part of faith is letting go of that guilt that we screwed up, whether intentionally or not, because if God can forgive us (and forgiveness is there for the asking), then why on earth can we not forgive ourselves?

Flylady is all about letting go of guilt. I mean, let's look at the facts here. You have children. You have neither a maid nor a nanny, though you may have a great day care lady. If you work, you're gone for part of the time (although, to be fair, so, usually, are the mess makers), and if you're home, you're finding yourself doing a juggling act and coming pretty close to failing. If you're not the type of woman who struggles to balance everything in your life, well, you're probably not reading this blog. And you should write a book. Anyway, I digress (no, me???). The house gets messy because you're sick and couldn't clean, or the baby is teething, or you have morning sickness so bad you didn't see the outside of the bathroom for 13 weeks, or you had a busy week with lots of stuff going on, or for whatever reason. When you finally try to get back on track, you don't even know where to start. And while you're trying to fix it you're trying to keep the kids from climbing the bookcase, or you're using blanket training and not worrying about the kids (we never could manage that) and the phone rings, or the dryer decides to stop working, or whatever. And it doesn't get fixed. And then it's time to fix lunch. And then you get the kids down for naps and start again and someone won't take a nap or has a bad dream or the dryer repairman shows up with the wrong part. And it doesn't get fixed. And then it's time for dinner and that's a whole other set of issues-bath times and home work and bed times and books to read to sleepy littles and babies that need to cuddle and middles that need to cuddle and bigs that need to talk about their day and... And it doesn't get fixed.

And then you feel guilty.

And you wake up in the morning and the kitchen is a disaster and that starts the entire thing over again.

And then you feel guilty.

Flylady teaches us to let go of our guilt and learn a new attitude about cleaning. That every little thing you do, blesses your family.

Let me type that again.

Every little thing you do, blesses your family.

Why?

Because a lot of little things add up to a big thing. A cleaner house, and less chaos.

So, when you start doing flylady, you are a flybaby. You start with the baby steps. Day one is this simple: Go shine your sink.

That's it. Go shine your sink. Don't do all the dishes first, if you're just too darn tired to tackle that. Just shine your sink. Then, when you wake up in the morning, you'll see that shiny sink, which flylady says is like a great big hug for yourself. And it will be that much easier to put the dishes you didn't get done in to soak. Because you have one clean place to start.

Now, on the first few days, you will probably get a few other things done. Shining the sink does, indeed, lead to doing the dishes. Yay, more clean, less chaos! Tiny little baby steps. Day two, you shine your sink AND get dressed.

So, you didn't get any laundry done? So what? If no one is naked, it's not a crisis. If there is imminent danger of someone being naked, you may need to add a load or two in. Then you have a shiny sink, clean dishes, and clean clothes. Yay you! Don't feel guilty because dinner was spaghetti again or that you didn't get the soccer uniforms washed-they're just going to get sweaty again so let them wear them in dirty this one time. No one will be scarred for life.

You should join the mailing list (FLYing lessons on the site), but don't DO them yet. This is just to get used to the flow of things. As the babysteps progress, you will add more things in. The urge is to jump in and do it all, but that's what continues that cycle of being overwhelmed and then feeling guilty. And you will, indeed, feel like it's going slow. And I'm not telling you to ONLY shine your sink. Because, let's face it, you can't, in the long run, ignore dishes and laundry. But chances are you were doing the basics for a long time and letting the other cleaning go, right? So do the basics and ADD in shining your sink. As you progress with flylady, you will see benefits.

The largest is decluttering. February's habit is to declutter 15 minutes a day. Think you don't have clutter? Go look on your nightstand. Look at the table next to your favorite chair. Look on the top of the refrigerator. Look next to the front and back doors. Look in your junk drawers. Really, do you need all that stuff in those places? If you need it, is that it's permanent home? A lamp, book, a few pictures on your nightstand? All good. Three used tissues, a stack of books you've already read, two half full glasses of water and the eyeglasses you haven't worn for two years because you got a new prescription, on the nightstand? All clutter. Now, next month's habit will be different, but all of flylady's lessons work on decluttering. We all have clutter. In addition to regular decluttering sessions, flylady has what she calls "27 fling boogie" where you get rid of 27 things in a particular area of your home. These aren't necessarily thrown away, but could be donated or given away, but they are definitely moved out of your home. Looking on the table next to my chair, I can see 27 things right there that I could just throw away, not to mention stuff that could benefit from a general decluttering. We collect stuff, it's just human nature. But we don't need everything we have.

