The garden is producing like gangbusters and I have been busy busy with it and with children. Petunia our oldest is now driving...so look out world here she comes. The pool is open so we are trying to make use of that while we can. Little britches thinks she might like to be on the swim team so we will let her try out in August. I haven't accomplished many great things in the way of frugality, but there have been a few. Here they are:
1. Used several coupons to save about 10.00 at the grocery store.
2. Used grocery store fuel perks to save on a tank of gas at the gas station.
3. Made a pair of too short jeans into shorts for Little Britches.
4. Made an old hippy skirt of Petunia's into a summer dress for Little Britches by taking in the waist (now top) and adding shoulder straps.
5. I have been purging again so I sold a few things that we no longer needed.
6. Stocked up on chicken for 39 cents a pound.
7. Put up pickles, pickled beets, squash and zucchini from the garden.
8. Harvested lettuce and carrots for meals.
9. We still have not turned on the air condition for the season. It won't be much longer though...the days are getting very warm and sticky with very little nighttime relief.
10. I cooked three meals on the grill and the rest of the time we have eaten cold stuff...too hot to eat heavy meals anyway.
11. We have a boatload of beets this year so I made beet chips for a treat.
12. I made cheese, butter and yogurt this week. I froze some of the yogurt for smoothies during the time we won't have milk coming in.
13. I harvested seeds from cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and cantaloupe this week.
14. We had one extra sweet potato for some reason so I cut it in half and it has now produce a lot of slips for planting. I have already planted 6 of them and will be planting more as soon as they have a good number of roots on them.
15. The bottom portion of our garden where we used to plant corn is really weedy and I am concerned about snakes, so 3 times this week I have herded the goats into that portion for them to clean it out. Free feed for them and it saves me the time, energy and gas of weedeating it. I just have to watch them really closely while I am out working, but so far so good.
I guess that is about it. Not a whole lot other than normal stuff, but every little bit helps and that is just that little bit more than can go into savings. Hope you all have a blessed week. Kat
Showing posts with label Tightwad Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tightwad Tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Sewing for Less
Recently, I had someone ask me why I bothered sewing clothes when I could buy them at the thrift store cheaper than I could buy fabric. I explained to her that sewing isn't a skill that warrants expensive trips to the fabric store. Many times I have someone give me clothes that are a bit out of date or too large or whatever. Usually, my sewing adventures involved re-making things into other things. Here are some things that I have done that keep clothing, household goods, and other sewing costs even cheaper than buying clothing at the thrift store.
1. Re-making what I already have. I had some boho/hippy style skirts that were given to me by my mother in law. They were cute and I love hippy style clothing. However, it doesn't really love me. I am short and a little wider than I would like to be and these skirts made me look shorter and wider than I already am. But I didn't want to get rid of them. So I made them into summer sundresses for me and my oldest daughter by simply replacing the elastic waistband with another piece of elastic that fit around our busts and then adding nice wide shoulder straps. We can wear them loose or with belts to give our waist more definition. They fit great and even left loose are more flattering because they fall in a more even way than they did when they were skirts. They come to just a hint above our knees so don't make us look even shorter than we are. The cost of 5 dresses was maybe 1.00 that I had in thread and elastic. That is about 20 cents a piece. Thrift store cost would have been at least 2.00 a skirt if not more.
2. When I am at yard sales or flea markets I pick up sewing supplies. I am always looking out for sewing supplies. I once bought a quart size Ziploc bag full of black thread for 1.00. That was years ago and I am still using that black thread. There were probably 15 to 20 spools in that bag. Another time I bought 4 large spools of serger thread even though I don't have a serger. I paid about 2.00 for all 4 spools. I use it for handsewing items and I am still using off those spools.
3.Along the lines of remaking, many times yard sales with have nice quality clothing for almost nothing. If the material of the clothing is good quality I try to consider if I can re-make it or re-size it. I have made many skirts out of shirts that were way too large or dresses for my daughters out of shirts that were too large.
4. Clothing that has stains can often be cut apart, the fabric flipped over if the stain doesn't go through and remade into something else. Or it can be cut up and the stained portion discarded, then the rest can be used for some type of home goods craft such as patchwork placemats for the table, or everyday dinner napkins that don't really need to match perfectly.
5. Fabric is fabric, so I am prone to picking up decent quality sheets anytime I can. I had built up my stash of sheets so well that recently when I made thermal curtains for the house I had plenty of sheets for the project. I made curtains for 14 very large sets of windows (4 required an entire kind size sheet to cover) out of maybe 3.00 worth of yard/thrift store sheets. I also made 3 shade cloths for the garden out of some cheaper stained sheets that were actually given to me.
These are just a few of the ways that I can save money sewing. Sewing for our house saves a lot of money and doesn't mean any trips to the fabric store. Recently I was in the fabric store getting my scissors sharpened and while I was waiting looked at the price of fabric. The lady that prompted this post was right. For the cost of fabric, I could buy a whole lot of clothing from the thrift store. But I can do it much cheaper. Blessings, Kat
1. Re-making what I already have. I had some boho/hippy style skirts that were given to me by my mother in law. They were cute and I love hippy style clothing. However, it doesn't really love me. I am short and a little wider than I would like to be and these skirts made me look shorter and wider than I already am. But I didn't want to get rid of them. So I made them into summer sundresses for me and my oldest daughter by simply replacing the elastic waistband with another piece of elastic that fit around our busts and then adding nice wide shoulder straps. We can wear them loose or with belts to give our waist more definition. They fit great and even left loose are more flattering because they fall in a more even way than they did when they were skirts. They come to just a hint above our knees so don't make us look even shorter than we are. The cost of 5 dresses was maybe 1.00 that I had in thread and elastic. That is about 20 cents a piece. Thrift store cost would have been at least 2.00 a skirt if not more.
2. When I am at yard sales or flea markets I pick up sewing supplies. I am always looking out for sewing supplies. I once bought a quart size Ziploc bag full of black thread for 1.00. That was years ago and I am still using that black thread. There were probably 15 to 20 spools in that bag. Another time I bought 4 large spools of serger thread even though I don't have a serger. I paid about 2.00 for all 4 spools. I use it for handsewing items and I am still using off those spools.
3.Along the lines of remaking, many times yard sales with have nice quality clothing for almost nothing. If the material of the clothing is good quality I try to consider if I can re-make it or re-size it. I have made many skirts out of shirts that were way too large or dresses for my daughters out of shirts that were too large.
4. Clothing that has stains can often be cut apart, the fabric flipped over if the stain doesn't go through and remade into something else. Or it can be cut up and the stained portion discarded, then the rest can be used for some type of home goods craft such as patchwork placemats for the table, or everyday dinner napkins that don't really need to match perfectly.
5. Fabric is fabric, so I am prone to picking up decent quality sheets anytime I can. I had built up my stash of sheets so well that recently when I made thermal curtains for the house I had plenty of sheets for the project. I made curtains for 14 very large sets of windows (4 required an entire kind size sheet to cover) out of maybe 3.00 worth of yard/thrift store sheets. I also made 3 shade cloths for the garden out of some cheaper stained sheets that were actually given to me.
These are just a few of the ways that I can save money sewing. Sewing for our house saves a lot of money and doesn't mean any trips to the fabric store. Recently I was in the fabric store getting my scissors sharpened and while I was waiting looked at the price of fabric. The lady that prompted this post was right. For the cost of fabric, I could buy a whole lot of clothing from the thrift store. But I can do it much cheaper. Blessings, Kat
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Tightwad tips for April- Part 1
Well, I guess I have had a good number of frugal accomplishments for the first part of this month. Here is what we have accomplished.
