We live in a throw away world. From razors, gloves, towels, cameras to dishes and everything in between. We seem to find it so much easier just to toss something then repair it and keep it. Years ago you would buy an item and expect it to last your lifetime but alas not only are things made to be disposable but they aren’t made to last -  at all. I have bought two larger items just in the past week and both of them broke before I even used them once.

Anyway that is another whole article in and of itself. Today I want to mention one thing we can fix and keep and that is our clothes. We tend to view our clothes as disposable too when we could make them last so much longer with just a little care and part of that care is mending.

I know that is now an old fashion word but it could really save many of us a great deal of money if we would start doing it. It doesn’t take a lot of work or education to learn how to sew on a button or to mend a simple seam. To get a little personal I had a pair of panties which had the elastic ripped about 2 inches. Many would have tossed them and bought more. It took me all of 5 minutes to sew it back together and they looked as good as new.

Another reason we should mend is to help our families look neater and nicer. Even though it is not politically correct to believe it, clothes do make the man  but we  send our kids often out the door with torn clothing each morning. Even if everyone else is doing it does it really make it right?

I know it is hard sometimes when you are tired or don’t feel well to keep up on these things but let’s be honest do we find time to do other things like play on the computer, talk on the phone or watch TV? Mending takes as much energy as some of these things yet we don’t have the strength or time to do it.

I know it is hard to get motivated but here are a couple of tips to help make it easier for you.

~ If you don’t know how to mend, learn. Have someone show you or look on the Internet to find out. We think nothing of spending years and huge sums of money to get an education in so many areas which often we don’t use but don’t bother to take a very small amount of time and usually little money to learn to sew on a button. That is knowledge we will use if not daily at least weekly all of our lives.

~Keep a small sewing basket with thread, scissors, seam ripper, pins and needles etc. by the chair you sit in in the evening to have everything handy. Basic neutral thread colors to keep in it are light gray, medium gray, cream, white and black. If you don’t have a lot of room wind some on a small card or bobbin to keep in your basket.

I didn’t know for years that light or medium gray make a great neutral thread so these are important to have but adapt the threads in your basket to your family. For example you may want to keep some brown, red, navy or with little girls in the house some pink.

~Keep a pin cushion with needles already threaded with white, black, brown, navy, cream, red and medium gray in it by your washer and dryer. If you find a stray button or see something has a small tear you can fix right then which can keep the tear from getting worse or you forgetting to do it latter.

Something small like this will only take a few seconds and it will be done. There is nothing more frustrating too then to put a shirt on in a hurry and find a button missing so this could help eliminate small stresses in your family’s and your life.

Jill

We don’t have cable now and I have been missing my decorating shows. Even though some of those shows are way out there you can get some good ideas to make it a cheaper.

Well, I got the bright idea a few weeks ago to look at real estate in Colorado and see if we should try and move back.  As I was looking I found the perfect house!

I’m not sure why everyone laughed when they saw the price but I figured “hey why not shoot for best?”

Anyway, I got to thinking, if you need some decorating ideas look at houses like this. They will give you some good ideas that you can do at home. Remember paint is cheap!

Tawra

P.S What is this about moving, again? (this will be my 15th move in 17 years. No we aren’t n the military, just nuts!)

I am a type A personality. I am the only person I know who gets these thoughts in her head. Here was my conversation with myself.

“I wonder when we should go to Colorado this summer for 2 weeks.” (this is the only place we go on vacation because we can stay with family.)

“Wow, we really should go in August because I don’t want to deal with the heat and humidity here.”

“Hum, Mike’s folks were wanting to rent out their rental to long term renters maybe we could stay a month.”

“I really don’t want to even be here for the summer, maybe we could pack up the kids and stay the summer? We can take the business with us.”

“Maybe I will just go look at real estate prices, they say they are falling there.”

I went to look at prices on realtor.com.

(Call to Mike) “I think we should move to Colorado.”

Mike: “Let’s go, how fast can we get there?”

“OK, we will look at houses when we go back next time in a few weeks”

All that happened in about 10 minutes.

What drives my family crazy is that I do this all the time! I will just get an idea in my head and then start running with it!

