Living like an Ant in a Grasshopper world

Frugal & Green: Make Your Own Reusable Shopping Bags

July 22, 2009 By 10 Comments

On June 1, 2009 the city of Toronto passed a law meaning that all stores (including restaurants) must charge a minimum of 5 cents for each plastic bag that customers take. The idea it to reduce the amount of plastic bags going into our waste. I’m sure more and more communities will begin this practice and I know many large retailers are now charging for bags even without the by-law.

Mountain of Plastic Bags

Mountain of Plastic Bags

I’ve gathered up a bunch of links for free shopping bag patterns located around the web. There are patterns for sewing, knitting, crocheting and there’s even a macrame pattern.  I hope some of these patterns inspire you to make your own bags. I’d love to see them!

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Frugal Food: Safe Meat Handling

July 21, 2009 By 1 Comment

Nothing seems to strike fear into the hearts of most of us these days quite like the fear of food poisoning and food born bacteria does. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that every year about 76 million people in the United States become ill from harmful bacteria in food; of these, about 5,000 die. Bacteria grows rapidly on meat and fish – beef, lamb, chicken, pork, salmon, etc. – at room temperature so all meats, poultry and fish must be stored in the fridge or freezer.

raw meat

raw meat

Keep raw meat away from other foods as it’s very easy to cross contaminate. I’ve seen it recommended to use separate cutting boards at all times. One for raw meat that is never used for any other foods and one for fruits, vegetables, etc. It’s also very important to disinfect any surface or object that the raw meat has touched.

A simple, inexpensive and non-toxic method is to spray surfaces with vinegar, then with hydrogen peroxide. No rinsing is necessary. Produce and meats can also be sprayed in this manner to disinfect. Here’s some more information on the use of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to disinfect both foods and surfaces. (Note: do not use this method on counters or surfaces made of calcium-based stone such as limestone, marble or calcite as the vinegar may etch or dissolve the stone. Use soap and water instead.)

All meats should be cooked thoroughly and it’s recommended that you use a meat thermometer to be sure that meats are properly cooked. Here’s a guide for safe temperatures:

USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures

  • Steaks & Roasts – 145 °F
  • Fish – 145 °F
  • Pork – 160 °F
  • Ground Beef – 160 °F
  • Egg Dishes – 160 °F
  • Chicken Breasts – 165 °F
  • Whole Poultry – 165 °F

Once food is cooked it should be consumed at once or packaged into a container and stored in the refrigerator. Remember to wash your hands frequently before, during and after handling raw meats and wash all cooking utensils, pans, dishes immediately in hot soapy water after use. Follow up with another spray of the vinegar and then the hydrogen peroxide to kill up to 10 times more bacteria than just soap and water alone.

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Frugal & Green: Make Your Own Reusable Washclothes

July 20, 2009 By 4 Comments

One of the easiest ways to live a little more frugally and a little greener at the same time is to stop using paper towels and start using washable cloths instead. Knit or crochet cloths are easy to make and are a great replacement for those paper towels. They’re absorbant, durable, washable, soft enough to wipe or clean even the most delicate surfaces yet the fabric texture has great scrubbing abilities.

They can be used as dishcloths, facecloths, washcloths, and cleaning rags and can be tossed in the wash.  They’re a great way to use up those little odds and ends of yarn leftover from other projects too.

Dishclothes Galore!

Dishclothes Galore!

Whether you are an experienced knitter or crocheter or someone who has never attempted to knit or crochet before the patterns below are simple and quick to make up and the clothes will last for years. I do recommend though you pick different colours for different uses if you’re planning to make both dishcloths or scrubbing clothes as well as facecloths.

If you’ve never knit or crocheted before here are a couple of tutorials. Washcloths are a great way to learn to knit or crochet as the patterns are pretty simple and even if the first few don’t turn out perfect – they’ll still be great scrubbing rags.

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Frugal Fun: Card Games For Those Rainy Days

July 17, 2009 By 1 Comment

When I was a kid I spent countless rainy afternoons and snowy evenings playing cards with my Grandfather. We’d play Go Fish and Crazy 8s usually. Over time we changed the rules so much for Crazy 8s that we called it Double Crazy 8s and had special rules for nearly every card in the deck!

I’d talk about how my day went, the crush I had on the boy who sat near me in school, and he’d tall me tall tales of adventure while we played. Some of my best memories are of Grampie Normie and I and out our hours of card playing.