1. I made butter from the cream off the goat milk.
2. I made cheese and yogurt from our goat milk.
3. I bought chicken leg quarters on sale for 39 cents a pound.
4. We have eaten salads from the garden 4 times this month.
5. I made 3 play dresses for little britches from older clothes that I had saved but were not really in good shape to give to someone else or wear into town.
6. I saved the buttons off the clothes that I deconstructed for the play dresses.
7. Our grass is growing like crazy now so we were able to decrease the grain fed to the horse. She gets more in the winter because of the cold and no grass, only hay. So in the summer when we have plenty of grain we can cut her grain needs by half.
8. I baked potatoes in the crockpot.
9. I grilled one meal entirely on the grill.
10. Everything that possibly can be is on power strips to be completely shut off at night.
11. The solar shower was used 6 times which kept the water heater from having to be turned on.
12. I used by grocery store fuel perks to save on gas. We filled up both cars at the same time for 1.76 a gallon.
13. I am now able to collect some weeds, herbs, and such for the rabbits. So after spending a couple of weeks re-introducing these things slowly we are now able to replace 1/2 of their grain needs. This cuts the feed bill in half for the rabbits.
14. Since it is that time of year to clean out and replace bedding in the rabbit colonies we raked pine straw to mix in with the regular straw. This cut down on half the cost of the straw. It would be nice if we could just use all pine straw, but it isn't very absorbent. Mixing it in is about the best we can do.
15. We have a barrel set up for solar hot water and were able to wash the breakfast and lunch dishes by hand using the hot water from the barrel. This meant that the dishwasher ran every other day instead of everyday, cutting down on electrical useage.
Well, that is about it. I am hoping to have a solar oven and cooker up and running by the end of the month so that we can cook mostly with solar power during the summer. I would also like to make a haybox type cooker, but don't know how much that will benefit during the summer since we don't eat soups or stews or heavy meals in the summer.
Hope this gives others some ideas on little ways to trim those living expenses. It is especially needed nowadays since the cost of living is rising faster that paychecks are rising.
Have a blessed day,
Kat
1. I made butter from the cream off the goat milk.
2. I made cheese and yogurt from our goat milk.
3. I bought chicken leg quarters on sale for 39 cents a pound.
4. We have eaten salads from the garden 4 times this month.
5. I made 3 play dresses for little britches from older clothes that I had saved but were not really in good shape to give to someone else or wear into town.
6. I saved the buttons off the clothes that I deconstructed for the play dresses.
7. Our grass is growing like crazy now so we were able to decrease the grain fed to the horse. She gets more in the winter because of the cold and no grass, only hay. So in the summer when we have plenty of grain we can cut her grain needs by half.
8. I baked potatoes in the crockpot.
9. I grilled one meal entirely on the grill.
10. Everything that possibly can be is on power strips to be completely shut off at night.
11. The solar shower was used 6 times which kept the water heater from having to be turned on.
12. I used by grocery store fuel perks to save on gas. We filled up both cars at the same time for 1.76 a gallon.
13. I am now able to collect some weeds, herbs, and such for the rabbits. So after spending a couple of weeks re-introducing these things slowly we are now able to replace 1/2 of their grain needs. This cuts the feed bill in half for the rabbits.
14. Since it is that time of year to clean out and replace bedding in the rabbit colonies we raked pine straw to mix in with the regular straw. This cut down on half the cost of the straw. It would be nice if we could just use all pine straw, but it isn't very absorbent. Mixing it in is about the best we can do.
15. We have a barrel set up for solar hot water and were able to wash the breakfast and lunch dishes by hand using the hot water from the barrel. This meant that the dishwasher ran every other day instead of everyday, cutting down on electrical useage.
Well, that is about it. I am hoping to have a solar oven and cooker up and running by the end of the month so that we can cook mostly with solar power during the summer. I would also like to make a haybox type cooker, but don't know how much that will benefit during the summer since we don't eat soups or stews or heavy meals in the summer.
Hope this gives others some ideas on little ways to trim those living expenses. It is especially needed nowadays since the cost of living is rising faster that paychecks are rising.
Have a blessed day,
Kat
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Frugal Accomplishments- Week of March 22
Well this past week has not been real exciting. We did do a few things that saved us money in the long run, but not a lot of money at one time. Here goes though, glean what you can.
1. We had one veggie meal for supper...bean and cheese burritos.
2. We cooked one meal on the grill using no electricity for the evening....grilled rabbit and salad.
3. We butchered rabbits recently and so two meals this week came from the farm.
4. I made Swiffer sweeper pads for my sweeper that I use daily on the floors.
5. I picked baby greens in the garden to make a salad for supper.
6. I had not sent in my daughter's dual enrollment application just yet and lo and behold in my email I get a note with a code to use to be able to wave the application fee...I used it immediately. Saved 25.00.
7. Potatoes were on sale at the local small grocery store. I purchased 40 lbs for 8.00.
8. I turned the goats into the yard to graze and nibble, therefore cutting my hay useage for the day in half.
9. I put compost in one pasture and the chickens have been spreading it and working it in for me. Free fertilizer.
10. We had a fence that was made from landscape timbers that was falling down, so I am now taking it down to use in the garden for netting around the garden beds and to build a low fence around a portion of the garden. Hoping to be able to put pigs there.
11. I just started to be able to milk the two goats that kidded a couple weeks ago, so now I will be able to start making cheese, butter and yogurt!
That is about it. I am sure that I will have more soon as I am always looking to make our dollars stretch as far as possible. Blessings, Kat
1. We had one veggie meal for supper...bean and cheese burritos.
2. We cooked one meal on the grill using no electricity for the evening....grilled rabbit and salad.
3. We butchered rabbits recently and so two meals this week came from the farm.
4. I made Swiffer sweeper pads for my sweeper that I use daily on the floors.
5. I picked baby greens in the garden to make a salad for supper.
6. I had not sent in my daughter's dual enrollment application just yet and lo and behold in my email I get a note with a code to use to be able to wave the application fee...I used it immediately. Saved 25.00.
7. Potatoes were on sale at the local small grocery store. I purchased 40 lbs for 8.00.
8. I turned the goats into the yard to graze and nibble, therefore cutting my hay useage for the day in half.
9. I put compost in one pasture and the chickens have been spreading it and working it in for me. Free fertilizer.
10. We had a fence that was made from landscape timbers that was falling down, so I am now taking it down to use in the garden for netting around the garden beds and to build a low fence around a portion of the garden. Hoping to be able to put pigs there.
11. I just started to be able to milk the two goats that kidded a couple weeks ago, so now I will be able to start making cheese, butter and yogurt!
That is about it. I am sure that I will have more soon as I am always looking to make our dollars stretch as far as possible. Blessings, Kat
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Frugal things Done Week of March14
Well, I am not really sure how frugal this week has been other than I haven't spent any money. So here is what I have accomplished or am considering accomplishing in the near future.
1. I washed some more Ziploc bags for re-use.
2. I washed all the laundry this week in cold water and hung every load on the line to dry. Incidentally my dear sweet hubby put up some more clothesline for me so that I can hang more loads at one time.
3. I am still making curtains for the windows to keep the cool air in and the hot summer sun out and then the reverse for this coming winter. I have re-used so much for these curtains that I think I have about 7.00 in the cost so far and have made curtains for 7 windows, 3 of which are very very large and currently have 1 more very large one almost finished. After this next one is done then I only have 4 more to go. There are a lot of windows in this house!
4. I made some more bathtub and shower cleaner with dawn dish soap, white vinegar and baking soap. If you haven't tried this it works better than anything else I have ever used. It also costs far less than any commercial cleaner.
6. I planted kale, beets, carrots and 3 different varieties of lettuce last weekend. I already see green sprouts where the kale and lettuce were planted. Not really sure if the carrots will do anything as I am sure that it will get too warm too soon, but they were seeds that needed to be used anyway so I figured it couldn't hurt.
