Pantry Living Week 6

Once again, the deal is no grocery shopping except for perishables.
Well, as mentioned last week I cheated. And wow did that change my attitude. I suddenly stopped caring. I fell off the bandwagon and into a shopping frenzy. I desperately wanted more. Perhaps its an addiction. Now I truly understand why there needs to be black and white when it comes to goals. No grey area!

No real harm done. But one more confession. Another small trip was made to the store on Monday. The real reason was to support my hubby in his newest life lesson....cooking! He teaches at a summer enrichment program in public school. He helps the chef 3 days a week.I am taking advantage of this experience.
He shares his talent with us = mom's night off!  Monday was pizza. We needed cheese (allowable purchase) and a few toppings (don't really qualify). So while I was breaking the rules buying pepperoni I also bought some soda (cause who really eats pizza without it) and a box of Trix cereal (I will explain later).

Pizza was fabulous! The kiddos helped "decorate" it, and there was much rejoicing!

Now about the Trix. Cereal is an item we go through quickly. But I didn't buy it cause we were out (you know the weekly count). General Mills has an amazing movie promotion, but few boxes can still be found.
Buy 2 specially marked boxes, go to a website and enter the codes and receive a FREE movie ticket to a participating theater. Recently, I discovered a lone specially marked box in my pantry. As fate would have it, ShopRite had a handful of boxes left. I had to do it, for the sake of free cinema. This will be the 6th free movie ticket I've earned through this promotion. Seriously, its rad!

I'm half way to my goal of 11 weeks of Pantry Living. I'm climbing aboard the bandwagon again and repenting of my evil ways ; )

Cereal Count: 16 unopened boxes

Journaling

Facebook is different for everyone. I love that I can stay connected with my college roommates. I love seeing the new babies from high school friends. New messages and status comments boost me up. Those reactions make me want to update my status with more funny kid quotes, special moments and family details. Facebook in its twisted way has taught me to enjoy journaling, documenting my life and family history. 

I never did the "Dear Diary, no one at school likes me." Not my thing. In high school I took creative writing just so I could drop calculus. And all I really accomplished in that class was some great convos with my friend Jackie.

But I love to buy notebooks and journals. The crisp untouched page is exciting and clean, fully of possibility. I literally have a drawer with 8 unused journals. Some were gifts; others were just so pretty.

While prego with my first I was advised to document my dr. visits and my reactions to the ultrasounds and even write letters to my unborn child. I thought it sounded feasible, not too time consuming, a good way to prepare for motherhood. I did it. I even enjoyed it. I also updated fb on a regular basis.

My angel arrived and along with many photographs, I updated her achievements "holds a rattle", "hates baby food", "slept in crib last night". But even better I journaled about each dr. visit she had, her weight gain, her sicknesses, her likes and dislikes, funny stories about getting ahold of the cat and trying to lick him. Usually I would write in prose format giving details. Every few months I would write "Lilia Lately" and do bullet points, cute habits, silly phrases, favorite foods and shows, new knowledge.

Each stage felt like it would never end. And then I'd pick up the journal and see my last entry was 3 months ago and she didn't know her colors, she was biting and cried before nursery every week. Wow, she had already moved on, said a million new words, was a happy child all day and wanted her independence.

Long story short (too late) that piece of advice was worth its weight in gold. Tonight I filled in the last page of her 1st journal. It began with my first prenatal visit in Sept 2007. She is now 5 1/2 years old.

This journal is sacred to me. What began as simple bound pages has become a testimony of a tender life's beginnings. A life filled with love, laughter, joy and oweies. Yes, I even wrote her medical history.

Many adventures still lay ahead for my sweetheart. Journal #2 is ready to record her first day of Kindergarten, Halloween costumes, Christmas gifts, best friends, tummy aches and silly sayings.

Non-food items

A full pantry is a lovely thing, and so is a full bathroom cupboard. Here is a list of the non-food items that I've tried to avoid buying during my Pantry Living.

1. toilet paper
2. paper towels
3. napkins
4. paper plates
5. dish soap
6. dishwasher soap
7. tin foil
8. plastic wrap
9. plastic bags (snack, sandwich, quart, gallon)
10. shampoo
11. conditioner
12. bars of soap
13. body wash
14. razor blades
15. tooth paste
16. tooth brushes
17. fem. products
18. hair products (gel, spray, putty etc)
19. hair dye
20. laundry detergent
21. dryer sheets
22. diapers
23. wipes
24. disposable diaper bags
25. lotion
26. baby care items (diaper cream, lotion, etc)
27. bathroom cleaners
28. household cleaners
29. furniture polish
30. batteries

There you have it. I've loaded us up on essentials. We're working our way through them. But I'm proud to say we're doing great! I'm especially excited to report about the diapers. That makes me happy to never run out :)

Pantry Living Week 5 and my confession

Week 5 was another successful week of Pantry Living. No grocery shopping-check! and cash only shopping: double check!

