Good morning, savvy savers! I hope you are all well rested and ready for a new No-Spend Month daily challenge!
Yesterday I focused on my kitchen pantry, cupboards, and stockpile as part of the #31DaysLWSZ Challenge. I clean my kitchen pantry is under two hours. While I discarded two boxes of goods, I still had two boxes of donations, and found enough quality food to last my family three #31DayLWSZ challenges!
I also focused on one of the most neglected areas in my home, and perhaps yours, my couponed stockpile. Yes, the cave of Frugal Wonders! My stockpile, housed in my homes basement, though it’s well lit, houses many built-in shelving features, the area still seems to always be in need of rearranging, sorting, and cleaning! The one saving grace of this area, the exhilarating feeling I get each time I am able to gaze over my shelves, from the bins filled with shampoo to the well stocked baskets of paper products, and then proceed to “shop from my home!”
My stockpile, though hard earned, is an immense blessing to my home. And as they say, to whom much is given, much is asked, and this rule equally applies to my stockpile!
While stockpile saves my family thousands of dollars a year, and allows me to give generously to my local food pantry and women’s shelter, I must admit it is one of the most neglected area in my home. So, in order for me to be able to adequately access all that I have within in my home, singling out what I will not need to purchase this month, I will be giving my stockpile a much needed Fall Cleaning this afternoon.
Here are a few tips to get you started, for those who have not finished yesterday’s challenge:
1) Rotate your stockpile. “Rotating your stockpile” means rotating your stockpile per season. You will need to place goods in order of expiration date, my seasonal usage, as well as keeping climate into consideration; you may need to start storing it in one location for summer and another location for winter, in terms of baking tools, cans, chemicals, etc.
2) Long Term Storage: If you plan to store any item for longer than a week or two, you need to know its long-term storage requirements. Some items will only last months or longer if stored in a cool, dry place. Some items must be stored in a refrigerated or frozen environment in order to last longer. Make lists, and create sub-areas in your stockpile; examples are canned goods, cosmetics, paper products, etc.
3) Take Note of Patterns: Start a list of your product usage, this will allow you to see what you need, will use in a years time, and what should be donated accordingly. Unused goods are cash wasted.
4) Last Forever Items: Nothing lasts forever. Even goods such as bottled water, start to have an altered taste after a decade, so keep this in mind.
5) Canned and Preserved Goods: Keep inventory and note the dates of home-preserved items; a rule of thumbs is to only keep items no longer than two years.
6) Pests: Pests love your stockpile, almost as much as you do! Be sure to check goods monthly, especially in Summer, and any goods that look altered, chuck immediately!
7) Dehumidifier: Humidity can alter and mold many goods, so consider running a dehumidifier twice weekly.
Mind you, part of deep yesterday’s challenge was to clean out my home freezer and deep freeze. I am still working on this task today. I plan to be done with this task this afternoon as the entire family, sans me, has gone to a robotics workshop today which leaves me plenty of time to KonMari my freezer into shape!
Onto today’s challenge! Starting earlier this morning, I utilized the #31DayLWSZ Pantry and Freezer Inventory Sheets to help me compile a month of meals, using the discovered on-hand goods logged on my inventory sheets.
So, aside from this challenge, why menu plan? I generally consider menu planning a staple in my home budgeting arsenal, but for those who may now, here are three key points to keep in mind, in terms of both this challenge, and going forward:
1) Your Health: Your health should be one of your main concerns, as with most people, and one way to ensure your health and well being is in good working balance, is healthful food preparation. Having a menu plan in place helps you avoid sodium and fat-laden take out and fast food, and instead opt for a more balanced and nutritious diet.
2) Budgeting: Groceries cost a lot, period. Even with coupon shopping and app rebate deals, constantly going to the store can negate all of your best budgeting plans. Save yourself some financial stress by planning your meals in reverse; shop for cyclical deals, plan meals around what you have on hand, and essentially plan “pantry-ready meals.” By shopping in reverse, I generally spend $30.00 or less per week, for a family of four on groceries.
3) Time Management: Your time is important. Whether you work outside the home, from a home office, are a busy entrepreneur, or you’re a stay-at-home parent, we all juggle an endless task sheet on a daily basis. While planning a menu in the first place takes a bit of time, it will save you double that amount of time in the end. For when you have planned, purposed meal lists and ingredients on hand, you essentially eliminate the need to run to the store for a last minute item, saving you both time and money in the process.
With a plan in place, all you have to do is to look at your proposed weekly menu, prep, and serve!
So, today I came up with:
- 13 Breakfasts
- 13 Lunches
- 13 Snacks
- 13 Dinner Options
- 13 Desserts
Here are a few tips I used to plan my monthly menu:
1.Each option will be eaten twice for the remainder of the month, as the entire month will be rotated bi-weekly.