7. I had 2 goats kid this weekend and so with an excess of colostrum and an excess of eggs the dogs were fed a meal of rice heavily mixed with eggs and goat colostrum with a little hamburger grease thrown in for good measure. This mean't that the chicken would stretch for another day.
8.I have been doing really well timing everything so that the water heater is only on for a couple of hours a day. I also cleaned the sediment out of the bottom of the water heater by draining it. Make sure to turn the power off to the water heater before you do this. I just cut the main breaker switch for the whole house. This should make it run more efficiently while it is on.
9.With it still being cold at night we are also turning the freezer off and then turning it back on in the morning. We have had no problem with anything in the freezer. I don't expect we will be able to do this too much longer though at the temperatures rise. That is ok because we are also cleaning out all last year's veggies and such from the freezer to make room for this year's stuff.
10.We are considering going with a new program offered by our power company that might save us a good deal of money. I say might because we will not be able to run the AC this summer for very long during the hours of 12:30 to 7pm Monday thru Friday. That is the only thing that has me worried. Although we should be able to keep cool at least in the den where we spend that time anyway. Then part of that time we will be at the pool so won't be home. I think we will manage to do ok, but still....I worry because summer can be so bloody hot and humid. We get a greatly reduced rate for not using a large amount of electricity during that time. However, whatever we use during that time will be extremely expensive and we have to commit to trying this program for a year. So lots to think about.
So I guess that is about it for this week. Blessings, Kat
1. I washed some more Ziploc bags for re-use.
2. I washed all the laundry this week in cold water and hung every load on the line to dry. Incidentally my dear sweet hubby put up some more clothesline for me so that I can hang more loads at one time.
3. I am still making curtains for the windows to keep the cool air in and the hot summer sun out and then the reverse for this coming winter. I have re-used so much for these curtains that I think I have about 7.00 in the cost so far and have made curtains for 7 windows, 3 of which are very very large and currently have 1 more very large one almost finished. After this next one is done then I only have 4 more to go. There are a lot of windows in this house!
4. I made some more bathtub and shower cleaner with dawn dish soap, white vinegar and baking soap. If you haven't tried this it works better than anything else I have ever used. It also costs far less than any commercial cleaner.
6. I planted kale, beets, carrots and 3 different varieties of lettuce last weekend. I already see green sprouts where the kale and lettuce were planted. Not really sure if the carrots will do anything as I am sure that it will get too warm too soon, but they were seeds that needed to be used anyway so I figured it couldn't hurt.
7. I had 2 goats kid this weekend and so with an excess of colostrum and an excess of eggs the dogs were fed a meal of rice heavily mixed with eggs and goat colostrum with a little hamburger grease thrown in for good measure. This mean't that the chicken would stretch for another day.
8.I have been doing really well timing everything so that the water heater is only on for a couple of hours a day. I also cleaned the sediment out of the bottom of the water heater by draining it. Make sure to turn the power off to the water heater before you do this. I just cut the main breaker switch for the whole house. This should make it run more efficiently while it is on.
9.With it still being cold at night we are also turning the freezer off and then turning it back on in the morning. We have had no problem with anything in the freezer. I don't expect we will be able to do this too much longer though at the temperatures rise. That is ok because we are also cleaning out all last year's veggies and such from the freezer to make room for this year's stuff.
10.We are considering going with a new program offered by our power company that might save us a good deal of money. I say might because we will not be able to run the AC this summer for very long during the hours of 12:30 to 7pm Monday thru Friday. That is the only thing that has me worried. Although we should be able to keep cool at least in the den where we spend that time anyway. Then part of that time we will be at the pool so won't be home. I think we will manage to do ok, but still....I worry because summer can be so bloody hot and humid. We get a greatly reduced rate for not using a large amount of electricity during that time. However, whatever we use during that time will be extremely expensive and we have to commit to trying this program for a year. So lots to think about.
So I guess that is about it for this week. Blessings, Kat
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Tightwad Accomplishments February 22
So this past week has been really busy around here working on our biggest way to save money right now....our electric bill. Our bill has been going up this past year. I didn't really sweat it much because I knew that quite a bit of it was simply because I didn't feel good. When you don't feel good you get lazy. But when our power bill jumped an astronomical amount, I sat up and paid attention because we can't pay super high power bills. So, after checking all the appliances and having the power company come out to check that the meter is working properly we found that our two worst areas are the central heat in the den and the freezer door seal (at least we think it might be the seal). Our wood stove insert is in that room so why are we using that heater? Because maintaining a wood burning fire is hard work and some days I just don't feel like I have it in me. So yes, not feeling all that great leads to laziness. So here is what we have been doing and what we are implementing now that I have become the electricity Nazi.
1. We are heating only the room that we are in at the moment. We currently spend most of our time in the den, and I have discovered over the last couple of days that if I close the doors to that room that I can maintain a fire in the woodstove much more easily because it doesn't have to be a big roaring fire to keep just that room comfortable. A small blaze on a bed of hot coals keeps us comfortable. This allows us to turn off the electric heat in that room (it is a large room) and turn off the propane heaters in the rest of the house until we need them at night. Already we can see a difference in electricity useage on the meter. A big difference.
2. We have been doing some more caulking. This is an ongoing all year job on this old house. Just when we think we have all the caulking done the house moves or we just simply find more places. I am sure we aren't done yet, but we have gotten a lot more caulking done.
3. We have ordered a new seal for the freezer door, it is an old freezer and I am sure the seal doesn't work as well as it once did. Power company guy said it was pulling 10 kilowatts every time compressor came on. If it is cycling enough then that is a considerable amount of power. Meanwhile, it is cold enough that the freezer can be turned off at night and then turned back on again in the morning. We plan to replace the freezer at some point but simply can't do that right now.
4. The water heater is being turned off at night when we don't need it and then we turn it back on about mid day so that I can do any warm water laundry that needs doing and everyone can take showers. After the last shower of the evening it goes back off.
5. We had the refrigerator set at the factory recommended setting, but we turned it up a notch (warmer) so that the compressor cycles less. So far so good, everything is staying cold enough.
6. I have used the dryer much less. I have still had to use it because jeans just don't dry well in such cold temps and my husbands uniforms look better coming out of the dryer. But shirts and such have done just fine on the line with just a quick 10 minutes on air dry in the dryer.
7. I have been hanging window quilts made from old blankets and comforters for the past several years in the winter. I really have never gotten around to making them look decent. It really has been just a down and dirty quick thing. So, I have been not only making them look nice, but some are thin, so I am making them thicker, making them hang better ( like normal curtains), putting white on the outside so they can be used in the summer, and installing a rod and pulley system so they can be opened and closed like blinds. This way they will be able to stay up all year, will reflect the summer sun as well as keep the temp. in the house comfortable all year. The plus is that I won't have to dread putting them up anymore and trying to figure out which ones went over which windows. This should help on year round electricity useage now. The comforters and quilts I got for free from friends and family or very cheap at goodwill several years ago. And remember I said that I am always taking sheets that family members are going to throw away. Well, all those white sheets (some I got at yard sales) have come in handy for lining the curtains. The colored sheets have come in handy for the interior of the curtains. So, the fabric that I am using has cost next to nothing. Maybe 3.00 for the sheets that I bought at a yard sale.
8. I bought some boneless pork roasts on sale and brought them home and ground them up myself at less than half the cost of ground beef.
