Some New Resources and A Grocery Buying Tip

 

Happy Wednesday friends!

I have so many things on my mind to share this morning, so I'll just jump right in. First, I have to share a new YouTube channel I've been watching, because the lady is such a comforting voice in all the noise of today. Her channel is called The Unimportant Homemaker . I just love when YouTube suggests a channel to me that ends up being a blessing, and this one certainly has been.

She shares a look into her daily life, with a beautiful attitude and a love for God and her family and a real home that isn't Instagram curated, which is so refreshing. If you want to see someone sharing real life homemaking, I hope you'll take a look at Jacqueline's channel.

So, speaking of homemaking, I shared a while back about how I sometimes like to stock up on paper goods and non-food items at the beginning of the month. That leaves just food shopping during the week. But I wanted to share another strategy I use, when I get bored with the once-a-month method, which is creating a staples list and adding to it, with every weekly trip. Let me explain...

But first, a look back at the "old days" when I used to be so organized. Yes, I say the "old days" because the older I get, it seems I tend to wing things a lot more than I used to!

When David and I were newly married, I would cook the same exact meals every single week. I would buy the same groceries every week, cook the same meals and we liked it.

When our first son came along, I had a master grocery list, typed out in the order of the aisles of the grocery store I shopped at, and I took the same exact route every week, through the store, only buying what I knew we needed, off the list.

These days it seems my mind is all over the place and my meal plan and grocery list look different every week.

But, there is a small bit of organization that is easy to focus on and easy to add to my ever-changing food list every week, which is this:

I list a few essential items that I always want to have on hand and I buy a small quantity every week. This is the opposite of buying everything once a month and easier to create a stockpile, if you're interested in doing that.

So, for instance, I like to buy a 4 pack of toilet paper, 2 pack of paper towels, 1 box of kleenex, 1 tube of toothpaste, and a few other items every week, along with my food items. This is not a burden on the budget, because it's a small amount of things, so it's very doable. You can even designate a certain amount to spend on the non-food items, such as $25. This would get you a fair amount of items and they would create a nice little stock pile eventually.

By shopping this way, even for food items, such as sugar, bread, 1 lb. ground beef, 1 bottle ketchup, etc., you can slowly create a surplus, without it feeling like you're spending way over your budget.

I know some will stock up on items as they see them on sale, but this is different. I don't necessarily watch for sales and stock up, because I think it will all even out, at some point. In other words, just add a little at a time, each week, and you won't have to buy 15 cans of tomato sauce, just because they're on sale.

There are probably a dozen ways to buy what we need, but it's always good to hear other's ideas, in case it clicks with you.

Dinner News...

Last night we had family dinner and everything I cooked was gluten free and everything was delicious! I bought a new cookbook called Instant Loss on a Budget and she has some really good recipes for anyone wanting to eat gluten and dairy free.

I made a dish called Sausage Pizza Pasta, with gluten free pasta, which tasted so good. I also made one of my own recipes for a Vanilla Cake, but used Pamela's gluten free flour, instead of regular flour and you couldn't tell the difference. We had cool whip, strawberries and chocolate chips on top of the cake and it was so YUM!

So, I'm just sharing that in case anyone has a family member or themselves, who need some G-free ideas.

I will say that the G-free world has come so far and that makes life so much easier for those with sensitivities.

My dad suffered with Celiac disease for many years and the doctors didn't really know how to guide him. My sisters and I did all the research we could back then, trying to find foods that he would like, but other than a few lists of foods that were safe, there weren't a lot of resources at the grocery stores.

Cottage News...

My roses are growing and producing huge blooms. However, after the first bloom smelled so amazing, none of the other blooms have even the slightest smell. What is happening?

Also, when I went outside yesterday afternoon, I almost stepped on a big, black snake. So I've decided never to go outside again.

Well, that's it for today, folks. I've got a hair appointment today and then it's home to hopefully work on my never ending project of putting pictures in photo albums. I'm determined to get the pictures out of boxes and onto the shelf!

I hope you have a wonderful day and are blessed with all the little things today.

Until Next Time...

Blessings!