January Grocery Money Journal

Jan. 1 So, we're starting out the month with $158.15 for groceries. It looks doable. I'll need eggs, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and a few fruits and veggies. I've been experimenting with various egg substitutes. Right now, I've got a batch of egg-free muffins in the oven. I like this recipe because the leaven comes from vinegar and baking soda, and the moisture from applesauce. So, very affordable for an egg substitute. We'll see how the month goes.

Jan. 3 QFC -- I had a coupon for a free package of bath tissue. I knew I'd use the coupon the next time I went to the bank, as the two businesses are right next door to each other. While there (you must know by now, that I'm going to mention checking for markdowns), I checked the dairy case. If only I'd had more freezer space, because they had a lot of marked down milk and eggnog.  I bought 1 quart of eggnog for 49 cents (we're about done with all the treats, so 1 quart will be enough), 2 gallons of whole milk, for making yogurt (1.89 each), and 5 gallons of 2% milk (1.79 each). Spent $13.22

Trader Joe's -- they have the lowest regular price on eggs in our area, but still I only bought 1 dozen, as $1.89 feels high to me, compared to the usual sale at Walgreen's for 99 cents/dozen. I'll make this dozen last a few weeks if I have to, and hope to find eggs on sale for less, someplace in the meantime. I also bought 13 bananas, for lunches next week, at 19 cents each. Some of these bananas are huge, and this is truly the best deal on bananas in our area. When I got home, I weighed a few, and the price per pound worked out to 34 cents, on average. That's a great price for here. Spent $4.36

Wholesaler Cash and Carry -- just down the road from Trader Joe's. I read their ad online earlier today and saw they had 1 pound packages of butter for $1.85. Worth my time to stop in and pick up 4 pounds. We went through a LOT of butter during the holidays, as my girls love, love, love to bake. So, 4 pounds will extend our current supply of butter another 6 weeks (I still have 4 pounds in the fridge from fall sales, so in all we have enough butter to get through March, barring a baking spree of my daughters'). Spent $7.40, for a total month to date of $24.98

Jan. 4 -- Dollar store for 2 quarts of soy milk. spent $2

Jan. 5 -- Walgreen's. I don't get their ad in the mail, so I check it online on Sundays when it comes out. Eggs for 99 cents/dozen. Woohoo! I bought 12 dozen eggs, with the plan of freezing 3-4 dozen, to use later, while waiting for another sale on eggs. spent $11.98, for a month to date spending of $38.96

Jan. 9  Dollar Tree for soy milk, white flour macaroni noodles (24 oz bag -- We eat whole wheat pasta for everything but mac and cheese. I just can't get behind brown mac and cheese.), 6 packets of veg and herb seeds. Total spent $3.65

Jan. 9  Albertsons cheese and whole wheat pasta on sale. 2 lbs medium cheddar for $3.99/limit 2 with coupon, and boxes of whole wheat pasta (13.25 oz) for $1 each. I bought 14 boxes of an asst of spaghetti, thin spaghetti, penne and rotini. This price works out to about $1.20/lb, which beats Trader Joe's whole wheat pasta price by 19 cents/lb. Also, I cruised the dairy case and found half and half creamer for 75 cents/qt (bought 1, I'll freeze in small amounts for adding to coffee, soups and sauces), and 1 qt of pumpkin spice soy eggnog for 99 cents. The rest of the family gets their fill of eggnog over the holidays, I get mine on the clearance sale. I'll freeze in single portions to have as treats when I want. Spent $23.72, for a month to date total of $66.33

Jan. 14 Cash and Carry restaurant supply for all-purpose flour (50 lbs for $13.49), whole wheat flour (50 lbs for $12.48), ground mustard (10 oz. for $3.39), and raisins (2 lbs for $4.59). Total spent $33.95, for a month to date total of $100.28

Jan. 27 I have to take my daughters to the transit center in a nearby town twice a week. Fortunately, the transit center is near a couple of stores where I make grocery purchases. Today, I stopped at the Cash and Carry, and picked up carrots (25 lb bag for 8.48). I wanted to just buy the 5 lb bag for $2.21, as I didn't want the hassle of re-bagging into smaller packages, or the crowded fridge. But after doing some math, I realized that buying the larger bag would be like paying for 19 lbs and getting 6 pounds for free (as compared to buying carrots in the smaller bag). And I also thought about our family's eating habits. We went through the last 25 lb bag in about 2  1/2 months. So, our fridge would not be overly crowded for all that long. Total spent $8.48

Also stopped by Trader Joe's, just down the street and bought several bananas. 13 bananas at 19 cents each. Total spent $2.47

Stopped in QFC to check for marked down milk, and use a coupon. I bought 3 gallons of skim milk ($1.99 each), and got 6 full-sized candy bars for free, with coupon. The candy bars are put away for something special. QFC has been sending a sheet of coupons every few weeks, this winter. IN with the coupons is a freebie each time. Last time around it was for a 6-pack of bath tissue. This time 6 free candy bars. Not bad! Total spent, $5.97

Also in the area is Dollar Tree. I picked up 1 box of baking soda (16 oz for 59 cents), a bag of pretzels for a special occasion coming up, and 2 packets of vegetable seeds (25 cents/packet). Total spent $2.09.
Month to date spending -- $119.29

Our budget for the month of January was set at $158.15. This includes the carry forward of our overspending from November and December, so we're now completely caught up, and have a surplus of $38.86, going forward into February.

Our pantry is beginning to look like a dent has been put into our stock. And I was able to easily find room in the freezers for this week's bread-baking. But I can see that we have enough grains, meat, fruits and vegetables to get through February.

I've been asked a few times how we're managing to keep our spending so low.

• making almost everything from scratch
• buying the inexpensive fruits and vegetables, and not buying the more expensive ones
• skipping the treat items. Around the holidays, instead of buying crackers (even from the dollar store), I made crostini regularly. I haven't bought any specialty coffee (like bags of Starbucks or Tulley's) since some time last spring, but instead we're just drinking whatever I find on sale.
• if the price is too high, I just don't buy. I'd have loved to have bought some oranges in January. But I didn't find any in my price range all month. I'll be able to buy them at 50 cents/lb at the produce stand in late March, so we'll wait. Until then, I do have some frozen orange juice left, and lots of tomato products, all have good amounts of Vit. C. Fresh cabbage will go on sale in early March, again, good amount of Vit. C. Plus all of our frozen strawberries, and the greens and parsley in the garden are coming back, which also have Vit. C. 
• when I find a good deal on a staple item, I nudge myself to buy even more than I would have in the past. I bought 12 dozen eggs when I found them at 99 cents/dozen. This should be enough to last us through March. And hopefully I will find them on sale again near that time.
• finding substitutes for foods that I'm not finding on sale. Mayonnaise at over $3 per quart seems ridiculous to me. Instead, I'm using Greek yogurt in place of mayo in all our cooking. Mayo will eventually go on sale, then I'll stock up. My price to look for is under $2.50 per quart.