2. No-spend months are a great time for 5-can soups, dump cakes, casseroles, and pot pies.
3. This is also a great time to consider “Food Swapping,” with family, friends, and neighbors, where you will prep meals and then exchange the meals accordingly.
4. This is also the time to consider menu streamlining; eating the proper amount of meals, as well as small snacks throughout the day, as well as cutting your dependency on carbonated beverages, and instead eating healthier options all around, will not only fill you up more, stave off food cravings, which will ultimately end up costing you less the month over.
5. Consider using “Meatless Monday,” food options; you can save up to $240.00 annually using this method once a week!
6. If you have saved gift cards to local restaurants, calendar cards (such as from Chick-fil-a), or the like, this is the time to use those cards. I’ve planned dinner on Saturday’s out, which will be free including tax and gratuity, using gift cards (and coupons if applicable) I’ve earned from Viggle, surveys, or calendars.
7. My best tip for today’s challenge? Use “Rollable Meals,” or meals that leftovers can be made into different meals using the same ingredients; for example on day 1 you make double the amount of hamburgers and a pan of brownies for dessert. On day two, you can take one patty, broken up and make breakfast tacos, and as a beef topped salad(s) for lunch, and using your additional reserved patties, make crock pot beef patties and gravy for dinner, and using your leftover brownies you can make two additional desserts to last the remainder of the week, brownie parfait cups, brownie flurries, or brownie and berry trifle!
To get started:
- Make a boxed grid; 11″x 8″, divide into a calendar, with seven boxes across, and four boxes down, and there you go!
- I also list our families meals on a meal plan chalkboard, in our kitchen, so everyone will know what to expect for dinner, and when.
- I also use my home recipe binder, with index, to browse through clipped, copied, and stowed away recipes I’ve put back for rainy days.
- Have odds and ends you aren’t sure how to combine into meals? Check out sites like SuperCook, where you can add the ingredients you have on hand to their database, to find recipes to suit your stockpile of goods!
And for anyone curious, here’s what we will be having:
Monday
Breakfast: Meatless Monday low-fat Mozzarella and Spinach Omelette, with Green Tea.
Lunch: Almonds, Cheese Crackers, Cheese rounds, with celery, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Almonds, and Gala Apple Slices.
Dinner: Crockpot Three Bean Chili, cooked with Boca Crumbles, with Diet Cola.
Dessert: Sugar-Free Dulce de Leche Cups.
Tuesday
Breakfast: Green Tea, Coconut Milk, and Strawberry Smoothie; made with Truvia.
Lunch: Freezer Cooking Chicken and Dumplings, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Frozen/Thawed Strawberries and String Cheese.
Dinner: Taco Roll-ups; in lieu of taco shells I use Romaine Lettuce Sheets.
Dessert: Gluten-Free Brownies.
Wednesday
Breakfast: Baked Frittata Cups, with Unsweetened Almond Milk.
Lunch: Taco Salads, with crystal light.
Snack: Grapes and apple slices.
Dinner: Crockpot Chicken Curry, steamed peas, and crystal light.
Dessert: Homemade Gluten-Free Truvia brownies.
Thursday
Breakfast: Homemade Greek Yogurt, with fruit cup, and Unsweetened Almond milk.
Lunch: Tossed Salad with Turkey, light vinaigrette, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Grapes and apple slices.
Dinner: Grilled Turkey Burger Patties, sweet Potato Fries, with Crystal Light.
Dessert: Brownie flurries with leftover brownies; we use Edy’s Sugar-Free Ice Cream.
Friday
Breakfast: Homemade Greek Yogurt, with fruit cup, and Unsweetened Almond milk.
Lunch: Tossed salad, with homemade Greek Yogurt dressing, and Crystal Light.
Snack: Strawberries and two pieces of Sugar Free Chocolate; candy is used as melted drizzle for berries.
Dinner: Barbecue Pork, Steamed Green Beans, and Crystal Light.
Dessert: Diet Coca-Cola slushies.
Saturday
Breakfast: Homemade Greek Yogurt, with fruit cup, and Unsweetened Almond milk.
Lunch: Chicken Salad, and Crystal Light.
Snacks: String Cheese and grapes.
Dinner: Gift Card to local restaurant.
Dessert: Sugar-Free Dulce de Leche Cups.
Sunday
Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs, and Toast, with Unsweetened Almond Milk.
Lunch: Grilled Sausages, Steamed Broccoli, Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese, with Crystal Light.
Snack: Grapes and walnuts.
Dinner: Crockpot Orange Chicken with Almonds, Steamed Peas, and crystal light.
Dessert: Sugar-Free Dulce de Leche Cups.
Looking for meal ideas for this months #31DayLWSZ challenge? Be sure to check out my Weekly Menu Section and Pinterest Menu Idea Boards!
Be sure to check Instagram tonight for today’s review!
Here’s to saving,
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