She also heavily advocates the use of a timer, which I love. If you've been plugging away in the kitchen for an hour, you're exhausted by the time you come out of there-and if you come out to find that the crayons you used to occupy the kidlets were used on the tile floor instead of the coloring book, well that just ruins your entire day. Most flylady tasks are built around 15 minute time lengths-either doing something for 15 minutes, or breaking larger tasks into 15 minute intervals. The kids probably won't get bored in 15 minutes, but you can get a lot done in just 15 minutes. And at the end of that 15 minutes, you can sit down and play with the kids. 15 minutes later occupy them with something else, and do another block of 15 minutes. If you structure your day that way, you're still being productive, yet you're not robbing your kidlets of precious mom time-or you of precious kid cuddle/play/read time.

She also divides the home into zones. The first time I did flylady the zones really threw me off. But somewhere along the way that first time, I missed an important beginning to zone cleaning: decluttering. Flylady says not to do the cleaning in the zone areas until you've completely decluttered it. Because you can't clean around stuff you don't need, can't use, or need to put in it's home. She even goes further, saying that if your home is cluttered enough, this process can take a few months-because you're only concentrating on one zone per week. But then once you finish decluttering, you move on to the deeper cleaning. Again, this will take awhile in the beginning, but once you get established it will get better. In other words, the first time you, for example, clean off that nightstand, it will take awhile to get it done, because you haven't cleaned it off in how long? But the next time you do it, it will only have been done a few weeks ago, so it won't take so long. So even when you start the deeper cleaning assignments (called "missions"), you may not even get all of those done, but that's OK-because what you did get done was better than what you were getting done before!

So, I'm off to bed, with my sort of shiny sink, knowing that even though I worked a loooooooooooooong day today, I got more done in my house than last time I pulled this kind of schedule. Yay me. And because the house is just that tiny amount cleaner, I have blessed my home, my family, my husband, myself, and God. Because I'm taking better care of my home, better care of my family, better care of my husband, better care of myself, and better care of my relationship with God, because I was able to do more to follow through on my desired servant attitude.

So, take a chance and do some flying! Link in the title of the blog!

Really, how stupid are we?

On Friday, I had arranged for the littles and middles to go to daycare. I had been introduced to a friend of a friend of a friend who was relaunching her website and needed some quick copy writing and promotional work done. I did the copy writing work last weekend, at an agreed upon (verbal) of $100. Thursday and Friday were supposed to be the promotional work-submitting her site for link backs, writing small ads for relevant directories, etc. All of this in anticipation of a Saturday launch.

Well, by Wednesday, the friend of a friend of a friend had disappeared (as has, I fear, my verbally agreed upon $100). I went ahead and took the littles to daycare on Thursday, hoping that the client would show up or at least contact me by phone. Things happen, I understand, when you work at home and have children. Spent the day investigating domain names for a copy writing business to do on the side, putting together some articles for Associated Content, and contemplating that whole post I wrote yesterday.

By now, of course, I know that she isn't going to show up, but the middles have their heart set on going to daycare now. See, Miss Megan has this huge yard with fruit trees, and lots of cool outdoor toys-a big change from the yard in our apartment complex. So I take them up on Friday morning, and walk by the store on the way home to get some powdered donuts (hormonal craving) and some yummy lunch for Aimee and I. Since we never get to spend time just the two of us, I decided we'd at least have a good lunch together. I picked up some frozen lasagna that we could cook in the oven.

So I walk into the kitchen to put the lasagna into the oven, and I check the package to make sure I have the oven set on the right temperature, and here is what I read:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (check). Do not exceed 350 degrees (umm, OK). Remove tray from box (really? do I have to?). Remove film cover (check).
2. Assorted cooking instructions, which are logical and sensible.
3. (In bold print) Using potholders and both hands, carefully remove baking sheet with tray from oven and...(seriously? Seriously).

Is there someone out there so stupid that they won't protect themselves from the heat of the 350 degree oven, fling the baking sheet carelessly about, and then finally throw it across the room, hoping it will land on the dining room table?

Well, apparently there must be, as they felt the need to point out the need to not do so right there in the instructions.

