I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for ways to be more frugal in the kitchen. This, I assume, will look different for each person. For me, it means learning new skills, researching more things, waiting for deals on essentials, and so on. What does it mean for you?
There are many things we can do to live more frugally, and I wanted to let you know some of what I’m currently doing to run my kitchen space with this in mind.
- When I need something for my kitchen space, such as a shelving unit or a vacuum sealer, I am looking for deals and earning reward gift cards to lower the cost of these things when possible.
- For more expensive food items I have to order, I am using gift cards and looking for deals. Recently I wanted a one-pound package of coconut milk powder. The cost was going to be $16.95 on Amazon! Yes, there were cheaper options, but those came with ingredients I did not want. Why all the fillers in our food when they are not necessary? I am trying to eat healthy. I waited until I was given a gift card for $10.00 and had earned another for $5.00. That was a great deal, and one I am not sure I can repeat. (NOTE: I cannot drink regular milk.)
- Amazon prices do go down on many things. I decide on a price I am willing to pay for something, and I wait when possible.
- Sometimes an item will be found at a thrift store for less than I can get online. If the store has a return policy, I will get the item there and test it out. I recently got a $30.00 popcorn maker for $10 at Goodwill.
- I also found some canning jars with lids and rings at Goodwill and paid $1.00 each for them. I would prefer not to spend more than $1.25 per jar with lid and ring, but I am finding I might have to adjust the amount I will spend. Prices in general on these have gone up. The last time I had to buy them; they were $12.99 plus tax for a set of 12. It looks like the Walmart price is now $15.99 plus tax. I will be looking at thrift stores and yard sales for at least the jars to see if I can spend less.
- I did acquire some canning jars without lids and rings, some honey glass mason jars with lids, and a gallon size pickle jar all for free by just making a post on my personal Facebook page and asking if anyone had any they didn’t want. I might put out another post and see what happens. With the canning and honey jars I was able to repackage my pantry staples for a nicer look, and have a few jars left over for make-ahead smoothies. But I want to dry herbs and other foods and will need more.
- I am paying more attention to food waste. I don’t see how we can possibly get to zero food waste, but I know I can waste less than I am. I have learned a lot about expiration, use-by, and best-by dates, and am learning how to use parts of produce that I used to throw out.
- My first attempt at restarting my indoor herb garden failed, but I am going to try again. I think the problem was that we just weren’t getting any sun during the spring. We hardly had good days. Now that the sun seems to be here during the day, I’m going to try this again. I did get a small stock of parsley from the spring planting, but that was all. Hopefully I will do better this time. Also, some of my seeds are a little old. I did repurchase many of the herb seeds. I am considering the purchase of a couple of grow lights. Nothing too expensive.
- I’m letting go of items I am not using regularly to free up more space for food storage in my tiny place. I want to be able to buy some things in bulk to save more money over time. I need to be able to store those items neatly.
- I recently cleaned out my little closet that holds storage items, personal hygiene needs, and cleaning supplies. I’m a bit ashamed to stay I have been spending money unnecessarily on cleaning supplies over the past year. Seems I have plenty on hand that is all now just taking up much needed space. But I know this now. I have a few of almost everything. I don’t think I have to buy any more cleaning supplies this year, and I want to find homemade alternatives for most things as I start getting low next year. Hopefully that will help me to save money. I plan to just keep things basic. Anyone have a natural, homemade alternative for dish detergent? Please share!
As you can see, I’m working my way to becoming a truly frugal kitchenista! How about you? How are you saving money in the kitchen?
~ Shannon