So, that has been our week of savings. Most of it centered around getting our electric useage under control again. Hope you have a great and frugal week. Kat
1. We are heating only the room that we are in at the moment. We currently spend most of our time in the den, and I have discovered over the last couple of days that if I close the doors to that room that I can maintain a fire in the woodstove much more easily because it doesn't have to be a big roaring fire to keep just that room comfortable. A small blaze on a bed of hot coals keeps us comfortable. This allows us to turn off the electric heat in that room (it is a large room) and turn off the propane heaters in the rest of the house until we need them at night. Already we can see a difference in electricity useage on the meter. A big difference.
2. We have been doing some more caulking. This is an ongoing all year job on this old house. Just when we think we have all the caulking done the house moves or we just simply find more places. I am sure we aren't done yet, but we have gotten a lot more caulking done.
3. We have ordered a new seal for the freezer door, it is an old freezer and I am sure the seal doesn't work as well as it once did. Power company guy said it was pulling 10 kilowatts every time compressor came on. If it is cycling enough then that is a considerable amount of power. Meanwhile, it is cold enough that the freezer can be turned off at night and then turned back on again in the morning. We plan to replace the freezer at some point but simply can't do that right now.
4. The water heater is being turned off at night when we don't need it and then we turn it back on about mid day so that I can do any warm water laundry that needs doing and everyone can take showers. After the last shower of the evening it goes back off.
5. We had the refrigerator set at the factory recommended setting, but we turned it up a notch (warmer) so that the compressor cycles less. So far so good, everything is staying cold enough.
6. I have used the dryer much less. I have still had to use it because jeans just don't dry well in such cold temps and my husbands uniforms look better coming out of the dryer. But shirts and such have done just fine on the line with just a quick 10 minutes on air dry in the dryer.
7. I have been hanging window quilts made from old blankets and comforters for the past several years in the winter. I really have never gotten around to making them look decent. It really has been just a down and dirty quick thing. So, I have been not only making them look nice, but some are thin, so I am making them thicker, making them hang better ( like normal curtains), putting white on the outside so they can be used in the summer, and installing a rod and pulley system so they can be opened and closed like blinds. This way they will be able to stay up all year, will reflect the summer sun as well as keep the temp. in the house comfortable all year. The plus is that I won't have to dread putting them up anymore and trying to figure out which ones went over which windows. This should help on year round electricity useage now. The comforters and quilts I got for free from friends and family or very cheap at goodwill several years ago. And remember I said that I am always taking sheets that family members are going to throw away. Well, all those white sheets (some I got at yard sales) have come in handy for lining the curtains. The colored sheets have come in handy for the interior of the curtains. So, the fabric that I am using has cost next to nothing. Maybe 3.00 for the sheets that I bought at a yard sale.
8. I bought some boneless pork roasts on sale and brought them home and ground them up myself at less than half the cost of ground beef.
So, that has been our week of savings. Most of it centered around getting our electric useage under control again. Hope you have a great and frugal week. Kat
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Window Quilts Really do Make a Huge difference
Normally, every fall I get out my window blankets and my bubble wrap and my large sheets of plastic and get to covering the windows in this old worn out house that we live in. I then spend days bubble wrapping, hanging, etc. It is a lot of effort to putting up the window coverings in a house with a lot of windows. Our bedroom alone has 9 large windows. I didn't feel good this past year and just didn't have a lot of energy. I got a few windows covered and then gave out. I really didn't think it would make that much of a difference. I guess I was wrong. Our heating bill is astronomical. I mentioned the 9 windows in our bedroom. They leak like sieves. You can feel the cold air blowing in. The propane heat doesn't get all the way back to our room. Most years it is no big deal because we have an electric blanket and we like the room cold anyway. But this year it has been frigid because the windows didn't get covered and the air blows in all night, no matter how tight you think those windows are shut. They just are old, beyond old...ancient. So we have been running a small electric heater set on low when the temps outside are really cold. Well, I discovered in my search for why our power useage has gone up so badly that those window covering really do make a difference. We thought it could be the water heater. So last night at 9:30 pm, I shut off the breaker to the water heater and went to bed. The little electric heater was running in our room. This morning at 6:15 am we had used 160kw overnight. The only thing different was that the water heater was off and that electric heater was on. So anytime we use that heater we use 160kw a night. That is a lot of power over the course of a month, when over half the nights are cold enough to need it. Last year we rarely used it because the windows were covered. This year we have used it a lot because of lack of covering. This past month and the month before are our coldest months so our power bill jumped dramatically. I did it to myself and I will never not put up my winter window coverings again. Spring please hurry, we are going broke trying to keep warm. Blessings, Kat
Friday, February 13, 2015
Tightwad Tips Week of February 13
Well this week hasn't been all that frugal since we purchased a new to us car. Our old 1996 Buick was developing electrical issues.
so we decided it was time to get something else before repair bills got to be more than a car payment. The buick had been a great car, lasted a long time without any major issues or repairs. Just normal routine stuff that all cars need. However, we have done a few things.
I washed some more Ziploc bags from the freezer to re-use.
I cleaned the microfiber couch with a cheap bottle of rubbing alcohol.
I made a new batch of shower cleaner with white vinegar and a small amount of Dawn dish soap.
I made some more t-shirt yarn and scraps for household projects. I have been saving t-shirts for awhile so this might be an ongoing project for some time.
I paid the last cable bill. We will officially be cable free March 1, which will save us over 50 dollars a month. We would save more but our Netflix and Amazon prime subscriptions cost a little bit. Much less than the cable.
I cooked a pork roast this week that I had gotten discounted for 3.00. No not 3.00 a pound, I paid that for the whole pork roast. We had it with mashed potatoes and green beans from last year's garden. Then I made chili with the rest. I made a large batch of chili so half went into the freezer for a future meal. 1.00 a meal from one roast...not bad if I do say so myself.
So that is about it for this week. Remember it is the little things that really do add up over time. My goal is everywhere I don't spend a dollar then that dollar goes into our savings. It really does add up.
Blessings, Kat
so we decided it was time to get something else before repair bills got to be more than a car payment. The buick had been a great car, lasted a long time without any major issues or repairs. Just normal routine stuff that all cars need. However, we have done a few things.
I washed some more Ziploc bags from the freezer to re-use.
I cleaned the microfiber couch with a cheap bottle of rubbing alcohol.
I made a new batch of shower cleaner with white vinegar and a small amount of Dawn dish soap.
I made some more t-shirt yarn and scraps for household projects. I have been saving t-shirts for awhile so this might be an ongoing project for some time.
I paid the last cable bill. We will officially be cable free March 1, which will save us over 50 dollars a month. We would save more but our Netflix and Amazon prime subscriptions cost a little bit. Much less than the cable.
I cooked a pork roast this week that I had gotten discounted for 3.00. No not 3.00 a pound, I paid that for the whole pork roast. We had it with mashed potatoes and green beans from last year's garden. Then I made chili with the rest. I made a large batch of chili so half went into the freezer for a future meal. 1.00 a meal from one roast...not bad if I do say so myself.
So that is about it for this week. Remember it is the little things that really do add up over time. My goal is everywhere I don't spend a dollar then that dollar goes into our savings. It really does add up.
Blessings, Kat
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Frugal Living Week of February 7
So, this week hasn't been quite as frugal as I would like it to have been. However, we really didn't go anywhere much so I suppose staying home is very frugal in gas savings. However, we have done a few things to keep a tight budget.
1. Washed some Ziploc bags to re-use for putting things in the freezer.
2. Made soap from some goat fat that I had saved in the freezer. We now have enough soap to last for the rest of the year. I have another bag of fat to render and then I will make another batch. I will then mill some of the soap and make French milled milk soap for Christmas presents.
3. My husband and I used my grocery store fuel rewards to fill both cars up and the gas cans for the farm equipment. We saved 55 cents off of every gallon purchased. Not bad.