Oh, and, by the way...I used a single clean kitchen washcloth, held in one hand, to remove the baking sheet. No one got maimed, burned or impaled, and the world didn't implode.

Phew!

Having Food Available for when I'm Working

As previously posted, my worst case scenario with the Dispatch job is having a call come in as I'm preparing, or getting ready to prepare, a healthy dinner for my family. So I am changing some things around at home, and putting together what the OAMC (Once A Month Cooking) crowd calls mini sessions. I am unwilling to resort to commercially available convenience foods. They are loaded with preservatives and other unhealthy offerings that I just don't want my kids consuming!

Now I don't know a whole lot about OAMC. I do know that it is based on the book Frozen Assets by Deborah Taylor-Hough, which I just ordered through Ebay. While I won't be doing the traditional Once A Month Cooking, where you prepare a month's worth of meals all in one marathon session, I will be doing a continuing series of mini-sessions, which will give me both lunches for DH and ready to eat meals that only need to be heated. I created an inventory sheet, so that I can make sure the meals get used before their tastiness expires. I'm guessing, in a few months, I'll have a week or so each month where the dinner menu is superceded by the frozen meals that need to be used up.

Now, the theory behind OAMC is that if you concentrate all of your efforts into one or two days' worth of work, you can spend more time with the family on a daily basis. Bigs and middles would be helpers during the time you are preparing meals. I don't, however, know if this would work for most large families. We, by society standards, are a large family. But by large family standards, we are small, LOL. However, I don't see my freezers fitting 30 days' worth of meals, and I'm sure larger families would have the same issues. Plus, there's still considerations to be made. In attempts to freeze food when it was bought on sale, and for DH's lunches, I've learned a few things: Some foods just don't freeze very well, and, without a microwave, some foods don't reheat very well.

There is a yahoo group for OAMC (there's probably more than one, but I was already familiar with this one. There are some good recipes in there, and some mini sessions in the files. If this is something you're interested in doing occasionally, this group is a great place to start.

So, what I'm going to do, is put together several mini sessions. We will be shopping for two weeks at a time, and on the day I'm not shopping, I will be cooking instead. I'm going to do this instead of the food assignments mentioned in the chore lists. DH will be here to play with the littles, so Aimee, Nikki and Roan can help with the food prep, which they enjoy doing anyway. Each week, I will buy another pan or two so that I can bake several things at a time. Right now I can do 30 muffins at once, two loaves of bread, two large casseroles and two smaller ones. I have several cookie sheets, and one pie plate. I simply line them with aluminum foil, cook what I'm going to cook, let it cool, put the pan into the freezer, and let it freeze completely. Then I pull it out, turn it upside down on another piece of aluminum foil and let it "fall out" onto the other piece of foil. Then I can wrap it and stick it back in the freezer. Of course this won't work for stuff that would go into a microwave, unless you're going to thaw it first. But with stuff like bread, or smaller portions, those would be packaged differently anyway.

So as I get my mini-sessions put together, I will post them here.

June Dinner Menu

June Dinner Menu

Sunday June 1 Pork Chops

Monday June 2 My version of six layer casserole (CP)

Tuesday June 3 Crockpot ranch chicken (CP)

Wednesday June 4 Hobo Hash (CP)

Thursday June 5 Garlic Roasted Chicken and Potatoes (CP) (Make Small Broth with additional thighs)

Friday June 6 Meatball Casserole (CP)

Saturday June 7 Salad with ham chunks

Sunday June 8 Sweet and Sour Chicken (CP)

Monday June9 Cube Steak Casserole (Brown additional round steak for steak and guiness pie and refreeze)(CP)

Tuesday June 10 Cheesy Chicken Shortcake over rice

Wednesday June 11 Pork Roast and Gravy over mashed potatoes

Thursday June 12 Beans and Rice

Friday June 13 Hamburgers and Hot Dogs on Grill

Saturday June 14 Roasted Chicken (CP)

Sunday June 15 Beef Roast

Monday June 16 Ham and Fried Potatoes

Tuesday June 17 Beef Stroganoff

Wednesday June 18 Chicken Divine (CP)

Thursday June 19 Beef Taco Bake

Friday June 20 Brats on Grill

Saturday June 21 Chicken with garlic and basil sauce served over fettucine

Sunday June 22 Smothered Steak (Brown additional steak for stew meat, refreeze)

