Monday, September 30, 2013

On other notes...

On other notes, we're still working on the house and eating up what we have.  I did have a slip and bought a ton of stuff on sale/clearance for the pantry.  *sigh*  I'm really not a hoarder, but I am indeed a stock piler.  Hubby said enough is enough and I know he's right.  Mostly because I can't get into the pantry anymore.  I did get it all organized and put in there after a bit of re-organizing and moving some things up, but that was a lot of work and now I know that I've got to cut back.  I know it makes sense to get good deals, but if we were to move, we'd lose a lot of that food.  Especially in the freezer.  So, I'm going to try really hard.  REALLY hard to only buy what we need fresh and no more stocking.  On food.  ;)

Our biggest issue is that over time, we purchased things to try or we had ideas at the time but now they have just sat and not been used.  Or other things that we got thinking that we would use but we haven't used up quite fast enough.  Like, I bought these carbonated grapefruit juices.  I LOVED them last year so when they were on sale, I went ahead and bought a couple of cartons.  Well... we found a few cans the other day that had gotten pushed to the back of the pantry.  I wasn't feeling well and thought hey, that'll help settle my tummy like a 7UP!  Uhhh.. NO.  They were nasty and tasted like crap.  :/  Who knew?  I didn't.  I thought drinks like that would hold up for a VERY long time.  But I was wrong.  So, now I fear that many things we bought thinking they would keep may not.  Yet another reason not to keep buying and to slowly but surely be making our way through what we have!  

Another goal we've been working on is not wasting so much food.  The compost thing is sucking right now with fruit fly's so bad.  Drives me nuts!  So, I am looking for a new container that will work.  I may have found one, just need to find the time to go and get it.  But we've just been trying to be better about either eating leftovers or feeding them to the dogs or composting.  I must say I don't think we were up to scratch this week so we will have to work on that some more.  It seems like it isn't bad unless there are a LOT of leftovers.  Then they build up and we just don't eat them.  Lately the worst is pizza and meat.  :/

We've also managed to get a few things done around the house but the one crucial thing I need to get done which is caulking!  The stink bugs have been out in FORCE and I can't be out there working with them everywhere.  I just can't.  They fly and buzz and have NO concern for where they are going or who they are hitting.  I can't be up two stories on a ladder with them buzzing me non-stop.  So until they clear out some, I am forced to put it off.  I should've worked on it today -- knocking down and cleaning off webs, caulking and getting prepared for paint.  But I ended up working on the side flower bed all day.  It was cool with only a smidge of humidity.  We had put doing that work off for a while, so it was nice to get it done.  There is always more to do, but already it looks so much better.  I just need another few days of nice weather to really bust it out outside.  I need to look over the hubby's schedule and the weather. But even then, a lot depends on our mood and how we feel.  But being outside today and being able to get things done since it wasn't scorching hot or raining was so nice.  And since it was only the low 70's, even the bugs were tolerable!

Well, considering this is the SECOND post today, I probably should bring this to an end soon and go to get in the bed.  Well, if my youngest will ever go to sleep!  I also should shower... yeah... a shower would be good but I'm not sure it is going to happen at this rate.  :/  Anyways, all in all, still plugging on and hoping to move forward. 

What are you up to friends?  Lately, it feels like a ghost town....

3 comments:

  1. Oooh, no food wasting! Learn to rework your leftovers into new meals. Once you get the hang of it, it's actually really fun. Leftovers turn into soups, burritos, and pot pies very easily!! Another great thing to do is create breakfast skillets out of your leftovers. Leftovers that you feel pretty meh about (or you have had them three nights in a row, and are sick of them) can be pureed, frozen, and then used as a stock replacement in future meals. Seriously- I blend up leftovers we are sick of with a little water, and that stuff makes fabulous stock. You can freeze it in one or two cup bags.
    We also have a rule that nothing new gets made if there are more than two pots/bowls/containers in the fridge with leftovers in them. Sometimes if we try a new recipe and it is a total flop, I'll just feed it to the dog as long as there aren't a buttload of night shade veggies in it (tomatoes, onion, eggplant).

    When I first moved to Florida and stayed with my uncle and cousin, I could not believe the amount of food that they wasted. My aunt had converted an entire bedroom into a pantry, but they had stuff in there for so long that the oils had gone rancid. Like, seriously, have you ever experienced crackers that are so old the oil has gone bad? It is nasty. Takes a very long time to get there too. I cleaned their pantry out once, and there were just hundreds and hundreds of dollars of stuff that was bad. I'm not just talking expiration date either. Food can be good way past those dates, but if you are stockpiling and letting stuff go for years you aren't saving money any more- ya know? I'm sure you aren't that bad though.

    http://thetenmoons.blogspot.com/

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    1. Yeah, we've let the whole leftovers thing slide for a bit but are getting back on track now. I've been doing MUCH better this week! :D I'm pretty darn good about it until we have so much 'fresh' in the house. Then I just want to gorge on fruit and veggies and other stuff be damned! LOL You're right on the pantry! It's why I've cut back. So far, so good. Every day we are making an effort to try to eat something out of the pantry along with the fresh items. It's going pretty well! :D

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    2. And by the by, I somehow have not added THAT blog to my list! SO SORRY! I just added it and updated. I will be reading over the next couple of days to catch up!!!

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