Bye, Bye, Glad Wrap; Hello Scarlet Letter

Inspiration
Once upon a time, I was inspired to do more good for the earth than I was doing. Soooo, I decided to give up Glad Wrap. No problem! I had half a roll left. Ha! I would use it sparingly...that's the plan. I did use it sparingly.

Gone
Yes, it ran out. Had I expected more to come from the roll like clowns spilling from a tiny car? Now, it is real--no more Glad Wrap. Before I tossed the box, I looked in it several more times that day. Satisfied that all of the roll was really gone and no more would appear, I discarded the box, sadly and slowly, knowing I would never see that cheerful yellow box in my kitchen again. Goodbye, dear one.

Lots of whining
Yes, I complained and whined about how much I missed Glad Wrap. This was a friend of at least 45 years! Wouldn't you miss a faithful friend? Never mind I had to pay for each visit out of my pocket. Never mind I deliberately ripped its innards and threw all unceremoniously into the trash and sent it for a ride on a nasty truck, a ride to a horrid, smelly place to live beneath the earth forever. Oh, I whined to anyone I trusted not to look at me like a nut. " I really miss my box of Glad Wrap!"

Substitutes

For much of my life, I never even knew about Glad Wrap. My mother put a saucer over leftovers in the refrigerator. We used Cut Rite waxed paper for school sandwiches. She also used it for putting over food in the refrigerator. At one point over 50 years ago, she used the little shower bonnets made just for food. We had Reynolds foil.

My substitutes
As it turns out, I was already using many other methods of storing leftovers. My transition to "no Glad Wrap" was difficult, nevertheless.



In the picture, top right clockwise: blue sandwich box, old; Smuckers glass pb jar with Pet milk; pecans in Ball, half-pint, wide-mouth canning/freezing, canning jar topped with plastic lid that is sold to make the reusable jar useful for storage; glass bowl with celery inside covered with little lemon "shower cap;" fruit "shower cap;" white bowl with saucer for a cover; half-pint, short freezer jar, reusing canning lid and ring; 4-oz. Tupperware storage. See, I can do other things. Why do I go for the bad boy? He wastes my money and the resources of the earth! Glad, shame on you, bad boy.

What's new?
 Very little. I purchased the little "shower cap" covers in a Publix shortly after I gave up Glad Wrap. I have had the other items for years and used all of them often. I use quart canning jars to store cooked, dried beans. But, if I store them in a bowl, I use a dinner plate as a cover. I just will not give up Tupperware. Nor will I stop using the plastic sandwich box.

Quite parsimonious
As it turns out, I was further along to being a miser with the storage purchases than I thought, even with the Glad.

A gift
A friend finally just bought me a box because she knew how much I missed my Glad. I was ever so grateful. I think I hugged the box. No, I am sure I did. Well, after almost 2 years, I . RAN . OUT.

Sneaking around
Just before Christmas, I stealthily approached the aisle with Glad. My fingers trembled as I snatched the last box off the shelf. That sweetie was mine.

Shock!
When I opened the box, I startled. The Glad was RED. Now that was a shock, almost like a Scarlet Letter in a box, labeling me and shaming me each time I opened the box and ripped off a sheet. I know how Hester felt. Then, RED taunted me each time I opened the refrigerator or the vegetable crisper drawer. The mischievous Frugal Fairy had the last laugh. Do you know exactly how hard it is to figure out which vegetable is which? A small amount of cabbage, celery, onion, and other items were all in the own little swaddling of red, too many layers. No, it is not easy to ascertain what is what when I am having trouble bending, seeing these is my own shadow, and in a hurry.

PS
Glad is the only plastic wrap that does not have plasticizers in it. At least, it is the least toxic--not a good attitude on my part...sigh...sigh...sigh. So, that bit of the health scare does not bother me. Yes, I do believe that most plastic is not healthy to use. Tupperware gets a pass as do my sandwich boxes.

Your turn
Have you given up plastic wrap or consumable products for you food storage needs? What do you use?

What I Do for Eggs--is it worth it?