None of these points sound like extraordinary money-savers, but when you combine them all, it has resulted in us reducing our grocery budget by about 20%, since August.

There's a certain amount of stress when you know that you can't just buy whatever you want. I look at my pantry, fridge and freezer, and realize that this stress is all in my mind. I have to keep reminding myself, that sticking to this low grocery budget is part of the overall plan to keep our daughters at the university, to save for retirement, and be prepared for any unseen emergencies looming in the future. 

We're still able to do a lot of fun things on our small budget, including some travel (using miles, points and reward dollars), and a special meal out later this spring (using a gift card). We're well. We're comfortable. We're provided for. I even have a little bit of birthday money from last year to spend. (I did spend some of it last week, on a new shirt and sweater -- Penney's clearance rack). When I'm feeling deprived, I just need to remind myself that it's really all in my head.

I want spring!

I know, still January, but I want spring! I am so eager to get outside and plant seeds, rake up winter's mess, and begin to work on a new section of the yard. But this week is still cold and wet.

So instead, I'm making out my gardening plans. I've gone through my seed packets, and begun to fill the gaps where I've run out of favorite vegetable seeds. I've picked up several packets at Dollar Tree, but will need to go to Home Depot for other varieties. I have new gloves to begin the gardening season. I picked these up on clearance at the drug store in October.

I need seed starting soil, but have a large selection of 9-cell seed starters, peat pots, and now am collecting empty peanut butter jars for larger seedlings.

Most of my seedlings will do fine in the small 9-cell seed starters, but some plants need larger starting pots. I'm saving plastic containers to use as seed starters for plants like pumpkin and squash that develop large root systems quickly.  I have over a dozen 10 and 16-oz. plastic, peanut butter jars, already. I'll drill drainage holes in the bottoms, and they should serve well for starting seeds this spring. I like being able to use these one more time, before adding them to the recycle bin.

But I still have to wait another couple of weeks before starting seeds. So hard to wait! Are you doing any armchair gardening this week?

Just a note -- Life is super busy for me this week. If I don't get back to your comments right away, give me a sec. I'm trying to check in and read once or twice a day. Things should settle down come Monday or Tuesday. Hope all is well at your end!

Organizing my desk: my correspondence center

My desk has been in a state of distress for the last couple of months. The holidays, getting my daughters settled at the university, end of the gardening season, and a family who likes to deposit all of their things on my desk, are my excuse.

No more. I need an organized area to work, once again.

One of my recent resolutions is to keep on top of family special events. No one wants to be known as the auntie who's always late with birthday cards. Organizing my supplies will hopefully help in that area. Plus, I'll save a bit of money, as I won't be heading off to the store to buy birthday cards, when I have several to choose from, right here at home.

Maybe you have these, too. Squashed boxes of envelopes in a drawer.

I piled several sizes of envelopes together, and tied with a pretty ribbon.

The ribbon wasn't totally necessary, but it says to me that I care what my desk looks like.

My letter caddy had become a general receptacle for any paper to cross my desk. I emptied it. Then placed the bundle of envelopes in one of the front sections, along with postage stamps, and envelope-sealing stickers.

The backside of the caddy now holds an assortment of greeting cards, homemade and shop-bought, from wedding, to new baby, to get well, and to birthday greetings. Now there is no excuse for me to miss acknowledging a special occasion. I also placed a stack of thank you note cards, as I don't want to be the daughter, sister or friend who forgets to express gratitude.

Are you one of those very organized gals who always has a card ready for the occasion, and is never remiss with a thank you? If so, what is your secret? I've been working on this for the better part of my life, and have only made baby steps of progress!

I was really annoyed last week

Last Tuesday, our neighbor stopped by our house, on her early morning dog walk. She had a bundle of papers in her arms. When the doorbell rings early in the morning, your mind races to the worst possible place. I had no idea what my neighbor wanted.

I opened the door, and realized the papers were pieces of mail. She handed me several, then told me where she found them -- in the woods behind her house.

We'd been hit by mail thieves, again! This has been a problem in our neighborhood for a few years. It's usually closer to when tax refunds are sent out, or, just before Christmas, when gift cards and checks are often sent. But lately, it's been any time of the year. And we'd been the victims.

So angry, so worried, so annoyed, that someone would take advantage of another person's hard work. We are just ordinary people, taking care of our business, day in and day out. Trying to make ends meet. Trying to save for retirement. Trying to pay our bills. What right did these thieves think they had, that they could steal our mail, our financial information, our checks, our sense of security?!

And now, my husband and I had to go to the cost and trouble, to replace our mailbox with a locking one. And we had to file a police report. Now, we'll need to closely scrutinize future bank account information, credit card statements, and credit reports. So annoyed!

I did my homework, though. I went online and read reviews of several different makes and models of locking mailboxes. These things aren't cheap. Not if you want to get one that really keeps the thieves out of your mail.

Some makes/models use the exact same key for all the boxes they sell! Others can be pried open with a screwdriver in under a minute. And others have a slot that doesn't get the mail out of a fishing thief's fingers.

I eventually found a box on Amazon, that looks like it will deter most thieves. Next, I searched online for a better price on the model that I had settled on. I found the same make/model on Lowes.com, with free shipping, and for about $40 less than Amazon.com. And finally, I shopped through Swagbucks, earning swag dollars for my purchase.

At least if we have to pay to replace our mailbox, I feel I did get a good price on it.

But I'm still annoyed.


Some helpful advice that I'll pass on to you.

• Never allow incoming mail to sit in an unlocked box more than a couple of hours. 
• Never place outgoing mail in your box. But if you do, don't put your flag up. The mailman told me that he didn't need the flag, that he would see our outgoing mail in the box, when he went to place new mail inside. 
• If you are the victim of mail theft, report it. Mail theft isn't just a nuisance, it's a federal crime. A friend of ours told me that they had trouble with mail theft a few years back, and they were actually able to catch the thief, and have him prosecuted.
• Secure your mailbox area. Remove or prune shrubs, trees and bushes surrounding the mailbox. If there's a street light in the area, make sure that its light is not obstructed by tree branches. 
• Tidy up your mailbox stand and area. An untidy mail delivery area looks like it could be unattended.
• If you can afford to upgrade to a locking mailbox, do your homework and find a model that truly is secure.
• Alert all of your neighbors about the mail theft. Post signs, if legal, above neighbor's mailboxes. The fewer non-locking mailboxes in a development/area, the less likely mail thieves will target this area.
• Consider alerting your bank and credit card companies, and placing a fraud alert on your credit report.
• Even if you have a locking mailbox, have your mail held while you're on vacation. In even some of the better locking mailboxes, mail can pile up inside, and be more easily fished out.

