DO: The Great Thrift Challenge! Don't Throw It Out!

It's kind of funny how we all think we are so hip about being into conservation and "being green", like we thought of it!  We are listening to Little House in the Big Woods in our car. The kids love it and so do I. I love learning about how simply they lived. How they made do with so little. Lives that discouraged wastefulness and materialism. That is one of my goals this year, to live a simpler and more frugal lifestyle. I hope this post will get your wheels turning!

Two bald eagles on my Dad's farm. So beautiful! Love the gnarly trees too. 

My dad is a farmer. And it is always an "education" going back home to visit. I never know where to put my garbage! He doesn't have a trash service, so this is what he does...

1. Paper garbage - gets burned.

FOOD:

1. The meat goes to the dog. 

2. The rest of the food goes to the chickens. (his eggs are unbelievable!) 

3. Compost everything from tea bags, old newspapers, leaves, and obviously a lot of inedible food scraps such as egg shells, etc.

(the two things you don't want to compost is weeds, for obvious reasons - and meat, you don't want to attract any wild animals to your compost pile!) 

How cute is this compost pile? If you don't have this much room,  see picture below. 

I love this quote by Benjamin Franklin;

Frugality - 

Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; 

that is, waste nothing.

So, this week, we are concentrating on using items we may have formerly thrown out...to stretch our grocery dollars even farther.

DON'T THROW IT OUT YET!

FRUIT: When fruit is past it's prime and you know no one in your house is going to eat that spotty banana (or strawberry, blueberry, etc.). Peel it/them, pop them into a freezer bag and put them in the freezer. You can make banana bread or muffins later. 


This doesn't just apply to banana's...my niece, Sarah Jelica, freezes her berries that are past prime (but not rotten!). Then, when she has enough, she uses them to make homemade jam. She gives it out as gifts...so nice! I use my frozen berries in smoothies, along with frozen bananas. Sweetness!

BREAD: Bread getting stale? Make french toast or grind it up in a food processor, add some herbs and you have your own homemade bread crumbs! Just think, you throw away your old bread and then purchase bread crumbs. How silly is that??

JUICE: Don't drain your pineapple juice from the can. Use it up in a smoothie.

EGGS: If you used the yolks of an egg, but not the whites. Put them in an ice cube tray and freeze them. Then, once frozen, pop them out of the tray and put them in freezer bags to be used later. Don't forget to label the bag. :) I've done that...and after all that forethought,  you don't want to end up throwing it out anyway, because you have no idea if it is pineapple juice or an egg white. ewww!

VEGGIE SCRAPS: All vegatable scraps - composte them! Good for your garden and the environment. If you don't have a composter, just put your egg shells and banana peels in the freezer. Then, in the spring, work them into your flowers or garden soil. 

BAGS: Plastic bags - use them in your trash cans. I know they aren't as cute as the smell good kind, but seriously how silly is it to throw away plastic bags and then purchase more?


Leftover juices, smoothies: Freeze them for home made popsicles. Much more healthy than the ones you purchase at the store. 

Small Composter: This is a great option for people that have a small area. Just chicken wire, stakes and 2x4's! 

We were blessed to go to France back in 2002. Everything there is so TINY! I loved it! French people are famous for their frugality and making their dollars stretch. We, Americans have a lot to learn about making our money work for us, instead of the other way around. In our economy, I think we should be expending much more effort in learning ways we can live with less. Less income, less unnecessary spending, less waste and more freedom! This is obviously not a definitive list, but, just something to get you thinking of how you can reduce your waste and help make your grocery dollars stretch farther. Get creative!
God bless, Kristen