Is the price of my eggs too high?
Okay, since I am getting few eggs these days, I must be doing this for the love of hens. As you may know, parts of the South received heavy snow. I have 8 inches in my yard. The wind blew gently and now that is 7 3/4 inches of snow and 1/4 inch of ice. Every day the ice gets deeper and more treacherous.

traipsing into scary places
Today, I was crunching along, hauling the hens in my arms to their pen as I have to do each morning since it snowed. They refuse to walk on the snow. All day long I traipse on the scary, icy yard, going to their pen to give them nice, warm, unfrozen water and warm, cooked food. No, they don't have a house for night time living. They live in two Rubbermaid boxes atop a plastic table in a 10' x 10' dog pen. Since the raccoon attack and hen murder, they spend the nights indoors with me. We need a patron for this egg project, the hens and I.

at night they live inside with me
Usually, the night cage is set outside the door in the morning, left open for their departure. They depart at their leisure with stiff-legged jumps, and I follow in a few minutes with food and water. Since I still have 8 inches of snow, they refuse to leave the porch. Then, there is poop on the porch.....ewwww.

Speaking of stiff-legged jumping and landings, have you ever noticed that hens do not bend their knees to land when they jump down from something? They don't. They land with a thud that sounds and looks painful.

enticing them
I threw whole wheat bread (no preservatives, no hfcs) onto the porch to induce them to leave the cage today. That worked like a charm. Then, when they finished eating, they hopped right back into the cage. That left me with no choice. I had to carry them to their pen again.

gentle
They are always handled gently. Some people grab wings and tails or just swoop down, grab the feet, and carry them upside down. I cannot bear to do that.

long snow-on-the-ground event
It snowed Sunday night, so Monday I carried them. Tuesday, I carried them off the by now-icy porch. Wednesday, they disappeared, so I assumed they went to their pen. NO! they just jumped through the porch railing and were scratching furiously in the long flower bed. They must have detected the one last flower bulb left from their summer scratchings.

treacherous steps
Wednesday, they had lots of room to get away from me since they were in the flower bed. They don't run, just walk away.  I picked up Fancy easily. When I came back for Thelma and Louise, they were determined to avoid me. Silly hens! To avoid me, they went down the concrete basement steps...treacherous for me and especially with the ice. They were easily caught since they were penned in. As I walked up the steps with two hens clutched to my chest, I seriously wondered about my judgment.... I have lived a nice, clean (no poop) life until now-- 64 years old-- and now I am clutching 2 hens to my chest, staggering along in 8" snow that has crusted over, huffing and puffing, saving them from raccoons and cold, hoping that I do not slip down on the ice, crush them to death or maim them.

squalling hens
They would never have willingly picked me to go home with, not in a million years. You should hear their looong, drawn out squalling. I never knew hens did that. Mine know only too well how to beg/plead, complain, and sound danger.

last of flower bed
They sat on the porch in their house cage for an hour Wednesday, just complaining. Then, they decided to dig up every last bulb left in my lovely flower bed after they got bored of pooping on the porch and on my bucket of sand. Oh, I think I told you about that last bulb.

nutritious eggs
Still, I get eggs that are nutritious and have nothing in them to harm the hens or me. I will have gotten eight eggs this week if they keep it up. Okay, so there is the exercise I get by carrying for them. I cannot drive yet because of ice and snow. I cannot even walk into a store to shop, getting a few minutes of activity. So, carrying hens and working to walk in deep snow will be all the exercise I get. If not for them, I would not have stepped foot outside the house all day long for these three  days. Okay, I really have no place to go...lol.

yes!
Raising hens for eggs is worth it for me. It is not the monetary value I count. Healthful eggs from healthy hens is worth the bother. Heart disease is treated and prevented with Omega 3. While there is absolutely no heart disease on either side of my family, I don't want to be the first. Hens that eat green things have eggs chock full Omega 3. I fed them turnip greens from those I grew on the counter from sprouting turnips in their market food. Free range is the way to go for healthy eggs, meat, and dairy products. However, it would be less bother if they had a secure house, secure from raccoons!

practical or parsimonious
At this point keeping these three hens is not practical! They should have a place outdoors that is secure. I don't like having to carry them clutched to my chest. It is a real pain to walk so much. And, the conditions under which I must walk right now are dangerous. Oh, if I were not carrying chickens and were not in pain, having trouble with balance--sure, I love living like this. Okay, that last statement was a lie. Since I know the snow will melt soon, I can endure. But, if this were the way it was going to be all the time, I might just be buying eggs at the store. Practicality would win over parsimony. Laura Ingalls, I am not.