4. I made some Swiffer dusters from an old flannel robe that was really worn out, torn, etc. The sleeves were still in pretty good shape and were perfect to do this with. It took about an hour to make 4 of them.
So that has been about it for us this week. Not a huge savings with the exception of the gas, but every little bit helps. This week I will be making pepper jelly from the peppers in the freezer. This will be for us as well as Christmas gifts this coming year. We also like to use things like jellies and soap for thank you gifts when needed. Hope you have all had a good week. Blessings, Kat
1. Washed some Ziploc bags to re-use for putting things in the freezer.
2. Made soap from some goat fat that I had saved in the freezer. We now have enough soap to last for the rest of the year. I have another bag of fat to render and then I will make another batch. I will then mill some of the soap and make French milled milk soap for Christmas presents.
3. My husband and I used my grocery store fuel rewards to fill both cars up and the gas cans for the farm equipment. We saved 55 cents off of every gallon purchased. Not bad.
4. I made some Swiffer dusters from an old flannel robe that was really worn out, torn, etc. The sleeves were still in pretty good shape and were perfect to do this with. It took about an hour to make 4 of them.
So that has been about it for us this week. Not a huge savings with the exception of the gas, but every little bit helps. This week I will be making pepper jelly from the peppers in the freezer. This will be for us as well as Christmas gifts this coming year. We also like to use things like jellies and soap for thank you gifts when needed. Hope you have all had a good week. Blessings, Kat
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Tightwad Tips- Week of February 1
We are trying to get back on track towards our goal in life of living deliberately and not haphazardly. Last year was a nightmare and money just bled out everywhere. So, this year I will try to post a weekly tightwad tip column. Here is the first week's column of what we have done the past week to hold on to our little bit of money.
Groceries-We had a soup night, a veggie night (veggies came out of the freezer), and a breakfast night. We are also making sure that one day is leftover day in which all leftovers are eaten. This can mean an interesting combination for a meal, but everyone is fed and nothing is going to waste. We are also drinking more water during the day and saving tea for mealtimes only.
Household-We had two sets of sheets that had developed rips in them. Grant we haven't bought sheets in years, but the fabric was still actually in very good shape. They just had those annoying tears. I really didn't want to have to buy new sheets this year, as we buy high quality sheets and they tend to be very pricey. So, I have mended both sets this week. They should last at least another year now if the mending holds well. Like I said the overall sheet was in really good shape. Mending the sheets saved me about 200.00. Not bad.
Other- I trimmed Little Britches hair and my hair this week, which saved about 40.00. Also, my car is staying parked as much as possible. Right now I only go somewhere one day a week and do everything I need to do. If there is something I need or my mom needs then my husband will pick it up on his way home from work. I get a gas discount from one of the grocery stores I shop at so that has become my main grocery store. Last month we filled up both cars at the same time and received 25 cents off every gallon of gas. Pretty good savings. When we do this the money saved goes straight into the savings.
So that is about it for this week. Blessings, Kat
Groceries-We had a soup night, a veggie night (veggies came out of the freezer), and a breakfast night. We are also making sure that one day is leftover day in which all leftovers are eaten. This can mean an interesting combination for a meal, but everyone is fed and nothing is going to waste. We are also drinking more water during the day and saving tea for mealtimes only.
Household-We had two sets of sheets that had developed rips in them. Grant we haven't bought sheets in years, but the fabric was still actually in very good shape. They just had those annoying tears. I really didn't want to have to buy new sheets this year, as we buy high quality sheets and they tend to be very pricey. So, I have mended both sets this week. They should last at least another year now if the mending holds well. Like I said the overall sheet was in really good shape. Mending the sheets saved me about 200.00. Not bad.
Other- I trimmed Little Britches hair and my hair this week, which saved about 40.00. Also, my car is staying parked as much as possible. Right now I only go somewhere one day a week and do everything I need to do. If there is something I need or my mom needs then my husband will pick it up on his way home from work. I get a gas discount from one of the grocery stores I shop at so that has become my main grocery store. Last month we filled up both cars at the same time and received 25 cents off every gallon of gas. Pretty good savings. When we do this the money saved goes straight into the savings.
So that is about it for this week. Blessings, Kat
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Tightwad Tip of the Day-Turkey season
Meat is extremely high in cost these days, especially beef. So it is that time of the year when you can reap some serious savings and put some meat in the freezer. Nope, I am not talking about deer season. I am talking about those 79 cent a pound turkeys. Think about it, 79 cents a pound for turkey vs. 4.99 a pound for the cheapest ground beef. I will take the 79 cents a pound. I have been buying 2 turkeys a week since thanksgiving and have a nice little bit of turkey in the freezer. Typically, I only put a couple of whole turkeys straight from the store into the freezer. I choose some smaller turkeys for this, since cooking a whole turkey feeds the 4 of us for a week. Then I buy the biggest size that I can find. I bring it home, let it thaw out if frozen, then I part it up. There are all sorts of ways that you can divvy up a turkey. I will sometimes keep the leg quarters for baking/grilling. Sometimes I will debone the whole turkey and grind it for ground meat. Then sometimes I will grind some, leave some intact pieces, and cut the breasts into cutlets. You can get a variety of cuts from a good sized turkey. Then when I have gotten every last scrap of meat I can off the bone I will make a large stock pot of turkey broth. I always put a few vegetables for added nutrition into our broth and a touch of vinegar to help leach the minerals from the bones. Then I simmer this on very low for about 12 hours. The result is a really nice rich broth, full of nutrition. I use a lot of broth since many times I will drink a cup of hot broth on a cold winter day or have a cup with a meal. So we really go through the broth. Yes, I would rather have my own turkeys going in the freezer. I know they are healthier, but right now for us not practical. This is a great way to add variety to our meat supply and stocking up now when it is so cheap just can't be passed up. So, a few more weeks left of cheap turkeys...don't miss out. Blessings, Kat
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Make some easy Holiday Cash
If you are like me, you are looking at the date and thinking Christmas is right around the corner. This is really the time of year when we could use a little extra cash. Here are three quick and relatively painless ways to make a little extra spending money.
1. Consign those clothes that neither you nor your children wear anymore. The added bonus of this is that you clean out your closets along the way.
2. Sell the books you no longer read or need online. Amazon is a great site for this. The added bonus...your bookshelves get tidied up and you have room to buy more books!
3. Have a yard sale. You can even do this with facebook, in some areas, and don't have to go through the trouble of setting up in your yard. We have a facebook yardsale group for our area. This makes it super easy and the added bonus is that you can clean out and list a little at a time rather than having to do it all at once.
These three things really don't take that much effort. They may not yield a lot of cash, but a little here and there can really add up. Happy money making from the farm. Kat
1. Consign those clothes that neither you nor your children wear anymore. The added bonus of this is that you clean out your closets along the way.
2. Sell the books you no longer read or need online. Amazon is a great site for this. The added bonus...your bookshelves get tidied up and you have room to buy more books!
3. Have a yard sale. You can even do this with facebook, in some areas, and don't have to go through the trouble of setting up in your yard. We have a facebook yardsale group for our area. This makes it super easy and the added bonus is that you can clean out and list a little at a time rather than having to do it all at once.
These three things really don't take that much effort. They may not yield a lot of cash, but a little here and there can really add up. Happy money making from the farm. Kat
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Keeping Wheat Free Affordable
One of the many things I hear or read about the Wheat free lifestyle is that it is expensive. It may seem that way at first, but I have found that I spend about the same amount of money. I just spend it differently. Right now I have no goats in milk and we have used all of our homegrown meat in the freezer. So everything we eat is being purchased, except for vegetables and some fruit that we put up over the summer. So, how is it that our grocery bill is not skyrocketing? Here's how I keep everything within budget.