Monday June 23 Steak and Guiness Pie (CP, serve over mashed potatoes)

Tuesday June 24 Salad with ham chunks

Wednesday June 25 Cattlemen’s Beef and Beans (Use two jars of beef and broth, strain cooked meat out and add at the end)

Thursday June 26 Chicken and Gravy over stuffing

Friday June 27 Polish Sausage on Grill, Macaroni and cheese

Saturday June 28 Teriyaki Chicken (CP)

Sunday June 29 Pork Roast (CP)

Monday June 30 Chicken Burrito Casserole (CP)

June Lunch Menu

Sunday June 1 Lunchmeat Sandwiches (Amish Bread for church)

Monday June 2 Quesadillas

Tuesday June 3 Hot Dogs, Mac and Cheese

Wednesday June 4 PBJ, Fruit

Thursday June 5 Macaroni and Tomato Sauce

Friday June 6 Sloppy Joe

Saturday June 7 Ham and Fried Potatoes

Sunday June 8 Lunchmeat Sandwiches (chicken and Stuffing Casserole for church)

Monday June9 Grilled Cheese

Tuesday June 10 Spaghetti

Wednesday June 11 Bean Burritos

Thursday June 12 Hot Dogs, Mac and Cheese

Friday June 13 PBJ, Fruit

Saturday June 14 BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Sunday June 15 Lunchmeat Sandwiches (Crockpot Nachos for Church)

Monday June 16 Quesadillas

Tuesday June 17 Macaroni and Tomato Sauce

Wednesday June 18 Sloppy Joe

Thursday June 19 Grilled Cheese

Friday June 20 PBJ, Fruit

Saturday June 21 Creamy Ham and Cheese Salad

Sunday June 22 Lunchmeat Sandwiches (Amish Bread for Church)

Monday June 23 Spaghetti

Tuesday June 24 Grilled Cheese

Wednesday June 25 Burritos

Thursday June 26 Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs

Friday June 27 PBJ, Fruit

Saturday June 28 Tuna and Ham Salad Sandwiches

Sunday June 29 Lunchmeat Sandwiches (Chocolate Cake for Church)

Monday June 30 quesadillas

June Breakfast Menu

Sunday June 1 Biscuits and Gravy with Sausage

Monday June 2 Pumpkin Bread

Tuesday June 3 Muffins

Wednesday June 4 Cinnamon Breakfast Bread

Thursday June 5 Malt O Meal

Friday June 6 Whole Wheat Apple Raisin Bread

Saturday June 7 French Toast

Sunday June 8 Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Toast

Monday June9 Banana Bread

Tuesday June 10 Oatmeal

Wednesday June 11 Peanut Butter Bread

Thursday June 12 Fruit Salad

Friday June 13 Cinnamon Toast

Saturday June 14 Quesadillas

Sunday June 15 Ham and Fried Potatoes, Biscuits

Monday June 16 English Muffin Loaf

Tuesday June 17 Cornmeal Mush

Wednesday June 18 Pumpkin Bread

Thursday June 19 Muffins

Friday June 20 Cinnamon Breakfast Bread

Saturday June 21 Malt O Meal

Sunday June 22 Biscuits and Gravy with Sausage

Monday June 23 Whole Wheat Apple Raisin Bread

Tuesday June 24 French Toast

Wednesday June 25 Banana Bread

Thursday June 26 Oatmeal

Friday June 27 Peanut Butter bread

Saturday June 28 Fruit Salad

Sunday June 29 Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Toast

Monday June 30 Cinnamon Toast

Chore Lists are Done

OK, the chore lists are done. I have Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Chore Lists for everyone in the house. Blogger won't let me put them up the way they are formatted, so I put them on box.net. Click here to see them.

