The Homemaker Plans Her Week: On Track

 

Officially the last holiday for several weeks ahead is behind us, as is the wedding, and the busy, busy month of June.  From now forward about the only thing I have planned are library dates, mostly once a week until school starts at the end of the month.  The heat of summer has set in and is baking everything nicely.  Despite the heat, the tomatoes and bell peppers are blooming nicely.  Will they all set fruit?  One can hope!  But let me plan below not here in the opening paragraph!  I'm getting ahead of myself.

Work:

Continue with bootcamp.  I went through Laine's letters last week, am still going through her recipes.  So many of the files on that site are corrupted.    I'm also going through A Cultivated Nest archives.  Manuela has blogged for years upon years, and she's got quite a number of really good helpful posts on saving money.    Her archives are easily found on her blogsite.  You can go as far back as August of 2008 and read through month by month right up to the present day.  

Last week I made notes and plan to do a blogpost based on my thoughts about some of the tips I read.  That's why I participate in Bootcamp each July.  It's just a good time to remind myself of things I forget or to come to realizations based on recent circumstances.

 I only have one library day listed this week.  It's a story time and I feel it's more for Millie than the boys.  I'm not even sure the boys will be home at that time, as they are leaving for summer camp this week.  However, we all have books that will be due this week so there's that to attend to.

I'd really like to see Mama one day this week.

It's pay week for us, which means getting the checkbook brought up to date, writing checks, banking, mail, etc.   I add this in because it is not a quick thing.  It sometimes takes me two hours just to get through all the paperwork part and then there's the banking and mail to be done.    That's if I don't have John interrupting me.  Then it takes longer, lol.

I will need to go keep Caleb one morning this week while Katie goes for her next appointment.  We are about 2 months out from her having this baby.

Shop at the discount store once a week and buy whatever we can use that is on clearance.  Not just for eating right away but with an eye towards stocking the freezer and preserving things.  This past week I regretted not buying the two packages of cucumbers. I could easily have pickled those, and hot water bath canned them, but I didn't think of it until I had left the store.  

Which brings me to a more recently made goal for this month: can, preserve, freeze, dehydrate.  I want to generate a harvest in my kitchen over the next three months.  I'm going to include purchasing stock-up items in this as well.  For instance, I've just put a good supply of jelly in the pantry, via sales.  I got good quality stuff that John will eat.  He doesn't care for my homemade jelly.  

So far, this past week I started a batch of apple cider vinegar which is fermenting nicely.  I dehydrated a huge baking sheet of celery leaves which, when powdered, netted me about 1/3 cup of powder.    I froze green bell pepper and avocado pulp.  I have added 24 small cans of pineapple juice to the pantry.  I think that is a pretty good week's production.

I said I wanted to make lists.  I want to start now to prepare beds for autumn planting and to set up a calendar of planting/harvest times for those items.  I don't want to spend a lot of time outdoors each day, but I would like to do a little each day and be prepared.  In fact, all of July might be considered 'Preparation Time'.  

And no, I don't have any dire predictions or great deep urging to stock heavily.  I just want to rebuild my decreased pantry and freezer stock, save money where and how I can and make the best of what we have.

Kitchen:

I think this week would be a good time to study up on what all I can do with the appliances I own.  I tend to be a one trick pony with all of the things at my disposal.  Bread dough in the bread machine and only one bread recipe.  Baking only pizza on the pizza stone.  Using the blender only to make smoothies...You get the idea.  All of these appliances can be used for so much more!  I want to make good use of what I have.  And if I find it doesn't suit my needs then I'll let it go.  Why take up space with things I don't use, or which I find don't suit my needs.

It's time to do a pantry/freezer inventory once more.  I do not do well at keeping up with what I have.  I add in things without adding to my inventory list.  I take things out and don't mark them off...There's a better way to do this and I need to find the method best suited to me.  In the meantime, it's time to know once more exactly what I have and to discover what I need to concentrate on stocking up.

Plan meals for this week.  I've a few ideas of things I'd like to make this week but first I want to see what I have on hand that should be used sooner rather than later. Then I'll plan meals. I will say here that I planned too much food for last week and we didn't eat nearly as much as I thought we might.  We also had different things than I'd planned.  I'll try to be more reasonable and stick to my menu harder this week.

Personal/Leisure:

I fell away from reading this past week. I have several books I got from the library, and I've read only one and a tiny portion of two others.  I really enjoy reading, too, yet I'll push it off in favor of doing something I enjoy far less. 

Continue with my Bible Study.  Return to my daily readings with Joy Clarkson's You Are a Tree. 

Plan something fun for ME.  A thrift shop run?  A stock-up shop on my own?  Yes, oddly enough, that is fun to me if I can concentrate on what I'm doing without interruptions or having to explain myself.  

A proper Manicure.  Maintain my pedicure.  Practice good skin care.  Check my blood sugar regularly.  Continue with my eating plan, and this week I want to concentrate harder on not overeating, even while I do want to eat more protein, I still can overeat.  I want to be more mindful of what I'm eating and why.

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