1. Baking is a treat, not a staple. Almond meal, coconut meal and the like are expensive. I highly recommend buying them in bulk from Amazon because they are much cheaper than being purchased locally. However, they are still expensive. So, now any kind of baked good is a treat. Not a staple. The exception to that rule is the muffins that I make a couple days a week for breakfast because the recipe uses so little.
2. Buy produce in season. This goes for any budget. Right now I can buy fresh broccoli and cauliflower cheap, usually 2 heads for the price of one.
3. Organic meat is best, but if you can't afford it you can't afford it. It really won't kill you to eat non organic for a small portion of your life. It is the consistent exposure, year after year for years and years that will do the damage. So, if you can't get organic, great. If not, don't sweat it.
4. Typically, you can find manager specials early in the morning. These are meats that must be sold or thrown out that day because they have reached their sell by date. There is nothing wrong with this meat, the store just has to move it out. So they mark it down...oftentimes way down. I bought several skirt steaks a couple of weeks ago for 1.50 each. I bought every one that was marked down. It doesn't matter if there is a cut I have never used before, because I can either learn via the internet how to use it or I can grind it up and use it in a ground meat recipe. I also lucked out last week and got grass fed, organic lamb chops marked down. Not nearly as cheap as the skirt steak, but within my budget range and they were huge gorgeous lamb chops. I bought every package of those too. Purchasing the extra gives me some to put in the freezer so that when nothing is on sale at a good price I still have something to eat and I can stay within my budget.
5. I used to go through a lot of flour, which translated to a good portion of our budget. I have eliminated flour and greatly reduced sugar, tea, coffee.
6. We actually consume less food. This means that I cook less food. So those meals that used to be one meal are now two meals. The children don't feel the need to snack as much and aren't always hungry, so that translates into less food going farther for the week. So even though nuts are expensive, a small handful is a serving and satisfies a craving while keeping them feeling satisfied longer than a handful of crackers. Sunflower seeds are really big in our house, we love them. I buy them in buckets containing small packs and they last us a long time. One small serving packet will be a snack all day for us. Whereas before the kids could eat an entire box of cheezits and still be looking for something else to snack on. A 50 cent pack of sunflower seeds or a 3.50 box of cheezits. Hmmmmm....I think the sunflower seeds win in the cost department even though they seem more expensive to begin with.
7. Of course this goes with any budget, wheat free or not, but this summer hit those farmer's markets and u-pick farms and put upall the vegetables and fruit that you can put up cheap. Invest in a big freezer or canner or whatever and put up everything you can. It will save you money in the long run.
I have to admit that when I embarked on this, I was worried. Our food budget is tight, especially when we are still feeding livestock at the moment and getting nothing from them. I couldn't afford a huge increase in groceries. I have found though that with a little planning and maybe a different time schedule (those early morning grocery trips to get those specials)we haven't had that much of an increase, just a little bit. And if needed then I can cut back on the cheese recipes or absolutely no baked treats. It can be adjusted to fit into the budget. Blessings, Kat
1. Baking is a treat, not a staple. Almond meal, coconut meal and the like are expensive. I highly recommend buying them in bulk from Amazon because they are much cheaper than being purchased locally. However, they are still expensive. So, now any kind of baked good is a treat. Not a staple. The exception to that rule is the muffins that I make a couple days a week for breakfast because the recipe uses so little.
2. Buy produce in season. This goes for any budget. Right now I can buy fresh broccoli and cauliflower cheap, usually 2 heads for the price of one.
3. Organic meat is best, but if you can't afford it you can't afford it. It really won't kill you to eat non organic for a small portion of your life. It is the consistent exposure, year after year for years and years that will do the damage. So, if you can't get organic, great. If not, don't sweat it.
4. Typically, you can find manager specials early in the morning. These are meats that must be sold or thrown out that day because they have reached their sell by date. There is nothing wrong with this meat, the store just has to move it out. So they mark it down...oftentimes way down. I bought several skirt steaks a couple of weeks ago for 1.50 each. I bought every one that was marked down. It doesn't matter if there is a cut I have never used before, because I can either learn via the internet how to use it or I can grind it up and use it in a ground meat recipe. I also lucked out last week and got grass fed, organic lamb chops marked down. Not nearly as cheap as the skirt steak, but within my budget range and they were huge gorgeous lamb chops. I bought every package of those too. Purchasing the extra gives me some to put in the freezer so that when nothing is on sale at a good price I still have something to eat and I can stay within my budget.
5. I used to go through a lot of flour, which translated to a good portion of our budget. I have eliminated flour and greatly reduced sugar, tea, coffee.
6. We actually consume less food. This means that I cook less food. So those meals that used to be one meal are now two meals. The children don't feel the need to snack as much and aren't always hungry, so that translates into less food going farther for the week. So even though nuts are expensive, a small handful is a serving and satisfies a craving while keeping them feeling satisfied longer than a handful of crackers. Sunflower seeds are really big in our house, we love them. I buy them in buckets containing small packs and they last us a long time. One small serving packet will be a snack all day for us. Whereas before the kids could eat an entire box of cheezits and still be looking for something else to snack on. A 50 cent pack of sunflower seeds or a 3.50 box of cheezits. Hmmmmm....I think the sunflower seeds win in the cost department even though they seem more expensive to begin with.
7. Of course this goes with any budget, wheat free or not, but this summer hit those farmer's markets and u-pick farms and put upall the vegetables and fruit that you can put up cheap. Invest in a big freezer or canner or whatever and put up everything you can. It will save you money in the long run.
I have to admit that when I embarked on this, I was worried. Our food budget is tight, especially when we are still feeding livestock at the moment and getting nothing from them. I couldn't afford a huge increase in groceries. I have found though that with a little planning and maybe a different time schedule (those early morning grocery trips to get those specials)we haven't had that much of an increase, just a little bit. And if needed then I can cut back on the cheese recipes or absolutely no baked treats. It can be adjusted to fit into the budget. Blessings, Kat
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
A Homemade Christmas
As usual, money is tight for Christmas. We have never been those kind of people who spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on Christmas anyway. This year I am making most of the children's presents, so I thought I would post the list of what I am planning on making in case it gives any of you ideas. I will also try to post tutorials as I make these things or at least pictures of what has been made.