We hit a speed bump though with milk. Dairy is an allowable purchase. We use between 2 to 4 gallons a week. (More in the winter because of hot chocolate addictions.) Well, Sam's club switched milk suppliers and the milk suffered. We had 2 gallons go nasty before the sell by date. We buy a combo of 2% and whole. My children are now terrified of blue labeled 2% milk. So we've gone entirely to whole milk and I buy only 2 at a time to prevent spoilage. (Btw Sam's refunded our money for the sour milk.)

Unopened boxes of cereal after Week 5: 16 

 During my normal non-pantry living life I get the weekly ad and pour over it. I list all desired sale items with their price. I then compare my list with my coupons and star all items with coupons. I recheck list with ad several times and hit the store on Wed or Thurs. (additional sales begin weds).

I enjoy grocery shopping. I love filling my cart and pantry. I love examining my receipt to price check. I especially love the section at the bottom that tells me my Total Savings!

I typically spend $60 a week on groceries from ShopRite and then $15 or so on milk and other items elsewhere. Truthfully, I miss the weekly shopping trip. But I've avoided the weekly ads and the shopping habit has fallen aside.

This brings me to my second minor speedbump, my awesome dad left the ShopRite ad at my home.

My first thoughts, recycle it or return it to Pop. Time passed and I began to peruse the front page. Oh the sales! Oh the specials! I know I have coupons that correspond with these lovely sales. Next thing I know I've written a short list of desirables.

I tortured myself during this 5th week of pantry living. Do I break my oath of no shopping? Back and forth I went. My sweet hubby reminded me this is self imposed and I'm welcome to shop.

Then my sweet mother showed up at my doorstep with a few of those items. Perfect! Crisis averted....almost. Mom supplied me with

1. 4 jars of peanut butter
2. 7 cans of beans (black, pinto, roman, pink)
3. 1 loaf of potato bread
4. 1 can of french fried onions

 Seriously my parents are awesome!

Week 5 ended on Thursday. I made it!

Well today we hit the store with mom, hoping to stick to resolution. I have to admit I did cheat, but only a little. The cart included

1. 2 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios (good sale $1.88 a box)
2. 2 bottles of Purex laundry soap (sale $1.99 each plus $1 off coupon)
3. Hazelnut spread (I've never had it before but Dave's been craving it for his newest recipe: crepes)
4. Swedish Fish (for the plane ride in our future)
5. V-8 Splash (that counts as a fruit, right?) 
6. Mini Pretzels 
7. 4 loaves of Potato Bread 
8. Carrots
9. Bananas
10. String Cheese
11. 2 deodorants
12. 2 notebooks (for plane ride also)

This all cost $29 and my Total Savings was $24. See? isn't that exciting!

I only feel a little guilty about bending my rules today. I guess I'm just really good at rationalizing. Here is to another week of no shopping and more saving! Happy Summer!

Pantry Living Weeks 3 & 4

You know the drill. No grocery shopping except for dairy, eggs, bread, and produce. I'm doing this to myself for two reasons: to see if I can, and to try and avoid shopping while my teacher hubby is on summer vaca. Also I try to use cash only, except for a few of the exclusions and gas for the car.

I'm happy to report I've done well these last 2 weeks. I haven't run out of anything.

1. I did buy more bread, eggs, milk and produce.
2.  I also bought orange juice. I group it with produce.
3. and some kool-aid bag drinks......well, its not something we use often and I thought it would be a nice treat for the kids at the beach. It was really really cheap and I used my cash. There, I think I've successfully rationalized that one.
4. Cereal update: I began with 31 unopened boxes. After 2 weeks we had  25 unopened boxes of cereal. Now after 4 weeks we have 19 boxes of unopened cereal. We might be able to make it to September :)

 There are a number of items we're running low on, so I'm trying to ration them out. ie-ranch dressing, granola bars, fruit snacks, popsicles, peanut butter, syrup

 
Almost forgot, I resurrected my tomato plant! I've already harvested 2 grape tomatoes. lol.