FEBRUARY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.
+ We bought a new washer and dryer. After months of sort-term fixes, we knew our money would probably be better spent just replacing them. We found a pair in our price range that also fit a specific need: no fancy parts! No touch screens, glass tops…just your run of the mill, all metal, no frills machines. They are a little smaller than the last pair, but I’m hoping their lifespan will be considerably longer than the last ones.
+ I cooked dried beans to use in recipes. So much cheaper than the canned variety and it makes a ton! I use this recipe to cook the beans and this one to make refried beans. Oven baked tostadas are a delicious and quick meatless meal we’ve been loving lately.
+ After months and months off, I went back to making our daily homemade bread. I’ve gotten into a good routine with the bread machine doing the mixing and first rise, then I separate into two loaves for the second rise and bake. I’m also considering doing a big “baking day” and making a week’s worth of bread/bagels in one swoop. Maybe next month.
+ I cleaned the coffeemaker with inexpensive vinegar and water. We’ve been terrible about doing this regularly, but I want to be better about it in this new year. Better tasting coffee and a better working machine = win/win!
+ I used some of last year’s garden produce that we saved in the freezer. So nice to eat something fresh in the dead of winter!
+ I’ve been selling a few things on ebay, Poshmark, and Pango.
So cool that you are baking bread every day! And hurray to new working appliances