Remember those days of the weeks towels? The ones that reminded the homemaker what chores were designated certain days? Sunday-church, Monday-washing, Tuesday-ironing, Wednesday-mending, Thursday- shopping, Friday-cleaning, and Saturday- baking. Maybe we don't need to spend an entire day in some of these chores, like ironing and mending anymore, but it's still a good concept. And thrifty too.
My mother was a great one for doing laundry. Anytime you laid down a sweater, she would swoop it up and put it in the wash. She did laundry all day long. And she never could figure out why her gas bill was so high. It takes energy to heat water and run a dryer. Better to do your laundry with full loads and the dryer will remain heated between loads. I know this is pretty obvious, but just in case you never thought of it this way. Plus when you see the piles of dirty clothes piling up, you'll think twice before changing your clothes on a whim. Really, do you need to wash your jeans every time you wear them?
Now days we probably don't need an entire day dedicated to ironing and mending, but clothes do look nicer when they are pressed. Just think how nice men used to look back when they wore nicely starched and ironed shirts. You can get away with wearing thrifted clothes if you take the time to care for them. And we all know the proverb, "A stitch in time saves nine". Always true.
Maybe we don't have to spend an entire day marketing, but we should take more care with the grocery shopping. I told you how I tackled thrifty shopping in my Grocery Shopping 101 post. It takes time to seek out thrifty and nutritional deals. Plus now days, more than ever, we really need to be reading those labels. So much of what we buy is prepared with MSG, high fructose syrup, high sodium, preservatives, etc. Which leads me to the next chore....
Baking! And cooking. It occurred to me that even though I was doing a pretty good job budget-wise with the groceries, there were still quite a few things like pasta and tortillas that could be made at home for a lot less. Plus they wouldn't have anything in them but good wholesome ingredients. After all what's in pasta besides flour, eggs and a little oil? Why should it cost so much? Why should bread cost three dollars a loaf? Making from scratch saves a lot of money, but it does take time. Therefore, a day dedicated to baking and prepping for the week is a great idea. Make up a batch of rice and freeze it to use later in the week for thrifty stir frys and casseroles. Make up your own noodles and tortillas. Bake several loaves of bread and some goodies to pack in your lunch pail. A lot better than Little Debbies. Make up some soups, it will have a lot less sodium. Prepare some casseroles, then on those busy days you'll just have to defrost and pop in the oven. Boil up a chicken and freeze the meat for quick meals like quesadillas. Cut up some carrot sticks for snacking. And get your family involved. I have lots of photographs of our family in the kitchen cooking together. It teaches the youngsters how to cook in a loving atmosphere. What better way to spend the day? I get impatient when I hear people say they don't have time to cook. What are you doing that is more important that nourishing your family with wholesome food? Talking on the phone? Shopping? Besides, how much time does it take to herd everyone up and drive them to a fast food joint, order the food and pay for it? I imagine more time than it takes to make a quick little chili or omelet.
Oh! I have what your mom has...always having to wash and the fear of seeing some laundry gathering for a while! I hope I can cure myself of this...especially now since we don't have as much laundry. I think it is time to cut-back like we did in the 80's. I wonder why you don't hear that as often now; we hear about big ways to cut back, but not the simple ways that would save our household budget money.
ReplyDeleteLittle debbies are a bit scarey! One of my kids found a finger nail in one and we were so grossed out, I told her to go ahead and write the company. Two weeks later (this was 20 years ago) the UPS truck pulled up with a big box of Little debbies and a note of apology. We were surprised, but we still couldn't eat them and gave them away!
Good post, I need to SIT home more and prepare food as you mention. love,andrea
My husband has it too, Andrea! Can't convince him that it takes a lot of energy to wash and dry two tea towels and a pair of underwear.
DeleteI used to try to bake nice oatmeal cookies and such for the boys lunch. Then they'd come home and brag about how many Little Debbies that they traded the cookies for. They just couldn't believe that someone would rather have a homemade cookie over one of them. Oh well, they learned bartering skills! Started making cupcakes and gooier things for them. There's no point in being thrifty and nutritious if they won't eat it.
Hopefully if you dedicate one afternoon to food prep, you won't have to sit home and still save a bundle on groceries!
Hi...that is funny about your boys! My kids used to trade pokeman cards because they didn't like/collect them...actually I think they used to sell them! (somethings are better a mom doesn't know!) I think I'll make oatmeal cookies this week.
ReplyDeleteI really do need to relearn to save and not waste. (relearn because I used to spend nothing extra, when we started out). My husband will probably self-identify for his company to leave and collect his two years' severance pay. He earned his healthcare for keeps now, and after this self-identifying period there are major layoffs without severance. I'll keep you informed. If things change I'll blog...if they accept his offer to leave...won't know for a few months. love,andrea
have an update..the company said they don't have to self-identify to get the severance...they will honor the severance pay if they get laid-off or contracted out, so they can stay and take their chances, which we will, and they will know by june if their jobs are secure or not. love,andrea
DeleteThat's good news Andrea! It's so nice when you don't need to make those hard decisions. You know what they say, hope for the best and prepare the worst.
