Saving Money on Back-to-School

Back-to-school time has hit the stores and the interwebz seem to be abuzz with people complaining about the costs of school supplies, or even saying they can't afford them.  Personally, I'm just about done with back to school shopping, and I've only paid a few pennies out of pocket.  I used to just hit clearance sales once school was back in session (ah, the freedom of homeschooling), but there are times that items I wanted were sold out or back to regular price, so I decided that was too unreliable of a strategy and have devised an alternative one that has been saving me even more money!  I still plan on hitting the clearance sales, but it will be to start my stockpile for next year's school supplies now.

First off, forget the dollar store.  I've seen a lot of people suggest going to the dollar store as a way to save on school supplies.  In my experience, nothing can be further from the truth!  When Walmart has glue sticks for $0.10 each, Meijer has 10 packs of pens for 3 for a dollar, and Target has pencil cases for $0.49, why would you go to the dollar store to pay more?

Instead, watch for sales flyers and in store deals and only buy a little at a time, with what's on sale that week.  I find it helpful to have "buy prices" in mind when watching for sales.  For example, I won't pay more than $0.25 for a box of 24 crayons or $0.17 for a single subject spiral notebook (both available at Walmart and Meijer this week at those prices).

Even at those rock bottom prices, I try not to use actual money to buy my kids' school supplies.  I watch for deals like Target has from time to time, offering a $5 gift card when you buy certain quantities of certain items.  I stockpiled on some such deals when offered for items my family would use anyway and ended up with $15 in Target gift cards, some of which went to school supplies (the rest went to household items I was low on).  Other stores offer similar deals, but with coupons toward future purchases, and many of those offers can be found on the Coupon Network's website.

Before you buy anywhere, see what you have.  Maybe an old binder can be spruced up with stickers or other decorations.  And how many years do you need to buy scissors or rulers?  Check to see if you have what you need on hand before spending a penny.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Yesterday, it was too darn hot to cook.  There is no way I was going to spend any time near that hot stove, regardless of whether it was the range or the oven that was heating up the kitchen, it was just.  Too.  Hot.  The kids had been asking for lasagna for dinner for a while now though, so I gave them what they wanted.  Sure, my oldest said his dad's girlfriend's lasagna is better, but, like I told him, this isn't my best lasagna.  This is the recipe for my "it's too darn hot to cook" or "I don't have the time to make a 'proper' lasagna" lasagna.  Like most slow cooker recipes, this is pretty much a toss-it-in-and-let-it-go kind of thing, although still more layered than some dishes would be.

Another nice thing about this lasagna: it can be made cheaply.  In fact, when calculating out how much it cost me to make the lasagna last night, between sales and coupons and making my own tomato sauce last year, it was a $5 lasagna!  Making it like this makes it harder to notice the cottage cheese (which I got on sale, with a coupon, for $1) taking the place of the ricotta, which makes it easier to skimp on costs.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

1/2-1 lb ground meat, browned (optional)
4 cups plain tomato sauce
1 tbsp dried onion
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 lb cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
about 9 uncooked lasagna noodles

Combine browned ground meat (if using), tomato sauce, onion, basil, oregano, and garlic in a medium mixing bowl.  Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, cottage cheese, and Parmesan cheese in a separate mixing bowl.  Spoon 1/4 of the tomato sauce mixture into the bottom of a slow cooker.  Layer on 3 lasagna noodles, broken to fit.  Spoon on half the cheese mixture, then 1/4 of the tomato sauce mixture, 3 more lasagna noodles; repeat.  Finish with remaining sauce mixture.  Cover and cook on low setting 6 to 8 hours, or until lasagna noodles are tender.  Turn off slow cooker and top lasagna with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.  Cover and let stand 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted, before serving.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Yes, the date on this post is correct.  It is still June and I'm already worried about Christmas.  Okay, maybe not worried, but definitely taking it into account. 

Am I weird for already considering our Christmas feast?  We don't do the Christmas dinner at our house, but we have a huge brunch for just us, usually consisting of cheese omelets, strawberries, and some sort of delicious baked goods (blueberry muffins, coffee cake, or cinnamon rolls), so I'm trying to make sure we get enough strawberries put up to ensure we don't run out of berries before Christmas!  As I type this (actually last night.  I delayed when it would publish until morning, so people would actually see it), my 7 year old son is finishing up processing an entire flat of strawberries for freezing and we'll be picking up more berries from the market today.

Not only do we need berries for our own personal use for Christmas, but homemade jams seem to be much appreciated gifts, whether it be to un-homesteady family, friends, or just people in our lives we want to show our appreciation to, like coaches, dance instructors, or even the mail lady, so I'm trying to get far more made than we need so I have lots to spare.

I know I'm not super weird for having holiday concerns already, or maybe it just runs in my family, since my mom has been touting her Thanksgiving Challenge since January!  Anyone else thinking about the holidays in terms of what they need to do now?  What's on your to-do list for this summer to be ready for this holiday season?

