Today’s been super productive.
I recently made myself a weekly to-do list that helps me make sure I get everything done, and I apparently did today’s and tomorrow’s chores without even realizing it. Not that that’s a bad thing – it frees up tomorrow to work on the garden. I need to begin planting tomatoes.
But we’re here to talk about today, not tomorrow.
Let’s see, what all happened today.
Well, first off, I ended up pressing snooze on my alarm a few times. Then, when I did get up I trudged to my iced coffee (past me is so nice because she got it all ready to go).
In the meantime, I pulled out the beans I wanted to cook tomorrow, because I didn’t want to forget about soaking them. By the way, if you put 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar in the soaking water per pound of beans, it takes all the farts out. I eat a lot of beans to get the vitamins I need, and farts were a problem until I learned about the ACV trick.
2 of the 3 containers in the picture are repurposed in case you’re wondering where the heck I bought those… because I didn’t.
After I was awake, I fed the dogs and went to spot clean the bunny pen. We recently added rabbits to our homestead. While they’re mowing for us, providing us with fertilizer, and will someday provide us with food, I still have to clean out their pen and take care of them.
It’s a lot like cleaning a big litter box. Yes, it kind of smells like a zoo inside their house, but I deal with it because I like how much of an asset the rabbits are.
Side note – I’m not really a fan of eating lots of meat. It’s not healthy for one, and the meat my family can afford is imbued with sadness and fear. I don’t believe for a second that the animals or the workers are treated as well as I would want. If it were just me, I probably would only eat meat at holiday get-togethers. However, it’s not just me. My husband wants to continue eating meat and, even though I tried for two solid years, I’ve been unsuccessful in getting him to change. So, I did some research, and raising rabbits super humanely is cheaper than the cheapest, inhumane cuts of meat at the store. So, rabbits. What cemented eating meat in my mind was what one YouTuber said, “Livestock will convert weeds, worms, bugs, and other waste into a useable source of food.”
Ok, I’m off my soapbox.
After cleaning the bunny pen, I went inside to rest and watch some Netflix (my alternative to cable).
Then, I went down the street to get some bamboo from a neighbor to make bamboo poles to support my tomatoes.
I finished cutting off all the offshoots from the bamboo just as it was turning into evening. (I’ll update after putting the poles in the ground. There will probably be a big garden post tomorrow.) Yes, one could argue that making the poles like this is too much work, but I am time-poor, and these poles are free!
After making the poles and cooking dinner for me, I watched Netflix some more. Usually I would crochet while watching TV, but working on those garden poles took more out of me than I thought.
Next, I made some food for my husband to eat when he gets home from work. It’s mostly a deterrent. He won’t cook for himself even though he can, and he still doesn’t understand why he can’t get 2 (because he’s 6’3″) burgers every night on the way home.
My hands didn’t feel great after working with the bamboo, so instead of hand-washing like I usually do, I rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Rather than use one of those dishwasher pods (the very cheapest still being 25 cents each), I put a Tbsp of baking soda in the bottom of the washer and a tiny squirt of dish soap in the soap dispenser.
And, finally, I made up my coffee for tomorrow so I can have iced coffee. In stores it’s $2.50 or more for cold coffee, but I just make coffee the night before (or a big batch every few days) and stick it in the fridge.
All totaled, I saved about $35 today – likely more, but I’d rather round down than up. Granted, a penny saved is not necessarily a penny earned, but that’s still an ok amount for a day for a stay-at-home spouse.
Frugal Treehugger 