Cleaning out the Cupboards

So, I had a whole other post prepared on homemade baby wipes... and decided that I haven't had enough experience with them to fully post. So, I'll be holding off on that... and discussing another topic: Cleaning out the Cupboards. This is not so much a 'go green' tactic as it is a 'save some green' option. Call me lazy, call me poor, call me cheap... call me what you will, but this without a doubt is a great way to save some money every now and then.

How many of you have at least 1/2 a pantry full of non-perishables that at one point or another you bought and just have never used? Cans of this, boxes of that, a freezer full of something... however, even though all of this stuff is in your cabinet, you open your pantry door or freezer and think "I need to go to the store, there's nothing in this house to eat!". We are very guilty of this.

However, every now and then I put my foot down. I insist that whatever is in our cabinets will be eaten before I make another trip to the grocery store. This means mixing random ingredients to make a baked good of some sort, getting creative with dinner or snacking in new and interesting ways. I can pretty much guarantee that hiding in your cupboards is at least a meal or two (probably 3 or 4 - or more).

Just recently, we went at least a week on having 'nothing' in our cabinets. We had a little bit of meat in the freezer that we mixed with random ingredients, often making surprisingly yummy meals. For example, one night, I baked chicken in some cream of mushroom soup (I had a few extra cans from the last roast I cooked) and some red wine and it was oh so yummy. I paired that with some egg noodles (that I planned to make chicken noodle soup with) lightly tossed in butter and some herbs and there you have it! A meal. When Ryan wanted something sweet, I made sometime. I went through my cookbooks to find the perfect recipe that we had all the ingredients for (instead of setting my mind to a specific recipe and going out to buy the ingredients).

By the time I gave in and said "that's it, we're going to the grocery store", we seriously had nothing but condiments in our fridge. My brother had finished off the graham crackers left from a fire pit, Ryan had taken finger-fuls of decorating icing that was left from decorating a cake, I had made that box of pudding that had been hanging around and Jude had finished off the stray bags of frozen veggies in the freezer. Our usual supply of 5-6 boxes of pasta, a variety of sides, snacks and fresh fruits and veggies had been diminished.

If this is something you'd consider doing, allrecipes.com has a great tool where you can enter a list of ingredients you want to use (and those you don't) and it will spit out recipes based on what you've entered, making it even easier.

Reusable Shopping Bags (or just skip the bags...)

Welcome to the beginning of my weekly posts about ways that we as a family strive to go green... or save some green. Some of these things will fit both categories... some others may only fit one. This weeks topic fits both.

REUSABLE SHOPPING BAGS! (see my amazon product list for a couple of different reusable bags!)

These come in all sorts of colors, patterns, sizes, and materials. Average cost for a reusable shopping bag: $1.00. I slowly acquired mine over the last year or so. I have roughly ten bags now, which is more than enough for even my larger grocery orders.

Some might ask: "why would I pay for bags, when I get them for free at my local grocer?"

1. You're using less plastic bags! (that's the 'duh!' answer)
2. In the long run, it will save you money! "How?" You might ask? Easy. Most grocery stores will give you a certain amount off for EACH reusable bag. This amount is something trivial like .05 a bag, but it adds up! If the standard family goes grocery shopping roughly every two weeks and uses their 10 reusable shopping bags each time, they will save $13.00 a year on their grocery bill!! So, within one year, you will have gotten back your investment in the bags, plus $3.00!
3. Extra savings! The other day, I was informed by my grocer of choice (Safeway) that if I purchase some of their "Bright Green" brand cleaning products and use my reusable shopping bags, I save something like 10-20% off of my "Bright Green" products! At that time, I was buying a $13.00 jug of laundry detergent (in addition to a couple other products). That's at least $1.30 in savings! I encourage you to check with your local grocer to see if any of these secret savings are available to you too!
4. More free hands! I rarely put Jude in a stroller, so when we're shopping at the mall and hitting a number of stores, using one convenient canvas tote for all of my purchases cuts down on the handful of bags that you can get from various store. The straps are conveniently long enough to sling over your shoulder and leaves your hands free for the more important things in life :)
5. No more spilled milk! Well, let's face it, I wouldn't put milk in a grocery bag anyway, but there are some items that those thin plastic bags just don't hold up to! Most of the reusable bags are much more durable and significantly larger than what you can get from the store. Since I've began using them regularly, it's very uncommon for me to have a few stray cans rolling around in the cargo space of my Jeep on my way home. They hold their shape, hold more items and in general just hold up better!
6. Easy Handling! I usually hit the grocery store during the day with Jude. Getting him and our groceries from the cart, to the car, to the house and put away is usually a feat. He has just behaved for roughly a 1 hour+ shopping trip and is ready to move! As I said, they are larger and hold more items, so there are less trips in and out of the house, making it as quick and painless as possible.

Of course there are hurdles with these as well:
1. Mrs. Forgetful. I'll say that forgetting to use them is my biggest hassle. I'll say that it's one of those things that you just need to get in the habit of using! I personally keep one in my diaper bag at all times for those little trips out. The rest are usually stored in my trunk for grocery trips. I've heard of some women who keep them with their coupon book. Whatever your way to remember, eventually it just becomes habit.
2. Things that Leak. Another problem is things like meat that can potentially leak into the bag. For these types of items I usually just use a plastic bag. But if it's an unexpected leak, most are also machine washable, or made of a material that can easily be wiped clean.

Other tips for reusable bags:
- Occasionally I will skip the reusable bags and use the plastic bags. We like to have a small stash in our house for things like: bathroom trash cans, dog poo, Ryan's lunch and much more. Usually one grocery order with plastic bags will last us quite some time.
- If you aren't ready to use reusable bags, try other ways to reduce the number of bags you use. For example, there are standard items that just don't need a bag: milk, detergent, boxes of canned soda, etc. Think outside of these items to things like large jarred items, 2 liters and more. When you're at retailers, question whether the item you're buying REALLY needs a bag (large boxed items from toy stores, the lipstick you're just going to throw in your purse anyway, the CD you plan to pop in your car stereo when you get out to the car, etc).
- You can also purchase reusable produce bags for your grocery trips. I personally just skip produce bags all together, but if you insist on keeping your produce bagged up, it's a great alternative (see my amazon product list for a link to reusable produce bags)


And now for a giveaway!!!!!!!!! I'm giving away a reusable shopping bag!

I an effort to boost the number of blog hits I get, I'm going to challenge you to help me! There are two ways to win this give away:

1. If you are a frequent visitor of this blog. I challenge you to have ONE (that's right, just ONE!) new reader check it out. Your reader needs to leave a comment referencing your name. You will BOTH get a bag!
2. If you are a blog lurker, I'd love to know you're there! Leave me your first comment and YOU will get the bag!

(Note: winner(s) will need to provide their mailing address)

May the fastest one win!