Your turn
Do you raise hens for eggs? For your own consumption or to sell and consume? To save money? To have eggs that have no hormones, poison, or antibiotics? Isn't the raising of hens just a pain some days?

Linda

"Happy Frugal Birthday to You"

Last week, I discussed with my daughter the idea of reducing spending on my granddaughter's party this year. We were talking about all the ways she has cut spending, plus ways she can further reduce spending. She is facing financial problems. Well, still having financial problems is more like it. But, she is learning what is essential and what is not. Since her daughter may have broken the growth plate in her knee/leg, she was not really into discussing a May party. Plus, she is still worried about her own severe nosebleed and the things she cannot do now because the same thing might occur.

Last year, she invited 20 or so children. Parents and siblings came, also, and stayed. My daughter felt compelled to feed the whole crew pizza and spend an outrageous (for her) amount of money. Usually it is in her small apt, but last year she hoped for no rain and had it in the park with all the attendees not traipsing into her apartment.

She did not mind their being there except she would have felt compelled to clean beforehand...lol.

My Ideas--all eco-friendly and cheap!

Last year? She bought matching paper tablecloth, napkins, cups, loot bags, and a centerpiece. She bought cake, ice cream, candles, gifts for her daughter, pizzas for 30 people, and spent much of her valuable time. This year, the party should be simpler and less costly. With little to buy and less going to a landfill, the party can still be pretty and happy for the birthday girl.

Guests? My daughter quit giving large parties for her older son at about this age. She thinks this is the year that her daughter will not have a huge party. Good!

Tablecloth and napkins? I am willing to buy fabric if I cannot find anything in my stash or elsewhere and make a cloth tablecloth to reuse for her party each year. I might be induced to make reusable napkins!

Decorations? In my dumpster diving past, some days I just looked in a dumpster and found a treasure trove. Balloons for helium were in a neat, clean box behind the store, just waiting to be picked up by me. She can make a balloon flower like the one at the top of this page. This is on a Martha Stewart site, but the balloon flower I originally saw on the Internet had the balloon in the middle just a bit smaller. And, the center balloon will only be on one side of the flower since it will probably be hung on the wall. I think I have paper streamers, too.

Paper plates and cups? What to eat from other than paper? How about free paper that will not be reordered? While working online surveys about six years ago, I was given heavy, decorated paper plates to try that have pink and lavender flowers. Naturally, I did not use them all. After all, there is only one of me. So, I have offered to send them to her. Okay, it will be paper again! Yes, I will have to mail them, but I will mail gifts. The box can be planned so that the plates will fit! I even found the cups to match at a clearance place that is full of broken boxes of merchandise. I can stick them in a flat rate box with presents.

Candles? I have some clearance birthday candles!

Food? How about cake or cupcake and ice cream? She can go retro! (No serving a meal of pizzas.) Since there is always abundant food at children's parties in NYC, she can make it clear to the guests (maybe one or two) that she is only having cake and ice cream. I do get coupons for free food items, so I can always supply coupons to cut down on costs on cake mix or frosting. She works, so she does not have time to mix cakes from scratch anymore. She can use one of my Coke coupons from http://www.mycokerewards.com/ to supply something to drink. Now, I just need plenty of Coke codes. I find cake mixes and frosting for free with sales and coupons. Ooooh, I have some cherry Kool Aid, not my first choice for a drink, but it will be free. Oh, my, I just remembered I have a stash of cupcake papers. My mother gave them to me prior to 1980.

Loot bags? Whhhhhyyyy? If I have to bribe you to come to my party and stay, why bother?...lol. I probably have enough things for favors for her and her little neighbor IF it is really necessary.

Invitations--no need.

I think we can make a $200 party cost less than $10.

Gifts? Since I stock up on sale or thrift clothing in the fall for $1-$3 for spring, in March she gets most of what I have bought for her. Each year, I hold  back one outfit to send to be wrapped for her birthday. I can hold back one for daughter to wrap from her. I am sure my daughter will want to buy other gifts, but she can claim one of my outfits.