Playing Cards

Playing Cards

It seems these days with the technology and the media we often feel that such simple games aren’t nearly as valuable as the newest, loudest video game or trendy activity. But there’s something so homey and comforting about a deck of cards, the edges soft and frayed with use that just can’t be replaced with a game controller. Especially on those rainy summer days when everyone’s bored and needs a change of pace.

Here’s a list of card game instructions from around the web. Most households already have a deck or two of cards and they can always be found for a dollar or two at the local dollar store. Frugal Fun for the whole family.

Deal me in!

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Frugal Food: How Long Will Food Keep in the Freezer?

July 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

This is post #3 in the Frugal Food: Freezer series. Be sure to check out post #1 “Frugal Food: Foods You Can’t Freeze” and post #2 “Frugal Foods: How to Package Food for the Freezer“.

Frozen vegetables

While storing food longer than the times listed in the guide below won’t affect food safety it will affect taste, nutrients and texture of the foods so it’s recommended that you label all foods in your freezer with the name of the item and the date it was placed into the freezer.

I personally prefer and upright style freezer as it’s easier to organize and find things and there’s less chance that items will get buried at the bottom of the freezer never to been seen for years. Remember, it’s not frugal to freeze food if you leave it in there so long that’s inedible!

Fruits and Vegetables 1 year
Butter, salted 1 year
Butter, unsalted 3 months
Cheese 3months
Milk up to 6 weeks
Margarine 6 months
Egg, whites 3 months
Egg, yolks mixed with 1/2tsp salt per yolk 3 months
Fish, uncooked 2 months
Shellfish 2 to 4 months
Beef, uncooked, roast 6 to 12 months
Beef, uncooked, steak 6 to 12 months
Beef, uncooked, ground 3 months
Lamb, uncooked 6 to 9 months
Pork, uncooked, roast or chops 3 to 6 months
Poultry, uncooked, pieces 6 months
Poultry, uncooked, whole 1 year
Beans, Lentils or Rice, cooked 3 to 6 months
Casseroles 3 months
Cooked meats 2 months
Soups and Stews 4 months
Breads, yeast, baked or unbaked 8 months
Cakes, Cookies, Sweet Breads, Muffins 4 months
Pastry Crust, unbaked 2 months
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Frugal, Green & Clean: Cleaning Your Oven Without Chemical Cleaners

July 16, 2009 By 1 Comment

A quick and dirty (ha!) post on oven cleaning. Why? Because I’ve been avoiding cleaning mine for the last week and I decided writing about it was a great way to procrastinate yet feel like I’m being productive at the same time ;)

Frugal, green and easy oven cleaning recipe: Mix 2 tablespoons liquid dish detergent, 2 teaspoons borax into 4 cups warm water. Apply the mixture to the inside of the oven – cover walls, ceiling, back, etc. Let sit for 30 minutes then scrub with a scrubbing brush or plastic scouring pad and a paste of baking soda and water. Sponge clean with damp sponge  to remove residue.

All little patience and elbow grease is all it takes!

(Note: while borax is a natural substance it is considered a poison if ingested. Please read this to ensure you use borax safely.)

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Frugal Food: How to Package Food for the Freezer

July 16, 2009 By 1 Comment

This is post #2 in the Frugal Food: Freezer series. Be sure to check out post #1 “Frugal Food: Foods You Can’t Freeze“.

Plastic freezer containers
Wrapping and packaging foods for the freezer can seem intimidating at the beginning. Should you use butcher paper? Zippered freezer bags, or plastic storage containers? Which packaging should I use for which foods? How much food can I freeze at once?

First a few quick freezing tips:

  • Make sure the freezer is set at 0F or -18C or lower.
  • If you plan to freeze a lot of food at the same time turn the thermometre of the freezer to it’s coldest setting for the day before.
  • Don’t try to freeze to much at once. Try to freeze no more than 3lbs (1.5kg) of food per cubic-foot capacity of your freezer within a 24 hour period.
  • Freeze in usable quantities. If you have a household of 2 people it doesn’t make sense to freeze a container with enough to feed 8 people. Think about how you’ll use things before you freeze them and package accordingly.
  • Make sure you use only vaporproof/moistureproof packaging that is designed for use in the freezer. Packaging should be able to withstand freezing and thawing without breaking or cracking. If you choose glass containers make sure they are freezer-proof.
  • Square container take up less space and stack better than round containers.