DeleteHi Jane, such a great post today! When I lived in Switzerland I was really surprised how the whole village adhered to the idea of doing certain chores on certain days. Every monday no matter where you looked there were colorful duvets hanging out of the windows, freshening up in the sun. Tuesday was typically grocery shopping days. Most women at that time were stay at home Mom's and kids and husbands came home at noon for a 2 hour break where they would have their main meal of the day. Then believe it or not every day at 2:30 the electricity would be turned off in all the homes for 2 hours. It was an unusual way of life for me to adjust to, but I felt so much calmer and there was lots of time left over for other things. The Swiss really enjoy their hobby, leisure, and exercise. Almost all children have a skill like playing an instrument or some sort of art or craft. There was more time for the fun things because of all the good organization. Of course it was a small village and that was 15 years ago. Things might have changed a little, but it was an incredibly wonderful learning experience. Have a great day ahead! Delisa :)
ReplyDeleteI think I need to move to Switzerland, Delisa! Now that I think about it, that was the way we grew up also. I remember the long line at the butcher shop,because all the women did their shopping on Thursdays (pay day) and all the women hung their laundries on Monday also. Guess that's the day for it. Probably goes back to when laundry was a major ordeal. Only thing that was different was that the men did come home for lunch. Most sailed and weren't home for weeks and even months at a time. Schoolchildren had longer lunch hours back then, and we all went home for lunch if we lived within the towns limits.
DeleteI love the idea of specific days for specific chores. I love hearing stories of grandma and my nana's (great gram) laundry day, such a huge process, heating water, sending it through a ringer, rolling it up, pressing it and what not. My grandma baked bread every week, and we were often gifted with a loaf or two (nothing better). I love preparing my own foods, I am a stickler for reading labels, and shopping takes me quite awhile as a result, mostly it was born of food allergies, but then I started noticing MSG and other preservatives in things I would never have suspected, so it was quite a learning experience. Watching a few episodes of Kitchen Nightmares or Dirty Dining will also quickly turn one off of fast food and take away, it is unbelievable how filthy some restaurants can be, I would much prefer to make my own. I love cooking with the kids, now that they are teens they are learning to cook quite a bit of foods, and it is nice to let them help out with dinner prep, and they love the opportunity to bake up fresh cookies. Hope you have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteAnd just think of all the memories you're making, April! I remember those laundry days. I always wanted to help with the wringer. It just fascinated me. We had a huge machine called a mangle downstairs that pressed the sheets. Wonder what happened to it?
DeleteI remember those tea towels, so charming. I still pretty much reserve Monday for laundry, although I've thrown in (the towel-ha!)a load during the week. I'm a big one on buying a whole chicken to bake. I get so much mileage out of the leftovers: soup, chicken salad. On average, I get a good 3 meals out of a large item (that is for two people). Roasts become sandwiches, baked ham becomes bean soup, ham salad, sliced ham sandwiches. We've been eating deer--I'm not huge on the taste, but when I brown it and add spices, not too bad and it was given to us, so free. Deer burger is used in soups, chili, casseroles. Can you believe it, I've listed all this stuff and basically I don't like to cook! My husband comes home for lunch, we eat leftovers and that saves him buying lunch everyday--that's a real expense!
ReplyDeleteLoved Delisa's story about Switzerland. What a great experience!
When we ate meat, that what I did too, Joy. Not a big fan of venison either, but when I got it for free, I used it too. It's ok if you cover it with enough sauces and spices. I love to read about Delisa's adventures in Switzerland too. I would have loved to have visited there as my great-greats on my paternal side came from there. They were Amish. Can you believe that? Apparently one of them had too much fun during Rumspringa!
DeleteHere the Dutch version:
ReplyDeleteMonday - wash-day
Tuesday - Iron-dag
Wednesday - Meat and sewing-dag (meat roasting)
Thursday - cleaning-dag
Friday - fish day
Saturday - Klusjes day ( small jobs)
Sunday - church day ( church day
On Friday, a abstainers Day, Catholics traditionally eat fish because eating meat on that day was not permitted. Thats the reason why Friday is called Fishday :-)
Great posting. I like it. It brings me original ideas, that I can use in my household. And I am so glad with you comment on my blog.
I know that my mother in law has a hard ( or poor ? ) side to her character. She can not reflect. Also because she is limited in terms of thinking. She was an alcoholic and very unhappy. Now she's clean. But I find it hard to to trust her. Thank you for your constructive response. A warm hug.
That's so interesting Jedidja! I like the day of small jobs. We could certainly use that around here. I'm glad my response could help you put your problem in the proper perspective.
DeleteI am once again implementing that knowledge into my daily life. I do laundry daily, but I do it in cold water and hang my clothes to dry. My mother on the other hand would do laundry on one day...by the time she was done, she was quite cranky and tired.
ReplyDeleteI like knowing that each day has a purpose.
Maria
Hi Maria! So glad you could find time in your busy day to stop by! Yeh, when you dry your laundry inside and have a big family it is a lot for one day. I watched the Victorian Farm on YouTube and just seeing how they did laundry at the turn of the last century, really makes you grateful for the times we live in. I think that's where all the days of the week concept originated.
DeleteWhat good advice! I could spend a whole day in the kitchen... I love it, don't you? I am not crazy about ironing, though. In fact, I have introduced the Mister to the iron and board so he can do his own. I am just not that crazy about it! LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat are you doing these days that is fun? Knitting projects??
Hi Matty! I'm very fortunate that Ran doesn't mind ironing and considers himself quite the expert at it. He even taught my sister the proper way to iron a dress shirt - give it a light spray with starch and a quick once over, iron the back, then the front, next extra starch on the placket, then the shoulders, the sleeves, then lots of starch on the collar. He evens volunteers to iron my clothes while I'm getting dressed. But I think that's just to hurry me up. He not used to the Jane lifestyle and still thinks you have to bound out of bed and be dressed and ready to go within fifteen minutes. I think my leisurely mornings drive him crazy!
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