Once A Month Master List

Once A Month

Dining Room

Wash Boys’ Blankets

Wash Girls’ Blankets

Wash Mom and Dad’s Blankets

Wash Living Room and Kayla’s Blankets

Straighten, Wash Hoosier

Wash Top of Fridge

Sweep Back Porch

Kitchen

Food Assignment 1

Food Assignment 2

Food Assignment 3

Food Assignment 4

Prepare Next Month’s Menus

Print Next Month’s Chore Sheets

Dish Drain

Move Stove, Clean Underneath

Move Fridge, Clean Underneath

Baseboards

Kitchen-Oven and Racks

Wash Trash Can

Wash Top of Fridge

Wash Outside Kitchen Cabinets

Wash Walls

Wash Doorframe

Wash/Organize Shelves

Living Room

Wash Trash Can

Sweep Back Porch

Hallways

Mom and Dad’s Room

Wash Windows

Straighten Aria’s Dresser

Straighten Larry’s Table

Wash Baseboards

Wash Walls

Wash Doorframe

Straighten Mom’s Table

Straighten Desk

Straighten Headboard

Straighten Desk

Bathroom

Wash Walls, Door, Doorframe, Baseboards

Wash Trash Can

Girls’ Room

Wash Windows

Boys’ Room

Wash Windows

Organize Roan’s Clothes

Once A Week Master List

Once A Week

Dining Room

Clean Vent Hose

Sweep

Wash Floor

Wash Top and Outside of Freezer

Wash Top and Outside of Fridge

Wash Top and Outside of Washer

Wash Inside Washer

Wash Top and Outside of Dryer

Wash Inside Dryer

Move Shoes to Shoe Bin

Make Sure Backpacks, coats, etc are put away

Clean Out Fridge

Pick Up Trash In Back Yard

Rake Back Yard

Trim Grass etc. in Back Yard

Kitchen

Bake 3 loaves Amish Bread

Bake 2 loaves Wheat Bread

Wash Floor

Wash Floor

Bleach Countertops

Clean Out Fridge

Clean Stove and Hood

Volcano Sink

Living Room

Stock Diapers

Clean off Mom’s Table

Clean Off small Couch Table

Clean Off Large Couch Table

Put Shoes in Shoe Bin

Put Toys Away

Clean off and dust TV (includes putting movies away)

Move Dad’s Chair, Sweep Underneath

Move Small Couch Table, Sweep Underneath

Move Large Couch Table, Sweep Underneath

Move Small Couch Table, Sweep Underneath

Move Small Couch, Sweep Underneath

Move Large Couch, Sweep Underneath

Move Toy Bins, Sweep Underneath

Straighten Books on Bookshelf

Move Kids’ Table, Sweep Underneath

Wash Visible Floor (Including Under kids table and small couch table)

Lysol Couch Bed

Dust Electronics and CDs

Hallways

Sweep Back Hallway

Wash Back Hallway

Mom and Dad’s Room

Strip, Lysol and Make Bed

Wash Floor

Make Sure lost toys are returned

Straighten Closet

Return Empty Hangers

Sweep Floor

Pick up Misc. Stuff

Lysol Curtains

Lysol Kayla’s Blanket

Bathroom

Clean Mirror

Clean Sink and Vanity

Clean Out, Organize and Wash Aimee’s Drawer

Clean Out, Organize and Wash Saren’s Drawer

Clean Out, Organize and Wash Nikki’s Drawer

Clean Front of Cabinet

Clean Toilet

Clean Tub

Wash Floor

Change Trash Bag

Girls’ Room

Strip, Lysol and Make Aria’s Bed

Strip, Lysol and Make Aimee’s Bed

Lysol Curtains

Pick Up Aimee’s Clothes

Pick up and Put Away Aimee’s Stuff

Make Sure All of Aimee’s Clean Clothes are Away

Return Aimee’s Empty Hangers

Consolidate Aimee’s Pants

Beat Rugs

Sweep Floor

Straighten Aimee’s Desk

Straighten Aimee’s Dresser

Straighten Nikki’s Vanity

Straighten Nikki’s Dresser

Pick Up Nikki’s Clothes

Pick up and put away Nikki’s Stuff

Make Sure all of Nikki’s Clean Clothes are Away

Return Nikki’s Empty Hangers

Consolidate Nikki’s Pants

Straighten Aimee’s Shoes

Wash Big Mirror

Straighten Bookshelf

Clean and Sweep Under Bunk Bed

Clean and Sweep Under Aria’s Bed

Wash Floor (Including under beds, desk, vanity, toy bin)

