When every penny counts, you want to make the most of your household budget. To stretch your hard-earned dollars even further, why not try some unorthodox ways to save money in the kitchen?
1. Wash and Reuse Aluminum Foil and Zip-Closure Bags
I can't be the only one whose parents ran a thrifty kitchen. This was one of my mom's favorite strategies.
Wash out your tinfoil and zip-closure bags, let them air dry and use them again. Some people advise against reusing plastic bags that have had raw meat or moldy food in them, but most plastic bags can be used many times before they start to degrade.
2. Use Rags Instead of Paper Towels
You've probably seen those commercials where people show off the strength of their paper towel by wringing out the towel like it was a rag.
Well, why not just use a rag? You'll save money on paper towels and never have to worry about an empty roll! Simply cut up an old T-shirt or some old socks to create your own cleaning rags.
3. Turn Leftover Veggies and Bones into Stock
This tip helps keep food waste to a minimum — even food you wouldn't normally think of eating.
Get a few more meals out of your veggie peels, ends, bones, and meat scraps before throwing them away. Find a good stock recipe, toss in your leftovers and simmer. Try this vegetable stock recipe, or follow these guidelines to make beef, turkey or chicken stock.
4. Freeze Seasonal Produce
Don't pay for out-of-season produce. Buy fruits and veggies at their cheapest, then freeze them to last all year.
Some items are more appetizing frozen whole, while others are better in pieces or pureed. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has helpful guides for freezing everything from apples to zucchini.
5. Learn How to Can Food
Here's another one you might have seen your grandma doing: canning food. Home canning is a staple of money-saving kitchens, although it's becoming more of a trend as people realize it's a great way to enjoy their favorite fruits and veggies all winter long.
You'll want to be careful, because improperly canned food can carry botulism. For meat, seafood or vegetables, you should use a pressure canner and follow guidelines like the USDA's Complete Guide to Home Canning. Canning fruit using a water-bath canner? Make sure to boil your canning for as long as the recipe says, adding an additional minute for every 1,000 ft above sea level to account for the effects of altitude on boiling temperature.
Many bruised fruits and vegetables are totally safe to eat, as long as you avoid anything with mold or where the bruise has broken the skin.
Go to a farmer's market and ask if the vendors have any "seconds," or fruits and vegetables that might be too bruised to display. Bruised bananas make the best banana bread!
7. Bake in Ceramic or Glass Dishes
Ceramic and glass containers conduct heat better than metal containers, according to Adria Vasil, author of Ecoholic.
The next time you bake that cake or casserole, use a ceramic or glass dish. You'll be able to reduce your oven temperature by about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, which saves both energy and money!
8. Turn the Heat Off When Cooking Pasta
When you cook pasta, let it boil for about two or three minutes, then turn off the heat and keep the lid closed, recommends Vasil. Your pasta will cook perfectly in about 15-20 minutes, though the first time you try this, you may want to test it sooner than that to find the perfect amount of time for your brand of noodles.
9. Make Your Own Cleaning Products
Don't forget about saving money when you clean up!
You may already be familiar with vinegar and baking soda cleaners, but take a look at this list of 52 DIY Natural Cleaners and learn how to make even more cleaning products to help you scrub and disinfect.
Do you do all of these things? Why or why not? What ideas would you add to this list?
Kyle Taylor is the founder of The Penny Hoarder, a popular blog about weird ways to earn and save money. His blog is read by more than 5 million readers a month and has been featured on Oprah.com, ABC News, Men’s Health and Woman's World magazine
We had a full week last week and I finally have a chance to sit down and write a recap of it! Here are some peeks into our week to give you a behind-the-scenes look into our daily lives…
After 5 years of training, I now have my own in-house breakfast chef. Fried eggs are his specialty and he can make them completely by himself now (I just oversee since it involves a stove!)
Moms of littles, it might feel like all you do is change diapers and clean up messes and cook food and wipe noses and fold yet another load of laundry and feel constantly pulled in 15 different directions. But hear me on this: someday soon, all that effort and training and work is going to pay off. And even though right now it might feel like that day will never come, it will. Don’t give up! It will be worth it!
All on her own, Kathrynne decided she wanted to start helping Silas learn how to read. He’s been discouraged because blending and phonics don’t come easily to him (unlike math) and he really wants to learn how to read.
So Kathrynne asked me if while I continue to work with him on phonics and sounding out words, she could teach him some sight words so he could at least read more than the handful of words he knows now.