I hope that you already have a locking mailbox, and that this could never happen to you. It's been an invasion in our family's sense of security. And, yes, I'm still really annoyed over this.

Taking advantage of Half & Half or heavy cream on markdown

When I find half & half or heavy cream on  markdown, I buy a couple of quarts and freeze in ice cube trays. After the cream cubes are frozen, I pop them out into a large ziploc bag, and keep in the freezer. To use, I thaw, as needed, to add to sauces or my coffee.

These 4 cream cubes are for a pumpkin, sage and sausage pasta dish that I'm making tonight. I'll thaw them on the counter for an hour, before stirring into the pumpkin sauce.

In November, I found half and half creamer on markdown for 50 cents per quart. Then in December, I found the same brand on markdown for 75 cents per quart. Both prices I felt were good enough to buy some. A touch of cream can smooth out soups and sauces, which in turn leaves us very satisfied with meals at home.

A hint for popping the frozen cream cubes out of the tray: they're difficult to just pop out of the plastic tray, fresh out of the freezer. If I let the ice tray sit on the counter for about 3-4 minutes before popping out, they come out easily.

When we bought our current fridge/freezer with auto ice maker, I thought I would give the ice cube trays away. But I had a second thought to keep them. You never know when you'll need to freeze something in small quantities, like cream. What do you use your ice cube trays for?


(Note -- sometimes, but not always, milk and cream products separate when freezing and thawing. We've had good luck re-combining with a brisk stir.)

Winter vegetables for my frugal kitchen: Roasted chunks of winter squash

This is the last of the budget winter vegetable dishes that I'll share this week.

I haven't bought any veggies since December 17th, when I bought a 50-lb sack of onions. We've managed all of our meals with the vegetables on-hand, from the fridge, freezer and pantry. This is a huge savings for us, as looking at this week's ads for the local grocery stores, there are absolutely no veggies within my limits for what I'll spend on vegetables. The best I could possibly do this week, is 75 cents for canned green beans, or $1.50 for a bundle of fresh kale (and I can pick kale fresh in my own garden, even now in January).

On November 1, I did a big stock-up at the produce stand's clearance day. In all of that I bought a bunch of sugar pie pumpkins and winter squash. I cooked most of those pieces in November and December. But I saved a couple of them in the garage fridge. I cooked the last of the winter squash this past week, and have 2 sugar pie pumpkins remaining.


We like squash in many ways, mashed, whipped in a souffle, in breads and cakes, and also, in chunks, roasted in the oven.

Roasted cubes of winter squash

2 to 3 pounds of smooth-skinned winter squash, such as butternut squash, seeded, peeled and cubed to 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons oil (olive is nice, but vegetable oil will also work)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
dash of black pepper
2 teaspoons finely minced, fresh herbs, such as sage or thyme (optional)

Butter a large baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, with rack in the center of oven.

In a large bowl, toss squash pieces with the oil, salt, pepper and fresh herbs (optional). Spread out, in a single layer, on the prepared baking sheet. (If squash pieces are too close together, they don't caramelize as well, but instead tend to "steam" in the moisture of adjacent pieces.)

Place in the oven, and bake for about 35-40 minutes, (turning once after about 25 minutes), until the squash is tender and beginning to brown. Serve.

You can freeze roasted squash, to use later in risotto, soup or pasta dishes. The roasting adds a nice flavor to winter squash, both nutty and caramelized sweetness.


This past week, I've shared some of our family's vegetable dishes that we've enjoyed this winter. (Gee, it's felt like my kinder years and "show and tell"). Without the garden in full-swing, it has been something of a challenge to pull together meals, without too much repetition. But overall, we've been eating very well, even on our reduced grocery budget of $170/mo.

Have a great weekend!

Winter cooking using canned corn: Golden Corn Pudding

More winter vegetable dishes, using what's in my pantry, freezer and fridge. So, technically, corn is a grain and not a vegetable. But we often eat it like a vegetable.

Corn pudding is one of those dishes that you can add ingredients to and make it a hearty, main attraction for supper, or leave it plain, and it's a nice side. It often makes an appearance on our Thanksgiving table, as it's a favorite of my kids.

There are several possible add-ins: grated cheese, chopped ham, diced fresh or frozen green bell pepper, minced hot peppers (I like jalapenos), or crumbled bacon.

Corn pudding last week had frozen, leftover Christmas ham as the only add-in, but it was very hearty. I found canned corn on sale for 50 cents per can in November. Along with the ham, eggs, cream and water, this main dish cost just under $2 to serve 4 of us.

Golden Corn Pudding

serves 4 or 5

ingredients:

one 15.25 oz can of corn, with liquid
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
cream, milk or water, to add to corn liquid (drained corn liquid + extra liquid = 1 cup total)
2 eggs, separated (whites in a medium to large bowl, yolks in a small dish)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

optional add-ins (one or several):
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 1/2 cups chopped ham
1/4 cup diced bell pepper
small amount of fresh hot peppers, minced (I like about 1/2 of a jalapeno, minced)
1/4 cup crumbled, cooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart round casserole or souffle baker.

Drain can of corn, reserving liquid in a measuring cup. Add cream, milk or water to reserved liquid to make 1 cup of liquid, total.

In a medium saucepan over Medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour. Combine this with reserved corn liquid plus extra liquid of choice (cream, milk or water,) stirring well. Continue cooking until sauce is smooth and has thickened. Add drained corn, peppers and/or ham or bacon. Remove from heat.

Beat the egg yolks with a fork. Spoon a tablespoon of the sauce over egg yolks, and stir well. Add another spoonful of hot sauce to egg yolks, and stir well. Repeat one more time.

Add the warmed egg yolks to the sauce. Stir well. Return to heat (Medium), stir and heat for 3 or 4 minutes, until egg yolks have cooked and thickened the sauce slightly. Stir in salt and paprika. Remove from heat.

In medium or large bowl, use a mixer to whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle with grated cheese (optional). Fold the egg yolk, sauce and corn mixture into the stiff egg whites and grated cheese.

Transfer to a prepared casserole or souffle baker. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffy, golden and eggs are set. Serve immediately.

My two daughters' recipe for Curried Carrot Soup

Curried Carrot Soup

Another winter vegetable dish for the frugal kitchen.

