Frugal Friday Week #38
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I always feel like I post many how-to’s and not many “real lifes”. Although I do try and incorporate that into my newer posts, I’ve often thought that it might be even more helpful for my readership to get a better glimpse inside of what our simple/homestead/from scratch/frugal life really looks like.
Frugal Friday Week #38
So I’ve started a series called Frugal Friday and need your help. My idea for this series is to share some of the projects/recipes/things we worked on this week and, in general, just what life looks like.
I need your help because I’ve tried something similar before, and I gave up after a while. I got bored and felt like no one was reading it or cared, and I moved on to other projects. So, what I need you to do each week is to share what your week looked like in the comments section. I think it could keep us ALL accountable and may serve as an encouragement to others!
Side Note: If you missed the last weeks, I shared that we are currently living in a tiny home (camper) to travel and do ministry work in rural places for part of the winter as we take a temporary break from our homestead.
Meal Highlights
We had a ton of traveling this week and did a lot of visiting so all of our meals stayed very simple.
We again made our Ground Beef Lo Mein and my White Bean Soup. I made large batches so we could eat leftovers for several days. Lunches were all very simple….some kind of cooked meat (ham, summer sausage, etc) with whatever veggies and fruits we had, plus some crackers.
For snacks, I made some Black Bean Dip, and we also had some granola bars that we’ve been eating up that I bought from the house.
This week we need to work on eating up random things that we have, and I’ll do a big grocery shopping before we leave the state we are currently in.
Shopping We Did
I bought very few things this week and had no big grocery shopping trips. I got a few things for Christmas gifts from some Amish stores and spent about $30 at an Amish bulk foods store on a large bag of apples and a few other things.
I bought a rag rug from an Amish family to keep the middle of our camper floor warm during colder weather.
We’ve decided that we are going to send a family gift to our family as a whole for Christmas this year. It’ll just be more simple to shop for and to ship. I bought a few things for this so far.
I also stopped at an Amish thrift store and bought a few things that I didn’t need but just wanted!
How We Lived Frugal This Week
We’ve been almost fully off the grid for almost 3 weeks now. It’s been an interesting learning experience and something we hope to eventually achieve at our homestead.
This week, however, we are taking a break from being off-grid while we work on a new project (in Missouri) and got the weekly rate at a campground (which came out to around $25 a day). It’s still much more expensive than what we’ve been spending (nothing!) on places to stay, but at the same time, it will be nice to have unlimited water for a bit.
We had to travel from Kentucky to Ohio and then back down to Missouri. The diesel costs were not frugal but we are thankful for our time in Ohio where we stayed with friends near Holmes county and took on a new ministry project that we can work on from the road.
This past week, I ordered some seeds during a Black Friday sale (and had them shipped to my mom to save for next summer). I always try and get what I can on Black Friday since I know I have to order them anyway.
I didn’t end up ordering anything else from the Black Friday sales, which is unusual for me, but it saves money for now. The only other thing I purchased was some Cyber Monday deals on software for the blog.
We got food from a restaurant for the first time on this adventure due to a time constraint and unexpected extra driving. However, we only ordered the main part (the protein part) of the meal and no sides so that we could take it back to the camper, split it, and add our own simple sides. The kids still thought it was a special treat, and it was!
Blog Posts I Wrote
I didn’t get as much of a chance to work this week as I hoped, and working while we drive is not my favorite thing! That will change this week. Watch for all the Christmas posts coming your way soon!
- Banana Cream Pie – This is a yummy recipe perfect to wow your holiday guests!
- Swedish Meatballs With Cream Sauce – This is a brand new recipe on the blog!
- Homemade Kettle Corn – My mom’s recipe for Kettle Corn is so simple; it’s always a fun little treat to make.
- Old Fashioned Christmas Decorations to Make – If you want to make some old-fashioned Christmas decor for this year, this post has some frugal ideas.
Looking Ahead to Next Week
This coming week, we will be working on a church project in Missouri. After that, we will be heading south to find some warmer weather! I need to reorganize my space and do a big shopping trip before we do that.
Side note: If you are located in southern Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona and know of a service project that a church or organization needs help with, please contact me at [email protected].
Merissa Alink
Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.
Our frugal ways this last week was making the most out of our Thanksgiving turkey and ham. I made stock out of the carcass and saved the little leftover bits of meat, then used the leftover leg and wings to do the same again. I have the first batch in the freezer and made a curry turkey soup with the second – big hit in our family! I used leftover ham to make a ham and potato soup; this gave us dinners and lunch for me at work.