Clean and Sweep Under Toy Bin

Clean and Sweep Under Aimee’s Desk

Clean and Sweep Under Nikki’s Vanity

Sort Laundry Saturday

Sort Laundry Wednesday

Strip, Make and Lysol Nikki’s Bed

Clean and Sweep Behind Door

15 Minutes In Room

Boys’ Room

Strip, Lysol and Make Roan’s Bed

Strip, Lysol and Make Saren’s Bed

Lysol Curtains

Pick Up Saren’s Clothes

Pick Up Toys

Make Sure All of Saren’s clean clothes are put away

Return Saren’s Empty Hangers

Consolidate Saren’s Pants

Sweep Floor

Clean Off and Organize Saren’s Dresser

Clean Off and Organize Roan’s Dresser

Clean Off and Organize Shelf

Clean Off and Organize Table

Clean and Sweep Under Bunk Bed

Clean and Sweep Under Dresser

Clean and Sweep Under Shelf

Clean and Sweep Under Table

Clean and Sweep Behind Door

Wash Floor

15 Minutes In Room

Sort Laundry Wednesday

Sort Laundry Saturday

Spring Cleaning: Redoing Chore Lists

Part of our Spring and Fall Cleaning is redoing chore lists. This allows the children to rotate chores they aren't particularly fond of, to make adjustments for schedules, as well as adjustments for increased abilites (for instance, this time around, our two year old, Roan, has one daily chore, picking up toys, and one weekly chore, making sure all assorted shoes scattered about the house make it to the shoe bin).

Now I have yet to find a chore system that really works smoothly for us. Oh sure, most chores get done, but some always fall to the wayside and in general it's a hot button issue around here. So I have yet again come up with some different chore sheets, that require each chore to be checked off. Checking something without actually doing it results in punishment. Not checking when it's not done results in punishment. Not checking when it IS done results in "Please remember to check these off" discussion. Then twice a day (the kids have AM and PM chores) I can go through and check to make sure it's done.

I did things a little differently this time. I made a master list, room by room, divided by Daily, Weekly, and Monthly. I also included DH on the chore list-even though he's working, he can take out the trash and deal with the yard. And if it's on a list he will remember to do it. Once I get the master list done, I sit down and assign chores. I used to have the kids volunteer, but the harder or ickier chores always got left to me. Not that I mind doing my share of the work, I mean, that's my job, but I do need some help with more time consuming stuff. The master list seems long, but I have broken down things like "Clean Bathroom" and "Clean Bedroom" into specific tasks, as the middles are always asking "What should I do next?" Once chores are assigned, I create individual daily, weekly and monthly chore lists. Each month I print new ones. Chore lists are stored in a notebook with dividers so each person can get to their list every day (they quickly get memorized, so all they usually need to do is check them off when they're done).

So today I will include the Master List. You'll see "Food Assignment 1, 2, 3, 4" on there. What that is, is food prep stuff that isn't needed for the next few days' meals, such as making biscuit mix or gatorade mix, cooking bulk chicken broth or baking treats for summer when it's too hot to bake. I try to fill the freezer with cookies and muffins and cupcakes-supplemented with no bake treats, so that we don't have to "buy" treats and snacks.

Over the next several days I will post the actual chore lists-they aren't completely done yet and I'm also working on next month's menus.

Once A Day

Dining Room

Fold Laundry

Wash/Dry Laundry

Wash/Dry Laundry

Wash/Dry Laundry

Wash/Dry Laundry

Kitchen

Load and Start Dishwasher

Load and Start Dishwasher

Load and Start Dishwasher (as needed)

One Prep Item

Take Tomorrow’s Food out to thaw

Veggies out to thaw or chop fresh

Dinner

Fix Breakfast

Pack Lunches

Wipe Down Counters and Sink

Feed Sourdough Starter

Wipe Down Stove

Take Out Trash (AM)

Sweep (AM)

Sweep (PM)

Unload Dishwasher (AM)

Unload Dishwasher (PM)

Make Ice

Living Room

Febreeze Furniture and Drapes

Pick up Toys (AM)

Pick up Toys (PM)

Sweep (AM)

Sweep (PM)

Clean Off Kids’ Table After Breakfast

Clean Off Kids’ Table After Lunch

Clean Off Kids’ Table After Dinner

Hallways

Pick up and Sweep Main Walkway

Feed and Water Kayla (AM)

Feed and Water Kayla (PM)