Petunia (age 15)
2 pairs of earrings
2 necklaces
ring
ankle bracelet
1 pair of pajamas
hanging jewelry organizer
Photo/scrap book of our trip to Maine
Katie (age 6)
1 pair of pajamas
2 necklaces
ring
2 bracelets
purse
dress
1 pair of legwarmers
Photo/Scrap book of our trip to Maine
So far this is the list. I might come up with some other things while I am working. I will update this as I go. Blessings, Kat
Petunia (age 15)
2 pairs of earrings
2 necklaces
ring
ankle bracelet
1 pair of pajamas
hanging jewelry organizer
Photo/scrap book of our trip to Maine
Katie (age 6)
1 pair of pajamas
2 necklaces
ring
2 bracelets
purse
dress
1 pair of legwarmers
Photo/Scrap book of our trip to Maine
So far this is the list. I might come up with some other things while I am working. I will update this as I go. Blessings, Kat
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Window Quilts or Bubble Wrap
Well, I have now used both to help keep the drafts out of the house when the cold wind blows. Most years we have put bubble wrap on the windows themselves to add a layer of insulation. On the north side of the house we always put up window quitls as well, but we still would feel drafts. This year I made window quilts for all the windows and I must say the drafts are much much less noticeable. The house is staying much warmer. So, in my opinion the window quilts work better than bubble wrap on the windows. Yesterday, the wind was blowing pretty hard and we could actually watch the quilts move as the wind gusted outside. However, we didn't feel the draft and have stayed nice and cozy in the house. The one drawback is that they block so much light. I used light colored quilts on the south side of the house and some light does shine through. We can also open them to let in light during the day and solar heat from the sunshine. The house is also staying warmer at night with all the quilts drawn. So my vote is that window quilts keep the heat in much better and the cold out than bubble wrap. Blessings, Kat
Saturday, January 5, 2013
52 week Money Challenge
This is a good idea that someone passed on through the Homesteading Today Forums. It is called the 52 week money challenge. It looks like a great way to save money. So the idea is that starting with week one you save 1 dollar. Week 2, 2 dollars. One dollar for every week you are in of the year. Now, at the end of the year this could be pretty difficult for us to put back 40 or 50 so dollars a week. That is a good chunk of change. So what I am planning on doing is putting away more at the beginning so that maybe it isn't so hard at the end of the year. If you do the challenge exactly as planned then you should have over 1300.00 saved by the end of the year. It should be interesting to see how far we can get with this challenge. We are at least going to try. So are you up to the challenge? Blessings, Kat
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Easy Homemade Firestarters
Well, since that familiar chill is in the air in the evenings it has pushed me to do something that I have been putting off all summer...make new firestarters. I know, I know...you can just wad up a bunch of newspaper throw in some sticks and hope it starts. However, if you want something guaranteed to start the first time then either fatlighter or a firestarter is in order. These little handy dandy firestarters are great to make and the really great thing is that they are easily transportable. So here is your step by step how to.
Materials
Dryer lint
paraffin wax
egg carton
In a pot melt some paraffin wax. Depending on how many starters you plan to make. Start with a quarter of a bar and then go from there. Please keep the temp low, paraffin is extremely flammable and if melted over high heat is prone to catch fire. That is good once in the fireplace, but not while it is on your stove.
Place dryer lint in each egg hole in the egg carton. Make sure to really stuff it in there and I always twist a little at the top so that it sticks up. This helps to light it.
Pour melted paraffin over the dryer lint.
Let cool, take out of the egg carton and store. I keep a little bucket by the fireplace for these.
See I told you this was easy. You can make a whole passel of these little babies in no time at all especially if you use several egg cartons. I keep my yucky egg cartons that are a bit worn out and don't really need to hold eggs anymore.
Using the firestarters.
Place a small amount of paper, then kindling in fireplace or stove (wood only please). Then place a firestarter on top of the kindling. Light paper or firestarter or both. As the paraffin melts it will coat the kindling and then catch fire. Dryer lint is highly flammable and will produce a hot burn. This will catch the kindling and keep it burning for it to truly catch and be hot enough to start the wood. You can use just the firestarter, but I find that they can fall through the kindling before it is properly caught, so the paper helps to hold it where it needs to be. Also, I am a creature of habit I suppose. I do know that the firestarters keep one from having to add more paper because the paper burned up way before the kindling really had a chance to get going. Nothing more frustrating than trying to start that early morning fire and the kindling won't catch fast enough. With the firestarters it will catch.
Enjoy!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Tightwad Tips- Saving a Little at a Time
Many years ago I learned a neat little trick for saving money and it really required so little effort and I never missed the money. I started saving my change instead of spending it. For instance, if I bought something that was say 50 cents and paid for it with a dollar bill, the 50 cents change went into my savings jar. Over time that built up quite a lot. We paid off some credit card bills doing this very thing and never missed the money in our budget. Another twist to this trick is to write down a whole dollar amount in your checkbook when you write a check. For instance, if you write a check for 10.15 then round up and write down 11.00. You have then saved 85 cents without really even missing it. Doing this does take some getting used to when it comes to balancing your checkbook, but eventually you learn to ignore the extra in your account. To give a really good example of how much the change in the jar can add up, I will tell you about some friends of ours. For a couple of years they had been putting all their change in jars. Then they decided that they wanted to take the family on vacation so they pulled out all the change jars. After it was all added up they had enough cash to completely pay for the vacation. Folks, they had saved close to a couple thousand dollars in change! They had a nice vacation and didn't have to worry about it putting a strain on their budget. A little really can go a long way when you are diligent. Blessings, Kat
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Rendering Lard
There are many uses for lard so it is handy to know how to render it. Rendering simply means that you are separating the pure fat from the meat and gristle. So I thought I would share how I render my lard.
Step 1. Trim as much meat as possible off the fat.
Step 2. Grind the fat. This doesn't have to be a fine grind, a coarse grind works just fine. If you don't have a grinder you can chop the fat into small bits and this will work also, it will take a bit longer though.
Step 3. Place the lard in a pot or crockpot with 1/4 cup of water and simmer. If you do this on a stove use a medium low setting and if you do this in the crockpot use a low setting. Then cook and cook and cook some more. Periodically you will need to stir the lard so that the cracklins don't burn. This process will take a few hours stove top and about 8 hours in a crockpot depending on the strength of the crockpot. Mine is an el cheapo crockpot so doesn't have a whole lot of kick with temperature. If you have a really nice one it's low setting might be a higher temp. In other words keep an eye on your lard whether using the stove or crockpot.
Step 4: Your cracklins (meat and gristle bits) will sink to the bottom as the fat is separated out. Then they will start to brown a little. At this stage turn off the heat and let them cool for about 10 minutes.
Step 5. Take a strainer and line it with cheese cloth. You can either freeze your lard in chunks or pour it into jars. If you want to freeze it then take a pyrex dish that is square and pour the lard through the strainer. Place the dish in the freezer for a couple hours then cut your lard into chunks to place in a ziploc bag. If you are pouring into a jar then you can let it cool for a bit then place a lid on the jar and store in a cool place. Lard will go rancid if stored in a hot area.
Step 6. Use your lard. Biscuits and pie crusts made with lard are by far the best. Use lard to saute or fry. If your hands are really dry consider rubbing a tiny amount of lard on them. Make soap. Grease your cookie sheets and baking pans.
That is it. It is really an easy process even though it does take some time. You can use this same process for any type of animal fat. Tallow is great for making candles (they smoke alot though) or making soap (makes a nice hard bar) or making a leather preservative lotion. Lard is softer than tallow so don't be surprised if it is really soft at room temperature. Mine stays creamy even in the refrigerator. Oh, and don't throw away those cracklins! Use them for cracklin bread or you can feed them to the chickens, dogs or cats if you really don't like cracklin bread. How can anyone not like cracklin bread?! Use them, they certainly don't belong in the garbage. Blessings, Kat
Step 1. Trim as much meat as possible off the fat.
Step 2. Grind the fat. This doesn't have to be a fine grind, a coarse grind works just fine. If you don't have a grinder you can chop the fat into small bits and this will work also, it will take a bit longer though.
Step 3. Place the lard in a pot or crockpot with 1/4 cup of water and simmer. If you do this on a stove use a medium low setting and if you do this in the crockpot use a low setting. Then cook and cook and cook some more. Periodically you will need to stir the lard so that the cracklins don't burn. This process will take a few hours stove top and about 8 hours in a crockpot depending on the strength of the crockpot. Mine is an el cheapo crockpot so doesn't have a whole lot of kick with temperature. If you have a really nice one it's low setting might be a higher temp. In other words keep an eye on your lard whether using the stove or crockpot.
Step 4: Your cracklins (meat and gristle bits) will sink to the bottom as the fat is separated out. Then they will start to brown a little. At this stage turn off the heat and let them cool for about 10 minutes.
Step 5. Take a strainer and line it with cheese cloth. You can either freeze your lard in chunks or pour it into jars. If you want to freeze it then take a pyrex dish that is square and pour the lard through the strainer. Place the dish in the freezer for a couple hours then cut your lard into chunks to place in a ziploc bag. If you are pouring into a jar then you can let it cool for a bit then place a lid on the jar and store in a cool place. Lard will go rancid if stored in a hot area.