(Tawra Thinking-”Hum, when should we take our Colorado vacation? Let’s just save some time and move there instead!” LOL)

That’s how this book and website got started!

Anyway, I have been painting everything that needs it and getting ready in case we decide to go ahead and put the house on the market and move.  All that because I was thinking for 10 minutes! LOL

What she failed to mention was that means I too need to plan on moving. Where the grandkids go I must follow. I always say since the first day my first child (Tawra) was born I have been exhausted and continue to be exhausted. It didn’t get any better when she grew up and moved away from home. I don’t want to discourage any of you new parents out there who think it gets easier as they grow up but it doesn’t they just multiply and you have more : ) not that I mind.

I haven’t even gotten everything unpacked from my last move. Now that’s rough or the bright side is I won’t have to pack as much.

Jill

Many of you are busy deep cleaning right now but there still is all the every day jobs to keep up with. Here is some ideas on how to do your daily jobs (starting with the kitchen) quickly so you can get on to the big stuff. Some people do things differently and in different order so this is just a suggestion to help you get started.

Clean You Kitchen In Seven Easy Steps

1. Put all dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Fill the sink with hot soapy water and put the hand washables in it to soak.

2. Wipe off counter tops and tables with hot soapy water. (This way, if you have unexpected company your table and counters are clean they will think you have been cleaning all morning.)

3. Sweep the floor and shake throw rugs if needed.

4. Wash the dishes that have been soaking.

5. Wipe down the faucets and dry with a towel. (Be sure to wipe any sticky appliances, too.)

6. Put out a clean dishcloth and towel.

7. Take out the trash.

Jill

Add a pinch or two of cinnamon to your baked beans.

Add a 1/2 cup of sour cream to banana pudding. I have found adding sour cream to a lot of recipes gives it a creamier texture and cuts the sweetness.

Add cinnamon and/or vanilla to your pancake batter.

To make French toast crisper add Tbsp. of flour to the eggs mixture.

Eggs on Toast Dessert

This is a fun snack or treat to have for an after school snack or for a special brunch.

1 can peach halves

1 pound cake

1 carton whipped topping

Cut pound cake in 1/2 in. slices. Spread with a large circle of whipped topping. Place a peach half on top of topping. It should look like a fried egg. : )

Jill

I have been hitting the newsletter and the blog pretty heavy the past few days on the subject of getting organized, weight loss and getting out of debt but this morning I am taking a quick turn for the moment.

While I was looking up something to answer a readers question a came across some notes I had written years ago in a class I had taken. We get so many questions over and over about meals and meal planning and when I saw this statement I thought this is like Meal Planning 101. It is clear, simple and pretty much covers everything you need to know when fixing a meal.

I know I have now got your curiosity up ( I hope) so here it goes:

Meals should be planned, regular,on time, taste good, be nutritious, fit budget, smell good and be attractive.

It might help to write this statement out and keep it in your kitchen some where or with your coupons and meal planning things because as you plan your meals you can go quickly go over the list and see if your meal fits all or most of these.

If you remember the above statement that is all you  really need to know but I decided to add a little to it to help give your some ideas of what that statement means.

Planned - planning helps to save money at the store and gets rid of the last minute stress of “What am I fixing tonight for dinner!!!!!????”

Regular - we so often know we need nutritious meals but sometimes don’t realize having meals on a regular basis really helps our digestive system to function better. That means picking a time to have dinner close to the same time each day.

It also helps our families emotionally. We are built to like consistency in our lives especially children. There is something comforting in knowing no matter what frustrating things happened in their day when your family arrives home there is one constant in their life - dinner. If you don’t think this to be true try it for a week or two then stop doing it and see how your family reacts.

On time - this can be a little tricky for new cooks. It takes a little practice but you can learn to do it. Start fixing the food that will take the longest to cook first and then the next longest etc. Also do as much ahead of time as possible. This goes for everyone.

Brand new cooks may want to set the table way before you even begin the meal because it is one less thing to deal with but with practice you can usually set the table while you are waiting for something to cook on the stove. You will with practice also get to the point where you can toss a salad while you are waiting for the potatoes to cook but this all comes with time.