When my kids find recipes that they do very well, I learned early on that I should just step back and let them "own" that recipe. Why stomp all over their success by making a recipe that they've learned to do very well?!

My two daughters have a cake with caramel sauce and fudge topping that is "theirs".

They do biscuits much better than mine.

And they have this tasty carrot soup recipe that they make for family dinners, every so often.

It's super frugal, calling for carrots, curry powder, onion, broth, oil and water. That's it!

I wish I had photos to share the how-to's. But when the kids are working in the kitchen, I make myself scarce!

Here's the link:
Curried Carrot Soup

Using canned tomatoes for a side dish in winter

More winter vegetable dishes, using what I have on hand.

I don't buy a lot of canned vegetables, mostly because we don't have the amazing deals on canned veggies, such as in other areas of the country. But I do buy canned tomatoes and canned corn. The canned tomatoes, I buy in #10 cans, by the case (6 large cans), as tomato paste, diced tomatoes and whole, stewed tomatoes.

Once a large can is open, I freeze whatever I don't use, in portions large enough for family meals.

This is one side dish that we really enjoy. It goes well with many of our entrees, from rice and beans, to veggie burgers, or, ham or turkey meals.

Just before adding the topping. I used Swiss chard in this batch.

Tomato-Vegetable Medley

1/2 large onion, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 cups of diced, canned tomatoes, in their juice (equivalent to a 14.5 oz can)
1 cup of any frozen, leafy green, such as Swiss chard, spinach or kale
1 cup frozen, shredded zucchini (totally optional, but when I want to up the vegetable content of dinner, I add this)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced fresh or frozen basil, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
pinch salt
pinch red pepper flakes, if desired

optional topping:
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs (whatever I happen to have -- oregano, basil, rosemary, savory, marjoram)

In a large skillet, heat oil. Saute onions until translucent.

Add garlic and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes, to reduce the liquids. Add frozen greens, and frozen shredded zucchini (optional). Bring back to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 6-7 minutes. (The cooking times all depend on how liquidy you like your vegetables. Reduce the time for simmering if you prefer a saucier dish, cook for the stated time for a drier dish.)

Stir in herbs and seasonings. Cook for 2 minutes. Depending on which vegetables I use, it can be a bit soupy at this point. I sometimes serve this in small ramekins, just as is, along with the entree. Or, I toss it with cooked pasta or rice, for a grain and vegetable side dish.

But for a more finished side dish, I use the topping. Transfer the vegetables to an oven-proof casserole dish, at this point.

In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Sprinkle over the vegetables. Place in a preheated 400 degree F oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until topping is browned and crisp.

Winter vegetable dishes using the inexpensive cool-season vegetables

It's mid-winter. Produce stands are closed for the season. Gardens aren't producing much, if at all (yours may be under 2 feet of snow this week). Grocery store produce can be expensive. But there are some vegetables which are the mainstays of the frugal kitchen. Potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, winter squash, and of course some canned and frozen veggies.

I've had some inquiries as to what we're eating, produce-wise, without buying much in the way of the fresh stuff. So, this week, I thought I'd share some of the vegetable-y dishes that we've had this month, using onions, carrots, winter squash, garlic, frozen garden greens, canned tomatoes, and canned corn.

Just for the curious (and those on a teensy grocery budget, such as myself), I have 5 quick and easy (emphasis on "easy") recipes for frugal vegetable dishes -- 3 side dishes and 2 main dishes, all using my favorite budget-friendly veggies.

Mustard Glazed Onions

I serve this at least once per week in winter. The onions go well with sandwich meals, alongside bean or meat patties, or with simpler casseroles. I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches last Sunday for lunch. The glazed onions were a perfect accompaniment to the sandwiches. Then on Thursday, we had leftover turkey in gravy and mashed potatoes. Again I made these glazed onions and they seemed to suit that meal, as well.

This recipe takes just basic ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now.

to serve 4-5

1  1/2 large onions
2 teaspoons oil and 2 teaspoons butter (or all oil, all butter/margarine)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
pinch salt (did you know that a pinch has been standardized to 1/16 teaspoon?)

In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium.

Thin slice the onions. Saute onions in melted oil/butter, until golden, stirring often.

When onions are golden, stir in brown sugar, mustard and salt. Add more mustard to taste, if desired.

Serve.

How to take care of a blender so that it lasts for decades

In yesterday's comments, Valarie S. made a good point, that "older" often means "sturdier", in regards to household goods, appliances, tools and equipment. I have found this to be the case, as well. And this line of thinking has kept me from replacing appliances, simply because I want the newer and prettier model.

a tale of two blenders that last, and last, and last

My parents had an Oster blender, wedding gift c.1957, which continued to perform well for their entire marriage. There was nothing fancy about their blender. The switch had two functions to choose from, "on" and "off". But did it ever work. It chopped ice, made shakes (back in the 60s and 70s, we didn't call them smoothies, but called them shakes), pureed vegetables and more. That thing was built to last!

In 1981, my sister gave me an Osterizer blender. And guess what? It still does smoothie-duty almost every morning. In 33 years, I've replaced the gasket a half a dozen times, and I've sharpened the blades a few times. When my blender was given to me, my dad told me what I needed to do to take good care of it. And it's lasted, and lasted, and lasted. I've used it on ice, to puree soups, to make smoothies, and even to make peanut and sunflower seed butters. I'd say, for near daily use, it's held up well. 33 years and going strong.

One of the things that really impresses me is how much of this blender is heavy-duty metal, and how little of it is plastic. This was standard for appliance design in the past. Not always the case today.


Making your older appliances stand the test of time does require some work.

• On a blender, replacing the gasket will not only give you a better seal between the jug and blade assembly, but the rubber gasket becomes ever-so-slightly pitted, and can harbor bacteria as a result. Cost to replace the gasket, about $1.50.

• Taking the jug and blade assembly apart regularly, to clean it thoroughly, is not just good kitchen hygiene, but it will prolong the life of your gasket, and give you a chance to check the blade for nicks. Cost to clean the blade assembly, nothing but warm, soapy water and a rag.

• After washing the blender jar, don't place it back on the base unit until the bottom of the blender is totally dry. Placing a wet blender jar on the base unit can cause corrosion of the square drive pin and plate (the place where the underside of the jar connects with the motor base assembly). Cost to leave it to dry, nothing but patience. But should you find your square drive pin and plate (on Oster models) have corroded, no worries. You can order those Oster parts for under $7.

• When it seems that your blade isn't chopping as well as it did when the blender was new, there's a good chance that the blades need sharpening. I use a sharpening steel and a small knife sharpening stone to gently hone the edge of the blades. This gives me like-new processing results once again. Cost to sharpen the blades, free if you have a steel or stone. (Here are some good instructions on sharpening your blender blade.)

