For all the Solar users out there….

Do your chores during the sunlight hours, yes I know that Electricity goes up during “prime” hours, but as long as the sun is shining you are using your solar, n/c, only when it gets dark early, then you wait, doing it this way means I never have a balance due at the end of my year.

If possible, when I can, I skip the dryer and hang them outside to dry and just do them in dryer last 15 or so, nice, clean fresh smelling clothes, let the sun do the work for you for free!

Damn electric rates keep going, here in CA it is….wait for it…… .50kw on peak and .25 off peak, and they basically have most of the day on peak…..so glad we got Solar when we moved.

My Egolf, the car that kept giving

So I bought an Egolf 2 years ago, I wanted my mom’s 2008 van with less then 30k miles on it, but nope, hubby didn’t want it, so, got the EGolf.

Now I must say I loved it. Great get up and go, no gas, no oil changes, can use the hov lane, but of course these was a car payment.

So right now used cars are hard to find, so I sold my Egolf and finally got my van! Woo hoo, it has 31k on it 🙂 It also has a lift gate and ramp so I can but my tricycle in and start biking more…and NO payments…mama is happy!

I did the math – In the end, between the deal I got on the car, the tax rebates, the electric company rebates, and the what I sold it for, it cost me $100.00 to drive it for 2 years. Booyah.

Sunshine is FREE

Remember to take advantage of the sunshine, it is free, cut your laundry drying time in half, put out jeans and towels to mostly dry, then throw them in dryer for 10-15 min to soften.

Keep an eye out on other items as they will dry quicker then you think.

Smelly dog blankets, stick them out there and let the sun burn off some of the stink!

KM – with leftovers

So we had a few dinners and I had some left overs, cubed butternut squash black beans, fish, lettuce, rice, corn.

So for the first dish I chopped up the butternut sqaush and put in in the pan with the black beans and corn, it came out yummy, I had that as a base and but the fish on top for a bowl…good eats!

Then I had some of the bean, corn, squach mixture left over, so I put it in my corn muffin mix and booyah! Great muffins to go with soups, stews and chili.

I had a left over pita so I cut it up in to 4ths, seasoned it with chimichuri, then bbq it til firm, and filled it up with the fish and lettuce…..oy boi… on a roll.

The whole dishes were much better then their individual ingrediants.

KM with lockdown stockpiles

So if you are like me, when the Covid started, we went and stocked up on some items. Frozen foods and canned foods. So know I have a lot of frozen food and soups left.

I got a big bag of frozen veggies from costco, a BIG BAG. Never used it, now I have a shit ton of them.

I got a bunch of different soups, and again now I have a bunch of soup.

So a made up a batch of the veggies and was like, meh, not really sure what to do with them. Then I had a great Idea…..(insert light bulb here 🙂

I took them and chopped them up (they were in large chunks and wedges) and I used them to add to the soups (since the soups are pretty weak for a meal).

Since I also have a lot of tomatoe paste (no idea why) I used that to thicken the soup to a more substancial meal.

No waste, no muss, a little fuss, and a tasty, nutritious, cheap meal.

Imperfect food is Perfecto!

Seriously people, I love this site. I decided to try, perfect the Covid, because I could not get some of the squashes I like. So far I have gotten at least 6 boxes. It has been very useful during the shutdown.

They sell food that would otherwise be wasted because it isn’t “pretty” enough, or the labeling is wrong, or they changed the logo, or because of covid there was no businesses to sell to. Not only is it good, it is usually less expensive and better quality then the grocery store.

There is no commitment on how much you have to buy, and shipping is a standard rate of 4.99. They have Fruit, Meat, Veggies, Dairy. I have yet to figure out why some of it is “imperfect”. They do give you descriptions of what you get. The only meh I had was on some radishes that were very bitey. They were good, just no kick.

I have recieved fruits and veggies, plus eggs, bacon, steak, got chocolate and cheese coming in the next one. They have a deal, see below, would love it you used my code.

“Hey, check out Imperfect! They have amazing groceries & deliver to your door. Here’s $10 to shop and create your imperfect box. You can thank me later :)”

http://imprfct.us/v/deborah_2344

Get the most out of your BBQ

so we have a Treager, we love it, what I do, is when the main meal/meat is done, and my veggies are almost done, I will do the “shut off” mode, it will continue to be hot for a while, and this way it continues to cook without using more pellets and electricity.

I also multi-task my cooking, so I started with a squash, then went out later and added my tomatoes.  Then they were all done at same time.

No muss, no fuss, and very few items to clean!

Kitchen Mash-up : Soup up your soup!

I have found that the cans of soup they sell are…well…to put it politely….are lacking….!

What I do know is use the soups as a “base” for a real soup.

Example..I had a potatoe bacon soup, HA! Pretty darn depressing.  BUT wait, what do I have here?  Is that some lovely small potates from last nights dinner, why yes it is….lets just add them, with some left over chicken, and poof, an actual soup that is filling and still pretty darn cheap!

I also had a Chicken Enchillada soup that was NO BUENO….so I added left over corn and black beans and chicken to it, was Muy Mas Bueno after that.

So I never get a can of soup unless it is on sale because they aren’t worth $2 or $3 dollars, but when I am able to get them for under a dollar I load up.

 

K ladies, pull out all those jars of beauty

stuff in the drawers, under cabinets, and in the medicine cabinet.  Use them all up before you buy more.  Save some money and still look great!

If you are like me, I have a few different jars of stuff, in different states of use.  I have been pulling them out and using them up.  Are some of them not my favorite, sure, but I like them more then I like having to spend money, and I don’t have to wait for them to arrive.

Best time ever to go no ‘poo

That is the no shampoo for newbies.  Regular shampoos and conditioners strip away natural oils and the replace with fake ones.

Going no shampoo , but using a baking soda/water solution can be difficult in the beginning because your hair is used to secreting oils in extra amounts since they are always getting washed away.

That is why no, during lockup, you can deal with hair that is limp and possibly oily for a few days to a week without worrying about having to figure out what to do for work, ect.

I would start by washing your hair every other day, get the most natural with the least amount of ingredients you can find.  Then go every other day using a mixture of mostly baking soda and small amount of shampoo, then go every two days, then every 3 days, so on, at some point you will notice your hair getting stronger and shiner with less fizz and start growing again, at least I did.

I try and wash my hair once a week, unless I get real dirty or sweaty, which doesn’t really happen during lockdown.  I try not to even get my hair wet every other shower.  My hair is the longest and thickest it has ever been.

So try it now, while hats and ponytail are in fashion 🙂  It will save your hair, save you money, and with less purchases of plastic bottle save the earth as well.