Stock The Pantry Shelves – Save $$$
I hate when you walk into your kitchen wondering what to make for dinner only to find that your shelves are full but stocked with a whole lot of nothing. On occasion I have found myself with cookies, chips, fruit snacks, tomatoes and beans. I’m not sure that I am a talented enough cook to recreate my own version of the Food Networks Chopped in my very own kitchen. Although that could make for an interesting meal but it would probably lack in nutrition and I doubt anyone would care much to eat it, even if I were extremely creative.
While it might look like the pantry shelves are full with boxes and cans, spending a few minutes to figure out what you really have in the pantry on what one needs on hand will help make your pantry a well rounded resource of ingredients.
A simple way to save money is to stock your pantry with a few staple items in advance. This will make cooking from scratch easier and help you stretch your budget when it comes to meal time. Having a variety of essential ingredients on hand will prove to be a valuable way to plan healthy and well balanced snacks and meals. Having the basics for each food group on hand is a must. But where do you start? The following is a list of a few suggested ingredients that you might find useful to have in your pantry.
Grains
pasta
rice
rolled oats
all purpose flour
cornstarch
Canned Goods
Chicken Stock
Beans
Diced Tomatoes
Some sort of fruit in natural juices, (example: pineapple, pears or peaches)
Your choice of canned vegetables.
Spices
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Garlic Powder
Cumin Powder
Ginger
Cinnamon
Vanilla Extract
Nutmeg
Cloves
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Old Bay Seasoning
Grill Seasoning
Condiments
Ketchup
Dijon Mustard
Olive Oil
Vegetable Oil
Soy Sauce
Worcester Sauce
Apple cider Vinegar
White Vinegar
Baking Supplies
White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Nuts
Raisins
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Chocolate Chips
Other
Jams
Peanut Butter
Honey
A Clean Lint Filter Saves $$
Laundry is always on my mind. It’s always there, even the days when I think I’m caught up the “laundry makers” leave presents for me and I find I have more laundry that night. It’s the never ending job and if your in charge of the laundry at your house I’m sure you feel my pain.
My dryer is older and is on it’s way out. I’m just waiting for it to die off so I have an excuse to buy a new set of front loaders. But until then I’m trying to make the most of the ones I’ve got. We’ve taken it apart several times in the last year trying to extend the life of it and lucky for us it is hanging in there.
Every dryer has a lint filter. This is the metal mesh like net that catches all the lint and fluff that comes out of your clothing when it is in the dryer. With each load of laundry the filter collects lint and fluff. I change the filter every time I do a load of laundry. As lint builds up in the filter it prevents the air from circulating out of the dryer.
As the filter builds up with lint the dryer has to work harder to dry the clothes. This can result in turning the dryer on multiple times to dry a load of laundry and will cause the dryer to use more electricity and work less efficiently. Each time that happens its costing you more money. So in order to save some money make sure to clean the lint filter each time you change a load of laundry. I’m sure many of you do this but did you know in order to help extend the life of your dryer you can scrub your lint filter? To help make sure your filter is clean take the time to scrub it with hot soapy water occasionally. This will help to remove residue left from fabric dryer sheets and help it work even more efficiently. Who knew a little elbow grease and hot soapy water could be a money saver?