There are two types of packaging for freezing foods: rigid (best for foods like soups, stews, casseroles, etc.) and flexible (best for firmer foods like fruits, vegetables, meats, etc.). Either type should be vaporproof, leakproof, durable and able to withstand freezing temperatures.

Packaging meat & fish for the freezer: While you can freeze meat and fish in their grocery store wrappings for short term freezing (up to 1 month) meat and fish are best wrapped in butcher paper to freeze. I probably should take a bunch of photos of the process of wrapping meat but I’m not one to reinvent the wheel if I don’t have to LOL. Here’s a great tutorial on wrapping meat for the freezer with nice illustrations.

Next we’ll talk about how long foods can be kept in the freezer before they start losing flavour, nutritional value and texture.

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Frugal Living: Merlene's Life a Year Later

July 16, 2009 By 3 Comments

For the last few months there’s been one item on my “To Do” list that keeps getting ignored: Update the Bio. I have to say, I absolutely hate writing bios, profiles for networking sites, etc. It’s definitely overdue and things have changed a lot over the last 12 months since I wrote this bio and started this blog. (Actually – it wasn’t even this blog – it started as Frugalous.com and later I moved it all here to Frugal Family Life.)

I sold my house last August with the plan that my teenage son and I would move into a 2 bedroom apartment. My teen daughter was planning to rent a house with 3 other girls as she headed into her second year of college in a city about 90 minutes away. They say even the best laid plans go astray. The week I was moving into the 2 bedroom apartment my lovely Girlchild informed me that she’d decided to change schools and change direction and would now be living at home with me after all. Oops! Now I have myself and 2 teens in a 2 bedroom apartment. A small 2 bedroom apartment. With a year’s lease signed. I could have cried. Truly.

I happened to mention the situation to my landlord who told me that a 3 bedroom was coming up available in 2 months time and I could move to that if I wanted to. We took a quick tour of it and it was nearly double the size of the 2 bedroom I was living in and it even had a walk-in closet and a 2 piece ensuite bathroom in the master bedroom. And it was less than $100 more than what I was now paying. Joy! Even more so when I learned that it was one of only four 3 bedroom apartments in the entire building and they pretty much never came available. Phew. That problem was solved.

Right around the time I was moving out of the house I learned that John Chow was running a contest to win a free ticket to Blog World Expo in September, 2008. I’d been thinking that I really should attend Blog World but I didn’t really know anyone going and I’m a huge introvert (no really!) and I’d pretty much convinced myself that I shouldn’t go. Then I entered John’s contest figuring if I won the ticket I’d commit to going and if I didn’t then I’d maybe consider it the following year. I won! I never win anything but I won the ticket. Even better, one of my best friends, Chaz French, who’d been my biggest supporter through all of my changes decided to attend Blog World with me. I think he figured even with a free ticket I’d either talk myself out of going or go so deep into wallflower-mode once I was there that I’d never go to any of the parties.

Merlene Paynter and Chaz French at Blog World Expo 2008

Merlene Paynter and Chaz French at Blog World Expo 2008

Blog World Expo 2008 changed everything. My first night there at a party thrown by TechSet I got to meet in person literally dozens of my blogger and social media heroes. I’d been on Twitter for about 18 months at that point and had been active in other online communities so quite a few of my heroes actually knew who I was as well and the ones who didn’t were still gracious and friendly and made me feel like I was part of things. The rest of my time at Blog World Expo was amazing and I met so many wonderful people. I came home with stars in my eyes and fire in my belly. I knew I’d made the right decision. I was sure that focusing on making money online was the right path for me.

Chris Brogan, Merlene Paynter and Jason Falls at Blog World Expo 2008

Chris Brogan, Merlene Paynter and Jason Falls at Blog World Expo 2008

A few days later I was contacted by one of the bloggers I’d met at a party who suggested I’d be a good fit to be part of the Walmart Elevenmoms. We’d had a great conversation at Blog World about social media, technology, and well life, the universe and everything. I hadn’t heard of the Elevenmoms at that point at all. My circle of contacts tended to be more in the “social media” circle not in the “mommyblogger” circle but a few weeks later I was officially one of the Walmart Elevenmoms (and their only Canadian member).