Beautiful pictures you posted of Amish community, farm, etc. Frugal Friday for us as empty nesters is something simple to cook and eat. Which is really every night :-), especially after working all day. We do enjoy homemade pizza, making the pizza dough from scratch. It’s a fun Friday night thing to do. Tonight though, it’s leftovers!
I’m so happy to be on your mailing list and I really enjoy and USE the knowledge you share. Thank you so much for all that you do. You help inspire us to be thankful and use what we have wisely.
My frugal Friday tip: when doing laundry on a rainy day or in the dead of winter, hang clothes on an indoor clothesline. This works well for us since we heat our house with a wood stove. However, we can’t do laundry on a day when you’re having guests for dinner because our indoor line hangs in our kitchen and over our table. 😬🤣
We do this too! In the winter I just get into the habit of doing a load right before bedtime and then hanging them around the fire for the night. By morning they are dry!
I have gathered all the green tomatoes from my garden before the frost in Ohio and continue to sun dry them in my oven to enjoy them all winter. I freeze them and they will stay good for 6 months, but they won’t last that long around here! Yum!
You have a strong will not to buy anything at Lehmans, i love looking online. I tend to put things in my cart, but not get them. So many cool old school items!! I am in Arizona and will keep an ear out if any churches need help. I am in the mid mountains, not the insanely hot part! It was NOT a frugal week for me. I am going into a no buy (but bare essentials) year and got a couple things…candles…I bought many candles…lol. because they bring me joy and I don’t really buy much else, so yea, that covers it! lol enjoy your week!!
Hi! I have been so busy the last few weeks, I’ve missed your blog, so going back now to read what I missed! Oh how I wish you would come to Louisiana! I would love to meet you and your family! One day I will get up to the Amish country!
We had our grand children for the week of Thanksgiving! I enjoyed every moment, but was very busy! So meals were quick and easy. Made bone broth from my turkey carcass! Froze what leftover I had for later! We are getting cooler weather, but in south Louisiana, one day cold, then next few days warm. That is where we are today, warm. During Thanksgiving, I didn’t Black Friday shop, but I did go to a flea market while we were at our lake house, and scored two hand made quilts, and an embroidery pillowcase set. Paid $50 for all three items. I was so excited. I will gift the pillowcase set and maybe the quilts (but I would love to keep them!!!!). Keeping my shopping simple this year. I plan on making pj’s for my grandkids in the theme of fishing (for the lake house visits of course). Made yoyo’s (all from scraps) for ornaments for my ladies quilting group for our Christmas luncheon. Safe travels!!!
I LOVE that sewing machine! It’s amazing — does it still work? Probably better than some of the computerized ones we have these days….
God bless you in your travels and His missions that He has put on your hearts ❤️
Beth in Western Oregon
Yes it does work! It’s in very good shape for it’s age. I just need to learn how to use it (we found the manual online) and I can’t wait to try it out!
Your service projects sound like fun. I enjoy helping days for girls making feminine hygiene kits and helping with mission quilts for Lutheran World Relief.
Here items at our Mennonite store is expensive so we only get powdered beef gravy there.
I made quite a few different pizza flatbreads this week. Got free in animal feed boxes. Also, some donuts and biscuits to bake. Stores give to food pantry. Our animals get some of what the neighbors can’t use. Cows like bread. Pigs eat some sweets.
Got 59 cent lb chicken. Made chicken and pizza for the week. Also, my husband sliced $1.99 lb pork for broiler. Baked garden potatoes and cooked carrots a bit.
Look forward to hearing about your service projects if you can tell.
Loved seeing about the amish community. I learned to weave rag rugs from an Amish relative in Missouri. They do work very well on cold floors and wash up so nice. Thanks for posting!
Living in Northern Michigan. I used the slow cooker this week to make leftover turkey noodle soup to help warm up after snow blowing. It was a welcoming meal to have ready. Used the slow cooker again tonight to make a roast with potatoes and carrots from the garden I have stored. Nothing like home grown veggies.
Thank you for the valuable information you share with us. You have inspired me to be more frugal every week.