Are You Sure It's Still June?--a Trailer Park Homestead update

So I guess I'm not really a stay-at-home-mom any more.  I posed the question the other day on a forum I participate on of what the definitely of a work-at-home-mom is, and according to everyone that responded, I'm actually one of those people now.  That certainly explains why I'm so busy all the time!  And, of course, even being completely overextended, I added a couple new major projects to my life recently, without taking anything away (I still have pounds to lose, kids to raise and educate, food to grow, money to make, and a house to keep up, after all!), so....yeah.  One of these days I'll go into my new life plan in a blog post, but I've come to the realization that there is no good reason I can't earn a decent income even though I'll never work another job in my life! 

In the meantime, here's what's growing on at the Trailer Park Homestead:

My 7 year old finally noticed the berries on the bushes are starting to ripen, a fact that the little ones and I have known about for several days, but we've been keeping them....harvested.  My little man is getting so big!

Funny how domestic carrot flowers look exactly like wild carrot flowers (aka Queen Anne's Lace).  It makes me wonder if domestic carrot seed would have the same medicinal properties as its wild counterpart.  I'm not going to experiment to find out though!

The back bed is looking pretty bare now that we gave up on the full grown broccoli and the spinach that bolted in this heat.  Once the current heatwave calms back down (95 on Tuesday!), I'll probably plant some carrots and shallots in those spots.

The dill that was sent to me by Kevin's Simpler Times Homestead stands tall and proud next to the mints that keep trying to take over my herb garden (who'da thunk it).

Almost exactly a year ago, a tree was felled from this spot.  I decided to help them out in getting rid of the remaining stump by burying it in compost and planting stuff on top of it.  Now, it is a watermelon mound.  I'll just have to keep the watermelon vines tendrils heading toward my yard, not the neighbors, since this is basically right on the line.  I don't really think they'd mind, but I don't want their ginormous dog-beasts tearing them up or pooping on them.

My tomatoes are getting so close to being yummy, but for now I still have to get my tomatoes from the farmers market. *sad face*

Here I have an alternating pattern of tomato, zucchini, tomato, zucchini, tomato.  For some reason, the plants on the left are doing great and the ones on the right seem to be hanging on to dear life (watering differences maybe?  I guess I'll have to pay more attention when the kids are playing in the sprinkler!).  After last year's nightmare with squash vine borers completely taking out my zucchini, pumpkins, and blue hubbard squash, I decided to try to do something preventative this year.  I've read that foil around the base of vulnerable plants somehow deters the evil moths from laying their eggs on the plants, so I figured that was worth trying out.  The zucchini on the left is already starting to get flower buds, so hopefully I'll get a good zucchini crop this year.  Either that, or I'll have to start parking on random streets around my village and leave the doors unlocked in the hopes that someone will fill my van with zucchini!

The snap peas are not liking this heat.  If we have another freakishly mild winter this year, I might plant my peas as early as mid-February next year so I can get a decent crop before it gets too hot!  As it is, I'm trying to discourage the kids from getting into them at this point, so I can let the remaining peas go to seed so I can try again in the fall.

Seriously Messed Up--a Trailer Park Homestead update

I'm afraid people are going to start seeing the truth about my rumored "green thumb" after this post.  I really don't have one.  My garden isn't looking so good right now.   If it was a chick, I'm pretty sure the correct slang phrase to describe it would actually be "hot mess".  Considering the past couple days have been about 90 degrees, much too hot for this time of year in Michigan, I'd say that would be an appropriate phrase.  Not all the messed up things going on in the garden are heat related though.

My herbs, amongst other things, were looking very wilted before I set the sprinkler out today.

The lettuce is completely beyond saving.  I'll need to pull it out and replant sometime this week, I guess.

My silvery fir Russian tomato plant, the one tomato plant I have with little green tomatoes on it, did this today.  I'm hoping it was just from the weight and that I just need to tie it up, but I'm afraid it was from a lack of water.

Not heat related, but still pretty messed up.  The carrots I planted last August and overwintered as tiny seedlings have decided they are two years old and have decided to flower.  I've decided to permit them to do this in the interest of harvesting the seeds.  I'm pretty sure I planted heirlooms, so it should all work out.

I thought I planted broccoli in here, but now that it's getting big, it looks more like cabbage!  I guess it is okay either way.  I'll just make more egg rolls if that is cabbage!

I noticed a bunch of weeds in this box that is supposed to just house watermelon plants the other day, but when I went to weed it, I discovered what I really had was hundreds of volunteer tomato plants!  I didn't have it in me to kill them all of, so I thinned them out.  Now, this box is officially for watermelon...and tomatoes.  I wonder what kind of tomato plants they are!

My garden is not a complete fail though.  So far this year, I've harvested about half pound each of spinach and snap peas, as well as a head of broccoli and there is plenty more broccoli I need to pick!  Other positives are

the Brandywine tomatoes are beginning to flower and

it looks like I'm going to have a pretty good crop of raspberries, maybe even a whole quart or two!