• When I reach the point where the blades can't be sharpened another time, then replacing the blade unit will be a good, and cost-effective option.  Cost to replace the blade assembly, about $10.

When I was searching online for a gasket last week, I found that not only could I order blades, the jar nuts (that plastic cap-like piece that holds the blade), the glass jars and the lids, but I could also order parts for the base unit of the blender that I have, should those wear out someday. Good to know.

A company like Oster is well-known for the quality of their products. In fact, their motto is "Legendary performance. Designed to last." And that they do. Their blenders have been around for many decades, and they strive to keep parts available for even some of their older models.

I've gotten over 30 years of use out my Oster blender, and I expect I can get another decade, at least. No need for the newer, fancier models.

Maintaining the older appliances in my home is definitely well worth it.

Frugality isn't all how-to and do

This past week's posts have been filled with how-tos. And frankly I'm about exhausted by all the how-tos. But I wanted to get them out there, for anyone else needing the information.

A lot of what we read on these frugal living blogs is how to do something you normally do, but for less. This information is all helpful. But in reality, most of our frugal living is not activity-oriented.

When I think of all the things that I don't do, that wind up saving us money, the list looks something like this:


1) I sometimes don't get around to replacing a burned-out light bulb for a long while. (Sorry, girls, that bathroom light bulb will eventually get changed out.)


2) Some weeks, cooking is not-so-creative and meals look like this -- breakfast: oatmeal, lunch: peanut butter on bread, dinner: a huge pot of soup that winds up feeding the 5 of us for 3 different dinners.


3) I keep myself out of stores, and save, save, save -- no coupons required when you're not shopping.


4) Old and worn towels take up life in the rag pile. I don't even cut them up. Large towels are great for wiping down the car, after a wash. Medium size towels make great mop-heads for my Swiffer. And the washcloths and fingertip towels are the perfect size for cleaning up kitchen spills.


5) I probably only get one or two professional haircuts per year, some years, not at all. The in-between times, I take a small pair of scissors and trim up every few weeks. And this takes me less time than driving to a salon -- about 10 minutes. (A note, I have thick and curly hair. A self-haircut doesn't show ragged edges on my type of hair.) 


6) In summer, we sometimes skip a week of mowing the back lawn. Our mower is rechargeable electric, so this does result in less electricity used.


7) We stick with our ancient technology gadgets, like our phone. It's tethered to the wall, no portable phone for our house. We've had this phone for about 25 years, and it still works, so why replace it.


8) We've accepted hand-me-downs for probably 75% of our furniture. We didn't have to do anything to fill our house, but open the front door.


9) In the flower gardens, I plant almost all perennials or flowering evergreens. Plant once, and they come back year after year. Plus, I've learned to embrace the color green.



You see, what we don't do easily saves us as much money as what we do do. Maybe it sounds like we're lazy. But I like to think that we're just very busy, and don't have time to do everything.


How about you? Do you think that you save more money in the doing, or in the not-doing?

How to make your own Melitta-style No. 1 coffee filters (for under a nickel a dozen) *and* loose tea emp-teas (I call them tea blanks)

Melitta-style No. 1 cone coffee filters for a under a penny per filter

We have 2 coffee makers. One is for a whole pot for both my husband and I, and the other is a one -cup-at-a-time machine, for when one of us (that would be me) just wants a cup of decaf or the like. Our one-cup coffee maker is pre-Kcup craze, but makes a great cup of coffee.

Our cup-at-a-time coffee maker came with a permanent, cone-shaped filter. Permanent, that is, until it developed holes. I searched the web for a replacement, permanent coffee filter that would fit in our machine --  no luck. (Our coffee maker was a hand-me-down 18 years ago, so no wonder I can't find a replacement part today.)

I started buying the paper filters that would work for this coffee maker -- Melitta No. 1 cone-style coffee filters. They come 40 to a box, and typically sell for about $2.50 in a local store, or $1.50, if bought in bulk through Amazon. This gets pricey, at a nickel per cup of coffee, for just the filter.

In need of a cheaper alternative, I began making my own paper filters.

4-6 cup basket style filters sell for $1/150 ct. at Dollar Tree. I can make 2 cone-style coffee filters from every 1 basket filter. And they wind up having the same dimensions as the Melitta product. It costs me 13 cents to make 40 filters, or a savings of $1.37 to $2.37 per 40-ct box. Using a sewing machine, I can make a dozen filters in about 10 minutes.

Here's how I make them.

Take one 4-6 cup basket coffee filter. Fold in half to crease.

Cut in half along the crease.

Fold each piece in half again, making a fan shape.

On the sewing machine, with white, all-cotton thread (I used dark thread here so you could see my stitching), stitch up the long and straight side of the "fan".

Fold the point up about 1 inch. Stitch this fold in place. Your filter should now be of the same dimensions as the Melitta No. 1 filters. They work exactly as the manufactured filters for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emp-teas (or tea blanks), for a fraction of a penny each

I admit it, I'm a bit lazy at times, and don't want to wash out tea balls. So, I make tea blanks, empty filter bags to scoop loose tea into, without the hassle of having to wash up a tea ball later.

I can make 3 tea blanks out of one 4-6 cup paper, basket-style coffee filter.

I fold the coffee filter in half.

Then fold into thirds.

I open the filter up and cut 3 equal-sized pieces out of the filter.

Fold each piece in half.

Machine stitch along the rounded bottom edge, then up one side, to about 1 inch from the point.

This is the opening for spooning in tea.

I just keep a bunch of tea blanks in my tin with packets of loose tea, and fill them as I need them. I spoon tea into a blank, fold the tip over, and staple shut.

(For how to add a fun tag, for gifting see this post from last year.)

Egg substitutes (and how do you know which ones will work in your recipe?)

Last month, I was down to my very last 2 eggs. This makes cooking and baking from scratch difficult, but not impossible. I did a lot of research into different egg substitutes, and this is what I discovered.

There are several options to use for egg substitutes. Knowing which one to use is a matter of understanding the different functions that eggs fulfill in recipes, and what each substitute is capable of doing.

Basically, eggs have 3 functions, to add moisture, add leavening, and act as binding ingredients. In most recipes, eggs will fill a couple of these functions. For example, in cookie dough, eggs both bind the dough together, and they add leavening. In cakes and muffins, eggs add leavening and moisture. In meatballs, eggs serve as binding agents, but also can add moisture.

To give you an idea of why having just one all-purpose, egg substitute won't give you the best results every time, here are examples of different substitutes and how they can and can't work.