Step 6. Use your lard. Biscuits and pie crusts made with lard are by far the best. Use lard to saute or fry. If your hands are really dry consider rubbing a tiny amount of lard on them. Make soap. Grease your cookie sheets and baking pans.
That is it. It is really an easy process even though it does take some time. You can use this same process for any type of animal fat. Tallow is great for making candles (they smoke alot though) or making soap (makes a nice hard bar) or making a leather preservative lotion. Lard is softer than tallow so don't be surprised if it is really soft at room temperature. Mine stays creamy even in the refrigerator. Oh, and don't throw away those cracklins! Use them for cracklin bread or you can feed them to the chickens, dogs or cats if you really don't like cracklin bread. How can anyone not like cracklin bread?! Use them, they certainly don't belong in the garbage. Blessings, Kat
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Economics of Raising a Hog
While we aren't necessarily concerned with raising hogs for economic reasons it sure helps to see either how well you did or how much in the red that meat put you. So here is the economic lowdown on how we did with the hogs. We will look at the cost and benefit of one hog.
First was the cost of the pig. This was a weaner pig and the cost was 40.00 plus about 10.00 in gas for the drive to pick it up. So 50.00 dollars total.
Second our fence was already in place as the pasture was designed to hold goats, so that was no special cost for us.
Third is the cost of feeding the pig. To start with we had loads of garden produce, goat milk, excess eggs, and kitchen scraps to feed with. I had a couple neighbors that garden and can and they would bring their gardening scraps and cleanings to feed the pigs. During the first several months this made up the majority of the diet of the pigs. They were also fed some oats, alfalfa pellets and black oil sunflower seeds. So from June until mid September it cost approximately 27.00 per pig to feed.
Then our eggs supply went down due to hens going into molt, the garden produce greatly slacked off and the goat milk amount went down. We had loads of pears and they would get a 5 gallon bucket of pears daily, but pears don't have protein. We started to see a slowdown in growth rate and decided that we needed to find a commercial source of protein other than the sunflower seeds as they are tremendously expensive. The pigs were getting to where they didn't eat much of the alfalfa and so increasing that would not do us any good. So about mid September we started adding commercial hog feed to their diet and they started gaining again. During the months of October, November and December their appetite greatly increased. They got pears into November and also as the acorn crop was tremendous they ate alot of those in their pasture and I processed 5-10 lbs. of acorns daily to supplement them and keep the commercial feed down. The last 2 1/2 to 3 months the cost for feed per pig was 64.00 per month.
That brings total feed cost per pig to 313.00.
Now what did we get for that money and did we come out ahead?
I will list what we got by cut or usable piece and then list what it would cost me retail for that piece or poundage. Prices were gathered from my local grocer on December 30th.
20 lbs. nitrate free bacon 5.49/pound or 109.8
5 lbs. sausage 3.50 per pound or 17.50
12 pkgs. of 6 boneless loin chops 6.35 per pkg or 76.20
2 tenderloins 14.00 a piece or 28.00
2 racks of spareribs 12.44 a rack or 24.88
2 racks of baby back ribs 16.69 a rack or 33.38
4 4lb. boston butts 12.78 each or 51.12
4 5 lb. picnics 14.00 each or 56.00
2 whole hams (country cured and smoked) 50.83 each or 101.66
4 lbs. hocks 2.19/lb. or 8.76
4 lbs. lard 3.00/lb. or 12.00
1 loin roast 2.99/pound or 8.97
18 dog bones like you would find at the pet store 4.00 each or 72.00
A week's worth of dog food (internal organs) 18.99
Things that I couldn't find prices on:
5 lbs. cracklins
4 trotters
So total cost to have purchased all this pork retail would have been 619.26 not including the cost of the trotters or cracklins. So total savings was 306.26. Now this is comparing to retail cost of typical commercially raised grocery store meat which is not really that comparable. To compare our hog with retail cost of pastured pork the savings doubles or triples. However, since ours were not completely organically fed even though pastured the entire time I stuck with typical grocery store retail prices. Pastured pork, however is typically double to triple that cost depending on where in the country you are. Still not a bad savings of just over 300.00 dollars per hog. I know what I have in my freezer is much healthier and much much more flavorful than what can be purchased in the grocery store. Must have been all those acorns and pears!
Was it worth it? Absolutely! Will we do it again? You bet! Blessings, Kat
First was the cost of the pig. This was a weaner pig and the cost was 40.00 plus about 10.00 in gas for the drive to pick it up. So 50.00 dollars total.
Second our fence was already in place as the pasture was designed to hold goats, so that was no special cost for us.
Third is the cost of feeding the pig. To start with we had loads of garden produce, goat milk, excess eggs, and kitchen scraps to feed with. I had a couple neighbors that garden and can and they would bring their gardening scraps and cleanings to feed the pigs. During the first several months this made up the majority of the diet of the pigs. They were also fed some oats, alfalfa pellets and black oil sunflower seeds. So from June until mid September it cost approximately 27.00 per pig to feed.
Then our eggs supply went down due to hens going into molt, the garden produce greatly slacked off and the goat milk amount went down. We had loads of pears and they would get a 5 gallon bucket of pears daily, but pears don't have protein. We started to see a slowdown in growth rate and decided that we needed to find a commercial source of protein other than the sunflower seeds as they are tremendously expensive. The pigs were getting to where they didn't eat much of the alfalfa and so increasing that would not do us any good. So about mid September we started adding commercial hog feed to their diet and they started gaining again. During the months of October, November and December their appetite greatly increased. They got pears into November and also as the acorn crop was tremendous they ate alot of those in their pasture and I processed 5-10 lbs. of acorns daily to supplement them and keep the commercial feed down. The last 2 1/2 to 3 months the cost for feed per pig was 64.00 per month.
That brings total feed cost per pig to 313.00.
Now what did we get for that money and did we come out ahead?
I will list what we got by cut or usable piece and then list what it would cost me retail for that piece or poundage. Prices were gathered from my local grocer on December 30th.
20 lbs. nitrate free bacon 5.49/pound or 109.8
5 lbs. sausage 3.50 per pound or 17.50
12 pkgs. of 6 boneless loin chops 6.35 per pkg or 76.20
2 tenderloins 14.00 a piece or 28.00
2 racks of spareribs 12.44 a rack or 24.88
2 racks of baby back ribs 16.69 a rack or 33.38
4 4lb. boston butts 12.78 each or 51.12
4 5 lb. picnics 14.00 each or 56.00
2 whole hams (country cured and smoked) 50.83 each or 101.66
4 lbs. hocks 2.19/lb. or 8.76
4 lbs. lard 3.00/lb. or 12.00
1 loin roast 2.99/pound or 8.97
18 dog bones like you would find at the pet store 4.00 each or 72.00
A week's worth of dog food (internal organs) 18.99
Things that I couldn't find prices on:
5 lbs. cracklins
4 trotters
So total cost to have purchased all this pork retail would have been 619.26 not including the cost of the trotters or cracklins. So total savings was 306.26. Now this is comparing to retail cost of typical commercially raised grocery store meat which is not really that comparable. To compare our hog with retail cost of pastured pork the savings doubles or triples. However, since ours were not completely organically fed even though pastured the entire time I stuck with typical grocery store retail prices. Pastured pork, however is typically double to triple that cost depending on where in the country you are. Still not a bad savings of just over 300.00 dollars per hog. I know what I have in my freezer is much healthier and much much more flavorful than what can be purchased in the grocery store. Must have been all those acorns and pears!
Was it worth it? Absolutely! Will we do it again? You bet! Blessings, Kat
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