Seeing them work so hard together on this just touches me deeply and blesses this mama-heart in big ways! These are the mothering moments I will forever treasure!
On Monday afternoon, I went to the coffee shop to soak in a little quiet before a busy week of filming began. It’s always good to get some writing and blogging work done and write love notes to some of my favorite people.
{One of my goals for 2015 was to write a love note to each of my kids every month. It’s a simple thing, but the act of stopping to reflect and express appreciation and admiration not only can deeply impact another life, but it’s also so good for your soul. If you are too busy to stop and say “thank you” and “I love you” — you are just plain too busy.}
Tuesday, we spent the day prepping our house for the film shoot, spending hours meeting about the scripts for each of the videos– revising/rewriting/and editing, etc. — and then our team went out to dinner that night.
These two girls and all their hours and hours of behind-the-scenes work made the filming possible. I am incredibly grateful for all they invest in my life on a daily basis (Joy is one of my managers and Ashley is my brand-new, amazing executive assistant!)
Wednesday, we filmed all day long. And I truly mean that.
We started at 8:30 a.m. and I got done around 9:30 p.m.We had a few short breaks, but we were mostly working every minute of that whole entire time. I will have a whole new appreciation for well-done videos and course and films in the future!
Whew! It was exhausting and it took me awhile to find my groove, but once I found it, things got easier and easier as we went along.
I learned so much from this film shoot — what works, what doesn’t work, and how I need to better prepare. Hopefully, the next time we attempt a project like this, it will go much smoother as a result of what we learned!
For those of you who are wondering: we filmed 14 “days” of videos on a subject I’m fiercely passionate about: using your mornings well to set your day up for success. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it because we truly believe the final product will be one that powerful impacts and inspires thousands of lives! I can’t wait to share it with you very soon!
On Thursday, we shot hours of our every day home and lives in action. From our morning routine and making breakfast (in our PJs) to homeschooling to reading aloud to household chores and much more, we wanted to give you a really authentic look into how our mornings run.
It was another very long day, but it was fun and stretching — and such a blessing to get to do this as a family. Our kids learned so much about film and production today and were such troopers for all the takes and re-takes we did!
On Friday, we had a pretty laid-back, family day. And then I took this beautiful girl to get her hair done all fancy for the Father-Daughter dance at church.
She had a BLAST — not only getting all fancy, but also getting to have a very special evening with her daddy! I failed to get pictures of she and Jesse when they were all dressed up, but they had professional pictures taken at the dance, so I can’t wait until we get those back!
Saturday morning, I woke up at 3:40 a.m. to catch an early flight to Denver to go see some of my dearest friends: Michele Cushatt, Kathi Lipp, and Renee Swope. I was supposed to get into Denver at 11:30 a.m. However, it turned out to be a crazy morning of mishaps and airport fiascos and I didn’t even make it to Chicago until after 10:30 a.m. and then had to wait for the only available flight out to Denver from Chicago — 5 1/2 hours later.
But instead of feeling frustrated over things that were outside my control, I decided to choose gratitude and just enjoy the quiet and opportunity to read and write than an unexpected long layover at the airport afforded me!
The four of us have spent the last two days laughing, crying, talking, laughing, crying, and just soaking up the opportunity for all of us to be together. These girls are some of my dearest friends and we’ve been itching to get together — especially because we’ve been walking through Michele’s cancer and surgeries and chemo and radiation with her and it hurts our hearts so much that we all live in different states. Watching Michele suffer and struggle and go through so much has been incredibly hard for each of us these past few months, so to finally be together again has been very healing for all of us.
We are also excited to be here to celebrate the launch of Michele’s book (it officially releases today!). I’ll be sharing more about her book and how it’s impacted me later on this week. For now, I just want to encourage you to go check it out on Amazon. It is truly one of the most well-written books I’ve ever read.
If you (or someone you know) is going through a really difficult time right now, I cannot encourage you enough: go pick up a copy of Michele’s book. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will be so encouraged by her words and story.
How was YOUR week this past week? Tell us about it in the comments!
With the filming last week, I decided to take the week off from setting 10 goals and just focus my energies on all the details of the filming. That turned out to be a good call as things took longer and required more time and energy than I’d anticipated.
How did you do on last week's goals? What are your goals for this week? I'd love to have you share your progress on last week's goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you've blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let's cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
