Hubz and I have decided to do a No-Spend Month in August. This means we will only be spending money on essentials – regular bills and groceries. I don’t believe we’ll run out of toilet paper or deodorant during the month so we shouldn’t have to spend any money on toiletries or other household items and there will be NO eating out. We will be at the State Fair one day so we’ll need to make an exception for that day, but otherwise it’s business as usual.
With canning season in full swing and our cupboards and freezer jam-packed, we’re also instituting a pantry challenge for August. This is where you only buy perishable foods like milk, eggs, cheese, fresh produce and try to use up what you have on hand. Eggs aren’t a problem as we get those from our backyard flock so we’ll be picking up milk, any veggies/fruits we can’t pick from the garden, cheese and probably bread for sandwiches. We’re limiting ourselves to $100 for groceries for the whole month. The whole month. We normally spend about $400 on food in a good month so $100 is cutting us back pretty significantly. I think we’ll be fine though...
We have some canned goods from last summer still in the pantry and freezer along with several chickens from last fall. I’ll probably need to get a little creative with chicken by the end of the month, but there’s no reason we should be hungry, that’s for sure.
Speaking of chicken – I have a confession to make – and this confession is part of the reason why we still have so many WHOLE chickens in the freezer – I don’t know how to cut up a chicken. I know, I know. What is wrong with me? I used to be a boneless skinless breast kind of girl, but since going all homestead-y and butchering our own or buying from a local farmer, all I have are whole chickens. This is something I need to work on. Maybe this pantry challenge will force me to learn this skill.
A pantry challenge is a good way to use up those old cans of tomatoes or boxes of pasta or evaporated milk that are about to expire (speaking from experience here). I hate wasting food! It's like tossing money in the garbage.
January is almost always a good month for a pantry challenge because there seems to be an over-abundance of food from the holidays each December. For us, August works well because we are about to start canning more salsa, tomato soup and green beans and we'd like to eat up last year's supply.
We may have some interesting meals next month. I'll try to report back what we eat and how much progress we make on purging the cupboards.
So, what say you? Ever done a pantry challenge? Interested in giving it a go?
Linking up with Frugal Tuesday Tip and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways and Rural Thursday
Linking up with Frugal Tuesday Tip and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways and Rural Thursday
Wow! A great challenge:) Oh yes, that would be good for all of us. I should try that one month.
ReplyDeleteSorry it's been so long since I have visited but you know life happens.
I hopped over to nominate you for the Versatile Blogger Award and please come on over to get all the details.
Thanks, Evelyn! I'll pop over and see what it's all about.
DeleteJust watch a couple of online video's about cutting up a chicken and go for it! I learned it this way, so why can't you. It not as difficult as it looks.
ReplyDeleteThere are videos for everything aren't there? Thanks for the tip!
DeleteThere is really not much difficult about cutting up a chicken - like another commenter said, just find a video and you'll figure it out quick enough. A good pair of kitchen scissors makes it a lot easier than a knife, too.
ReplyDeleteI do have a good pair of kitchen shears. Why didn't I learn this skill from my Mother? She's cut up hundreds of chickens.
DeleteYou'll be cutting up those chickens with your eyes closed by the end of the month! :) Don't forget to roast 1 or 2 whole too!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried making your own bread? It is very rewarding and can save quite a bit of money too.
Roasting and crockpotting is about all I've done with them so far. I hope I can pick up the cutting quickly. Some bbq'd chicken on the grill would be wonderful. I have made bread before, but it seems to take so much time. I could use some pointers on streamlining the process or tips on how to be more efficient with it. Any tips you can share?
DeleteI love this post, I've been thinking of doing a pantry challenge as well, this jump started me a little to actually do it! :) I make my own bread just about every day, and my favorite thing to do is make the dough in a bread maker (it does ALL the work), then take it out and cook it in the oven because I don't like the way the bread machine bakes it. I blogged my recipe here, maybe that will help :) Good luck! http://embracingthechaos-andrea.blogspot.com/2012/07/bread-success.html
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your challenge. I've been trying to cut back a lot, but I'm not sure I could cut back to $100 a month. I do include toiletries and dog food and cat food in my budget though, so that makes a difference as well.
ReplyDeleteoh looks like you'll be good to go though! i try to budget 300 every two weeks...i feel like a loser now that you are getting by on 100! good luck!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't know how to cut up a chicken either. Looks like you're certainly stocked up.
ReplyDeletehttp://theapels.blogspot.com/2012/07/digging-potatoes.html
We've been doing this too, now I know to call it "The Pantry Challenge"!
ReplyDeleteYes that sounds like a great idea. I may also try to do a Pantry challenge for August. And a no spend month seems to be in order about now also.
ReplyDeleteI think I am loving this site. This year I finally plant my garden. Some success. Tons of cucumbers, lettuce early spring and spinach. Peas never did right and I have no idea what happened to okra.
ReplyDeleteCarrots are holding their own.
I also did tomatoes and peppers on deck. Oh and strawberries. Very good. Heat is hard on garden, but next year I want to expand. Hopefully I will be planting a fall garden too. Any ideas?
Carrie,
ReplyDeleteMy dad would be glad to show you how to cut up the chickens. He is a pro and he has people stop by for guidance.
Let me know- he is 5 mins from you! :)
- Amber W.