First Impressions of Misfits Market

I have been buying food from Imperfect Foods off and on for 2 years now. Recently, I found out about Misfits Market and decided to give it a try. 

When I opened up the box, I noticed it was insulated with a padding that is curbside recyclable. Although non-plastic would be better, I very much appreciate that it is easily recyclable!

Under the padding was a cardboard layer with an ice block. Under that, was brown paper filler to fill up the box.

Thrift Store Shopping Trip #2

For Mother's Day, my husband took me thrift store shopping because he knows I love doing that! We went on Monday so it wasn't as crowded. We went back to the used video game store from last week and got a few Beanie Babies and a Minecraft card game.

Thrift Store Shopping Trip #1

I have gone to thrift stores MANY times over the years but I thought it would be fun to start posting on this blog some of the cool things we find. I hope this will encourage you to go and check out what's out there! Thrift store shopping can keep a lot of things out of the landfill and save you a lot of money! Not to mention it's a lot of fun to just look around at all the different things there.

My husband and I checked out some thrift stores we had never been to in a nearby town on Friday. We will definitely be back!

We started out our trip dropping off a full load of boxes at Goodwill. Then we went in to look around but didn't find anything.

Next we checked out a used book and music store. It was very cool but didn't really have anything we were looking for.

Then we went to a used video game store that had everything from Atari games forward. It also had some random things like movies, Legos, Nerf guns, and Pokemon cards. We got a baseball N64 game for my son and an extra N64 controller so all 4 kids can play Super Smash Bros together. We ended up going back and grabbing a gallon size bag of Lego Friends pieces also. Total for everything was $20! We will definitely go back there with our kids!

Yes, I cut my own hair!

Today I wanted to talk about something more uncommon I do that saves us a lot of money. I cut my own hair!

I know that sounds scary and it was to me for a while too. I started out just cutting layers into the front of my hair when I couldn't explain what I was wanting well enough to beauticians. Then I got desperate when it had been two years since I had a hair cut, I didn't know of anyone who could cut my hair, and wanted to take pictures with my newest baby for Mother's day the next day. So I talked my husband into cutting my hair. He was terrified but I walked him through exactly what I wanted done. He even cut layers into the back of my hair! I cut the front layers and goodness, I got a lot of compliments on that hair cut! I will try to find pictures of that hair cut and up date this when I do. He asked me to never ask him to do that again though because he was so afraid of messing up my hair. So I have honored that request. But, walking him through it helped me see that I knew exactly what needed to be done to cut my hair how I like it. I cut it a few more times over the years but most of the time I chickened out and paid someone to cut my hair. 

That all changed 4 years ago. We were in a new house in a new city and I had waited so long to cut my hair I was sick of it! So I cut just a few inches off to get me through until I could find someone to cut my hair. I figured it didn't have to be perfectly even because I could easily pay someone to trim it later. I left plenty of room for them to cut more off if they needed too. But to my surprise, I loved it! And it was plenty even! 

Save Money Gardening

I love to garden, but if you are not careful, it can get expensive quickly. Here are some things I have done over the years to cut down on the cost.

Flower Pots

I have picked up flower pots put by the curb for trash, posted for free on the classified apps, and bought them at the store. I buy pots that are not fancy but sturdy. I like buying nursery pots if you can find them as they are very sturdy and will hold up a long time.

Seed Starting Pots

You can start seeds in big pots but the problem is that sometimes they don't all come up. I prefer to start most seeds in starter pots so I can plant extra knowing they might not all come up and then plant the strongest ones that do. I like to reuse small succulent pots for starter pots. They are the perfect size, free with purchase, and can be used over and over again.

Tips To Resist Spending Money You Don't Need To

I wrote this several years ago, but it still holds true. It was a good reminder for me! I just added a few more things as well before posting today. I hope this helps some of you!

1) Take extra time to get ready for the day. Fix your hair, do your makeup, paint your nails, and put on jewelry. My favorite accessory is my cowboy boots! Everything you can do to feel better about yourself will make you feel less "deprived" which will make it easier not to buy things you don't need. 

2) Keep your clothes washed. As a mom, I know we usually put everyone else first. One way that plays out in my house is that my clothes are always the last to get washed. Which means I don't really get to wear my favorite clothes that often because they are always at the bottom of the hamper. 

I hang a lot of my own clothes so they wont shrink and will look nice as long as possible. So for me, keeping my clothes clean means running a small load of my laundry a few nights a week and hanging it up in the shower so it can be dry and ready to get out of everyone's way in the morning. If I try to wash a big load of my clothes, that always ends with either wet clothes hanging off of everything in the house, or me hanging it up in batches which results in half getting stinky waiting in the laundry basket to get hung up. My point is figure out what works for you, but do find a way to keep most of your clothes clean at all times. What does this have to do with not spending extra money? I've found that if I'm wearing my "it's laundry day" clothes too often it makes me feel like I don't have any clothes I like so I want to go buy clothes I actually like. Even though in reality, I have plenty of clothes I like. They are just always dirty! So try to keep your clothes washed.

3) Take time to make your bed nicely, put your table decorations out, etc. The more you enjoy how your home looks, the more you will feel like you have plenty. It will help you resist buying home decor when you are out buying groceries at Target! Or wherever your weakness is!

Go on a Junk Run to Find Treasures

In our neighborhood, we have bulk pickup every other week. So every other week, people put out items on the curb that may or may not be working that they no longer want. On face value, you might think, "so what, it's probably all broken and worn out items that should go to the land fill." But, you would not believe how much good stuff we have found on the curb. Here is just a sampling...