Mom and Dad’s Room

Febreeze Furniture, Closet and Drapes

Pick up dirty clothes

Put Away Dad’s Clean Clothes

Put Away Mom’s Clean Clothes

Put Away Aria’s Clean Clothes

Bathroom

Lysol

Clean Sink

Dump Trash

Straighten Vanity

Pick Up Towels, Rags, Clothes etc from floor

Girls’ Room

Febreeze Furniture, Closet and Drapes

Make Aimee’s Bed

Put Aimee’s Laundry In Basket

Make Nikki’s Bed

Put Nikki’s Laundry In Basket

5 Minute Room Pick Up Aimee

5 Minute Room Pick Up Nikki

Put Away Aimee’s Clean Clothes

Put Away Nikki’s Clean Clothes

Boys’ Room

Febreeze Furniture, Closet and Drapes

Make Saren’s Bed

Saren’s Laundry In Basket

5 Minute Room Pickup

Put Away Saren’s Clean Clothes

Put Away Roan’s Clean Clothes

Also, a note on our dining room...because we're in an apartment, we have an apartment sized portable washer and dryer, located in there. Also in there are our chest freezer, our second refrigerator, a hoosier and several bins of clothes. There is a hanging rack and an aisle down the middle. It's essentially an all purpose room. So that's why laundry is assigned there. The washer is moved into the kitchen for use but most other laundry chores are done in the DR.

Click here for once a week master list
Click here for once a month master list

Chicken Prices Expected to Rise

According to this story, the price of chicken will decrease sharply in the next several weeks due to plans to slaughter large amounts of chickens because chicken farmers can’t afford to feed as many with the rising costs of corn and fuel. But once that supply is gone, the prices will go up exponentially. So when you see chicken on sale the next few weeks, buy as much as you can, because in the coming months it will be hugely expensive!

Frugal Money: Laundry Tips

How much per year does it cost to run your dryer? While the amount per load can seem small, it sure adds up over time. I do approximately 20 loads of laundry per week-that’s 1040 per year. I wanted to share some laundry tips that our family uses to help cut down on the cost of laundry.

Let’s start with the basic: Laundry Soap. I was buying the inexpensive Purex, and found that it did a superior job on most loads. Especially icky or smelly loads (remember, Larry is a firefighter) needed a little help, so for those loads I use a higher end soap like Tide. There are numerous recipes online for home made laundry soap, and most of them do a wonderful job. Plus, because you choose the soap base, you control any ingredients and scents in your soap-so allergy issues decline. I have switched to making my own laundry soap, again except for those icky or smelly loads. I still use the higher end soap for those, but I only need to buy it once, maybe twice a year. I probably save about $100/year doing this.

Then there’s the washer. Consumer Reports did a comparison of washers, and found that they all work pretty much the same. So if you’re in a market for a washer, purchase what you can afford, but don’t worry about the higher end models, because you aren’t going to get any more bang for the buck. I’d bet the same goes for dryers.

Fabric softener is something we all use a lot of. I don’t use liquid fabric softener-I don’t remember to put it in at the rinse cycle because I’m usually doing something else, and I forget to fill those little balls. I do add vinegar to jeans, and that helps with the stiffness when they are being air dried. I do, however, use the little sheets for the dryer. To help save money, I cut them in thirds. They still work just as well, I don’t have static issues and the clothes are nice and soft. I buy the large boxes that do 120 loads, so I’m getting 360 loads out of them (actually more because I don’t use them if I’m using the dryer for jeans). If I used them full size, I’d use about 9 boxes a year, at about $5.00 each, for $45.00. Because I cut them in thirds, I use about 3 boxes per year, saving $30.

Now onto drying. Using your dryer can be one of the largest energy costs for a family. Over the course of a year, I probably dry 50% of my laundry. It’s much more in warmer months, much less in the winter. I have a clothesline outside, but if it’s under about 40 degrees outside then it’s useless. That takes out about half of December, all of January, and a good chunk of February. Where we live right now, my clothesline is surrounded on three sides by dirt roads, so when it’s windy, which is most of spring, afternoons in summer, and a good chunk of fall, I can’t use the clothesline or my clothes come in dirtier than before I washed them! I solved that problem by using two indoor hanging racks (I’ll be adding a third one before this winter). The average dryer uses about 5 KW of energy per hour. Our KWH price is $.14. So to dry one load costs about $.70. Not too bad for one load, but at 1040 loads per year, I’d be spending $728 per year. By drying half my laundry, I’m saving our family $364 per year.