Some people use applesauce for an egg substitute. Applesauce will add moisture to muffins and quick breads, but it has no leavening power of it's own. Some people use flax seed meal or soy flour, plus water. Both are great binding ingredients, but neither can leaven. Baking powder can leaven, but has no ability to add moisture, in fact it can dry out some baking.

After much confusion on the subject, I decided that I needed some basic guidelines.

So, here's my list -- the general functions of eggs and which substitutes work best.


In most recipes, the best results will come from doubling up on your substitutes (two substitutes from different categories, such as -- add a moisture sub and a leavening sub for muffins, or, add a binding sub and a moisture sub for meatballs).

Adding moisture

To add moisture to a recipe, for each egg, you can substitute 

• pureed fruit/veg like applesauce, pumpkin or banana (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup for each egg), or
• yogurt (1/4 cup) or
• silken tofu (1/4 cup) or
• 1/4 cup of mayo  

Examples of foods which rely on eggs for moisture include: meatballs, muffins, pancakes and cakes.


Adding leavening

To add leavening to a recipe, for each egg, add

• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of baking powder (for cookies, 1/2 teaspoon is generally sufficient -- but see the cookie recommendation below*, for muffins and quick breads 1 teaspoon worked better for me), or the equivalent substitute of baking soda and vinegar

Examples of foods which rely on eggs for leavening include: muffins, breads, pancakes, cakes, cookies

(In a 1-egg muffin recipe, you might substitute 1/4 cup of applesauce plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder. This would satisfy both the leavening power and moisture addition that eggs give to muffin batter.)

For cakes, you'll have the best results if you use a 2-egg, or more, cake recipe, and only substitute baking powder for 1 of the eggs.

Adding a binder

To add a binding agent to recipes which normally call for eggs, for each egg, add

• 1 heaping tablespoon soy flour, plus 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon of flax meal, plus 3 tablespoons of water
• 1/4 cup silken tofu

Examples of foods needing a binder include: meat loaves and cookies.


Formula for egg substitute to use when making cookies
*I found with baking cookies, the following formula worked very well:
for each egg, whisk together:

• 2 tablespoons flour, 
• 2 tablespoons water, 
• 1/2 tablespoon oil and 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

• In addition, for cookies that we like slightly moist, like chocolate chip cookies, I substituted 1 tablespoon of applesauce for 1 tablespoon of the butter called for in the recipe.

For quiches, baked custards, or fritattas, you can substitute pureed fruit, veggies or tofu for up to half of the eggs called for in the recipe.

Meringues and other recipes calling for whipped egg whites generally can not use an egg substitute.


So, what did I bake without eggs last month? I made some very successful pancakes, waffles, cookies, and muffins. I had my husband very surprised that I could make waffles without any eggs at all. I made bean burgers that normally call for eggs as binders, but with a flax meal binder, instead. And I baked a batch of cupcakes, a recipe that normally calls for 2 eggs, I made with 1 egg plus a substitute for the second egg.

These substitutions came in very handy for me. I imagine it could be helpful for others as well, such as the mom who is home with a sick child, but wanting to do some baking, meanwhile discovers she is out of eggs,  or,  in bad weather, not wanting to chance bad roads just to go out for eggs,  or,  for the person who lives in a rural area, and doesn't want to drive into town for such a small purchase, or,  in my case, with a small grocery budget and not wanting to feel "robbed" by paying twice what I normally pay for eggs when on sale.

Making Greek-style yogurt with homemade *or* store-bought plain yogurt

This is part 2 of Making Yogurt for Dirt Cheap.

First of all, I forgot to mention in yesterday's post on freezing starter, how to thaw starter for use.

• Thaw only what you need for one batch.
• Thaw in fridge overnight, or
• on counter for 3 to 4 hours. 
• Don't thaw with heat (microwave or stove). 

My unplanned, unorganized method -- when I first get up, I take one 6-oz container of starter from the freezer and leave on the counter. By the time I'm ready to use it, it's thawed completely.

Now, on to making your own Greek-style yogurt.

Greek yogurt appears to be one of the new super foods. It's packed with nutrients. Lots of active cultures, heaps of protein, and less sodium and carbohydrates than traditional yogurt. It makes a good substitute for mayo, sour cream and cream cheese in sandwich and cracker spreads, and dips. Plus, it's lower in lactose than traditional yogurt, which is already a reduced lactose product. The process of making yogurt lowers the lactose in milk, plus straining out additional whey removes even more. For me, Greek yogurt is one of just a couple of dairy products that I can eat.

But, Greek yogurt in the store is a tad expensive for what you're really getting. It's just plain yogurt, which has been strained to remove whey. Nothing complicated about it.

I use homemade yogurt to make Greek-style. You can also turn commercial, plain yogurt into Greek-style, too. It's simple, requires minimal hands-on time, and can save you a buck or two on your Greek yogurt fix.

Take a mesh sieve and place over a bowl. Line with a paper coffee filter, or several layers of cheesecloth.

Spoon plain yogurt into filter. (I can fit about 3 cups of yogurt into my sieve at a time.) Place in the fridge, and wait. Out of 3 cups of yogurt, 1/2 cup of whey drains off in about 1 hour. We're satisfied with a final product that has about 1/3 (1 cup) of the water/whey removed, which takes about 3 hours.

When the desired consistency is reached, scoop into a container, cover and refrigerate. That's it.
Greek yogurt keeps for a couple of weeks.

My homemade, Greek-style yogurt costs about 80 to 85 cents per quart. Now that's dirt cheap for Greek-style yogurt.


You can save the whey to use as liquid in quick breads or muffins. Whey is nutritious in its own right. It contains protein, calcium, potassium and Vit B-2. You could pour the whey down the drain, but why not use it as a nutritional boost to the foods you cook?!

Freezing yogurt to use as starter for future batches (or making yogurt for dirt cheap)

(This link has the full article from 2012, which details how I make yogurt.)

I had a request, recently, for more information on how to make yogurt for dirt cheap. So, I thought I'd share what I do, and what I've found that works for me.

The primary cost is the whole milk. I look for it on markdown -- milk that is close to it's sell-by date. Turning milk into yogurt extends the life of that milk. So, if there's just 1 week before the sell-by date on the milk, I know that I can make it into yogurt the next day and have the yogurt still be good for another few weeks. Traditionally, yogurt-making was a simple food preservation technique. The yogurt contains cultures which produce lactic acid, which, in turn, retards spoilage of milk (see here, article in Mother Earth News).