Take care on the road with your precious little family. I have been making Christmas tree decorations with a difference, having discovered the quirky little skill of using blown hen’s eggshells to paint animals and birds on. I won the UK national poultry show’s first prize for a set showing the four seasons. (I was the only entrant!!! ) You make two tiny holes in each end of a large white egg with something like a tapestry needle, and then break the yolk with the needle. Then you can blow hard on one end and the contents slip out and can be used for an omelette or to cook with. I use acrylic paints for my miniature pictures and then outline with indelible fine black ink ( like a sharpie) and finally varnish with nail polish. I’d share some pictures but don’t think I can here. Anyway, finish off with tiny ribbons which you can get through the holes if you are careful and hang on the tree! Would make excellent easter tree decorations as well.
First of all, you always seem to find the neatest things…I LOVE that sewing machine. I wish you many happy hours of stitching with your new(new to you)sewing machine. Our menu this past week has revolved around leftover turkey. We had the customary repeat of Thanksgiving dinner, minus all the work, just had to heat it all up…twice. Then we had a very nice turkey pot pie to finish off the bird. It’s been cold here in Ohio, so soups, stews, and casseroles have been in heavy rotation recently. We did a little stock up shopping for the pantry and freezers, and I bought a bolt of quilting cotton. It was an expensive purchase, but it will probably last me a whole year. Now we will start looking at seed catalogs and deciding what to grow in our garden this spring and summer.
Hi from Australia, I made apricot bliss balls in my kitchen garden class the last two weeks( it’s a fortnightly cycle) and the samples I made for testing the recipe and then having advance mixture to speed things up I bagged up afterwards in cellophane bags tied with a pretty red bow and they will go in a container in the fridge for little Christmas gifts, I also made shortbread dough which I froze to cook closer to Christmas. I’ve nearly finished a red shirt for my husband for Christmas to go with the 2 kg block of chocolate I purchased from the Cadbury outlet a month ago and hid. After volunteering at Foodbank on Friday I went to the vollie pantry and scored 3 litres of milk and an 800 gram block of compressed yeast, it’s years since I’ve used fresh yeast and I need to google how to store it. I also preserved 5 kg of cherries and baked some cakes for taking to do’s we went to.
Hi! A little late for posting, but it’s been busy around here with preparing for the holidays mixed in with regular chores. I made apple peelings syrup from your recipe again and it came out great. I then got the idea to use apple instead of pectin to make a small batch of autumn olive berry jam. As a thickener, it worked great. The jam came out good and we will enjoy it, but I overcooked it slightly and will also use it in thumbprint cookies.
If you don’t know, you can camp for free on Bureau of Land management land if there is any near where you are going in the future. https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping. “Camping on public lands away from developed recreation facilities is referred to as dispersed camping. Most of the remainder of public lands are open to dispersed camping, as long as it does not conflict with other authorized uses or in areas posted “closed to camping,” or in some way adversely affects wildlife species or natural resources.
“Dispersed camping is generally allowed on public land for a period not to exceed 14 days within a 28 consecutive day period. Camping limitation rules vary per office, please check with your local office for details on camping limitations. In addition, campers must not leave any personal property unattended for more than 10 days (12 months in Alaska).”
There is also https://freecampsites.net/ and https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US
These were recommended to me by a friend and I am looking to start camping again in the next year.
Adjustment to new circumstances is so beneficial to us all, but it is also stressful. Keeping your family in my prayers.
Thanks for the tips! We’ve been using our membership to Harvest Host/Boondockers Welcome the most right now but look forward to utilizing BLM land and Forest Service once we get back west again. Our favorite spots to camp are typically boondocking sites in the National Forest!
Still eating delicious turkey soup. May freeze some. Disassembling a metal thrifted store rack and turning it into an open to air leaf mold bin. Taking off locking wheels for future use. Made a coffee table from two stacking restaurant glassware/dishwashing plastic containers. These have a bamboo in metal frame top from thrifted store rack. I bought 10 plastic pots in order to turn my winter coffee table into two porch containers for cut flowers/herbs. These pots fit perfectly inside 5 segmented areas in same. Son moved all small stuff out of here. Showing him frugal ways for apartment. He bought a $30 part to get our old tv up and running. He only bought one new furniture item for his apartment. A bookcase.
Happy December from the North! I loved your post this week! That sewing machine find is AMAZING! What a treasure. I’m very Jealous you are able to walk into a Lehmans. That’s one store I wish we had here in Atlantic Canada. I drool over their online catalogue regularly! Thank you so much for the beautiful Amish Country photo shares!