Taste Good - pick foods your family likes, learn to cook. I know this can be a challenge for some of you I mean some do have a harder time learning to cook then others just like some are better gardeners, sewers etc. but you really need to try the best you can to learn some basics.

Also you may have to work a little at finding foods which taste good. For example you may have to try different brands and types of things.

Fresh doesn’t always mean it tastes better either. For example most of the time I can’t tell any difference when I use frozen or fresh broccoli in my cooked foods but I can tell a difference in the brands of frozen broccoli I buy. To save money you may want to use frozen for something like this and use your savings to buy fresh foods where you really can tell a difference.

Be nutritious - I have touched on this a lot in other articles but basically this means you need to learn about nutrients and what your family needs.

Fit budget - you may want to have steak for dinner but your budget only allows chicken so chicken it is.

Smell Good - You truly use all of your senses when you eat. If your family can’t get it past their nose it won’t make it into their mouth.

Plus emotionally food smells have a strong impact on people especially when those are connected with home and family. How often do you hear an adult talk about memories of home and half of the time they will mention some smell they remember.

Be Attractive - Like I mentioned above, we use all of our senses. If it doesn’t look good or looks “grouse” they won’t eat it. Don’t forget to use lots of different colored food. Not only does this help with eye appeal but it also is an easy way to know you are giving your family a balanced meal for nutrients.

Don’t forget too to use different shapes and textures of food.

Meal planning is one of those jobs we tend to let go because we don’t consider them as important or as pressing as other things. Kinda like folding clothes and putting them away. We can get them washed and dried but not folded and put away.

But doing and following through with these things can really make our lives easier, can get rid of a lot of stress and always saves us money. Rethink some things in your life which you are letting slide you might be surprised a what a difference changing a few things will make.

Jill

Rose was asking for the Cranberry Roast recipe. So many people liked this so I will post it again. If any of you have a question about a recipe someone mentions it is pretty easy to find. Just go to our web page and in the top left corner where it says search you type in the name of the recipe or any subject you want to find on our site or newsletter.

Jill

Cranberry Roast

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1 (3lb) roast

1 can (16 oz) cranberry sauce

In a crockpot pour soup mix, add roast and top with cranberry sauce. Cover and cook for 8 hours. To thicken gravy mix 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and water and add to gravy. You can add carrots and potatoes 4 hours into cooking.

Normally when I receive an email like the one below I just delete it and move on, but this time I felt a need to reply. There seems to be the impression that if you are going to live frugally, then that means you don’t have anything nice and you live “simply” i.e. meaning owning nothing new or nice. I hope that my answer will dispel that notion.

From: Nelly

I do not see anything frugal about this Christmas tale. My family had a frugal Christmas and it didn’t entail spending for a carload of presents. It did entail spending some money for toys for tots, buying for a family that was having a hard time; and inviting a young boy into our home. I grew up very very poor with an alcoholic father who blew his money so that on one Christmas we actually had Oatmeal soup for our one meal of the day. Now, my family tries to bring some REAL CHRISTMAS SPIRIT into our day. I have asked to be unsubscribed from this blog. I am subscribed to blogs where they are more honest about their frugal ways. They do not PRETEND to be frugal, they just give frugal tips. Honestly; writing about building a tree from limb scraps and then later writing about the BIG BEAUTIFUL TREE is dishonest. PLEASE UNSUBSCRIPE ME IMMEDIATELY.

Dear Nelly,

First, I will not apologize about us having a very nice Christmas.

There is nothing wrong with or hypocritical about what we do/did for Christmas. As for that carload of presents, mom spent around $250-$300 for presents for 13 people in her family this year. An averaged $20 a person is not bad at all.

There is nothing wrong with her wanting to see the enjoyment of her grandkids opening up her gifts. There is nothing wrong with purchasing a .10 book or toy from a thrift store or yard sale and wrapping it up for the kids. Just because you spent a little on the gift doesn’t mean that you can’t wrap it up nicely and get it for them to enjoy. If the kids enjoy it, does it really matter if it is new? Just because there were a lot of gifts doesn’t mean she spent a lot.