So, buying whole milk when marked down, due to nearing the sell-by date, is my first step in making yogurt for dirt cheap (most of the time, I spend under $2 for a gallon of whole milk, which makes 3  1/2 quarts of thick yogurt). If I find more whole milk on discount than I need for yogurt-making right away, I freeze the milk and make yogurt at a later date.

My second step for dirt cheap yogurt is free yogurt starter.

I've been making yogurt for 2  1/2 years now, about 2 times per month. For my first batch, I bought one 6-oz container of Yoplait vanilla yogurt for 39 cents. I've been using descendants of that first batch for about 50 batches, now. Based on a price of 39 cents per container of Yoplait, I've saved over $19 on yogurt starter.

What's my secret? I have a method that seems to work for me. I freeze my own homemade yogurt as starter for successive batches.

Some people chain-yogurt (using a bit from each previous batch to make the current batch). I prefer to freeze my starter in quantities large enough to make several batches. The advantage, here, is that if I don't get around to making a new batch of yogurt for a few weeks, I have viable starter waiting for me in the freezer. Yogurt cultures only remain viable in the fridge for about a week to 10 days.

Every 4 or 5 batches, the day immediately following making a fresh batch (after I'm sure it has set), I scoop 6 ounces of yogurt each into 5 or 6 freezer containers.

This is important -- I wait until the day after I have made yogurt (and the yogurt has incubated in my cooler filled with 115F degree water plus has had a chance to finish setting-up in the fridge) to take some yogurt to freeze for future starter. 

I label and date each container. Frozen yogurt can remain viable for many months in the freezer, but why push it. This last batch (1/6/14) was made with yogurt dated June 2013. So, I know for sure that my freezing methods work for 6 to 7 months from the point of incubating to the point of using it as starter. I keep these containers of starter in a 0 degree F freezer.

I never let myself use the last container of frozen yogurt, but always keep one in reserve, just in case I do something wrong in the yogurting process.

I've read that eventually the bacterial strains will die out, and I'll have yogurt that doesn't set. But I'm putting this off by freezing several batch-starters at a time. Meaning that I'm probably only about 8 descendants from my original batch made with the 39-cent container of Yoplait.

My yogurt costs me 55 to 60 cents per quart. For our budget, that is dirt cheap.

Update on freezing yogurt starter and its viability

It's March 2019 and I am still using yogurt starter from previous batches. I recently found 3 containers of starter in a 0 degree F freezer, dated June 2017. I successfully made batches of yogurt with that starter. The yogurt is just as thick as my original batches. My hope is that you have as much success with freezing 2nd day homemade yogurt to use as starter as I have.

Another update on freezing my homemade yogurt for use as starter
Here it is January of 2020. I never would have believed this would be possible but I am still using quantities of yogurt as starter which are descendants of that original container of Yoplait, bought in 2012. Yes, I've been freezing small amounts of each batch of homemade yogurt, then using those as starter for subsequent batches. I have never had to buy more yogurt to use as starter. The resulting yogurt is thick and tart -- just the way I like it.

Happy yogurting!

Candles. January. Bargain.

I haven't posted much on Saturdays lately, but in case you are out and about this weekend, check out the tail end of Christmas clearance sales for candles, especially in drug and grocery stores.

In January, the bargain candles are all in green, red or white. But white goes with everything, right?

Early January is when I buy the year's supply of candles. (Yes, the YEAR'S supply.) My target price is between 10 and 15 cents for tapers and votives. The other day, I found votives for 10 cents each, and tapers for 12 cents each, at Walgreen's in their Christmas clearance. I've noticed that the candles seem to linger a long time on the clearance shelves.

The tapers that I bought are white, and will go nicely with our dinnerware on the dining room table. And the votives are a mix of white and green. I'll be using these outdoors this summer, and both white and green will be nice in the patio and garden areas.

Bargain-purchased candles are an easy and inexpensive way to add ambiance to our leisure time. Anyone else buy candles after Christmas?


(I also picked up some battery votive candles. These will be for a birthday gift for my daughters in March. I'll make some sort of cute, cheerfully painted votive holder, and they can have these for their room. No lit candles allowed in bedrooms here.)

This is what happens when I get busy and forget what's in the toaster oven

I was doing some mending in the dining room, when I smelled something like roasting potatoes. I just ignored this, thinking it was the pot of soup I had on the stove. Then it hit me. I had a pan of potato skins in the toaster oven, making a nice and frugal snack for myself.

By the time I checked the little oven, this is what it looked like. Yep, burnt to a crisp. Sigh. I picked out the less burnt pieces, then composted the rest. Another time, perhaps.

Do you do anything with potato peels? I usually toss with oil and Italian seasoning blend, and toast until NOT burned to a crisp, but just a bit toasty. They're yummy, full of minerals, and reduce waste -- most of the time.

I was wanting to buy a 3/4 teaspoon measuring spoon . . .

I've been needing to measure 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, often, when swapping out baking powder for baking soda/vinegar. 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda + 1 tablespoon vinegar = 1 tablespoon baking powder.

I searched around for a 3/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, and found a couple as part of odd-size measuring spoon sets. But I was reluctant to fork over my birthday money for one of these sets, just yet.

That's when it hit me. Maybe I already have a spoon that measures 3/4 teaspoon. Off to my kitchen I went, opened a drawer, began measuring the capacity of various spoons, and lo and behold, a Menchie's spoon measures 3/4 teaspoon. My new measuring spoon! Isn't that great?! An awesome find!

And I didn't have to buy a set to get one. Now I can get something much more fun with last year's birthday money!

just a note -- this only works well with a spoon with a level edge to the bowl. Many tableware patterns don't have this level edge (bummer).

Now -- there is something that I do need to buy. My daughters' sport socks are wearing really thin. I'll be looking to buy them new sports socks before Easter (hmmm, can you guess what the Easter bunny is bringing here?)
Do any of you have a recommendation for girl/women sport socks? I wasn't impressed with Hanes this last time around. I'm looking for durability in a crew sock and ankle sock. Thanks so much! You guys always know what's good.

Making cents, while making sense -- basic clothing mending that everyone should be able to do

As the mom and keeper of this house, I see all the holes, gaps, and missing buttons that occur in the clothing of my family. I've encouraged all the members of my family to be pro-active and self-sufficient, and take on the repairs themselves, including my husband and son. Of course, I'm here to help and, in a pinch, take care of a mend for them. What are moms/wives for, right?

There are 7 basic mending tasks that I think everyone should be able to perform. (Oh, one exception -- if you live in a nudist colony, you're exempt from needing to repair clothing!)

Sewing on buttons

Don't wait until the button has fallen off completely. Secure it with new thread when the button becomes loose -- less chance of losing that button. (Have you noticed, buttons never fall off while you're watching.) Just stitch right over the old thread.