Using these methods has helped me save our family almost $500 per year. Now, that’s not going to pay for a vacation, or fund our retirement, but it is money that can be used in other areas, such as gas or paying down old debt.

Frugal Money: Three meals in one, Beef Roast

Being on a tight budget, for whatever reason, means you need to make the most of your food usage, limiting waste and cutting down on portions of the more expensive parts of the meal.

On Sundays, we generally have what I call "Big Hunks of Meat Night". That means instead of our usual casserole or some dish that uses less meat, we have what most of America considers a regular dinner. Roast, chicken, meatloaf, etc. I use more meat on those nights, but then try to use less throughout the week, supplementing protein with beans, cheeses and eggs. However, even on those nights when we have a lot of meat, I try to make the most of what I'm preparing. Those two extra pieces of chicken will get frozen with some side dish for Larry's lunches. If we're doing hamburgers on the grill, I will make some extra for lunches.

Roast presents many unique opportunities (by the way, I often use brisket as a substitute for roast-it's usually half the price of what I can get roast for even on sale, and while it's a small bit dryer, it's just as tasty-just cut a large brisket {not corned beef brisket} into thirds for roast sized portions). When I cook a roast, I do it in the crock pot with enough water to cover. I add salt, pepper, garlic and onion, and let it do it's thing all day. When it's done cooking, I take two cups of the very flavorful broth to make gravy with cornstarch. I take about half the meat out for serving that night. I remove the rest immediately-if it's still in the crock pot, someone will try to take it! If I have time, I process a bit that night, if not, I put it in a large bowl and put it in the fridge to do the next morning.

When I process it, I take half the remaining meat, and one cup of broth, and set aside for stroganoff. I will add the meat and broth to a mushroom broth, thicken with cornstarch, add sour cream and a bit of worcestershire sauce, and then serve over noodles.

The remainder is set aside for soup or stew. When I"ve let it sit in the fridge overnight, I'm able to skim the fat off, making it a much healthier meal.

Those additional meal portions are either frozen or served later in the week. This time of year I definitely freeze the soup portion, as it's generally too warm here for soup...but it sure is nice to have after that first cold snap in the fall!

I hope this helps you make better use of your food budget!

Winning a small battle in my war against clutter

I have a pantry in our apartment. Have I mentioned how much I loathe this apartment? How badly I can’t wait to move out? OK then, more on that later. Anyway.

I have a pantry in our apartment. As apartment pantries go, it’s huge, probably 8 ft wide and 2 ft deep. It has 4 shelves in it that run the length of the pantry, and then about 3 feet of just space. That just space always ends up being the ummm, “stuff catcher”. There is half a case of Sprite down there that I bought for illness, my sewing machine, 3 packages of ramen noodles, some empty food boxes, etc. I do have the potato bin in there, sheltered from light by the wall (although I will be moving that elsewhere since I got the dryer), and the fan, which, realistically, won’t fit anywhere else. The top shelf is also just a strange gathering of stuff, as I can’t even come close to reaching it. I’m sure Dh has some deep dark secret hidden in there, LOL.

Anyway, that 3 feet of just space down below has always bothered me. I do keep flats of veggies down there, but right now I don’t have enough canned veggies to store down there. I could buy those short bookshelves from WM to put in there, but they don’t hold enough, and I’m not making a set of shelves for it because we’ll be moving as soon as humanly possible. So what do I do with that space?

Well, I’ve also been buying those re-usable shopping bags from WM. I figure we go through, at minimum, 500 grocery sacks a year. Using those shopping bags is cheap (they’re $1.00 each) and will save thousands of grocery bags over the years that we use them. The problem is, I’ve found all kinds of nifty uses for them around the house. My sewing is in one, I used them when we had to evac, and on and on. Well, I just found another nifty use. They very neatly hold several pounds of food, which I can then stack, something like cans on the bottom, then bagged beans or rice, then lighter stuff like TP. I have now probably almost doubled the storage space in my pantry! And, at $1.00 apiece, I can pick up 5 a week, use some for shopping and some around the house. Ooooh I just have to love that. I’m thinking I may be able to figure out a way to use them on those top shelves of the closets that I can’t reach-leave the handles hanging over so I can pull them down. I could store extra light stuff in them, like paper goods or next size up socks or undies when I find them on clearance. I am so determined to get rid of the clutter in this house!

Thanks for reading!

In Him,

MTW