Now, daughter has said "no big party," so let's see how my alternate, green, money-saving plans work for her. "No big party" was not my idea! Okay, I just don't want you to think I was pressuring her. Okay, so I was nudging a little after she said, "No big party." What else is a mother to do but nudge when the daughter leans a bit?

I know it is a little too early to plan for a May birthday, but the sooner we start, the more frugal we can be. Besides, she is in NYC and I am in Alabama. Coordination is the key.

My daughter is too busy to engage in any crafts for decorating and is too tired to make crafts at the party, even for two children. I was thinking her 16-year-old son could make the flower or at least blow up the balloons.

Not green and frugal?
Considering I have most of the items, yes it is frugal. I rescued those balloons from a trip to the landfill. I will be buying new fabric only if I cannot find thrift fabric. Not using the paper products given to me--cupcake papers and paper plates--is my way of saving them for an occasion that really warrants paper products. This occasion warrants using my pretty paper plates.

Your turn
Have you cut back on children's parties in any way? Fewer guests? Less lavish food? No loot bags? How green and frugal have you been? Oh, I might even use some of the ideas you send my way.

Free Spaghetti Contest: AL, AR, IN, KY, MS, TN

Over at CouponLove there is a giveway--a year's supply of Ronco Spaghetti. Check out the link for the rules. I know there are a few people from KY who follow my blog. There are even two coupons available right now sy CouponLove. Get your coupons. Pass the word. Sluggy at DON'T READ THIS; IT'S BORING sent me this contest. Check her blog to get some super ideas on how to coupon to the extreme. Sluggy makes something like $700/year selling her free-with-coupons-and-sales items at a flea market. She is my coupon idol.

RONCO is the only brand of spaghetti that ever entered our home as I grew up. And, spaghetti was our all-time favorite food.

Sweet Potato Madness and Candle Frugality: How Not To Save Money

Revisit briefly
Some of you may remember my telling you how HOARDING LITERALLY KILLED MY BEST FRIEND. In many ways he was very cautious with his money. His cousin who was his age and lived in the same community as they grew up and then again when they were older reveled in telling people how poor they were as children. They were, but it was the Depression. Both managed to do very well for themselves in this world. War was the jungles of Vietnam or the sky above the jungles for my best friend. War was the beaches of Hawaii for his cousin.

The Cousin
The Cousin was a tall, well-built, handsome, rugged man with a deep voice and a hearty laugh and a shock of thick, wavy hair and an easy smile. (I met him in 1981) Oh, yes, he was attractive! And, he was a riveting storyteller. His booming, wonderful singing voice actually frightened his future brother-in-law during church when they first met.

The Cousin jokingly bragged that during the Vietnam War, he kept Hawaii's beaches safe. When we laughed, he would ask with all seriousness if anyone ever invaded Hawaii when he was there. It sort of peeved him that my best friend, his cousin, had a dangerous, glamorous job with many medals. He was in intelligence. It seemed he had free time for nearby beaches.

My best friend and his Cousin vied for me and my attention even though neither one actually "wanted" me. What each wanted was for me to listen to him only, to smile at him only when we were all together!They met me at exactly the same moment when I approached them in a store, looking for directions. But, they each claimed the other was an interloper. They were just jealous of the friendship with me, nothing more. Sigh . . . that was tiring . . . their jealously, I mean. We were all just friends.

Okay....on to the story...
When my best friend died, I naturally kept in touch with the cousin. It was difficult because of his increasingly peevish manner and potty (okay, sewer) mouth. Occasionally, he became very talkative AND agreeable. He was on a saving-money kick, mostly in all the wrong ways. He loved to regale me with his frugal exploits.

Sweet potato madness
The Cousin took a sweet potato or many, forgot which, and put it/them in the oven while he baked or just reheated something. Then, he turned the oven off. However, when the baking/reheating was done, the sweet potato was not done. So, he left it in the oven until he used the oven again several days later. He surmised that the sweet potato would eventually cook. "Unless it rots first," was my response. He ignored my remark. His oven events were not long enough to ever heat it through or cook it until done. Since I never heard more about his success on subsequent telephone visits, I think I can safely assume he was not successful; the sweet potato most likely rotted.