Match the color of the thread to the color of the thread on the rest of the buttons, and follow the pattern of the stitches on the other buttons. Some buttons have just 2 holes. But you'll notice if your buttons have 4 holes, there will be a "pattern" to the stitches. Make diagonal stitches or parallel stitches to match those on the other buttons.

Stitches can be parallel

or diagonal (cris-cross)

or a combination of the two

If you do lose that button, you can often "steal" one from an unnoticeable place on the garment, such as the tail of a dress shirt that will be tucked in. Even if this isn't possible, it would still be more cost-effective to buy a package of buttons at the fabric store ($5), and replace all of the buttons, so that they match, than to discard the garment and replace with a new item.

Re-stitching missing top-stitching

The top-stitching on manufactured garments is often loosely tied off. One pull of the thread and your entire top-stitched edge is gone. Again, catching this early is the difference between a quick hand-stitch to secure the loose threads, or getting out the machine to re-do a length of stitching. Either way, one quick repair and you've restored your garment to it's original look. If you match your "new" thread to the existing thread, the repair will be undetectable.

A running stitch is basically your thread running through
the fabric in a line.
The top side of your stitching will look much like
the underside.
Use small, straight stitches to secure a torn seam, by hand
 and even tinier stitches to hand-stitch
missing top-stitching along a garment's edge

Mending a torn seam

This can be done by hand or machine. By hand, a running stitch over the original line of the seam will repair the tear. By machine, depending on the fabric and color, you can often get by with not matching the thread color, and just use whatever is currently threaded in your machine. A mended tear in the seam should be stitched on the inside, and it will be completely unnoticeable from the outside.

Hemming pants

Men's slacks often come unhemmed. Not a problem in a high-end store, as they throw the hemming into the (high) price of the slacks. On the second-hand market, however, finding unhemmed men's slacks can be a steal, as many men prefer NOT to try to hem them.

Women's slacks come in one or two lengths, generally speaking, regular Ladies, and Petite Ladies (there are also specifically Tall Women's shops with longer lengths). If your legs aren't exactly the 5'7" height standard, or the exact length of the 5'3" petite standard, then you'll be either dragging your hems, wearing high-waters or needing to do some hemming.

Doing your own hem, will save $20 off of having them tailored professionally. Hems look best if you can sew a neat whip-stitch, matching the thread color to the fabric, and catching only a thread or two of the outside of the fabric.

Try your pants on, have someone mark the hem-line with straight pins. Pin the entire hem. Try them on again to be sure of the length. Press and hand-stitch. The inner seam is a good place to begin your hem, as you can secure your knotted-thread, well, in this spot, without it being noticed from the outside.

whip-stitching the hem, as seen from the inside of garment

what the whip-stitch hem will look like on the
outside of the garment

It sounds much more complicated than it truly is, and should take no more than 1 hour. That's a cool $20 an hour you just made.

Pulling a small hole in a knit together, and stitching closed

A tiny pin hole in a knit can be sewn closed by pulling the edges together and putting 5 or 6 quick whip-stitches into place. Examples are the tips of mittens, the toes of socks, the toe end of sweater tights, a pin hole in a sweatshirt or sweatpants, a pin hole in a t-shirt or thin cotton turtleneck. These can be wear holes, or simply something sharp caught on the fabric, or was stuck in the fabric (decorative pins, for example).

Use matching colored thread. Turn the garment inside out, and whip-stitch closed. I can get a few more winters of wear from my mittens by stitching the pin holes closed in my mittens each year.

Patching wear holes

Wear holes can be tiny pin holes, or large gaping affairs. Often times, these holes are in inconspicuous spots once repaired (such as the inner thigh area of stretch pants).

inside of fleece pants, with iron-on patch applied
 and zigzag stitching

Wear holes can be easily patched with iron-on patching material, followed up by machine zigzag stitching in a color matching the clothing color. I use patches that I make with Heavy Duty Wonder Under (a strong fusible web -- iron-on, heat-set "glue") and scrap fabric, in a color that matches the original fabric.

outside of fleece pants, after patching/zigzag stitching
this repair is on the inner thigh,
and unseen under normal circumstances

The iron-on patch, alone, will hold through several washings/wearings, but adding the zigzag stitching will "close" the hole in the fabric, as well as secure the iron-on patch. Before ironing on the patch, pull the edges of the fabric as close to closed as possible. (Larger holes won't be able to close all the way.)

Patching the knees in jeans/pants

This is so common in kids pants that every mother will encounter holey knees several times in her child's growth. With my kids, the first holes appeared long before the rest of the jeans looked worn. It's all that time spent playing on hands and knees, I guess.

You can buy heavy duty, iron-on denim patches to cover the holes, or sew on a large piece of denim over the knee with the hole. You can even find fun patches in a design your child would like, if you want to forgo that industrial-strength, denim iron-on look.

When iron-on patches come loose around the edges, re-iron. When the heat-set adhesive wears out, you can use a hot glue gun to re-adhere the patch.


If a person can perform these basic mending tasks, they will easily save $100 or more per year.

Replacing garments that have minor problems is costly. Holey-kneed kid jeans -- $20 to replace, $2 to patch (if buying a ready-made iron-on). Tailor-hemmed dress slacks -- $20 to have a pro do it, under a $1 (for thread and needle) if you do it yourself. Casual pants with pin holes (which soon become gaping holes) -- replace for $15 to $20, or patch and stitch for under $1. Small hole in the fingertip of your mittens? Replace the mittens for a couple of dollars, or whip-stitch that hole closed from the inside, for nothing but 5 minutes of your time. New sweater-tights in season will run about $16. Less than 5 minutes to stitch a hole in the toe closed is practically free (you do need needle and thread). Top-stitching missing on the edge of a shirt or dress? Replace for $15 to $50 (or more), or re-stitch for under $1 (cost of thread). Missing button on your dress shirt or coat? If you don't want side-glances from your boss, replacing the entire garment is a costly extravagance, compared to just getting out a needle and thread and sewing on a new button.

In all cases, catching the hole/loose thread while small will greatly reduce your work, and in some cases, save the garment altogether. A small hole in my daughter's favorite sweater tights could have become an all-out foot opening in a couple of wears. But instead, I was able to sew it shut, in under 5 minutes, while she pulled on her skirt and top.

There's a reason that in olden times, women sorted through the clean laundry and pulled out items needing to be repaired right away. They were maintaining the garments that they worked so hard to produce, by catching problems when small.


There are more involved mending tasks that can extend the wear of your clothing. But these 7 are the basics that everyone should learn to perform. And in my book, basic mending is not just for frugal folks, it's for anyone with an ounce of sense.