Right around the same time yet another person I’d met at Blog World contacted me and invited me to attend Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas. I’d had a hunch that blogging was not going to be a full time income earner and I was really interested in affiliate marketing. I was thrilled by the offer to attend Affiliate Summit West and so off I went. I met some amazing people there. Most of them weren’t bloggers. Most of them weren’t active in twitter and other social media communities as I was. I really didn’t know or know of a soul there but the people I met were friendly, helpful and I learned a lot while I was there. The same week I was in Vegas for Affiliate Summit West both CES and Wordcamp Las Vegas were on so I had brief stops at each of those events too and again, met some great people and learned a lot. I celebrated my 40th birthday while in Vegas in January, surrounded by new friends and happiness. It was the best birthday I’ve ever had.

Merlenes 40th birthday in Las Vegas.

Merlene's 40th birthday in Las Vegas.

Right around this time a couple of things dawned on me. First of all, no matter how shy or introverted I feel on the inside, if I pretend I’m comfortable and outgoing and try to talk to people it works. I actually forget that I’m shy, wallflower girl and become this entirely other Merlene. Each conference, event or party I go to it just gets easier and easier to socialize. Second, I learned that while meeting people online in social networks and communities is great (and it really does make meeting those people in person easier) it really is the face to face contact and socializing that makes things happen. I’ve truly been overwhelmed by opportunities both professionally and personally since I started attending the events and conferences.

It’s been an amazing year. I’ve been long-winded in the telling of it but it’s only scratching the surface of what this year has been like. There have been a lot of changes and even last year when I set this all in motion I really had no idea that my life would be like this today. My list of people to thank for their support, friendship, advice, encouragement and humour over the last year is long. I try to say thank you to each of them every so often. Sometimes even the smallest gestures on one person’s part can make a huge difference on another’s.

Oh and the Frugal Living stuff? I’m still hanging in there without a “day job” a year later. I definitely made some foolish money mistakes over the past year (more on that in another post) and I’ve splurged a few times on unnecessary things (and more on that too) but all in all my daily living expenses are low and after a year of complete change in lifestyle and routine the kids and I are finally settling into a sensible (well sensible to us at any rate) pattern of money management.

At the end of the day, or rather the year, I’m still debt-free and I’m making all of my income from online projects or at least projects that started with people I met online and in person over the past year. If I were Mary Tyler Moore I’d be throwing my beret toward the sky right now.

Merlene Paynter and Randy Matheson at SpinTO Party

Merlene Paynter and Randy Matheson at SpinTO Party

Filed Under: Frugal

Frugal Food: Foods You Can't Freeze

July 15, 2009 By 2 Comments

Freezer filled with foodOver the next few weeks Frugal Family Life will be doing a series on using your freezer to store food and save money.

I figured I’d start with a post on what not to freeze. For many years I was pretty much afraid to freeze anything that wasn’t actually bought in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store because I wasn’t sure what was safe to freeze and what wasn’t.

Over the years I’ve learned that there’s really not much you can’t freeze and I can honestly say that my upright freezer is the best investment I’ve ever made. It’s paid for itself several times over in savings over the years enabling me to take advantage of sales, freeze fresh produce (some that I’d grown myself) and allowed me to batch cook meals that could be reheated quickly on busy nights. I’d give up a lot before I’d give up my freezer!

So here’s a list of what you can’t freeze and why.

  • Cooked egg whites – they become rubbery and just unappealing. (Good news though. Uncooked egg whites freeze well!)
  • Mayonnaise – it separates when it thaws.
  • Sour Cream – it separates and becomes watery. (You can still use it if it’s well stirred into a recipe though. It won’t hurt you.)
  • Potatoes – they go dark and can be mushy. (I have seen mashed potato and scalloped potato recipes turn out fine after freezing though. Again – it’s not that it’s unsafe, more that it’s unappetizing.)
  • Crisp fruits and vegetables such as melon, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, etc. – they get really soggy and limp and not appetizing at all.

That’s it. Not all foods freeze and thaw with great results but pretty much anything you can think of can be frozen. Now it’s just a matter of defrosting your freezer, taking out the shrunken ice cubes and the freezer burned fish your Uncle Todd caught on that fishing trip 4 summers ago and start using that freezer to save money and plan great meals!

Next we’ll talk about how to wrap foods to keep them safe from freezer burn and odors.

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