Candle frugality...let there be light
On another occasion, he told me how he was using candles instead of electricity for lighting his home. He put candles on the mantle, sideboard, tables, just everywhere. Then, he propped mirrors behind them to reflect and thus multiply the light of the candles. In theory and in fact this is a good idea, except for the part where the house burns down with a man in his mid seventies still inside! Thankfully, that never happened. I can just imagine all three stories in cinders in the basement!

Similarities?
My best friend met with tragedy when he tried to "save." Both were charmingly eccentric.

Your turn
Have you ever mistakenly tried to be frugal in the wrong way? Or, do you know anyone who has? Can you share the method of saving that was foolish or dangerous? What happened? Make me laugh!

The Myth of Self Reliance

Sure, I can every year. No, I didn't grow these tomatoes. I had to buy the canning jars. Turnip greens I grew in a bowl are sparse. Someone else made the loom and loops for the potholder while I crafted it. A quart of pecans I picked up were on someone else's property. I am not completely self-reliant. This has nothing to do with Emerson's Essay, Self Reliance.

Tom Hemenway's post, The Myth of Self Reliance, explores the reasons we should never strive to "become fully self-sufficient." Interesting essay. It is long and well worth reading. So, settle in and learn from him after you hear what I have to say...lol...me first.

No matter how often I have said that I can make every article of clothing I wear (I can), including panties and bras, the truth is that someone manufactured my machines and my fabric. Even the lowly or exalted if you wish, sewing needle, was made by someone else. I rely on unseen masses. Even those who strive to produce all their own food realize there are some things that must come from elsewhere. Or, is just vegetable and fruit production the goal and the way they measure their their own self-sufficiency?

Even before the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, people in an agrarian economy depended upon the skills and labors of others. Home-crafted and homegrown goods were the means of obtaining needed items that an individual did not make or grow. The Industrial Revolution diminished the skill sets of many people, especially a generation who went into manufacturing and working for the jingle in the pocket instead of bartering goods and services.

We stand, as Hemenway states, "on mountains of shoulders."

In my case, I own many of the means of production--sewing machines, canners, gardening tools, drill/hammers/more, and land. Owning the means of production is more important than making money to buy items. However, your means of producing may be the abililty to buy all you need instead of actually producing anything tangible, just jingle. Those who own the means of production control more of the jingle and have deeper pockets.

So, a person can rewire a lamp? Did the person purchase the wiring or was it purchased from someone who knows how to make wiring? I surely don't! Who made the lamp? I did not manufacture my canner, jars, fabric, yarn, or the crochet hooks. Aha, I CAN carve a crochet hook if I set my mind to it and don't mind cutting or gouging myself! But, how many trials and errors would I suffer. But, I don't have a spinning wheel or sheep and know nothing about either. How can I crochet or sew without yarn or fabric? As much as I love milk, I will never have a cow or goat!

Hemenway's idea, not a new one, of building community for support and sharing and protection is something people should consider. We all know families who seem to live in "compounds" and can be supportive in many ways, making it possible for members of the family to feel secure about everything and support one another.

I don't have such a "community," per se. But, I think in a time of dire distress I could make it happen...maybe with much difficulty. I have never pretended to myself that I am self-sufficinet. I know I am dependent on others.

Your turn
How about you? Do you ever feel you are self-sufficient? Self-reliant? Interdependent?

Tap Dancing Chickens in My Yard=free, live entertainment

In the summer, especially, my hens are really great, frugal, live entertainment. Okay, they would be good entertainment in the winter, too, except I don't sit in my swing much. One day, all four hens were lined up, side by side, executing their search dance in unison. If only I had a video camera at that moment! A viral video of that would have paid off handsomely on YouTube.

In tap terms, this is how hens dance/search:

New chicken dance?

Done slowly and leisurely or quickly and with energy. No tap shoes necessary. At times this can seem like a soft shoe dance.

L brush back, (scritch sound)

L step in place

R brush back (scritch sound)

R step in place

L back step

R back step

Peck, peck, peck

repeat ad infinitum

Variations can include two R brush backs (spanks) before the step back, two L brush backs (spanks), anything that seems expeditious to get to the bugs. Occasionally look around to see who else seems to be having luck, especially when you hear a slight sound emitted that sounds like a signal for bugs or success.

Run over to the new good-bug-spot and start the dance over.

Your hen's turn
Have you ever noticed that your hens dance this way, completely choreographed? All of you who don't have hens, see what you are missing?