There is nothing wrong with having a beautiful artificial tree that we purchased on clearance for $20 and used for the last six years and will probably use for 20 more. (Hmm, 75 cents a year for a tree– isn’t that frugal?)

There is nothing wrong with decorating that tree with a lot of beautiful lights that cost me less than $5, again used for many years and with ornaments purchased on clearance at the dollar store and many made by my kids. (Everything on the tree cost less than $10, but it’s still a very beautiful tree.)

You seem to assume that we did not give anything to help the widows and orphans this year. How do you know how much we gave? We have not posted the amount that we gave in our tithes and offerings. God has blessed us this year tremendously and, in return, we have helped many others on top of paying off a very large sum on our house. We were able to do this because we live frugally and within our means.

There is not one thing hypocritical about celebrating, decorating and having gifts and food you like at Christmas. We did not go into debt to pay for it. Did we go overboard on yummy foods? Sure, but it didn’t go to waste and we do it once a year. We very rarely go out to eat or eat convenience foods, so there is nothing wrong with a once a year celebration.

Frugal living doesn’t mean that you live in a slum. It means that you make the most of the money you have been given. If all you can afford is a house in the slums (Yes, I’ve been there too.) then at least make it nicest house you can with the money you can afford to spend on it. You can clean the house and make some decorations and still have a festive day, even with oatmeal soup.

Even when Mike and l lived in a “slummy” neighborhood I at least took the $10 I had and purchased Christmas decorations at yard sales all summer for pennies each so that we could have a nice Christmas.

You site all the charities you give to, but the tone of your message suggests that you are bitter about giving. If giving makes you bitter then why are you giving?

Finally, I’d like to say to everyone that frugal living isn’t about spending the rest of your life living a sub-standard lifestyle. Instead, it is about making wise choices with your money so that, over time, you can improve your overall standard of living. There are things we have had to do when we were nearly destitute that we certainly wouldn’t do in our current situation, because we have more flexibility now to spend some money on a few things that make life a little easier. Still, there are things that we could buy now that we choose not to buy because, by not buying them, we can use the money to do things like pay off our house sooner. The point is to make the most of what you have at the moment.

Tawra

I happen to think of a couple of things today that might help you not only for Thanksgiving but any on the other holidays too.

First if you haven’t already done it clean out your fridge today. It really should be done before you go buy everything for your dinner but if you didn’t, do it now. There is nothing more frustrating then to have a houseful of company and you are trying to stuff leftovers into an already full fridge so clean it now and if you can leave a certain shelf for the things you are going to store before and after Thanksgiving dinner.

Next I don’t think there is anything more dismal looking then a picked over turkey carcass. I am usually so tired from making the meal, being hostess and cleaning up that having to face the turkey carcass can almost put me over the edge.

What I finally learned to do is not to do anything with it on Thanksgiving day. Then the day after we pick on it all day long making sandwiches etc. I then pick the last of the big chunks off . I usually cook my turkey all wrapped in foil or in a disposable pan so I just wrap the foil around it or gently shape the pan around it. Stick it all in a couple of plastic bags, pop it in the freezer and forget it for a couple of weeks or until Jan. when I bring it out and toss the carcass in a large pot for soup. That is when it gets it’s final picking over.

Cooking Boo Boos:

If you didn’t cook your turkey with our recipe it may come out too dry. Don’t panic. Just slice it. Lay it on a platter and pour gravy over it then serve.

If your stuffing is too dry; once again add some turkey broth to it or gravy.

If a side dish burns and sticks to the bottom; just careful pour it out of the pot being sure not to scrape the bottom of the pan or any of the food stuck to it. You can maybe save quite a bit this way.

If your dinner rolls burn; carefully slice off the bottoms. If they all have the bottoms gone people will think that is just the way they are suppose to be.

The crust on your pumpkin pie doesn’t turn out; scrape out the filling and place it in a nice serving dish, cover with lots of whipped topping, sprinkled with a little cinnamon and call it Pumpkin custard.

