Living with Less
I really enjoyed today’s Oprah show about living with less. This is a topic that has been on my mind for a while, in fact Chris & I were just discussing our $10/week soda habit last night. We were a two income couple for many years and developed lots of bad habits- like paper plates, water bottles, wasting food, eating out, too many gadgets, wasting gas. Here’s just some of the areas I think we can cut from our grocery budget alone:
- We spend $10/week for bread (white & wheat loaves and usually a loaf from the bakery and rolls). I just got a bread maker and will make our own.
- $10/week for 1 lb of Boar’s Head turkey lunch meat (which sometimes doesn’t even get finished). We will get a bag of chicken from Costco ($13 for 6 lbs) and cook it for sandwiches, or a huge spiral ham for $20 and eat off it forever.
- $5/week for bottled water. There is nothing wrong with our tap water.
- $10/week for soda. Cut back to one soda a day
- $5/week for paper plates, napkins, towels, plastic ziploc bags, etc. I have at least 5 different sets of dishes which we will use, along with cloth napkins/towels and reusable storage containers.
This is going to sound completely crazy to those of you that know me in real life, but I’d love to start a garden. I’d want a little salsa section with tomatoes, red onions, cilantro and peppers. Then maybe some green beans, cucumbers and strawberries. Organically grown veggies and fruit can get pricey. I’d love to have fresh, cheap produce. Then reality hits me and I realize that will never happen. I’m a little too “Eva Gabor from Green Acres.” I don’t like dirt, bugs, being outside, you know.
I’m really inspired to see what else we can live without, which should free up more $$ to go towards retirement savings and Daphne’s college fund. Here’s the link to Oprah’s Living With Less Challenge rules if you are interested.
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I agree. We have been trying to cut back for awhile now on these things. I forwarded you an email from King Arthur Flour about saving money on baking your own bread. It saves about 50% in comparision to buying bread. I think the taste and quality is better too. I have some proven recipes for the breadmaker for hot dog buns, hamburger buns and other types of bread. Daddy really likes the french bread recipe I have and it is so easy. You know you can have the type of garden you are wanting by using oak wine barrels. Maybe a salsa barrel (tomato, peppers) and then a dessert (maragerita?)barrel (strawberries.) You need to ask Daddy about green beans and cucumbers. Remember our big garden at the house on Osage? The beans had to be staked and the cucumbers took over along with the squash! We also had a lot of tomatoes too. Just get some gardening gloves and you will be set. I was also thinking that you have the water filter pitcher, so that would be a savings over the bottled water. I didn’t see Oprah today, so thanks for the link.
I did see that show today. I usually don’t like oprah but I enjoyed her today. While the discarding paper plates is completely unpractical in our house without a dishwasher, I am going to try some of her tips too. Can you believe that mom took her kid to starbucks a couple of times a week!
I want to see mom making hotdog buns!
I know! We didn’t even get to drink pop when we were kids. Well, on weekends maybe.
You know I buy freshly baked hot dog buns sometimes at Whole Foods and they are awesome! I’d probably try to make my own too, because the Sinai Kosher dogs I like from Costco are long and I can never find buns to fit. Damn, now I want a Costco dog.
Actually, making hotdog buns is very easy! You take the dough, shape it the size and shape you want, let it rise a little and then bake it in the oven. I make the dough in the breadmaker, but now that I have my new Cuisinart stand mixer, I am going to try using it to make dough too.