Vacuum cleaners

Giant wall mirror

Lamps

Weed eater

Lawn mowers

Computers

Flower Pots

Tvs

Small outdoor tables

3 drawer units

Upright fans

Ceiling fans

Cooler/Mini fridge

Scooters (manual and battery powered)

Power wheels

Bike trailers

Bikes

Light strands

Speakers

Wireless smart phone charger

Guitars

DVD, VCR, receivers, etc.

Sports equipment

Mini Christmas trees

Storage containers

Shoe organizers

Book shelves

Storage cubbies

Chest of drawers

Desks

Office Chairs

Futon

Misc. kids toys

Over toilet bathroom organizer

Kitchen cabinets

Fishing poles

Nice metal outdoor chairs and a bench

Buy and Sell Used Clothing on Poshmark

The other day, I wrote about Kidizen, but today I'm going to tell you about the other second hand app I use for clothing. Kidizen is great for kids and they even have some stuff for moms. But, my 10, 13, & 14 year olds are all wearing adult shoes and my 14 year old is in men's clothing now. Kidizen isn't a big help for that.

We have been shopping on Poshmark for about the last year. We have bought clothes for everyone as they even have kids clothes. We have bought...

Cowboy Boots

Tennis Shoes

Steel Toe Boots

Rain Boots

Bras

Swim Suits

Work Shirts

T-shirts

Jeans

Shorts

Purses

Dresses

Skirts

Otter Box iPhone case

Buy and Sell Used Clothing on Kidizen

I have saved a lot of money on my kids clothes by accepting hand me downs, shopping sales, clearance, and second hand. Definitely let friends and family members, with kids a few years older than your kids, know you are happy to accept any clothes they don't want anymore. I always let my kids veto anything they don't like, except when they were really little and we were really hurting for money. Remember you don't have to buy true pajamas to be comfy while sleeping either. My kids have often slept in hand me down sports, church, and camp shirts from friends and family. They may not have had any attachment to those activities but the t-shirts were great for sleeping, painting, or even eat messy foods in! For pants they can sleep in any leggings or shorts that aren't good enough for regular wear (stained, small holes, or too short).

You can look at thrift stores or yard sales for second hand, but that takes a lot of time to fully clothe four kids. Kids specific second hand stores are much easier even if they are a little more pricey. My favorite place to shop for kids clothes in our old town was Kid to Kid. We were able to bring the few things my kids didn't wear out to sell to help offset part of the clothing budget. The kids were able to walk around and shop with very little limits which was fun for them. It was really helpful to try on all different brands and styles to see what fit them best. And they got to really pick out what fit their tastes better just shopping the clearance racks or just wearing hand me downs.

Meal Planning Tip #2 - Meal List

One thing that really helped me was creating a list of meals my family likes to eat. It's easy for me to get stuck cooking the same things over and over and forget things we used to eat. It's like we get in a rut for a little while, try some new things, and then get in a rut eating those over and over. I easily forget things we haven't made in a few weeks. Making a list of meals is a big help. 

One clarification, in our house, my kids make breakfast for themselves. I'm not a morning person and this helps me out a lot! I make sure they have plenty of healthy things to eat that they can make for themselves. Yes, this list includes cereal, but I only buy them the healthier ones. They each get a box a week and after that, they have to eat something else. So the breakfast list is just to help me make sure everything is in stock in our house. They know to eat one serving of a main dish, one fruit, one yogurt tube, and one protein (cottage cheese or sausage links) along with a glass of milk. About milk, yes there are a lot of choices listed! My kids that are growing like weeds drink whole milk, my kids who aren't growing much at the moment drink 2%, I drink soy, and one of my kids is lactose intolerant.

Here's a sample:

Breakfast: 

Cereal

Oatmeal

Grits

Cream of Wheat

Leftover French Toast, Pancakes, and Waffles

Yogurt Tubes

Sausage Links

Cottage Cheese

Milk (whole, 2%, Soy, and lactose free)

Meal Planning Tip #1 - Shop From Your Pantry First

Let me start by saying menu planning has been a big learning curve for me over the last 15 years and I by no means have this all figured out. But, I would like to share things I've learned over the years to hopefully help you as well.

I always used to get overwhelmed because the process felt like too many steps and I always got hung up on one. So I decided to just keep trying and every time I felt like I failed, look at where I got stuck, and troubleshoot that step. I have so many tips to share but I will start with this one today.

Look around your kitchen (and house?) to see what food you still have that you may have forgotten about. That random box of pasta, the few remaining potatoes, some meat in your freezer, etc. Then plan meals including those items first. Sometimes I realize I have almost everything I have for a meal and just need to buy a side item. 

Eating at home

Leanne from Savingdinner.com just sent out one of her weekly e-mails. This one caught my eye because it was talking about saving money by eating at home. Yes, it is a GREAT way to save money! It is also a wonderful way to eat healthier and an easy way to "go green."

When you eat out, you have little control over where your food is grown, how it is grown, & what extra additives are in it. When you cook at home though (and I'm not talking about frozen dinners!), you have a LOT of control over these things. You can chose to buy at a farmer's market to get locally grown fruits & vegetables. Not only does that save emissions of the food being trucked all over the country, it cuts out all that shipping time so you get fresher produce. At the grocery store, you can chose organic instead of traditionally grown. When you make it all from scratch you can control what "additives" (additional flavorings, salt, sugar, etc.) and how much of them are included. And you can completely skip all the extras that are added in commercially processed foods.

Even if you don't make it from scratch, you still have the power of information at the grocery store. You can read the labels and chose brands which are more wholesome.

You have to start somewhere right? So why not start with what not only affects the environment, but also, more importantly, YOU!