If any of you have tips on how to fix Thanksgiving cooking boo boos for our beginning cooks and eve some of us old timers feel free to post. You may be the one to save someone’s Thanksgiving. : )

Jill

This is just a little reminder for everyone to take your turkeys out to start thawing Friday or Saturday if it is about a 20 lb turkey. I would start thawing all turkeys at the latest on Sunday. I like to have my turkey thawed at least a day or two ahead of time so I can get it all prepared, in the pan and ready to just pull out and stick in the oven. I have so many things to do the day before Thanksgiving that this is one less thing to worry about.

For all you new or inexperienced cooks be sure to take out the “guts” or giblets as most people call them and neck which are usually stuffed inside of the turkey.

If you are needing to dry bread for your stuffing lay it out this week end to get good and dry. Break it up, place it in the bowl you are going to be mixing it in and have that much done ahead of time.

This week end get your linens for the table washed and ironed and your silverware and dishes organized.

Do as much as you can ahead of time. Clean the veggies for the relish dish and salads or sides on Wed.

If you are making something like a sweet potato casserole get it all prepared and ready on Wed. so all you have to do on Thanksgiving is to pop it in the oven.

If you don’t want to be mashing potatoes two minutes before you sit down; mash them and place them in a crock pot on low to keep warm. You can keep them in there beautifully for 1 hour but no more because past that they get “yucky” fast.

Most of all for you new cooks or those of you doing your first Thanksgiving don’t panic. It is really no different or harder then any other regular meal, you just are maybe preparing more of everything.

If you are really nervous do a trial run this week end. Practice by roasting a chicken, making mashed potatoes, do one or two sides and a dessert. It’s just like a mini Thanksgiving.

If something goes wrong and most of us have had something happen once in awhile just laugh about it. It usually is the Thanksgiving everyone will remember and they will remember it with fond happy memories. It will give you something to tell your future daughter in law, granddaughter or daughter about.

I remember being so scared my first Thanksgiving cooking alone. My friend who was older and going to be one of my guests told me how on her first Thanksgiving everything was perfect, the table looked great everyone was laughing, joking and enjoying the food but half way through the meal she noticed something - she had forgotten the turkey. She had set it on top of the fridge to move it out of the way for a minute and had left it there. No one either didn’t notice or were too polite to say anything.

Things happen but you will do fine.

Jill

I have a problem. I have had this same problem for many years and can’t seem to get over it. I know many of you have the same problem. What is it? I love clipping recipes. I can’t stop myself. If I see a good recipe I have to write it down or tear it out because I am convinced I will try it some day. My problem is worse then most because I have the excuse my readers would love this so I will tear and write guilt free now.

Here are two of the latest I have added to my collection. I wanted to share them with you because if I don’t get to make them maybe some of you will. My timing is perfect because this week cream cheese is on sale and either of these would be nice for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

PS. If you use a lot of cream cheese you might want to stock up. It, like cheese, has a very long shelf life and will last you clear into next year.

This first recipe reminds me a little of those yummy pumpkin rolls but without as much work. I would add nuts to this recipe but you don’t have too.

Also you could add a little of cinnamon or nutmeg to some Cool Whip and top each cupcake with that when it is cool or just sprinkle with powdered sugar. Don’t forget too you can add cinnamon to your Cool Whip for your pumpkin or apple pies.

Creamy Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 pkg. spice cake mix

1pkg. (3.4oz) vanilla instant pudding

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

Mix cake mix as directed on package. Add dry pudding and pumpkin. Mix well. Pour into 24 paper lined muffin cups. Beat cream cheese, sugar and egg together and drop a spoonful into the center of each cupcake. Swirl gently with spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-21 mins.

Phily Apple Crumble

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 2/3 cup vanilla wafers, crushed

4 cups baking apples, chopped and peeled

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cream cheese and vanilla wafers. Do Not over mix.

in a greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish mix other ingredients. Sprinkle with cream cheese mix.

Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm. Store leftovers in fridge.

Do you know how yummy these would be with a cup of coffee or tea on a snowy afternoon with a friend or what they would smell like when the kids come in from school?

Do any of you have a recipe like this?  One you would love to share with a friend or to have with a cup of tea on a winter afternoon? If so pop in and share it with us.

Jill (gaining weight just thinking about these) : )